Animals

To be successful in racing pigeons, you need discipline and hard work. You need to examine the racing programme to understand what's expected from the pigeons and how to train them to give their best within the demands of the programme.

The distance flown is not the deciding factor when identifying a disastrous pigeon race event, but rather the speed and the losses.

Over the years we've received contrary advice about routine treatment in the off-season. Some are entirely against it, while others strongly advises it, but with caution. Who should we follow?

When stocking game in the Little Karoo, farmers must be aware of the fragility of this veld. Careful monitoring of veld, starting with the right species, as well as the animals already on a farm, should all be considered, so says Ken Coetzee of Conservation Management Services. Glenneis Erasmus spoke to him about how to get stocking rates right.

James Raw - chasing opportunity

Laminitis often has devastating consequences for your horse's ability to work. If it's too severe, your horse may even have to be put down, writes Dr Mac.

Freak weather, fatigue and inexperience can result in losses, more so if the birds are younger than six months old.

A scientific analysis of price trends at last year's game auctions indicates that despite the economic downturn, demand for certain species was high and more animals were being sold directly to game capturers.

We take a look at the importance of racing performance, natural selection and human intervention in pigeon breeding.

Heat training will only help to a point. Pigeons should have the right genotype to handle heat.

Since an overwhelming number of rich racing pigeon fanciers have entered the sport over the last few years, cash prize money in SA has rocketed into the millions.

In the final part of THis series on pigeon health, I'd like to remind readers that it's an area that's not conclusive and there are always advancements. Diagnostics is a specialised field and I will continue to report on new research findings.