An approach for fast recuperation of racing pigeons

So, following these discussions with Ulrich we did a test in the racing season 2023 at the test loft of Pigeon Vitality located north in Jutland. The loft is raced under the name “Team Krogen” for the adult pigeons and the name of “Brakstad” for the young birds.

The test included the administration and dosages and use of cherry juice and free amino acids to see how this effect the racing performance of the pigeons.

About cherry juice and benefits for sport performance

Drinking cherry juice has been identified as beneficial for sports performance, offering several advantages for athletes. The consumption of cherry juice can improve endurance, reduce inflammation and muscle damage, accelerate recovery, and even enhance sleep and rest quality.

Improved Endurance and Stamina:

Tart cherry juice can increase endurance by optimizing the body’s use of oxygen, thanks to its high antioxidant content. This results in prolonged exercise capacity and improved peak oxygen uptake during activities such as cycling​​​​.

Reduced Inflammation and Muscle Pain:

The anti-inflammatory properties of cherries can significantly reduce muscle soreness and accelerate recovery post-exercise. This effect is comparable to the action of NSAIDs but without the adverse side effects, making it a safer alternative for managing muscle pain​​​​.

Enhanced Sleep Quality: cherry juice contains melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep cycles, which can help improve the duration and quality of sleep. Better sleep contributes to faster recovery, sharper mental processing, and higher motivation for training​​​​.

Boosted Immune System:

Regular consumption of cherry juice can also strengthen the immune system, reducing the risk of upper respiratory tract symptoms. This is particularly beneficial for athletes undergoing intense training regimes, as it keeps them healthy and ready to perform​​​​.

Support for Brain Health and Function:

In addition to physical benefits, cherry juice supports brain health by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation in brain cells. This contributes to improved cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention, and problem-solving, which are crucial for athletes both during training and competition​​.

General usage Recommendations:

For athletes looking to integrate cherry juice into their regimen, it’s recommended to consume 8 ounces of the juice twice a day, in the morning and before bed. Starting this routine 4 to 5 days prior to an event and continuing for 2 to 3 days afterwards can promote recovery. Furthermore, consuming cherry juice concentrate for about seven days to 1.5 hours before endurance exercises such as cycling, swimming, or running has been shown to significantly improve performance.

These findings are supported by a meta-analysis that extracted results from previously published studies, highlighting cherry juice’s ability to improve endurance exercise performance. Therefore, incorporating cherry juice into the dietary regimen of endurance athletes, like Tour de France cyclists, could offer a natural, effective way to enhance performance and recovery.

So what about cherry used for pigeon racing?

All the above mentioned benefits may indicate that cherry juice may be beneficial for racing pigeons, drawing on the parallels from its known effects in human athletes. Given that cherry juice has been found to enhance recovery, reduce muscle soreness, improve sleep quality, and reduce inflammation in humans, it’s plausible that some of these benefits could translate to avian athletes like racing pigeons.

Enhanced Recovery: For racing pigeons, the recovery process between races is crucial. The anti-inflammatory properties of cherry juice could potentially help in reducing the muscle inflammation pigeons might experience after a race, similar to human athletes.

Reduced Muscle Soreness: If cherry juice’s effect on reducing muscle soreness in humans can be mirrored in pigeons, it might help them recover faster from the physical exertion of racing, thereby preparing them for their next race more efficiently.

Improved Sleep Quality: Although it’s more challenging to quantify the sleep quality of pigeons, the melatonin in cherry juice that benefits humans could also positively affect pigeons’ rest and recovery periods – althoiugh this is also a matter that has to be tested further for pigeons in field tests.

Immune System Boost: The antioxidants found in cherry juice that support the human immune system might also provide benefits to pigeons, potentially keeping them healthier and more resilient against infections.

However, it’s important to approach this idea with caution:

NOTE: There is a significant gap in direct research regarding the effects of cherry juice on birds, including racing pigeons. What works for humans does not always translate directly to animals due to differences in physiology, metabolism, and dietary needs.

Proper Dosage and Administration: If deemed potentially beneficial, finding the correct dosage and administration method would be essential to avoid any adverse effects. The concentration of cherry juice suitable for humans may not be appropriate for pigeons, necessitating adjustments based on their body weight and metabolism.

In summary, while the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of cherry juice could offer theoretical benefits to racing pigeons, there’s a need for more targeted research in this area – at least we need to do real field tests on all racing distances.

So we did – and yes – cherry juice for racing pigeons seems very promising. We decided to use concentrate powder of cherry, which we can add both in drinking water and on the grain. The great results from the field test are described below below.  But first let us have a look on the potential benefits for the recuperation of pigeons following the use of free amino acids.

About free amino acids

Supplementing racing or homing pigeons with free amino acids after races, compared to protein powders, offers several benefits that can enhance their recovery and overall performance. Here’s a breakdown of these benefits and what to expect (if proven in practise):

Faster Absorption and Utilization:

Free amino acids do not require digestion and are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, providing an immediate source of building blocks for muscle repair and growth. In contrast, protein powders need to be digested first into polypeptides and after that to amino acids before they can be used by the body, which takes time and energy.

Reduced Digestive Burden:

After a race, a pigeon’s body is in a state of stress, and its digestive system might not function optimally. Since free amino acids require minimal digestion, they reduce the workload on the pigeon’s digestive system, allowing more energy to be allocated to recovery and muscle regeneration.

