Thoughts on now racing has finished by Les J Parkinson

Now that the racing season is over, what would I be doing in the loft. The first thing would be to put them on Vior for two weeks to flush their internal system out. I have said before I put the good health of my pigeons down to constantly using Vior. The only year I didn’t use it I had a few problems, coincidence or not is another matter.

 Then 2 weeks later after they had been eating and drinking clear water, I would send a sample of the droppings to Colchester to get the droppings tested. I would also get a throat swab done at the same time. I would not take the two samples off the same pigeons I would use different pigeons for each test.  While the testing was going on, I wouldn’t have the pigeons out, but I would get a good farm spray like Fam30. This is a product that the late Denis Gleave told me about many years ago, at the time I was also farming so knew how good this product is. 

FAM 30 is a very powerful DEFRA approved farm and aquaculture disinfectant offering quick results and excellent protection from a wide range of disease-causing organisms. This is an iodine-based disinfectant and DEFRA approved for poultry so is just as effective around racing pigeons. Fam30 is also reported as being far less corrosive than Virkon. It is Biodegradable, stable and safe in use. Fam30 contains a powerful detergent allowing cleaning and disinfecting in one operation around the loft. 

What I will say is if you use this product cleaning the interior of the loft then wear a mask it is strong. I would also leave the birds out of the loft overnight if you have very little ventilation. The first time I used it my stomach was off, I wasn’t ill it just felt strange and I put it down to using this product, there were no aftereffects. I didn’t use it in the loft again.  

I used it around the garden spraying every corner but don’t make it too strong because it does foam up. It is very good to put on a mat outside the door to the loft so that you put your feet on it before entering the loft. If using it in the garden, you would be better using a watering can.