•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.

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 renowned Belgian champions the Herbots family, interviewing Filip and Jo about the family's most recent championship: 1st national champion K.B.D.B. yearbirds... Mertens filed another recent report on the lofts of Fréderic Beukenne, winner of the 1st National Ace Bird Small Middle Distance K.B.D.B..... 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!

SUANOVIL BULLETIN

Suanovil is in stock now, but it is sometimes unavailable. In this case, there are effective substitutes.

Suanovil is one of the most effective products for respiratory infections in our birds, so feel free to call us about its availability whenever you might need it.

When you cannot find Suanovil, there are very effective substitutes for it: Doxy-T and Doxyvet, Tylan Concentrate, Linco-Spectin, or Ery-Mycin. Any of these can be substituted for Suanovil with very satisfactory results.

For severe cases, we recommend using two of these products in combination with each other.

Where's Ed?

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

American Racing Pigeon Union Convention - Oct. 19-24, hosted by the New England Racing Pigeon Clubs Promotion Association


IF Convention - Nov. 5-7, Perth Amboy, NJ, hosted by Perth Amboy RPC in conjunction with Bayshore Homing Pigeon Club


California State Racing Pigeon Organization - Nov. 5-7, Jackson, CA


National Show, November 21, Stamford, CT


We look forward to seeing many of our friends and customers around the country on our travels...




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Tips for the fancier:
January
in the Loft

All of us at Siegel's wish you a very Happy New Year 2009 and hope that you are getting a lot of enjoyment from your birds and from your participation in the Sport. And we hope that your breeding hens are healthy and are laying well.

This month, I want to map out for you a nutrition and medication regimen that has worked very dependably for us, and that I believe will make a real difference in the success of your breeding season.

By January, most fanciers have either paired their birds and are raising the first round of youngsters, or they're still in the process of preparing the breeders for pairing in the weeks to come. If you're one of the many fanciers whose breeders are raising their first round, you should be paying extra attention to nutritional needs for your breeders like mineral supplements, grit, and picking stones. While breeding pigeons are feeding and rearing their young, their bodies require extra minerals—no exceptions.

The pigeon fancier who takes this need for mineral supplements seriously is treating his birds as they deserve to be treated, while at the same time insuring that he will have a very successful breeding season. In our lofts, we like to use a liquid mineral supplement either on the feed or in the water during the breeding season. All of these are excellent mineral additives: Siegel's Pigeon Power, Herbots Aminovit, Colombine's Aminovital, Pego's Ferro-Prodol and Calcamineral, and Oropharma's Biochol.

Any of these supplements, used properly, will make a significant difference in keeping your pigeons in good condition during breeding season. Another product which I recommend without reservation is Naturaline from the Natural Company. It's formulated to help the breeders come into peak condition before pairing up.


Fertibol from Comed is a combination vitamin-mineral supplement that promotes fertility and hatchability, and I recommend using it during weaning to promote strong bone development. Calcium supplements like Calcium Vitamin D3 Syrup, BioCal and Calcivite Plus (all from the Australian Pigeon Company) are great for laying hens, especially older hens that have had a problem laying. These mineral supplements will quickly eliminate the leg paralysis so often found in hens with severe calcium deficiency.


We keep picking stones in our lofts during the breeding season. We place a pick stone in the pot in each loft and also crumble part of a picking stone into the grit bowl in each loft. We mix the picking stone in with the grit and place that in a small covered container so that the birds can take all that they want any time. APC's Calcium Cakes and Mineral Blocks are really effective at delivering the mineral supplements that our breeders need during this time of year. Vita-Mineral is another excellent supplement of this type. It's a powdered vitamin and mineral supplement that can be mixed into the grit or directly onto the feed. All of these nutritional supplements insure that your birds are getting the right amounts of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements to help them raise healthy, vigorous young. They also help your breeders keep in good shape for the later rounds to come.


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Remember, pigeons kept confined in a loft, especially during the cold winter months, are not capable of getting all the minerals and trace elements that their bodies require from the feed alone, so supplements are not only wise, but necessary.

One supplement that's been getting very strong positive feedback from fanciers all around the country for several years is Health Gard, a pro-biotic water-additive formula. In fact, we have had negative feedback from no one using the product during the nearly eight years that we have carried Health Gard, while we have heard hundreds of personal testimonials about its effectiveness. We have used it regularly in our own lofts since the 2002 breeding season, and we have been consistently gratified with the results in our babies. We send many birds to a number of out-of-area races, and the babies that are raised by our breeders taking Health Gard do not succumb to many of the diseases that affect other birds of the same age in the same lofts. Parent birds given Health Gard seem to pass on to the babies a high resistance to viral infections for many months after the product is removed from the diet, and racing birds have shown a greater resistance to disease.


The concept behind Health Gard is to use large doses of naturally occurring micro-organisms to help correct or control health problems in our pigeons. We use Health Gard in our own lofts during the breeding season every day on our breeders from the beginning of January until the end of March, which encompasses our first two rounds. The Health Gard is given in addition to our regular supplements like Pigeon Power.


Each year, we send out nearly 200 youngsters from our first two rounds to other lofts to race, either in futurities or in convention races, or to partner lofts to be tested. After a couple of months, some of the lofts that I've sent birds to will begin to report sicknesses like Cercle Virus, but the overwhelming majority of our babies remain healthy, even when there are babies of the same age from other breeders dying all around them. Given all the circumstances, I have concluded that Health Gard makes the difference.


