Pigeon
Breeder’s Lung
A
Life Sentence
By:
John Marles, Sylvan Lofts
A few years ago an allergist
confirmed my worst fears, that I had Pigeon Breeders Lung disease. This is the kind of news that all fanciers
dread. After being in the fancy for thirty
years, I just couldn't imagine not racing pigeons anymore. I was told that this
allergy to the protein in the dust of the pigeon's faeces could occur at any
time and the fact that I hadn't displayed any symptoms up until this time meant
nothing. Now I was faced with a dilemma. How to continue in the sport that I
have always enjoyed so much (with the exception of the politics, all fanciers
can do without this).
I'm finding that coping with
this allergy can be a real problem. First of all, I purchased a number of
different masks each serving a different purpose. One for cleaning (I call it
the hockey helmet), one for brief visits and one that I use when I plan to stay
in the loft for a longer period of time. As my allergy continues to worsen I
have had to look at alternatives to loft design. So, last year I decided to
make a loft which would be completely open. This loft was made of screen on
three sides plus a screen floor. The only solid wall was on the back for
perches. This so called aviary loft was for the youngsters to fly out from. As
I still had my other loft I left some youngsters in their while I tried to race
some out of the aviary loft.
The aviary loft was eight feet
long by thirty-two inches deep and forty two inches high. This fall I added to
it giving me fifteen feet in length. This loft was ideal in that I never had to
go inside (it is almost physically impossible to do so). I could clean from the
outside with just unscrewing two screws; I could take out the perches for
washing or cleaning in the open air. Since the floor is all screens the
droppings fell to a sand bottom which I could clean with a rake. Hosing down
the entire loft was very easy and could be accomplished in minutes. Since the
roof is entirely plexi-glass the inside walls dry very
quickly. This is all fine, but..... how did they
race???
Since the loft was not ready for
operation at the beginning of the year, I had to place the later bred
youngsters in it. Keep in mind that the following results were recorded by
about fifteen pigeons. Although the results from the youngsters in the main
racing loft were far superior to the aviary loft a few factors need to be
considered. The first factor was that I did not have any earlier bred
youngsters in the loft. All of the aviary youngsters were bred later in the
year and therefore had to be pushed to get into the later races. None of the
aviary youngsters were ready for the first three or four races. Neither could
these youngsters be raced on semi-widowhood or natural because of their lack of
physical maturity.
The results did give me a little
hope for the future. I fully realise I can not achieve the same kind of form
(thus results) in an aviary loft as some of my competitors in a closed setting.
In the fall it is impossible to keep heat in, but despite this they did well.
In the cool September evenings the hormones just shut down whereas their
counterparts in a closed environment continued. I would be extremely pleased to
receive any information that people have on PBL and any ways in which fanciers
are coping with the problem. I'll gladly share any information I receive in
future articles. Racing pigeons is the sport that I was hoping to continue in
when I retire, but the likelihood of that happening now looks very dismal. If
you have any information please send it to...........
John Marles
M1M 1J9
or phone 416-267-0895
Thanks very much...