Key Points and Methods for Racing Pigeon Breeding Explained

First of all, select young pigeons with a good bloodline that are healthy and lively. The loft should be well ventilated, let in light, clean and dry; feed mainly on crop seeds, and supply different feeds according to the different growth stages. In addition, feeding should be at fixed times and in fixed amounts, with 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. being the best times.

How to judge a healthy young pigeon:

1. A healthy pigeon moves nimbly. A sick pigeon will be reluctant to move, and when you shoo it, it moves sluggishly. Another easily noticed sign of a sick pigeon is that it squats in a corner of the loft, looking listless.

2. Healthy pigeons like to eat; sick pigeons do not eat or eat reluctantly.

3. Bright feathers indicate health; feathers that have become dirty and lost their luster indicate illness.

4. When a pigeon is held in the hand, if there is a lot of powder on its feathers, leaving white powder on the owner's hand, it is a healthy pigeon; the opposite means it is sick.

5. A pigeon's eyes that are large and full of spirit are a sign of health; often being sleepy-eyed and half-open, half-closed indicates internal illness. Eyes shedding a tear-like liquid indicate poor health.

6. A healthy pigeon has a lot of white powder on its cere; a sick pigeon's cere is not clean.

7. You can also tell whether it is healthy from its droppings. Soft like clay, formed into small clumps, with a white part on the surface, this is a sign of health; droppings that are mucus-like or watery, or contain blood, indicate illness.

8. A clean vent edge with no dirt indicates health; if the feathers near the vent are stuck with droppings or dirt, it indicates illness.

9. Open a pigeon's beak with your hand; small lumps, a membrane, or mucus and a bad smell in the mouth indicate illness. When you touch the crop, if there is food that has been eaten inside, that is good; if it is empty and full of liquid-like matter, and the pigeon refuses food when fed, this is a sign of illness.

10. Frequently spread a pigeon's wings to check the joints for abnormalities and injuries, and whether there are pigeon lice on the flight feathers.

In the process of raising pigeons, bloodline is extremely important, so young pigeons with a good bloodline and good performance can be kept as breeding pigeons for the next generation.