Racing Pigeon Food To Boost Energy
If you own racing pigeons, you may be looking for ideas on what diet to feed them to boost their energy and increase their chances of winning races. This is a concern among many other racing pigeon owners who are always looking for the best foods to maintain the health, energy levels, and endurance of their birds.
The best racing pigeon food to boost energy is foods with high levels of carbohydrates such as peas, corn, etc. Such foods act as a rich source of energy and giving them to the birds before a race will help boost their energy levels.
Give your pigeons a high-quality mix containing a variety of grains, seeds, and legumes to provide them with a mix of carbohydrates and fats for improved energy levels.
This guide will discuss in full detail the best foods to give your racing pigeons to help boost their energy and boost their performance. You’ll discover top racing pigeon feeding secrets, including the specific types of foods to consider, their nutritional value, mix recipes to consider, and other helpful tips for boosting your birds’ energy levels.
Racing Pigeon Food to Boost Energy:
Here are the foods to feed your racing pigeons to help boost their performance:
Peas
Peas are one of the best types of food for racing pigeons. This type of grain has just the right nutrition profile to help your racing pigeon’s chances of winning.
It contains 60-70% carbohydrates, 20-20% protein, and 1-2% fat. The grain’s high carbohydrate and fiber content not only boosts the bird’s energy levels but also aids in digestion.
The high protein content promotes muscle growth and repair, thus boosting endurance in these birds—making it a good type of food for long-distance racing pigeons.
Corn
Corn is another best racing pigeon food to boost energy. It features high levels of carbohydrates (70-75%), which makes it ideal for boosting your bird’s energy.
Besides, it also contains 9-11% proteins and 4-5% fat. Note that the high carbohydrate content makes corn a good diet for pigeons participating in spring races.
The moderate amounts of proteins in corn are also helpful in muscle development and energy production.
Hemp seeds
The nutritional profile for hemp seeds includes 25-30% carbohydrates, 25-30% protein, and 25-35% fat.
These seeds are also rich in essential fatty acids, so they can help boost energy and promote healthy feathers and skin in your birds.
Thanks to their moderate protein levels, these seeds will also promote muscle growth/repair and boost endurance in your racers.
Barley
Barley is a high-fiber grain with 65-75% carbohydrates, making it an easily digestible type of food for racing pigeons that helps boost their energy levels.
This is especially helpful for providing sustained energy for long distance races.
It also contains moderate amounts of proteins (8-11%) and fat (2-3%), further making it ideal for feeding your racers during training and when racing.
Peanuts
Peanuts are also considered a high-energy pigeon feed. They’re a rich source of healthy fats (up to 47%) and proteins (30%) and will help provide a quick boost of energy for your racing pigeons.
However, you should give them to your pigeons in moderation due to their high-fat content.
We advise you to consider feeding your pigeons raw peanuts due to their small sizes and uniform shape.
The roasted ones are also okay but they may be a bit hard to eat for your birds due to their odd shapes and sizes.
Feed the peanuts as a whole, with their skins on, to ensure your racers get the most value from them.
Safflower seeds
Safflower seeds contain 35-40% fat making them another good source of energy for racing pigeons.
Moreover, they contain moderate amounts of carbohydrates (25-30%), protein (16-18%), and fiber.
Adding these seeds to your pigeon’s diet will help enhance their energy levels and endurance. This is especially true when participating in long-distance racing.
How to Feed your Racing Pigeons
When it comes to racing pigeons, it’s usually not what you feed them that matters more but also how you feed it to them.
That said, we advise you to avoid giving your racing pigeon too much of some of the above foods such as peanuts or hemp seeds as they can lead to high fat content.
Also, you should consider giving them a balanced diet made up of various grains and seeds.
Commonly used options for a recipe mix include peas, corn, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, safflower seeds, and millet.
Regarding the quantity, the general rule of thumb is to feed your birds 25-30 grams of grains and seeds per bird per day.
However, the exact amount of food you feed your racers will depend on several factors such as the size, level of activity, and specific nutrition needs of your bird.
You should also not feed your racing pigeons on seeds and grains alone. Instead, you should ensure a varied diet for proper nutrition.
Pigeons require additional sources of proteins, minerals, and vitamins, which they will obtain from other foods such as fresh fruits, veggies, supplements, etc.
Racing Pigeon Feed mix for Long-distance Races
For long-distance races, you’d want to provide your racing pigeons with a feed mix that helps sustain their energy and endurance throughout the race.
Here’s a quality seeds and grains mix to consider for your birds:
- Whole corn (50% to 60%): high in carbohydrates, corn is a good source of energy and should make up the bulk of the mix.
- Peas (10% to 15%): Peas are rich in proteins and will help ensure muscle strength during flight.
- Wheat/barley (10% to 15%): They contain high carbohydrate content for sustained energy throughout the race.
- Safflower Seeds (5% to 10%): High in fats and will help provide the extra energy required for endurance in the race.
Besides safflower seeds, you may also consider adding sunflower seeds (2% to 3%) and flaxseeds (1% to 2%) to act as fat supplements.
Feeding Racing Pigeons for Short-distance Racing
For short-distance racing, the best food to feed your racing pigeons is a mixture of high-energy seeds and grains as outlined in the example below:
- Corn (60%): It should make up the bulk of the mixture since it is the primary source of energy for your birds
- Wheat/barley (10%)
- Safflower seeds (10%)
- Maple peas (10%)
- Sunflower Seeds (5%)
- Flaxseed (3%)
Besides, you should consider protein supplements and mineral and vitamin supplements to ensure a balanced diet.
Conclusion
The secret to boosting your pigeon’s energy levels and enhancing its performance is feeding it with high-carbohydrate foods for racing pigeons. These include high-energy grains and seeds such as corn, peas, barley, hemp seeds, safflower seeds, and peanuts. Give your racing pigeon a high-quality mix containing a variety of these seeds, grains, and legumes to ensure they obtain the essential fats and carbohydrates for energy.
Remember, a balanced diet is key to ensuring the overall health and high performance of your racing pigeons. If possible, consult your veterinarian or an experienced pigeon fancier to ensure you provide your birds with the right nutrition to keep them healthy and increase their chances of winning at the racing competition.