Fanciers in areas subject to freezing must take extra precautions to make sure that the birds are getting enough fresh water every day. There are heaters for drinkers that are helpful, but they are by no means a sure bet to keep the water from freezing in extremely cold climates. For birds living in these conditions, I recommend extra vitamins and minerals, because these birds are being stressed at higher levels than pigeons living in more moderate climates.


If you don't maintain good hygiene in your loft, disease is sure to visit. The most important aspect of good loft hygiene is to keep the feeders and drinkers clean. In our lofts, we like to disinfect the feeders and drinkers periodically with Sani-Coop. One capful to a gallon of water will disinfect anything in the loft, and you can also use it on the perches. We keep enough drinkers on hand to be able to rotate them, so that some are being disinfected while others are in use. This way, whenever we need a fresh drinker, there are several clean ones waiting to be used.


The old bird races will be beginning in just a few months in some areas of the country. So, obviously, the old bird race team also needs attention at this time. Fanciers who'll be flying widowhood will probably be pairing racers now, depending on the starting time of the race season. This can be challenging, because you must move the new yearling cocks and hens into the loft with the older birds, and having them take the proper nest box is always stressful.


We lock our pairs into their boxes with a separation between them until they appear to have become interested in each other. Then we take away the separator but continue to keep the pair locked up in the main part of their box. At this time, all of the racers are locked in their boxes with their hens, and they are fed and watered in the nest box. Because of the intense stress of this close confinement, we add vitamins and Pigeon Power to the water. A similar supplement that our customers like is Ferro-Prodol. It also does a good job of keeping the birds in fine shape even during the most intense times of stress.

Once the racers are paired, we begin by letting one pair out at a time, until they show us that they know where their box is. Once this is established, we start letting out two pairs at a time, but always make sure that their boxes are at opposite ends of the loft from each other. For example, a top right box would be opened along with a bottom left. After a few weeks, things in the old bird loft should start to settle down, and the racing pairs will go down on eggs.


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We like to time this so that our old birds will lay and raise one round of young, then go down on their second set of eggs about ten days before our first race. To do this, we always figure 54 days backwards from the first weekend of racing. This includes 10 to 12 days for pairing and laying of the first egg, 18 days for setting, then 24 to 26 days for raising the young and then the laying of the second round. Since we do not want our birds to start moulting, we normally pull the hens from their cocks three days after the second egg of the second round is laid. We also like to leave a squeaker with its father for several days after the hen has been removed. (But we will go into detail about this technique in next month's "In the Loft.")

Because we like to allow six weeks for training the old birds, we usually start taking the cocks and hens on alternate days just after the hens have laid--weather permitting--for their shorter tosses during January. Since this training is just a refresher for the old birds, it usually doesn't take them quite as long to get the hang of it, and they start coming quite well after only a few tosses. Loft exercise is also quite beneficial at this time, and we will often let the birds out for whatever exercise they will take on their own.

We also medicate the old bird race team now as a precaution against the major diseases. We like to give a combination treatment for salmonella, E.coli, and coccidiosis for about seven to ten days. We use Trimethoprium Sulfa, which takes care of all of these. Immediately after the treatment, we give two days of a probiotic to restore the gut bacteria. Probac from the Australian Pigeon Company, Cometose from Comed, Digestal from Colombine, and Prodigest from Herbots all do a good job. We use it on the feed with either wheat germ oil or garlic oil to make it stick. After a few days, we begin a respiratory treatment for 14 days. We have had success alternating between Doxyvet alone and Doxy-T. For severe infections, Dr. Steve Weir has found that adding Suanovil to either product increases the potency of the treatment. A third option would be Tylan with Aureomycin.

After each medication treatment, we use a probiotic for two days. Our final medication treatment before the races begin is a three-day canker treatment. Generally, we select two canker products and alternate between them for an entire racing season.


Once our training begins in earnest, we treat on alternate weekends with a respiratory product and a cnker product for two days.


Following this nutrition and medication program will prepare our birds for the seasons ahead. But over the years, we've found that nothing replaces observation, so it's a great idea to spend a few minutes each day just observing the birds and learning to detect if all is not right in the loft. Early detection of disease can be the best approach for prevention of bigger problems down the road.


Here's wishing you all a very Happy New Year, and a great racing season in 2009!

Yours in the Sport,

Ed

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APC Mineral Block - A picking stone that provides a range of hard and soft grits in a mineral matrix, which the birds enjoy eating. Based on bentonite clay and rich in nutrients. Developed by Dr. Colin Walker, the "Flying Vet." (Australian Pigeon Company)
600 gram block
$2.50
Item #3013
SW 2.80 lbs


box of 24 blocks
$59.95
Item #3012A
SW 35.00 lbs




Natural Vitamineral – Vitaminized minerals in powder form. Vitamineral is a product that the pigeons need all year long. There is always a marked increase in consumption during breeding, after a race, and during the moult. Use in the grit. (Natural - Belgium)

600 grams
$2.95
Item #0325
SW 2.45 lbs

2.5 kg.
$8.95
Item #0326
SW 6.70 lbs

Pro-Vital Pigeon Breeder Plus- Created specifically for the breeding racing pigeon with all the ingredients needed for a healthy breeding season. Contains malto-dextrin, 13 vitamins, chelated minerals, pro-biotics, digestive enzymes, L-Carnitine, electrolytes, amino acids, and a plant extract that helps to control fecal odors. Use in either water or feed.
8 oz.
$14.95
Item #0054
SW 1.5 lbs.


28 oz.
$49.95
Item #0061
SW2.5 lbs.


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