08-13-2023

There is an overabundance of evidence to suggest that our climate is hanging on by a fragile thread. But too many people do not know what to believe anymore.

Against the alarmists who proclaim the "sixth wave of extermination", their opponents say that it is not nearly as bad as that and that, if the figures are analysed over a long period, there is nothing abnormal about it...

Such a wave of extinction is defined as the disappearance of at least 75 per cent of the living species on the planet.

Source: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2023/08/05/bosbranden-catalonie/

We have no choice but to organise our planet on a global scale, where it is no longer acceptable for one country to pollute its air, water or soil across borders and for other (neighbouring) countries to suffer in resignation.

The recommendations of the climate conferences are far too non-committal, and based on the right of self-determination, any nation can continue to pollute with impunity and saddle future inhabitants with a vast self-created garbage dump...

UNO's powers should be expanded to deal with violators and enforce the rules. The blue helmets must become a real enforcement force - the global climate police.

 E. Coli

We are still getting questions about the persistent E. Coli infection in youngsters.

Dear,
It was on the Internet that I came across you by chance.

I started racing pigeons four years ago, and every year I suffer from Coli just before the pigeon races!!!!!!! They are, therefore, unable to race, which means that as yearlings, they are so inexperienced that I end up losing many pigeons!!!! Can I do anything about this? How can I keep my pigeons free of Coli and breed them like all the others?????

Hope you know how to fix this.

It turns out that E. Coli prevents a standard training programme, which severely strains a successful sporting career as a yearling and/or old pigeon.

This bacillus is a commensal (Latin: "communis mensa", meaning "common table"), meaning that it lives permanently in the intestine. It has nothing wrong if it makes up a small percentage of the gut flora.

However, significant bacterial complications occur when this bacterial population begins to overgrow. Such an escalation of E. Coli is always secondary, and the cause is a viral infection. The first suspect is herpes (also Rota, Reo and Adenovirus), with inflammation of the air sac, heart (membrane) and liver as a complication. As previously explained, every pigeon carries antibodies against the herpes virus (endemic).

Soon after hatching, the virus is transmitted from the parents to the young through the beak and by feeding them with the milk of the crop (probably not through the egg). The symptoms may or may not be visible in the respiratory tract, but the mucous membranes of the intestines and liver are not spared either (in the latter case, the pigeons are very sick and depressed).

Vaccination against the herpes virus seems to be a logical approach. However, the results are far from obvious. For example, the renowned Dr H. De Weerd is openly against it. What is worse, he has clinically diagnosed an exacerbation, sometimes fatal.

In this context, Professor Ab Osterhaus concluded that, concerning the herpes virus in general and in pigeons in particular, he did not see a vaccine against it, partly because so many pigeons are latent disease carriers.
However, vaccination against rotavirus would only have a limited effect.

The solution is obvious and remarkably simple. The herpes virus, which is dormant in all pigeons, must be prevented from re-emerging at any time, and the only way to do this is to keep the pigeons in excellent condition. It now turns out that the parasites are the biggest condition eaters of all. In fact, young pigeons, which are still growing a lot and need to develop functionally, use all their reserves. This puts a strain on their defence mechanisms.

At the same time, they need to learn everything about pigeon life, which is stressful and exhausting to discover.

Therefore, the loft should be kept dry and well-ventilated without any draughts. Having lost youngsters in the past, breeders should not be tempted to anticipate overcrowding. Nor should they be too "selective" in their youngster programmes, lest they eliminate potential champions - in other words, throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

However, we have tried to make it as easy as possible for the fancier.

Stopmite is the perfect tool to meet these needs. It keeps the cages clean and parasites away, which is crucial in this issue.