•A great gift idea for that special fancier is a Siegel's Gift Certificate, available in any amount, for a holiday gift, a birthday, Father's Day, or any other occasion. Just phone us at 800-437-4436 and we'll make up a nice certificate and mail it to your recipient. He or she will be able to apply it to a new book, a great new training basket, medications or supplements, or any other purchase from Siegel's.

•Congratulations go out to Art Hees of Spring Hill, Florida, for the honors that his flying of "Miss Artesian" garnered from the Racing Pigeon Digest. "Miss Artesian" won 1st Overall Ace Pigeon of America as well as 1st Overall Ace Sprint Pigeon of America.
"Miss Artesian" (AU 05 A 25102) was bred in our lofts out of "Witslager I" (99-3236902) and "Het As Duifke" (00-3091215) from our Musketier Family. Her mother, "Het As Duifke," was 2nd National Ace Sprint Pigeon "Ave Regina" Belgium in 2000. Her sire, "Witslager I," flew 15 races as a young bird, scoring 13 prizes, 7 x top ten, including 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th. He is also the sire of five 1sts in Belgium.

The timer revolution
When split seconds count, make sure you're counting split seconds accurately! Benzing electronic timers have quickly become the new standard in our sport and are more popular than ever! The best has gotten better! Benzing's new M-1 clock and "Lazer" antennas are now in the States, and full distribution is now available. They are the most accurate, sensitive antenna in the world today--with the most antenna coils per square inch of any pigeon scanning antenna available!

It was a kick to sit at our computer monitor and "watch" the birds clock in the World Ace Challenge races!

The biggest races rely on the Benzing tradition of accuracy and speed, and the Benzing M-1 system is revealing itself to be heads above the competition.

A Benzing M-1 "Lazer" system recently clocked the Lou McElroy Race. Among the other major one-loft races using Benzing Lazers are the Colorado Goldrush Race, a 300-mile race flown from Elm Creek, NE, released on October 14, 2006.
the East Coast Classic, the Gulf Coast Classic, the San Diego Classic, the San Jacinto Classic, America's King Cup, the Snowbird Classic, and the Caribbean Classic.

Other members of the Benzing "family" of futurity races and racing combines include the Texas Shoot-Out, American Showdown, Desert Classic, East Coast Challenge, Flamingo Race, Caribbean Classic, Queen City Memorial, Boundbrook Futurity, and Paterson Air Derby, among many others....
Tell me more...

In News & Views:
Stefan Mertens takes us this month into the lofts of the celebrated Belgian team of Paul and Jelle Roziers, young bird champions in the national races.... Mertens filed his report last month on the lofts of Belgian champions Van Hove-Uytterhoeven, who recently won 1st National Champion Yearbirds.... Mertens himself is the 2006 1st National Champion KBDB Middle Distance Youngbirds.
For these reports, and many other archived features, click here...
Read on for all the news!

Where's Ed?

Siegel's Ed Minvielle on the road...again!
Siegel Pigeons prospective travel schedule for 2008:


American Racing Pigeon Union Convention - Oct. 14-18, St. Paul, MN


California State Racing Pigeon Organization - Nov. 6-8, Bakersfield, CA


National Show, November 15, Stamford, CT


Dixie Southern Convention,
Nov. 20-22, Jacksonville, FL



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Tips for the fancier:
May
in the Loft

At this time of year in the sport, my attention turns to old birds, especially to their health care and to their motivation for racing.


Coccidiosis and canker germs are significant health threats that our birds are very likely to pick up from race baskets or from drinking contaminated water out on the race course. Thoughtful fanciers take care of this exposure before it can turn into a problem. It's a good idea to give each bird one Pegosan tablet (Pego) approximately three to four hours after returning from the race, and then follow up with another Pegosan tablet the next day.


Race birds need a time-release dose of vitamin B, amino acids and carnitine into their systems so that these supplements are present in the muscles during the race. This is one of the best ways to prevent stress in race birds. My best suggestion is to give them Carmine liquid (Versele-Laga) (carnitine) for at least five to seven days prior to shipping a long race. On basketting night, give one Carni-Tab tablet (Colombine) and a Supra Pill (Colombine) to each pigeon.


I recommend using liquid Trichoron Forte (Pego) to control canker in your old bird race team. This is a very important step for serious fanciers to take. This product is outstanding because it can either be mixed into the drinking water or be given directly to the bird in drops (three to five drops per bird). This versatile product is also great to give the youngsters at weaning time.


