| Author: Bob Rowland | Title: How to dose your pigeons when medicating |
| Date: 2003-04-01 23:03:03 | Uploaded by: webmaster |
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As I begin this article, I feel it is important that everyone understands how to calculate dosages. Each time I pick up a package of medicines or supplements the first thing I look at is the dosage and also the strength factor of the medicine. For example a 5% solution is half as strong as a 10% solution of the same product so the correct dosage is not one someone can tell you unless they know the strength of the product you are using.
Another great problem we have as pigeon people is that we do not have an abundance of products that have been specifically tested and evaluated for PIGEONS. The dose for treating chickens or pigs is not the same dose one should probably use for pigeons. These have different metabolic rates and therefore the drugs may pass through the system faster or slower and this could determine or alter effectiveness.
The best way to assure we have given a proper dose of medicine is to use individual capsules or pills and give the required amount to each pigeon daily. The problem with this is that most people are lazy so would rather have something they can put in the water and treat their entire team with very little effort. The problem with flock treating is that some pigeons get a heavier dose while others won't readily drink so they have a smaller intake of the medicines or additives and finally, the temperature at the time we are treating by the flock method can severely alter the amount of the dosage also.
UNDERSTAND THAT A DOSE IS A DOSE IS A DOSE AND REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH WATER IS CONSUMED, THE DAILY DOSAGE PER BIRD OR PERSON OR WHATEVER MUST BE ADHERED TO PROPERLY FOR ANYTHING TO BE EFFECTIVE.
WHEN THE DOCTOR PRESCRIBES A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MEDICINE FOR US EACH DAY, THEY DO NOT ALTER THE DOSE BASED ON HOW MUCH WATER WE CONSUME WITH THE PILL BUT THE AMOUNT OF MEDICATION IN THE PILL IS THE CRITICAL CONCERN AND A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF WATER IS SUGGESTED BUT MORE WATER IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED BENEFICIAL.
ANOTHER TERM WE WILL LEARN IS MIC. This stands for "minimum inhibitory concentration" and for anything to be effective, the mic value must be at least the minimum dose required as a cure for a specified amount of time or we could be creating the next super bug.
To calculate dosages is extremely easy to do once we understand what is required but in most cases people have no idea of how much to use to establish the proper dosage to medicate their pigeons. If you are not using the proper dosage the products can be either ineffective or totally toxic. So follow through with this message and place this so you have it handy to look at when in doubt.
The next thing we need to understand is that there is a normal comfort range OF TEMPERATURE which we refer to as the THERMAL NEUTRAL ZONE. This is the temperature range where the pigeons will drink what we would refer to as a normal amount of water. The thermal neutral zone is approximately in the temperature range of 16' to 24'C or from 60' to 75'F. These are the temperatures that are most ideal for pigeons to race. Temperatures above or below these given will give very different results and to prove this, just observe the amount of water consumption from our pigeons. Then we can alter this further with the varying chores we ask our pigeons to perform. Raising babies naturally increases water intake for the simple reason that we have increased our number of pigeons. Our 10 pair of breeders now becomes 40 pigeons as now each nest also has 2 babies consuming feed and water.
My observations have shown that between 40 and 50 pigeons will consume one gallon of water per day when the pigeons are in the THERMAL NEUTRAL ZONE.
As the temperature increases, the pigeons will consume more water but the amount of the medication or supplements our pigeons are consuming will determine the daily intake of this product. For example, if the daily intake of something is 5 milligrams per day, then this is what they should receive each day regardless of how much water they drink.
So now that we understand this, if the pigeons are drinking twice as much water per day, then they should only be getting half as much medicine in each gallon of water but if they are drinking only half as much water per day, then they need twice as much medicine per gallon or the dosages are improper.
The easiest way to understand this FOR YOUR PARTICULAR PART OF THE COUNTRY OR WORLD IS TO MAKE A CHART FOR YOUR SELF SO YOU CAN REVIEW THIS TO KNOW HOW MUCH YOUR PIGEONS DRINK AT WHAT TEMPERATURE AND DEPENDING ON WHAT THEY ARE DOING SUCH AS RAISING BABIES OR TRAINING HARD, ETC...
NATURALLY A PIGEON AT REST AND NOT RAISING BABIES OR TRAINING SHOULD CONSUME LESS WATER THAN PIGEONS DOING THE OTHER THINGS REGARDLESS OF THE TEMPERATURE.
The above statement may seem like a bit of work to accumulate the data when you begin but soon you will find this is the most valuable tool in your loft. Knowing that at a certain temperature your pigeons should be consuming a certain amount of water will tell you when problems are beginning to crop up. If the water intake gets considerably higher than it should be for that temperature, this will indicate that a health problem is beginning to surface. The system begins trying to flush out the problem even before we know there is a problem so as you see, consumption tells you a problem may be starting. If when driving your car we find that our gas mileage is being reduced, we would look for the problem quickly as this costs us money. The same is true with the pigeons as we only have so many races to be able to compete in and if we have less than the best of health, our results will show poor results quickly.
MAKE SURE THAT WE DO NOT HAVE A QUALITY PROBLEM AND ARE TRYING TO CONVINCE OUR SELF THAT IT IS A HEALTH PROBLEM. The greatest pigeons in the world can not win against tough competition if they are not healthy but the worst pigeons in the world will not be consistently near the top just because they are healthy. IT TAKES BOTH TO BE A CONSISTENT WINNER!!
Bob Rowland,
SpringHill, FLorida USA
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