Pigeon conditioner is a balanced nutritional food mix designed to keep racing pigeons in the best physical condition.
The mix will give pigeons all the necessary proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins to stay healthy and stave off disease or illness.
Pigeon conditioner is also a popular fishing bait!
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3 recommended picks for pigeon conditioner are:
| Product | Pack Size | Key Ingredients | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckton Pigeon Conditioner | 20 Kg | Wheat, red dari, white dari, oats, linseed, safflower seed | View on Amazon |
| Marriages Pigeon Conditioner Food | 20 Kg | Red dari, wheat, white dari, oats, linseed, rapeseed, Safflower Seed | View on Pets at Home |
| BJF Pigeon Conditioner | 25 Kg | Red dari, white dari, safflower seed, wheat, groates, rapeseed, linseed, | View on Amazon |
The Pigeon Diet
If you keep pigeons as show birds, for racing, or just as pets, you want the best for them.
That means a good healthy diet with the best pigeon food. Alimentation, along with good hygiene, should be your primary concern.
Getting the right nutritional balance is important for all birds but particularly for racing pigeons.
Experienced pigeon keepers know how to feed their birds.
Whether or not they choose ready mixed conditioners or mix the feed themselves, is a matter of personal choice.
Beginners are advised to start with proprietary conditioners until they are more experienced.
What Seeds Are in Pigeon Conditioner?
If you looked at the ingredients in the table above which lists three top pigeon conditioners, you will have noticed that the lists are pretty much the same.
The seeds are practically the same in each, just in different concentrations.
The main ingredients and the nutrients they provide are
- Wheat – protein and sulphur
- Red and white dari (sorghum) – carbohydrates
- Oats – carbohydrates and protein
- Linseed/linseed oil – omega-3
- Safflower seed – fat and protein
- Mung beans – protein
- White rice – carbohydrates
- Black rapeseed – beneficial oils
- Buckwheat – vitamins and flavonoids
- Hemp – omega-3 and beneficial oils
- Aniseed oil – antioxidants
The mix is full of grains, seeds and cereals that provide the protein, carbohydrates, fats and all the vitamins a pigeon needs.
Even though a good pigeon conditioner will provide the full breadth of nutrition, you can still supplement their diet with treats or items known to boost appearance or performance.
Treats might be popcorn, bananas, or even mealworms.
A handful of nuts in their bird feeders is a special treat.
The Benefits of Pigeon Conditioner
Pigeon conditioners are different to a general feed because as well as providing daily nutrition, they are aimed at racing pigeons and formulated to enhance natural cycles of:
- Endurance
- Moulting
- Breeding
The correct feed will help strengthen the immune system.
It will help keep up their energy levels – particularly important for racing pigeons and endurance birds.
A top-quality conditioner will especially help pigeons during the moulting period when their bodies expend a lot of energy replacing their plumage.
Pigeon conditioner will also help the development of healthy squabs during the breeding cycle.
The correct balance of ingredients will also provide the antioxidants and antimicrobial and trace elements that a pigeon needs.
The avid pigeon keeper can either mix their own feed or buy ready mixed conditioners.
This article was written by our qualified veterinarian Cristina.
This is part of our commitment to providing you with the most trustworthy veterinary advice for your pigeons.
Make Your Own Pigeon Conditioner
If you are a hands-on type of person and have specific ideas about what your pigeons should be fed, you can make up your own food mix or conditioner.
One thing you always have to keep in mind is hygiene.
Commercial bird feed comes in sealed bags and the manufacturers are very careful to guard against contaminants infecting their products. If you propose to mix your own, then some precautions should be taken while preparing it.
The best thing to mix your feed is a plastic bin.
Plastic is good because it is easily washable. Before introducing the feed you should clean the bin, even if it is new.
Wash it thoroughly with water and a strong disinfectant.
A bit of bleach will kill almost any type of bacteria. Dry the bin with a clean cloth until there isn’t a drop of moisture left.
Ensure the container has a tight-fitting lid and clean thoroughly between new mixes.
How to Use Pigeon Conditioner for Fishing
Pigeon conditioner can also be used as ground bait for fishing.
For those that don’t fish, ground bait is used to attract fish to where you are fishing.
Thrown into the water in compacted balls, the ground bait disintegrates into the individual ingredients slowly in the water in an expanding circle.
Fishermen have discovered that pigeon conditioner can work just as well as traditional types of ground bait, so many have taken to using that instead.
In general, the preparation is basically the same, but extra ingredients can be added depending on which species of fish you are trying to catch.
Different species are attracted to different types of food.
This is one method a carp fisherman has put on the internet. It doesn’t matter whether the pigeon conditioner is bought ready-mixed or you mix it yourself.
- Soak the conditioner in cold water for 24 hours
- Put it into a pan and heat slowly until it comes to the boil
- Simmer for 30 minutes
This process will release all the glutens and sugars within the various seeds in the mix, which attracts the fish.
In the end, you will have a sticky mass that is easy to mould into balls and launch at the areas that you wish to bait.
The ground bait balls will then slowly disintegrate in the water.
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