Essential vitamins for pigeon health and performance

Vitamins are vital for pigeons. They are important for immunity, metabolism, fertility, reproduction and growth, and the list goes on. The pigeon produces certain vitamins itself, but not all of them. In order to keep your pigeons healthy and in peak performance, you must provide them with an excellent supply of necessary vitamins. How do you do that? By making sure they have the most important ones: vitamins A, B complex, C, D, E, F and K.

Nowadays, almost all vitamins can be manufactured synthetically. And that's a good thing. Because unlike wild pigeons, which can find a wide range of fresh products in nature, many racing pigeons have to make do with a more limited range of food.

In addition, the nutritional value of grain decreases when it has been stored for longer periods of time. Grain mixtures, however varied, therefore do not contain enough vitamins to meet a pigeon's needs. As such, we recommend giving a regular supply of extra vitamins to your racing pigeons.

Food supplements as a source of vitamins for pigeons

Vitamins are necessary for pigeons all year round. However, in certain circumstances, such as under heavy loads, they need it more than usual. Especially during the competition season-but also during the moulting, breeding and growing periods-you should definitely provide them with the vitamin supplements they require. You can use organic products or synthetic multivitamin preparations.

You can also give them both water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins. Give water-soluble vitamins (such as C, F and B complex) to your pigeons regularly because animals cannot store them in their bodies. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) do accumulate in the body. Heavy overdoses can therefore be toxic! That's why it is very important that you use vitamin preparations that have been specially developed for racing pigeons and that you follow the dosage of these products closely.