Part
1 //
(Note:
This material was published originally in the 1992
year book of the Canadian Racing Pigeon Union, and
has undergone several modifications and additions
since that time.)
Fat is the major fuel needed by racing pigeons during
the racing season, and indeed, by any species of wild
bird that flies extended distances, as in Spring and
Fall migrations. It has been noted that the capability
of birds for storing triglycerides as an energy reserve,
exceeds that of other classes of vertebrates (Blem,
1976). The fatty acids of these triglycerides are
predominantly of the 16 and 18-carbon variety, and
generally, are more unsaturated than those of mammals.
The
facts about fat as the key fuel for racing were established
many years ago, and considerable work on this subject
was undertaken in Canada by Dr. John George, his colleagues
and graduate students at the University of Guelph,
Guelph, Ontario. More recently, it seems that some
very exciting work by Professor Rothe, who used pigeons
in wind tunnels at Saarbrucken, Germany, reaffirmed
the fact that, truly, fat is the main fuel involved
in the production of energy for racing. Logically
then, providing diets containing increased amounts
of fat, could be very helpful in providing the highly
important fuel reserves needed for racing, right?
Well, possibly......
Perusal
of available literature on the metabolism of protein,
carbohydrate and fat in birds in general revealed
some interesting information that could be very useful
in preparing pigeons for racing. Here are some of
the facts taken from pertinent scientific literature
on birds.
Firstly,
in birds, it is known that less than 4% of depot fat,
that is, fat found in the body cavity, under the skin,
etc., is actually produced in these locations. Where
then, is the great majority of fat actually synthesized?
Well, not surprisingly, in pigeons the liver is the
major organ in which the vast amount of fat is produced.
In
fact, in birds, about 47% of the fat produced for
use in the body is produced in the liver, 44% in the
carcass, 7% in the skin, and 2% in the intestines.
It is known that when the relative weights of tissues
are taken into account, the liver of birds is 20 times
as active per unit of weight in the production of
fat as is the carcass.
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Part
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Gordon
A Chalmers, DVM
