Feeding pigeons and young birds
Feeding pigeons, homing pigeons and young birds
A conventional diet
There are no immediate difficulties to feed your pigeons, as they granivorous. This means their diet is mainly grain-based.
The first solution is to give them pre-prepared mixes. With Gasco, there’s a wide choice, with mixes that meet their nutritional requirements, as well as more gourmet blends.
A second solution is to have a different type of grain in each feeder. Gasco offers both wheat and maize. Having an alternative encourages them to pick and choose their food and create their own mixes of grain. Choosing helps them develop their taste and links them to the concept of pleasure. It also helps reduce food waste as pigeons can pick out their own food. If you give pigeons a mix, they will eat what they like and happily leave the rest.
That said, pigeons won’t just content themselves with what you give them to eat. They look to supplement their diet with insects, worms and leaves.
The vet's advice
“The type of food is one factor, but when you feed them is another. Once again, the choice is up to you. Firstly, you can put food out in the morning and refill feeders on a daily basis. This method leaves your pigeons little freedom to eat when they want. Alternatively, you can feed them several times a day. You can feed them as and when you wish. Typically, though, two feeds a day are enough. This helps your pigeons to get to know you better. This method means you can become more familiar with your pigeons’ feeding habits and spot any bird that shows signs of any eating disorder.”
Food for baby pigeons
When a pigeon hatches, its parents immediately begin feeding it.
You don’t need to do anything, except check that the baby bird is feeding properly and growing normally. To be sure that they are in good health, here’s some basic principles on their diet. First of all, in contrast to their parents, baby pigeons do not eat grain, but rather crop milk. This is a substance secreted by both the mother and father birds. The parents regurgitate it into the baby pigeon’s throat so that it can ingest the milk. So, you can see that the parents share the responsibility for feeding their young. Crop milk is full of nutrients for baby pigeons to grow rapidly. If you think that a baby pigeon is not growing quickly enough, don’t hesitate to call a vet, who can reassure you. The reason baby pigeons feed on milk is because they are altricial. This means that they need several weeks before they can cope on their own. When baby pigeons hatch, they are practically naked and very fragile. They can neither fly nor feed themselves. After three to four weeks, they start to grow feathers and are able to manage by themselves.
The diet of a homing pigeon, myth or reality?
There are plenty of mysteries surrounding homing pigeons and the way they live.
You should know that this advice will not provide you with an explanation on how to raise homing pigeons. It can, however, help you to understand the importance of food in their daily diet. Just like people, a homing pigeon’s diet is as important in their lives as physical exercise. They are highly active, energetic creatures with specific energy requirements. Homing pigeons are even treated as marathon runners as they only return to their loft after having flown long distances. To make up for all this energy used in flying, they need a specific diet of wheat (25%)*, maize (25%)*, peas (23%*), barley (16%)*, sunflower seeds (8%)* and rapeseed (3%)*. Only a high-quality diet will enable homing pigeons to keep themselves in a suitable physical condition where they can be active with no holds barred. If you always want to raise homing pigeons, you have to be both rigorous and attentive. Homing pigeons are the exception among pigeons.
*These quantities are purely indicative.
Water for life and well-being
Pigeons are among those birds that drink the most water. Like you, when the temperature rises, make sure your pigeons have plenty of cool water available to them. This need for water is also down to a small, but important, detail, pigeons love water. Give them a small water bath, where they can bathe and buff themselves up, as well as a water dispenser. Don’t make a bath out of a water dispenser as the water may get dirty and pigeons must never drink dirty water. For this reason, you should protect and regularly replace your pigeon’s drinking and bathing water so that it always has clean water available.
5 tips to feed your hens well
5 tips to feed your hens well
Choose a varied and complete feed.
A balanced diet makes for a healthy hen.
But, how can I be sure I’m feeding my hens properly? Don’t panic! We have all the answers you’ll need. Hens eat grain (they are granivorous). You can choose an all-in-one pellet-based feed, or you can give them grain, such as wheat, oats, or maize, to which you can add dietary supplements. Gasco has selected produce to provide your hens with high-quality feeds, tailored to their needs and desires.
And what about organic feeds? If this subject is particularly important to you, organic feed can provide your hens with benefits. Gasco has also developed a range of 100% organic feeds. Whether you opt for conventional or organic feed, rest assured that Gasco sources quality grain to meet your hens’ needs.
The vet's advice
“Contrary to common belief, hens are not just there to finish your left-overs. Obviously, they help cut food waste, but don’t take them to be dustbins. Your scraps are just an addition to their specific and balanced diet. Only a feed developed for their needs will keep them in good health, adapt to changes in their surroundings and lay tasty eggs.”
Animal-based feeds
Just like people, hens need a varied diet.
