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LAST UPDATE APRIL 10^th, 2006

THE FRAME

Winning photograph of April 2006

Here is a photo of our Splash Sumatra bantam cock.

Photo by Mrs. Wanda Zwart (NL)

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Do you have a special photo which deserves a place in ‘THE FRAME’? Just send it over by e-mail to redactie@aviculture-europe.nl

With the issue of each new edition, we will choose the most beautiful, the most special or maybe the most bizarre photo, to glitter in this frame for the next two months.

The winner gets a free subscription to Aviculture Europe for the year 2006*.

Photo’s will become at our disposal. The photographer will always be named, if we use your picture in any article.

*Only to be won once per person!

PASEN – EASTER- OSTER- PÂQUES
	Easter takes its name from Ishtar, the Babylonian and Assyrian goddess of love and fertility. The Phoenicians knew her as Astarte. In Europe, the name Astarte became Ostara, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, fertility, and the rising sun. The Old English word for Easter, "Eastre" refers to Ostara. Ostara had a passion for new life; she was a fertility goddess bringing in the end of winter, with the days brighter and growing longer. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of babies, both animal and human. Many of our now-a-days Easter practices originate from these ancient times. The mythological story is as follows:
Feeling guilty about arriving late one spring, the Goddess Ostara  saved the life of a poor bird whose wings had been frozen by the snow. She made him her pet or, as some versions have it, her lover. Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly, Ostara turned him into a snow hare, named him Lepus, and gave him the gift of being able to run with incredible speed so he could protect himself from hunters. In remembrance of his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs in all the colors of the rainbow, but only on one day out of each year!
Eventually Lepus managed to anger the goddess Ostara, and she cast him into the skies where he would remain as the constellation Lepus (The Hare)  forever positioned under the feet of the constellation Orion (The Hunter). He was allowed to return to earth once each year, but only to give away his eggs to the children attending the Ostara festivals that were held each spring.
The egg is nature’s perfect package. It has, during the span of history, represented mystery, magic, medicine, food and omen. In Pagan times the egg represented the rebirth of the earth. The long, hard winter was over; the earth burst forth and was reborn just as the egg miraculously burst forth with life. The egg, therefore, was believed to have special powers. It was buried under the foundations of buildings to ward off evil; pregnant young Roman women carried an egg on their persons to foretell the sex of their unborn children; French brides stepped upon an egg before crossing the threshold of their new homes.
	Eggs still symbolize birth and fertility in many cultures and became the universal symbol of Easter celebrations throughout the world. Dyed and decorated eggs are given as gifts, bringing with them a wish for abundant prosperity during the coming year. In the UK and Europe, the earliest Easter eggs were painted and decorated hen, duck or goose eggs, a practice still carried on in parts of the world today. As time went by, artificial eggs were made for purchase at Easter and in the early 1800's the Germans began making chocolate bunnies and eggs. The first chocolate eggs were solid soon followed by hollow eggs.
Enjoy your Easter Breakfast and don’t hesitate to have an extra egg, for a large egg contains only 75 calories and 5 grams of fat. (not the chocolate ones!) The team of Aviculture Europe wishes you a Happy Easter!
Photo: Dirk de Jong

WHAT IS THAT ?!

On the picture you see a chicken (dwarf Brahma hen) with a 'web foot' on both feet. Some of the toes are joined by a 'web' or flap of skin (as in a duck!) and not separated as they should be. It occasionally occurs in pigeons with feathered feet as well, and it seems to be related to the extra skin growth needed to support the feathering of the foot. It is not common but is hereditary and can crop-up anytime in breeds with foot feathering, even when selected against. (It also occurs in humans!)

Though it does not affect the birds general health, it is quite simply a case of not breeding with the affected bird. The only negative point is that whereas ducks don’t 'scratch', chicken do, although feather legs less than the others, so the 'webbing' could be damaged. If the bird is a special 'Pet' and won’t be bred from, there is no reason why it could not be simply 'divided'; if done early that will be a simple Veterinary procedure.

Photo: P. Stokkermans, The Netherlands

Poultry transport
To transport poultry and waterfowl, one tends to use all kinds of wooden or cardboard boxes. Mostly, the fanciers do have boxes that meet the requirements of ventilation. However, people that come to your house to buy some chickens, hardly ever bring a box with them. The answer to your question: what will you put the chicken in?, is answered with a stupefied face: Oh, I did not think of that….! Cardboard boxes can be a help. If you close the boxes in the normal way, there is no ventilation at all and the birds can die because of the temperature rising in the box, caused by the body heat of the chickens. For the same reason you must never place too many chickens in the box!
Don’t prick little holes in the box; that way of the ventilation will be easily blocked by the chicken’s body. And don’t cut out bigger pieces either, for the chickens will for sure try to worm themselves out.
	A simple and most effective method is to make two incisions at each edge of the box, high, and with 0,75 inch in between. (see instruction drawing above) Now you push the card-board outside in (see photos). In this way the heat can go out and the holes cannot be pushed backwards and closed by the chickens. If you have to transport the chickens over a long distance in the boot of your car, then you had better leave the box open.
Always provide a sufficient layer of litter, to make sure that the chickens have enough ‘grip’ and can sit tight during the ride.
	By: Jan Willem Hondelink Photos: Aviculture Europe