I use an eye loupe to check for slight respiratory infections. How do I do this? I check the rim of the eye and look for bubbles of air in an overly moist eye. If the eye appears to be watery and has numerous air bubbles in the liquid around the rim of the eye, then that bird probably needs to be treated with a good respiratory product for at least seven days. Doxyvet and Doxy-T, from the Australian Pigeon Company, are very effective treatments. Always remember to remove the grit and mineral supplements whenever you are treating the birds with respiratory antibiotics.

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I am glad to share with you a couple of products that I get spectacular results from for my breeding pairs and babies: Calcium/Vitamin D3 Syrup from the Australian Pigeon Company or Calcivit Plus, also from APC. Either of these works particularly well when administered along with Pigeon Power. It's a great boost to the overall strength of both the parents and the young. I mix one of these calcium supplements and Pigeon Power into water at the same time according to directions and give it to my breeders and to the babies they are raising.


Here are some old bird racing strategies that I think you might find thought provoking.


If you are racing the natural system, and a hen and cock show signs of pairing up, separate the two for a few days and then put them back together for about 30 to 40 minutes just prior to basketting. The hen will stop her cycle because of the separation, and this will delay the laying process. The separation will also increase both birds' desire for one another. Letting them see one another for just a few minutes before basketing will reinforce the bond and also reinforce their desire for home.

Here is another natural system tip. When a pair has laid and has been sitting for several days, try adding an egg to the nest every other day until they are sitting on five or six eggs. Then take the cock and place him in a box or spare cage so that he cannot see his loft, his mate, or his nest. This should be done the night before basketting. For example, if you basket on Friday night, take the cock away on Thursday night. The hen won't realize that the cock is gone until it is his time to sit the nest the next day. She will be very hesitant to leave the nest, or even to eat, because of the added eggs and the fact that her mate is not available to take his turn, so she will become even more attached to the nest than normal. You may have to physically take her from the nest and feed her in a separate box so that she will eat and drink.


When I take the hen away, if time permits, I like to let the cock into the loft. He will discover his nest unprotected and will hurry to take his turn on the eggs. I let him settle on the nest for a few minutes and then take him away PRIOR TO allowing his mate back into the loft. Both birds will race extra hard to come home to protect those eggs when a question has been put into their minds regarding their responsibility for the nest!


If you're racing the widowhood system and the cocks appear to start losing interest, and the hens act as if they want to start mating with one another, switch the sexes. Let the cocks sit on perches and let the hens have the nest boxes. You will have to lock the hens in their box and probably feed them in the box, but this can certainly energize a widowhood team and produce excellent results. Sometimes I even lock a strange cock into the box with a particular cock's mate and then just let him see the stranger in his box with his hen before I ship. I make sure that the race will be less than 300 miles and not longer than six or so hours on the wing for such a motivational tactic because sometimes this tactic can backfire on you. Some cocks get so hyped by any additional motivation that they wear themselves out in the race basket the night before and don't have anything left when it's time to fly home.



On the widowhood system, remove the bowls completely from the nest box and always show the bowl to the cock before the cock is allowed to see the hen at the beginning of the season. Then as the longer races come up, put the bowl in the nest box with the cock and let him get in it and start to call. Then ship him. Once all the cocks are removed, allow the hens into the boxes with the nest bowls and let them have their way. You can even put a few old unmated cocks into the loft to steam up the hens before you ship them. Remember this advice: "Ship the cocks cool and the hens hot." This holds true for most races.

On the natural system, when a pair starts to nest, remove one of the mates. This can be either the cock or the hen, but I prefer to remove the hen. Let the cock take another mate, and then remove that mate. When shipping day arrives, let both hens in with the cock for twenty to thirty minutes, but don't allow the hens to begin a heavy battle because they could lose form. Ship them all to the race. This trick can be used all season long to motivate either or all of the birds at different times.

On the widowhood system, on a particularly bad race, if one of the birds comes home very late, lock that bird in its nest box (but not with its mate) for at least several hours. Overnight would be even better. The race bird is worn out, and having to deal with an over-anxious mate will not do either of them any good. After a few hours of rest, put the pair together for just a few minutes, and then separate them again. This will tell your returned racer that, "Yes, your reward is here and waiting, when you are ready." That pigeon's sole motivation to race home may have been to see its mate. And after that performance, the reward is granted. But what that race bird needs most is rest. It's a wise fancier who knows that this rest must be given.

Good luck and good racing!

Ed

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