Contents
In the film by Vladimir Menshov “Love and Doves” the theme of love is revealed from a curious side, in which birds play an important role, being a symbol of this feeling.
Izhevsk pigeons are the standard of loyalty and love. This breed is one of the few whose representatives do not move away from the dovecote to the side, but rise up to such a height that they are practically invisible. Close up, these birds are beautiful and graceful.
The history of the Izhevsk breed of pigeons
The history of this breed is amazing. Pigeons were tamed by people 5 thousand years ago and served as a means of communication. But not only this attracted people in pigeons. The man admired the beauty and elegance of the body of this bird, the beauty of flight and pleasant cooing during communication.
Izhevsk pigeons are similar to their closest relatives – Perm pigeons.
It is believed that the breed appeared 100 years ago, but there is evidence that the pigeons themselves were brought to Izhevsk at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, when an arms factory was built by order of the tsar, and the craftsmen were taken out of Tula to work on it. Here they are, together with their property, they brought pigeons, probably in order to maintain correspondence with relatives who remained in Tula.
How many years it took for selection, and what breeds were used in this, one can only guess, but it hardly took a hundred years. From the stories of Izhevsk pigeon breeders, it is known that there are other names for this breed in the city – Tikhonovskiye, Matveevskiye, Aleksandrovskiye, after the names of local breeders. There were even Povarskys, in memory of the fact that among the participants in the creation of this breed there was a person by profession a cook.
This is how the breed of Izhevsk pigeons appeared, the main advantage of which is the amazing ability to fly at an unattainable height.
Flight characteristics
The flight of Izhevsk pigeons is fascinating. Possessing large sizes, they fly up to such a height that it is difficult to see them from the ground. The flock circles at an unthinkable height, but does not fly away from the house for long distances.
The flock spends more than 2 hours in the sky, and up to 15 hours in flight. In order to maintain the ability to fly, after the flight, pigeons must be allowed to rest for 2-3 days. You also need a high-calorie diet.
Izhevsk pigeons are released into flight every day for 5-6 hours. The weather should be dry and calm. There is a risk that with a strong wind the flock will scatter, and one of the pigeons will get lost or even die. If a pigeon has strayed from the flock, it may not return.
If the dovecote is equipped with lighting from the outside, then the birds are launched even at night.
To enjoy the flight of Izhevsk pigeons, they are trained. Start cooking at a young age. Otherwise, the bird will sit out, and its flying qualities will deteriorate or disappear. Training is carried out in several stages:
- Pigeons get acquainted with the person who will train them. The trainer enters the dovecote every day at the same time. Clothes must be taken the same, always clean. Pigeons gradually get used to and begin to show their attitude towards the trainer, sit on him, eat from his hands. The trainer studies all young animals.Attention! For pigeons, smell is important. It is better if the clothes will be used only for meeting with them.
- After 40 days, the young begin to be taught to fly from the nursery to the aviary. If it suddenly turns out that they are weak for such a procedure, it is postponed for a couple of weeks. When classes resume, they are held for 5 days. During this time, they find out the behavior in the pack, whether there are pronounced loners, what they are afraid of and how they react to other people and animals.
- Pigeons are released onto the roof. Here the pigeons get used to the free space. It lasts 5 days, after which they start flying. Birds do not fly far and quickly return. The coach must understand how they feel in flight, at altitude, how they find their way home. A leader is selected from experienced birds, and with him the young are released into flight – with a flock and one at a time. It takes a week for the young pigeons to learn the techniques of flight and begin to imitate the leader. When the flight duration increases by more than 40 minutes, young pigeons are connected to the main flock.
- The training is completed when the young bird begins to lose its flight feather and it is time for molting. At this time, birds are not released. Pigeons that are sick or overtired, females preparing to produce offspring, are also not trained.
A sign that a bird is well trained is raising it to a height.
Breed signs and standards
When breeding the Izhevsk breed, the Perm breed was used. The result is good: the individual is muscular, strong, with smooth plumage and at the same time smart. Flying in transcendental distances, he perfectly understands where he is, and unmistakably determines the house.
