<![CDATA[<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"><h1 class="justify">Shetland Racing Pigeon Club</h1>
<h2 class="justify">Homing Pigeons</h2><p class="justify">The Shetland Racing Pigeon Club is the most northerly racing pigeon club in the UK.</p><h2 class="justify">Pigeon Racing</h2><p class="justify">Most of our races are local sprints of 45 to 50 miles, with occassional racing from the UK mainland. The furthest distance sucessfully raced in the club's history was from Morpeth, England (about 350 miles). Racing across the sea has met with mixed success, but gradually families are being built up, bred off survivors.</p><p class="justify">The Shetland Racing Pigeon club was formed in 1980 by when four members voted to form a club. David White was voted secretary and 'Star and Garter' rings were purchased through the 'Racing Pigeon' newspaper. The club's first ever race was from Sandwater, a sprint race of approx. 20 miles, and was won by a lady fancier; Miss Louise Adamson. At that time the race rubber numbers were telephoned to the secretary.</p><h2 class="justify">Club History</h2><p class="justify"><b>1981</b>... saw the club accepted into the Scottish Homing Union. A sponsored swim raised £40. This, plus a grant from the local council, went to purchase STB clocks and baskets.</p><p class="justify"><b>1982</b>... and the first ever race from 'across the water' . The race was from the Orkney Islands and was won by Mr. Leslie Irvine flying a Blue cheq cock which took 12 hours for the trip and proved to be the only returnee.</p><p class="justify"><b>1983</b>… 3 birds make it back from Orkney including Mr Leslie Irvine's Blue cheq cock</p><p class="justify"><b>1985</b>… the club has its first ever race from Inverness, 200 miles. The race was won in under five hours by a hen which had flown twice from the Orkney Islands. Mr Chic Topen, who joined the club this year, was instrumental in obtaining good stock birds from the Scottish mainland for some club members.</p><p class="justify"><b>1986</b>… three pigeons from Orkney were timed to one fancier in 2 ½ hours, this being one of the fastest ever races from Orkney.</p><p class="justify"><b>1989</b>… the club was presented with a silver trophy from the NRCC. This one-hundred year old trophy was re-plated and to this day is the most prestigious to be flown for, being presented to the winner of the longest race in any particular year.</p><p class="justify"><b>1992</b>… a Shetland fancier beat Orkney and Thurso members in a joint race from Beauly. Only the Wick pigeons beat the Shetland bird which was flying some 130 miles further.</p><p class="justify"><b>1993</b>… saw the furthest ever race into Shetland from Cuper in Fife won by Kenny Gifford. This record only lasted a couple of weeks, as a later race from Penicuik was flown successfully.</p><p class="justify"><b>1994</b>… the furthest ever race into Shetland was flown this year from Morpeth, England when early on the second day, a mealy hen was clocked. The hen which was nicknamed the 'ugly mealy' was lost from Fair Isle in 1992, it returned and stayed with another club member before returning in 1993 when a cat went into her new loft. Sadly this hen was killed by a Great Skua in the summer of '95.</p><p class="justify"><b>Since 1994</b>, the club has struggled with races from the British mainland. Families are emerging bred off survivors, and hopes are high of being able to compete in the future, alongside clubs such as Wick, Thurso and Orkney in a 'Highlands and Islands Federation' which was set up in 1997.</p><p class="justify"><b>1999...</b> this year the club enjoyed two excellent distance races, one from Beauly and one from Forfar. All members taking part had birds return in good time, and after several poor years it was most heartening to have good returns.</p><h2 class="justify">Pigeon Health</h2><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>I have put together the following sketchy details gleaned from various sources, in the hope that, if you recognise any of the symptoms in your loft, you will be more able to identify the best course of action. I should point out that I am not a vet and if you are experiencing real difficulties you should take them to your local vet who is rather more qualified than I!</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>When you keep animals of any kind, you will at some time encounter sickness in your stock. This is no different in the pigeon loft; eventually you will have to deal with a problem. My experiences over the past 10 years with disease has mainly been in young birds, which are still acquiring immunity, in the form of discoloured wattles or ceres, wet nostrils, sneezing, noisy respiration (rattles), one-eyed cold, loss of weight, food not passing through the crop for a day or two, redness in the back of the mouth, general weakness and so on. The sight of sick birds can be distressing especially when you do not know exactly what the problem is.</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>The main diseases/conditions/ sicknesses, which you may encounter, are:</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt><b>Respiratory problems</b></p><blockquote><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt><i>Mycoplasmosis</i> - the 'rattles'</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>	<i>Chlamydia </i>– 'one-eyed' cold</p></blockquote><dir><dir><dir><dir><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>The two main reasons for respiratory problems are mycoplasmosis and chlamydia. Although both are found throughout the respiratory system, chlamydia typically involves the upper airways and sinuses while mycoplasmosis is found more in the air sacs. Both diseases are widespread in pigeons, most pigeons will have these but will have acquired immunity. If the bird's condition is poorer than normal and it is stressed for some reason, such as raising youngsters, over tossing, under feeding, racing, overcrowding, cold damp conditions, then these diseases may occur. If you have major problems and feel you really must treat, antibiotics are available, however you are probably best advised to get to the underlying reason causing them and deal with it. Most effective treatments are the tetracycline family of antibiotics and tylan available from any vet.</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt></p></dir></dir></dir></dir><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt><b>Internal parasites</b></p><blockquote><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt><i>Worms</i></p></blockquote><dir><dir><dir><dir><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>A serious and common problem. The presence of worms can be verified by examining faecal smears under a microscope that may reveal two different types of worms; hairworm and roundworm. The problem with worms is that the general health and subsequently the race performance of your birds will suffer, adding to stress levels and opening the bird to other disease conditions. Applying a dab of Ivermectin to the skin of the bird easily treats worms; this has the added benefit of removing all external parasites at the same time. The substance is available from your vet as are other anti -worm preparations. It is best not to use during racing, as it will affect your bird's performance.