Animals

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.

Sick Racing Pigeons can't produce healthy offspring and sick pigeons in a loft put other lofts at risk of contamination. Keeping our pigeons healthy is everybody's business.

This article is going to save you time and money. Beginners and struggling fanciers often don't get proper support with their pigeons. Even worse than getting little to no help, is getting conflicting advice.
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In part one of this series we concluded that the winning pigeon of a race event can’t become the winner if it doesn’t have more speed.

Helping a friend retrieve a hat blown off by the wind 35 years ago led the late Bob Kinney to become a world-renowned racing-pigeon breeder and racer.

Tom Lock, veteran South African champion, did for the pigeon racing fraternity what Mohammed Ali accomplished for boxing and Gary Player did for golf.

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of positioning the things around us so that we are in greater harmony with our environment.

The twelfth Sun City Million-dollar Pigeon Race will take place on 2 February 2008.

As many as 14 000 birds in one laying house, with one operator handling the eggs? Precisely measured amounts of feed, water and vaccine delivered automatically? Electronically controlled ventilation? Lloyd Phillips reports how this five-star treatment uses economies of scale to achieve greater hatchability in broiler hens.

Even though many South Africans live in remote areas and it is difficult to get a vet, in some situations there is no alternative.

When I first took an interest in pigeon racing in 1968, the number of wealthy pigeon fanciers on South African soil could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Parasites play an important part in natural ecosystems, and wildlife can bear their tick burdens and still stay healthy - if humans stop interfering. So says Professor Ivan Horak (left) of the University of Pretoria's Onderstepoort campus. Cornelia du Plooy investigates.