In pigeon breeding, the question of the purity of the blood of any breed is fundamentally important. For Izhevsk pigeons, there are strict parameters by which they are recognized as purebred:
- muscular and powerful chest;
- body length up to 35 cm;
- when taking a stand, the body with a slight slope;
- the wing in length should almost reach the rectangular tail;
- small round head in males and elongated in females;
- there is no plumage on short legs;
- the body has a smooth plumage;
- the beak is small, chicken-colored;
- eyes slightly bulging, black.
The main characteristic sign of the thoroughbredness of the Izhevsk pigeon is the shape of the head, by which the sex of the bird is distinguished.
Minor deviations in determining purebredness are a slight excess in the size of the body, small feathering of the legs, slightly reduced sternum, a very small beak and slight brown eyes.
They do not recognize purebredness if the individual is very large, with small wings, an underdeveloped sternum, elongated paws with plumage, gray-blue eyes and ruffled feathers.
Purebred Izhevsk pigeons are beautiful and cheerful, quick-witted and athletic.
Breeding Izhevsk pigeons
Breeding Izhevsk pigeons is not difficult, for this you need to have a well-built dry and warm dovecote. Maintain cleanliness, remove bird excrement. Change the litter, prepare the dovecote for winter, sealing cracks and holes so that there is no draft that is contraindicated for birds.
Pigeon feeding
Izhevsk pigeons are fed twice a day immediately after flights. Food should contain the necessary set of nutrients and vitamins, you can not overfeed. The most acceptable food is cereals.
An adult Izhevsk pigeon needs up to 85 g of grain per day. In winter, they feed with oats – 20 g and barley – 65 g. Lentils and corn grits are also used. Feeding bread and porridge is not allowed, this leads to illness. The seed of flax and rape, when fed, improves plumage. Pigeons of the Izhevsk breed love to swim in the heat.
The norm of life for Izhevsk high-flying pigeons is peace and sitting in a nest or on a perch inside the dovecote. They fly out only to drink and eat. Pigeons are not walked on the ground and on the roof, especially for young individuals. Their element is high flights and rest before the next soaring into the sky.
Diseases and treatment of birds
Pedigree birds get sick, like others. Most often they have infectious diseases and parasites appear. The reasons for this are irregular cleaning of the poultry house, dampness and drafts.
The main diseases are smallpox, salmonellosis and verticillium (Newcastle disease). For preventive purposes, birds are vaccinated.
The whole flock is vaccinated at once.
Before starting vaccinations, review the diet. Izhevsk pigeons are fed with grain rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. Only healthy individuals should be vaccinated.
Smallpox is vaccinated in regions where the disease is common. It is better to do this in a veterinary clinic. The vaccine is valid for a year. Salmonellosis is vaccinated twice a year. For the prevention of vertiches, Izhevsk residents are vaccinated with Avivak.
If vaccinations are not done, but a sick individual is found, then it is withdrawn and isolated from others. It is not difficult to identify a sick pigeon during daily examination: it changes its behavior, does not eat, hides, feathers lose their smoothness and ruffle. The litter of such a bird is liquid, discharge from the beak and eyes appears.
A sick individual is not vaccinated, this procedure will kill her, but it is possible to treat and cure.
Pigeon breeders successfully treat pigeon breeders at home, the main thing here is to correctly diagnose the disease and in the first 10 days you can cure a sick bird.
For treatment, the drug is used in capsules Fosprenil. It is effective, has no side effects and is not dangerous to birds. It is injected intramuscularly into the sternum or watered through the pigeon’s beak.
But it is preferable to show a sick pigeon to a veterinarian.
In order for birds to get sick less, they need a balanced diet, enhanced with a vitamin complex.
Conclusion
Izhevsk pigeons are good in all respects and are deservedly popular with pigeon breeders. They have excellent flying qualities, unpretentious and hardy. These birds are made for the sky. The feeling of love for them comes not only during dizzying flights, but also from communicating with them.
