No Corn was recommended WHY

[TipplerBeni]

I was talking to some of the guys in the GHC today an they said NO CORN while in breeding WHY?? I know corn is a cause of canker because it scratches the throat but is this why? So they lead me to the ROCK mix from Browns feed.

[Charis]

Corn can't cause canker. Canker is something that most Pigeons have in their system and have an outbreak if they are stressed.
Cracked corn can scratch their throat but not whole corn. I don't know about the breeding thing but that doesn't make any sense to me. If it's true, I'm sure we will be enlightened by one of the other members about... no corn during breeding.

[jameswaller]

well lets see/corn,..i know cracked corn will get caught in the throat and cause choking/death,..i recommend popcorn/it is smaller and round and they like it,with peas,millet,with grit and other wild bird seeds,/..breeding i do-not believe there is a donot feed food list,..hope this helps!!,..sincerely james waller

[feralpigeon]

Haven't heard about cracked corn choking, though I've heard of it scratching
the throat and encouraging the growth of canker. I've heard of a don't feed
list so pigeons don't have babies. Not heard of
anything that was not good to eat during breeding season per se.

fp

[TipplerBeni]

I think Whole corn can still scratch the throat kennels more than always have that little edge on the white side of it. I always heard it scratches the throat an causes canker. There was a time were I could only feed my birds corn an I got the biggest outbreak of canker ...

[feralpigeon]

There are other links on the topic, but here's a representative one:

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache...client=firefox

fp

[Charis]

Originally Posted by TipplerBeni

I think Whole corn can still scratch the throat kennels more than always have that little edge on the white side of it. I always heard it scratches the throat an causes canker. There was a time were I could only feed my birds corn an I got the biggest outbreak of canker ...

No it doesn't cause canker. Canker is a single cell parasite.
Cracked corn is the one that can scratch the throat rather than the whole pop corn that is in most Pigeon mixes.

[feralpigeon]

Originally Posted by TipplerBeni

I think Whole corn can still scratch the throat kennels more than always have that little edge on the white side of it. I always heard it scratches the throat an causes canker. There was a time were I could only feed my birds corn an I got the biggest outbreak of canker ...

Some of the biggest breeders around here give their birds 15 1/2% which has
popcorn in it. Perhaps the corn that you were giviing the birds was those really
big kernels which isn't really recommended from what I've heard. Medium to small corn kernels, imo, wouldn't bring on canker for a pigeon.

BTW, do you treat your birds for canker a few times a year especially before
breeding season?

fp

[LokotaLoft]

i have to say that I have never heard of a case where corn actually was giving a birds canker , I feed my birds whole corn all the time and have yet to have a problem so dont know exactly how a piece of cracked corn would cause a problem when its even smaller then a whole peice of corn , that mixed with the fact that grit and oyster shell is much sharper then corn and that doesnt seem to cause the birds any problem so Im not sure where this information comes from now molds on cracked corn I think that would tend to be more a problem then the fact that its cracked alone ..

[feralpigeon]

Some Trichomonas/Canker links for you:

http://www.albertaclassic.net/tricho...richomonas.php

http://www.albertaclassic.net/Guadalajara/index.php

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM032

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7...7288--,00.html

fp

[feralpigeon]

Originally Posted by LokotaLoft

i have to say that I have never heard of a case where corn actually was giving a birds canker , I feed my birds whole corn all the time and have yet to have a problem so dont know exactly how a piece of cracked corn would cause a problem when its even smaller then a whole peice of corn , that mixed with the fact that grit and oyster shell is much sharper then corn and that doesnt seem to cause the birds any problem so Im not sure where this information comes from now molds on cracked corn I think that would tend to be more a problem then the fact that its cracked alone ..

That's a good point, LL...I've definitely read not to give cracked corn because
it can cause outbreaks of Canker, i.e., by scratching the throat, a localized
protozoa can get into the blood stream and be like 'Charlie on the MTA' going
where ever in the body and setting up shop elsewhere in regions otherwise
not available without the aid of entering the bloodstream.

That said, yes, some of the grit is big and.......sharp, so why not withold that as well. And for that matter, make these bad birds leave all their sharp
implements at the door when they show up....that's what I say

fp

[LokotaLoft]

not sure what your trying to say by your links ? but I used to feed my birds cracked corn for years and have yet to have an out break of canker by doing so .. I do treat my birds for it maybe twice a year but if cracked corn was a sole cause I would think I would have lost more pigeons to it as a whole which I have yet to have happen ??

[feralpigeon]

Originally Posted by LokotaLoft

not sure what your trying to say by your links ?

Info on demand about the organism....cracked corn or other sharp objects don't
cause a Canker outbreak per se. The organism is already present. But they
are good links and Chalmers makes a case regarding stress and the onset of
diseases especially ones that are otherwise dormant.

fp

[LokotaLoft]

kk information is always a good thing so I say you can never get enuf of it ,was just asking cuz its late and didnt want to read thru all the links right now to see if you were saying corn led to canker outbreaks lol will read more of them tomorrow for sure thou thanks

[SmithFamilyLoft]

Originally Posted by TipplerBeni

I was talking to some of the guys in the GHC today an they said NO CORN while in breeding WHY?? I know corn is a cause of canker because it scratches the throat but is this why? So they lead me to the ROCK mix from Browns feed.

I guess if you live long enough, you will hear ideas on just about everything. The idea of NOT feeding corn to breeders is a new one to me. I guess all these years I have been doing it wrong ?

When it gets very cold around these parts, I even give them a little extra corn....was something told to me, by my orginal mentor who had pigeons for 75 years. In fact when it is cold, like below freezing, the birds seem to gobble the corn down first, maybe they know something I don't ? If there is a feed to avoid while the parents are feeding babies, I would think it would be barley.