</p></dir></dir></dir></dir><blockquote><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt><i>Coccidiosis</i></p></blockquote><dir><dir><dir><dir><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>A protozoan parasite present in all pigeons. The organism lives most of it's life in the bowel lining causing internal damage and subsequent stress. Birds affected badly will show weakness and will be anaemic, sitting fluffed - up and rapidly losing weight. Lesser-affected stock may just be off form and not performing well. The disease is helped on by damp conditions as the parasite's eggs survive in these, so it is advisable to keep the loft clean and dry. Preparations are available from the vet such as 'Amprol' which you add to the drinking water.</p></dir></dir></dir></dir><blockquote><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt><i>Canker	</i>	</p></blockquote><dir><dir><dir><dir><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>Another protozoan parasite which lives in the digestive tract of pigeons. Pigeons all have canker in a sub-clinical form and acquire some immunity to the disease. The most obvious sign is a yellow or white scabby deposit or nodule in the mouth and throat or as a lump or 'puffiness' at the vent. There also exists a 'wet' form of the disease which may cause the bird to lean back on its tail and gulp, particularly after feeding. Green watery droppings are also a sign that all is not well. Delayed crop emptying with sickness is another sign.</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>Treatment, best carried out before breeding, is available. Common brand names are Spartrix and Ridzol. The former comes in tablet form so you can treat individual birds.</p></dir></dir></dir></dir><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt><b>Major diseases</b></p><blockquote><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt><i>Paramyxovirosis</i></p></blockquote><dir><dir><dir><dir><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>The initial symptoms are sickness, diarrhea and weight loss followed by nervous disorders which are very characteristic:</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>· Tremor of the head</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>· Twisting of the head/neck</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>· Paralysis; of one wing, then both and/or paralysis of the feet</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>· Disordered balance and flight</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>· Tottering step, tendency to fall over backwards</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>Less typical signs can also be observed; the initial appearance of nervous disorder without any previous diarrhea and weight loss, or the appearance of diarrhea without nervous symptoms.</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>There is no special treatment. The best course of action is to vaccinate all birds as soon as possible.</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>Pigeon - fanciers are apt to dispose of their sick pigeons once the disease has been confirmed in the loft. This is a mistake as most birds will return to good health after two or three months, provided they are fed and watered. Once the disease has passed the pigeons will retain their sense of direction intact and will recover completely. Likewise, pigeons which have survived can be bred from - they do not become carriers of the disease.</p></dir></dir></dir></dir><blockquote><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt><i>Paratyphoid (Salmonella)</i></p></blockquote><dir><dir><dir><dir><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>Classical paratyphoid is common in breeding cocks which can become sick and die very quickly - the bird is fine one day and dead the next. Hens can become sick in the same way, but this form is more common in cocks. In hens, paratyphoid is a more chronic disease in which the affected hens often have severe weight loss ("going light"), sticky droppings containing a lot of mucus, swollen wing joints and affected livers. Another clue to paratyphoid is eggs that turn black and appear rotten. Such eggs were once fertile, began to develop, and then the embryo died of the infection. (If eggs are infertile in the first place, they stay clear for the whole incubation period.) The organisms can contaminate the surface of the egg as it is laid, or it can be incorporated in the egg as it was being formed in an infected ovary (same with E. coli infections). Another key characteristic of paratyphoid infection is youngsters that begin to hatch but die in the shell. Diarrhea, dehydration and death in 7-10 day-old youngsters in the nest can occur. Often, only one of the two will get sick and die.</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>Sore joints in the legs and wings ("wing boil"), with or without swelling of these joints, can occur. Characteristically, the elbow joint is often affected, producing the "wing boil" just mentioned. Tilted heads and twisted necks as the result of infection of the brain can occur in paratyphoid infections, but are more commonly associated with paramyxovirus infections. Both paratyphoid and paramyxovirus infections can cause birds to pass a lot of fluids. In paratyphoid infections, the fluid is from a true diarrhea because it comes from the intestines and contains a lot of mucus, possibly some small gas bubbles, and even blood, and may have a detectable odor. In paramyxovirus infection, much of the so-called diarrhea is actually clear fluid coming from the kidneys which are often severely affected by the virus. There is a pool of fluid, in the centre of which is a small "snake" of normal droppings.</p><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>Treatment … see your vet. ! This is a serious health problem and should be handled accordingly. The disease can be treated with drugs such as 'Baytril'</p></dir></dir></dir></dir><hr align=center width=33%><p class=justify style=LINE-HEIGHT:14pt>These are some of the main problems you may encounter. There are more, perhaps when time allows the pages will be added to. I hope the foregoing is of some use to you, although I also hope you do not become familiar with any of these troubles! Another website which you may find useful for pigeon health and other topics can be found at:<i> <a href="http://www.jedds.com/MySolution/Diseases.asp" class="norm">JEDDS disease pages</a>.</i></p><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
_uacct = "UA-406201-2";
urchinTracker();
</script>
</body>]]>