Specific Amino Acid Targeting: Free amino acid supplements allow for the customization of amino acid profiles according to the specific needs of pigeons post-race. This means essential amino acids that are critical for recovery can be provided in optimal amounts. Protein powders, while rich in amino acids, have fixed ratios that may not match the exact needs of the pigeons after racing.

Enhanced Muscle Recovery: The direct availability of essential amino acids supports faster and more efficient muscle recovery. This is crucial for repairing muscle damage caused by intense physical exertion during races.

Improved Performance Over Time: With faster recovery times and the ability to quickly rebuild and strengthen muscles, pigeons may experience improved performance over subsequent races. The targeted amino acid supplementation can help in better preparation for future exertions.

Support for Feather Health: Certain amino acids play a critical role in the health and regeneration of feathers, which is important for the aerodynamics and overall condition of racing pigeons. Free amino acid supplements can ensure these specific amino acids are readily available for feather synthesis and repair.

Reduced Ammonia Production: When protein powders are digested and metabolized, more ammonia is produced as a by-product, which can be toxic and requires energy to excrete. Free amino acids, being directly absorbed, can lead to less ammonia production, thus reducing the potential for toxicity and energy expenditure on detoxification.

It’s important to note that while free amino acids offer these benefits, a balanced approach to pigeon nutrition should still be maintained. Protein powders and other sources of complex proteins still play a crucial role in a pigeon’s diet, providing long-term energy and supporting overall health. But our attempt have been to add free amino acids at the return from races to achieve the above benefits for fast recuperation. In parallel we recommend to follow the recommendations from the grain companies for the racing team – balanced and effective nutrition plan from the balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats through the week.

Field test of the Cherry juice and Free Amino Acids for racing pigeons

As we always test our new products – after all theoretical considerations are well passed and concluded – at our field test lofts north in Jutland (Team Krogen & Brakstad), so we did with the combination of free amino acids and cherry juice as well.

And WOW – what an experience. We had the best season ever on all distances with all together 18 district winners (district north-east of Jutland – section 053). 5 district winners on Sprint (150-250 km), 7 district winners on Middle Distances (250 – 550 km), 2 district winners on Long distances (550 – 750 km) and 4 district winner (of 5 races) for the young birds.  But what impressed us most was that these district winners very often came along with other pigeons from our lofts («Brakstad» for the Young birds and «Team Krogen» for the adults), as shown in the Tables below:

Some of the nominations for ace pigeons in the district (section) 053:

Comment: Team Krogen races cocks on sprint and middle distance and hens on long distance and marathon

Our Young bird racing team «Brakstad» won 4 of 5 races and the 5 weeks YB Championship in the region (Section 053).

Our Adult Racing Team won the following Championships 2023:

• 2 in Denmark on Middle Distance Open
• 1 Middle distance Open Section 053 (5 clubs)
• 1 Long distance Open Section 053
• 1 Sprint distance Sport Section 053
• 1 Yearling Championship Section 053
• 1 Section Open Section 053
• 1 Section Nominated Section 053
• 1 Overall/General (all distances) Open Section 053
• 1 Overall/General (all distances) Nominated Section 053
• 1 King Christian the Xth Trophy Region North-Jutland / group 5 & 6
• 1 Long medium distance Trophy Denmark region North
• 2 Long Distance Trophy Denmark North (Brinco)

SUMMING UP

The above theoretical considerations and the field test in the racing season 2023 convinced us that these two new products are significat useful for the fast recuperation and the performance of the racing pigeons throughout the racing season. We have therefor decided to bring them to the market as products for fast recuperation with their names being RECUP Free-Amino-Acids 300 gr and RECUP Oxy+ 300 gr (the cherry juice powder).

Dosage and administration of  the RECUP products

RECUP Oxy+

After some experiments we ended up with giving the RECUP Oxy+ in the water at return from the races – 1 dinner spoon  per liter water at return from races. Although we may also have given it on the feed, we wanted the pigeons to drink it immeditely after return. So we blended it with Belgamax (electrolytes), Rebuild (Branched Amino Acids) and Amino B Complex (B-vitamines and selected amino acids).

For demanding middle distance races, the long distance and the marathon races,  we also gave it to the pigeons on the grain in the afternoon – 1 dinner spoon per kilo grain (gain was moistured with Omega-3) together with RECUP Free-Amino-Acids and ProGut (prebiotices).

In this spring – before the 2024 racing season – we will also give RECUP Oxy+ every day to the pigeons in two weeks as a condition powder to stimulate the muscles and preprare them for the coming training and racing periods.

RECUP Free-Amino-Acids

Also after some experimentation we ended up with adding the RECUP Free-Amno-Acids to the grain in the afternoon together with ProGut (prebiotics). For demanding middle distance racing,  the long distance races and marathon races we also added the RECUP Oxy+ and ProGut to the grain, as described above.

These two new innovative products for faster recuperation of the racing pigeons will be launced  end of March 2024, and can be ordered from you domestic Pigeon Vitality reseller or from our web shop.

Wish you all the best with the coming season!

Kind regards,

for the Pigeon Vitality Team, Frode

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Dr. Frode Brakstad
Owner/CEO/Nutrient Advisor
Pigeon Vitality Denmark ApS
c/o JP Regnskab og Rådgivning ApS, 
Kontor B13, Østre Alle 102
9000 Aalborg
Denmark
CVR 37472522
P-No. 1021180331
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Office:    +4790034259
mail@pigeonvitality.com
www.pigeonvitality.com
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