Perhaps you’re wondering how they manage? Like lots of animals, hens make the most of what nature offers them. They search for any little bug or grub living in the soil. So, naturally, they dig to seek out their future victims. As they are always looking for food, this helps them supplement their diet with animal-based sources of food. They love unearthing delicious insects and worms. Nature subsequently fulfils its role by offering supplementary sources of energy and nutrition. Your hens need, or even demand, a varied diet to keep them in good health.
The vet's advice
“When hens look for insects, or worms, they do so for their own benefit. It might be easy to think that they do it to feed their chicks, but nothing could be further from the truth. If they don’t feed their chicks, it is not because they are selfish; chicks don’t need to be fed to grow. In fact, chicks are nidifugous species. This means they can cope by themselves as soon as they hatch. Chicks can therefore wander around the hen house freely to eat, without the help of their mothers.
How much food should you give them each day?
You shouldn’t give hens more than a certain daily amount. A few kilos too much could have a rapid detrimental effect on their health.
They need 120 to 130 grammes of food a day for their nutritional needs. The way you feed them depends on your lifestyle. If you have time, throw them a few scraps. This encourages them to seek out their food in the hen house and matches their natural behaviour to peck at things. If you are pushed for time, put some food in a feeder and they’ll eat when they want. This is a useful solution when you go on holiday. So don’t worry, you can go away for the weekend! If you need to go away, you can fill a feeder with the right quantity of food. Your hens will automatically eat what they need based on their needs. On the other hand, if you go away for several days, get a friend or relative to check the hens have enough to eat and that everything is fine in the hen house.
The changing seasons, a key factor
For both people and animals, the start of a new season can have physical effects. So, its best to keep a close eye on things.
In winter, colder temperatures require specific attention to details. You need to make some changes, but don’t worry, you don’t need to move the chicken coop in your house. Hens can live outside even in winter. That said, colder temperatures mean that hens use more energy and this can make them more sensitive to things. To make up for this, you can either up the quantity of their food, or feed them more often during the day. However, you mustn’t forget the energy they use when laying. As a result, you can easily see the importance that diet has during the winter.
In summer, your eyes need to be on water. As it is drier, your hens need to drink and cool down. So, you need to give them plenty of clean water.
Water, exactly, but how much?
Water is just as vital for animals as it is for us. Hens are thirsty animals. They drink a lot of water each day. Make sure your hens have access to good, clean water to enjoy all the benefits. What’s more, they need to enough water and reach it when they want. Above all, make sure you change the water regularly so that it remains cool for long enough.
The vet's advice
“Hens need lots of water because they are granivorous birds. Grain is made up of dry matter that can alter certain body tissue or organs involved in the digestive process. Hens instinctively feel when they are thirsty when digesting and consequently hydrate more. And the only way to be better hydrated is to drink more water. “
Dog and cat food and hygiene
Dog and cat food and hygiene
BARF : a return to original food
Dogs are carnivorous animals which need to eat animal-origin proteins. They therefore regularly need to eat meat: red meat or poultry.
There are many ways to feed your dog. Usually, dogs are fed on dry food (kibble) or wet food (swill). But today, a new trend is developing. It’s known as BARFand the aim is to return to a natural diet. The aim of this trend is above all to do away with industrial food. Concretely, it involves making your pet’s food yourself from raw food: meat, offal, fruits and vegetables. Unlike meat, the vegetables can be cooked. You can add Gasco pasta, rice or a variety of vitamin supplements. If you want to experiment with this type of food, please follow certain rules. Start by getting advice from a vet, who will help you to understand your pet’s nutritional requirements. You can then create typical meals to avoid deficiencies.
The importance of water must not be neglected, especially in the summer. Dogs do not sweat, they therefore need to drink a lot to effectively fight against heat.If, in addition, they eat dry food, like kibble, their water requirement increases.
Cats: a taste of cleanliness
Cats are clean animals that take pride in looking after themselves. Their lifestyle is largely based on their meticulous character.
In terms of hygiene, it is essential to follow certain rules. First, ensure that their litter tray is in a quiet place, away from passers by. Like us, cats need privacy. Their litter tray must also be pleasant, otherwise they won’t come back to use it. Gasco maize kernelsare particularly well suited to cats: it is vegetal, hypoallergenic and natural and prevents all kinds of respiratory problems.
It is also important to familiarise your cat with the litter trayfrom young so that it gets used to this environment. Of course, the litter traymust be changed regularly, otherwise your cat won’t use it.
In terms of hygiene, cats can be easily trained. The only essential thing is for its litter tray to be clean. In addition to keeping the litter tray clean, you should observe your cat’s behaviour. If you see it having trouble while it does its business, do not hesitate to consult a vet. Some situations can lead to the appearance of pain. Castration, for example, can lead to urinary stones. There are specific, lighter foods for this adapted to your pet’s needs.