20 YEARS OF THE CAUCHOIS CLUB IN BELGIUM

A LITTLE BIT OF CLUB HISTORY

The official full name of the Cauchois-Club is: Nationale Cauchois-Club van België / Club National du Cauchois de Belgique and it was founded at March 2th in 1986. The foundation meeting was in a little pub where time seems to stand still, called "La tête de pipe" in the Walloon village of Tertre. One of those present at this founding meeting was the late Walter Degouis, in those years the President of the Belgian Union. Degouis had been a Cauchois breeder for years and he and his friend Dr. Karel Goddeeris from Marke, were some of the very few Belgian exhibitioners of Cauchois at that time.

As there were so few Cauchois at the Shows, several young fanciers on the sides of both Belgian borders, in Germany and in France, thought of  searching for more extensive Cauchois-contacts. Previously they happened to meet each other by means of the Breeders Clubs already founded in other Countries and other ‘informal’, and friendly contacts which took place at home and abroad. As a trial, there was an unofficial Cauchois Club Championship Show in 1985 at a 'Mixed Breeds Show’ in Tetre. Everyone was enthusiastically hoping for a solid foundation for the Club. Now, 20 years later, there is still a good solid core of breeders and the Cauchois Club can count on regular supporters. The Club members get a Club news letter with news about the Club and the breed and once a year there is the well produced 'Yearbook', handed out at the Annual General Meeting of the Club.

This meeting is always organised in September at one of the member’s locations. We try to make it a friendly meeting, with enough room, a nice meal and a good glass of wine, beer or whatever, but above all, with the main theme of the Cauchois.

Each year we have a Club Championship, organised at one of the larger Shows. Some 150 to 200 Cauchois can usually be seen at such an event.

Also there is the yearly Cauchois-Europashow, where many club members participate. This year it will be organised in the Black Forest (Germany) or the Elzas (France). Over 800 Cauchois from France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Belgium will compete here for the honour.

Activities in the show season of 2006

9 Sept. 2006	Club day at Tiegem (B)
14 - 15 Oct. 2006	Promotion Show at Menen (B)
4-5 Nov. 2006	European Cauchois Show (Germany or France)
25 - 26 Nov. 2006	Club Championchip at Affligem (B)

Photo: Members of the Cauchoisclub at the Afflichem Show 2004

All members will be glad to inform you about the Club and the breed!

BOARD MEMBERS :

President: Ronny Arryn ronny.arryn@scarlet.be

Secretary: Philippe Van Dyck philippe.van.dyck@tiscali.be

Member: Filip Vierstraete filipvierstraete@telenet.be

Member: Joseph Coune joe.coune@yucom.be

Website : www.cauchois.be English version available.

PIGEONS’ BATH TIME!
	Bathing is very important for the condition of pigeon’s plumage. Without at least a weekly bath and/or access to rain to wash the plumage, the feathering will become dry and brittle. When the pigeons are sitting on eggs, it also helps maintain the correct humidity for hatching, especially in hot weather. The most important aspect of the bath water is: Clean, only leave down long enough for all the pigeons to have a bath, and then throw away.
Drinking foul water is the most effective way of passing-on disease from infected birds to healthy ones! That means excluding wild birds from the bath and drinking water of pigeons. Various products may be used to enhance the usefulness of the water, from simple adding cider vinegar to inhibit bacteria growth so the water can be left down a little longer, to adding proprietary bath salts or 'conditioners' specially made for pigeons. Bathing is best done 'outside' the loft, even if a small 'bathing veranda' is made attached to a window. There is nothing worse than a damp loft for pigeons. Text and photos: Mick Basset, Germany.

SLICK TIP
When the time has come to ring the young cockerels, they don’t have spurs yet. However, it is very important that the leg ring is placed above the spur, because it will cause trouble if it gets stuck between the thicker part of the foot and the spur. That is why you have to check regularly and push up the ring over the spur in due course. Another and very handy solution is: give the cockerels two rings; just give them an extra ring under the ‘new’ one.
See photo right / above: first put on the proper leg ring, then push up another one, this one can be an ‘old’ ring from a former year. It is best to cut it before you put it on. Photos: Dirk de Jong.
In this way, the proper ring will stay high enough on the leg. You probably have some rings, leftovers from former years, so it will not cost you any extra money. Or else you can use an ordinary plastic ring; they come in various colours and are easy to remove. As soon as the spur is developed and the ring will stick above the spur, you can remove the extra ring. If you have cut it before putting on, it will be easily done. In this way you can prevent much pain and infirmity with the cockerel. Don’t forget to remove the ring before you go to an exhibition, for birds with two rings will be disqualified. (In Holland, anyway)
		Photo left: With this cockerel the leg ring is under the spur and this cannot be redressed. As you can see, the ring is already very tight. If the leg fills out some more, it ill certainly cause trouble and the ring will have to be cut off to prevent it growing into the flesh.

