Interview with MARIAN JILAVEANU, FRSC Baicoi, Prahova county - Highlights
23:58, Miercuri, 13.07.2011
Interview with MARIAN JILAVEANU, FRSC Baicoi, Prahova county
- Highlights -
RRP: Do you feed your pigeons depending on the time of year?
M. Jilaveanu: Yes, I do that, and I never feed the birds in full. Even the breeders come under the same treatment. When my pigeons raise youngsters, I feed them 3 times a day. In winter I feed them as light as possible, using a lot of depurative feed. On the return day, I feed my racers a good mix, containing lots of proteins. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday my widowers and racing hens receive a depurative mixture. Starting with Thursday evening and Friday, the hens are given a concentrated racing mixture, to which I add some extra corn. The cocks receive their extra corn supplement starting with Thursday morning. Before shipping, my pigeons also get a light feed.
RRP: How often do you medicate your pigeons?
M. Jilaveanu: I treat my birds in winter against salmonellosis, canker, coccidiosis, then I vaccinate against paramyxovirosis. The above mentioned treatments are planned to be finshed by the end of 30th of December. One month later, I medicate them once more against salmonellosis, usually with Parastop, then I vaccinate against this disease. In spring, when pigeons are sitting on eggs, I also apply some brief treatments.
RRP: Do you think there is a strong connection between a good racer and a good breeder?
M. Jilaveanu: I don’t believe so. The following story is still a mystery to me: some years ago, I had two youngsters out of the same couple, so nest brothers. One baby I raced myself, while the other one was offered as a gift to a neighbour. They both turned out to be hens and they raced very well. In the mean time, I had given away their parents. At the end of the season, I brought the parents back because those two youngsters performed so well. The next year, I started to breed as many babies as I could out of this pair, hoping to get the same result. I managed to breed 6 more brothers and sisters, but I lost all of them in races, despite having a perfect health condition.
RRP: Do you loose many birds throughout the racing season?
M. Jilaveanu: Let me give you a few examples.In 2010, I started the old birds season with 38 pigeons, and 12 got lost by the end of it, given the fact that I attended all the races, including the long-distance ones, on a weekly basis. In 2009, I also started with 38 pigeons. I shipped 28 birds for the last race, while 4 pigeons were kept at home. So, to make a long story short, around 80% of my racing team finishes the season. But 30% have to be selected out because they don’t meet my expectations.
Translated by Andrei – Silviu Oprea
