After attending the Temple park show, I noticed all the stalls selling tonic to do this, tonic to do that, and not cheap either, promising this, that and everything else, I had a word with a few lads asking the question,

Can you win these days in pigeon racing with good birds, hard work, corn and water?

Do you really need all these additives to have success these days? if so no wonder our sport is suffering with no new starters due to rising cost. My theory for what its worth, I would imagine very few of these work, I think hard work and good birds is the key, I know you need basic stuff, canker, wormers etc, I may be wrong, can anyone say theyve seen results off these expensive tonics?

Boddy and ridewoods catalogue has 25 pages of these tonics and medicines

my show racers dont get any tonics at all, good quality corn/seed, weekly bath, and once a week sprinkle off garlic in water on sunday ,
homoform mixed with canary seed,
thats all i use.

the best advice I would ever give a novice and would stick my neck out on is this, find a system for the season keep to it whatever,and make it simple, add nothing to the water except on race day electrolights or honey.
I do give natural products on the corn, like garlic oil, and lemon juice, but thats it and my birds never looked better, You cannot buy sucess in a bottle and that is gospel, if you think you can you will be waiting a long time, I would go so far as to say there is nothing on the market that will put a yard on the birds unless you talk illegal drugs.
Good pigeons first, good management second, sound food and knowlage thurd, and finally work them hard and dont be afraid to loose them if they cant stick the heat they are no good, just look at the one loft races like Europa, and see how often they put the birds up and you will see they go nearly every day, and they ended up with 700 pigeons left this year.
In my opinion save your money for better pigeons and you will not go far wrong.

what a load of rubbish if vyou want to compete treat your birds medeicate as necessary you wont compete with just naturaln products , and no they are not illegal drugs

i think i agree with both things which have been said, firstly i do think its better to treat as a preventative before breeding/racing etc, but i also think that all these tonics are just a con, not needed, and definately do not make winners out of avaerage birds...........as good fanciers have said, winners do not come from a bottle, all these tonics are designed for is to releive the struggling fancier of their money..........

this is shown by something i once read, all these tonics and potions are produced and well marketed in the hundreds, but basic grit is never hardly advertised.......why ? because there is very little profit in it thats why.

well im new to all this but i will give mine garlic and cider vinegar wen neccesary gud quality corn and only use medicines wen my birds are poorly

all i give apart from fresh water is honey and cider vinegar three times a week, 5ml per litre...........

my birds get johnsons pigeon tonic one day a week.at £6.50 a 500ml bottle it lasts for months so thats not too much to pay.grit an minerals are the 2 top things i use on addition to food and water.there is always a little food left in the trough as well at each feeding.i dont flock treat for canker only worms and cocci.this gets done mid january.everything else i use is natural like orego stim and garlic.im not a fan of aviform ultimate and at £32.00 a litre its pricey.i pmed a guy on another site he says he treats his birds with antibiotics every 3 months thats scary.

ive used the johnsons tonic but have found when its been in the water a while it all settles to the bottom of the drinker leaving what seems to be clear water in the rest of the drinker...........

I think you have not understood Ian what I have said, I have not mentioned anything about treatments for disease or Illness, of course we all treat for the basics, I was simply answering about additives that all these brands promise almost special powers for your pigeons If you use them, I think you are a bit of a grump, I can see what Don is on about sometimes with you.....

I agree with your comments about natural products

I also agree with you David

I am not the only one then

Don Web for presedent..