Laying Hen Husbandry Towards a happy hen life, proud farmers and a satisfied society
In the Netherlands around 35 million hens produce nearly ten billion eggs a year. How can these hens be kept in a way which makes hens, farmers and citizens happy? A research team from Wageningen University and Research Centre worked on this question for one year. The aim was to design new socially desirable husbandry systems to keep hens for the production of eggs. New husbandry systems are necessary as today’s existing systems are lacking in important aspects.
More and more traditional poultry farmers are switching to alternative systems, such as free range husbandry. However, the high population density still poses a problem for the well-being of the hens, for instance due to the high incidence of feather pecking. Furthermore, the outbreak of the fowl pest (Avian Influenza) has stimulated further discussion on how poultry are kept as there were some indications that the disease was spread by the droppings of wild birds flying over free range poultry areas. For these reasons poultry farmers are not all too keen to convert to outdoor free-range farming. And the chicken, what does the chicken itself find best? From behavioural research with hens we know that they have a requirement for foraging and exploring, but it is not known whether this has to be done outside. A hen might not be unhappy at all if she remains indoors, but she might well be a lot happier if she can go outdoors.
	Looking for common ground At first glance the wishes of the laying hen, the citizen and consumer and the poultry farmer as a businessman, animal keeper and worker seem to be in conflict with each other. But on deeper investigation and when looking in detail at the nature of the wishes, some surprising insights surface. The project team has combined the wishes of hens, poultry farmers and the public into two designs. Why did we come up with two designs? Because there is no such thing as a single ideal husbandry system. In the Netherlands there is a place for very different husbandry systems, which address the wishes of different citizens, different poultry farmers and different types of chickens. Some of these find access to the outdoors necessary while others do not.
Just as is the case with cars, numerous brands and types are present in the market. The designs should be understood as analogous to ‘concept cars’: they outline a pattern and they inspire. One design is more like a lofty Smart cabrio – which combines freedom and protection, the other more like a sturdy ‘Volvo’ with ‘side impact protection system’, for more security. Both designs fulfil the needs of the hen, leading to prevention of feather pecking. The egg does not have to cost that much more: the cost price of eggs produced in these designs would be around 20 % more than that of of eggs produced in barn systems or enhanced battery cages.
View the short movie of the project (8 minutes, 17 MB) http://www.houdenvanhennen.nl/HvH_320_240_dsl_middel_EN.mov and learn more about the designs and their background in the brochure (pdf) Downloads-Brochure http://www.houdenvanhennen.nl/Brochure-Laying-Hen-Husbandry-2004-EN-LR.pdf
Auf Deutsch (Movie, 8 Min. 17 MB) http://www.houdenvanhennen.nl/HvH_320_240_dsl_middel_DE.mov Downloads-Broschure http://www.houdenvanhennen.nl/Broschure-Das-Halten-von-Hennen-2004-DE-LR.pdf

SEEN IN BRUGES, AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION ‘NEERHOFDIERENFESTIVAL’ On a big show you always are short of eyes, but here, in Bruges, that certainly was the case! Each year this show has a specific ‘theme’ and in December 2002 this theme was: All farm yard animals together in Noah’s Ark’. The children of the Bruges schools were invited to make mural decorations, with which the Hall was transformed into a real museum. Not a single piece of the walls was without decoration! I don’t know if there was a competition combined, but personally I liked this one very much! You must imagine the size we are talking about; this piece of art was exactly 4,5 meters (almost 15 feet) high! This for sure was a very original and colourful way to decorate a cheerless hall! Eight European countries showed their most typical and outstanding breeds at this international show. As a world premiere an exclusive series of paintings from René Delin, the famous Belgian painter, master of farm yard animal portraits, could be admired here. In co-operation with Juul Lauwers, art collector, a look-alike Delin studio was built with the atmosphere of the year 1900, where many other pieces of art from Delin could be seen by means of a slide show.

K.C. DE PRACHTDUIF - TURNHOUT

From now on the website of K.C. De Prachtduif is to be found at www.prachtduif.be Since 1922, the Royal Club ‘De Prachtduif’ at Turnhout, Belgium is an active Club for Fancy pigeons breeders. At the Club’s website you can find a summary of the yearly activities and information about the Young Animal Day and the Exhibitions. Moreover there are many pages about pigeon breeds, their description, complete with beautiful photos and drawings. Please have a look at their instructive website!

Do you prefer to read the articles in your own language? Maybe you can help us to publish Aviculture Europe in more different languages. Look at our website (button left-editors) to meet your colleagues and

come and join our team of translators!

We are always looking for:

Enthusiastic pigeon-, poultry- and waterfowl lovers, who want to become a member of our team as translator:

* Dutch to English, French, Spanish, German

or

* English to French, Spanish or German.

You do not have to translate the whole edition, may be just the pigeon-part or the poultry-part or a single article only. Any help will be welcome, preferably on a regular basis of course. Many hands make light work.

Please contact Nico van Benten uitgever@aviculture-europe.nl