Armavir birds immediately attract attention with their unusual, unique appearance. This breed is special and not many pigeon breeders are engaged in its maintenance. But the armavirs are not too demanding and not capricious - which is a great advantage when breeding.
Origin
Before you plunge into the history of the origin of Armavir pigeons, you need to learn about their "nomadic" way of life. The dove was domesticated centuries ago. During the resettlement, people took not only their entire scrub, but also animals with them, including pigeons. Thus, in the 18th century, the Kuban, along with immigrants from the cities of Tashkent, Samarkand and others, got a hitherto unknown breed of pigeons. The birds had a rather short beak, and their legs were covered with a small number of feathers.
Then began a lengthy selection. Breeders bred a breed with ideal characteristics for as long as 150 years, and, in the end, got pigeons with long plumage on their paws.
The breed was named after the city, where it was, in fact, bred.
During the Great Patriotic War, the number of birds dramatically decreased and was on the verge of extinction, but, thanks to the experience and tireless work of specialists, the breed was preserved. But even today the Armavir breed of pigeons cannot boast of a large number, mainly pigeon breeders of the North Caucasus region breed them.
Varieties
The breed is represented by two species:
- a white-headed cosmachist, distinguished by a unique pattern created by white and color plumage;
- short-billed kosmach, which is usually monochrome.
Representatives of these two species belong to the fighting breeds.
Who are lively pigeons? These are birds that, during the flight, emit specific clicks or pops, that is, “battle”, with wings.
Each variety has its own special features, but it is not difficult to distinguish them among the diverse "crowd" of thoroughbred pigeons. It is not for nothing that the birds were called "cosmos". The legs of the birds are covered with long plumage - “shaggy”, which with such characteristics as a proud tread, graceful posture and a special flying style makes it recognizable from thousands of birds.
Griffon Cosmachus
In the Caucasus it is called "bald", regardless of whether the head is decorated with a forelock or not. The dove's head is elongated, flat in the crown of the head. It can be decorated with a forelock, which resembles a shell, it goes from one ear to the other, and then goes into the mane.
All bald birds have black eyes and white (yellowish allowed) eyelids. A graceful, thin beak is painted in a pale pink color, bent down. According to the standard, its length varies from 22 to 25 mm. Voskovitsa is a skin thickening that is located at the base of the supraxial, pinkish in color. The body is massive. The neck is short and slightly bent. The wings are tightly pressed to the body. They are long, their edges reach the end of the tail. The tail feathers have a semicircular shape. Paws are covered with long and straight feathers, there are spurs. The suit can be yellow, red, coffee, black.
There are several disadvantages that are not allowed in this form:
- it is the diversity of pigeons;
- any color of the eyelids, except for standard colors;
- the size of the beak cannot be larger or smaller than the standard;
- marriage is considered if cosmas are completely painted red;
- their size and the size of the spurs should not be less than 6 cm;
- the presence of three or more white feathers in the tail.
Short-billed Kosmach
It differs from the previous view in the structure of the head - it has a more rounded head, and its forehead is wide and steep, can be decorated with a forelock. The bird has wide eyelids (1-2 mm) of white or light yellow color. Eyes can be black or gray. It depends on the color of the plumage.
White individuals have black eyes, all other colors have gray eyes. The short, thick beak is bent down. A bird with a shorter beak is valued more. Smooth wax is white. The chest and back are broad - the first is slightly convex, the second - narrows to the tail. The wings are tightly pressed to the body. They reach the tail, which has up to 12 tail feathers. Feet covered with feathers and resemble a skirt.
The plumage is thick. By color, it can be white, black, amber (light and dark tones), light chocolate, gray and dark chestnut. There are stains on each feather, the colors are darker towards the edges.
A disadvantage is considered if the bird has:
- narrow or oblong head;
- she has different eyes, or they are red or yellow, she is rejected;
- coloring of the eyelids in any color other than white is not allowed in the breed;
- or the shape of the beak in the form of a hairpin - thin, long;
- the length of the feathers on the legs cannot be less than 6 cm;
- individuals with feathers that stick out in all directions on the legs or with gaps are rejected;
- colored birds in cosmas cannot have white feathers of more than four pieces.
Conditions of detention
“Armavirs” belong to elite breeds, therefore they began to be kept in enclosed cages and cages. Such content negatively affected their flying abilities, and it is precisely for the beauty of the flight of these birds that they are appreciated.
It rises to a height of 50-100 meters, where it flies easily and calmly for 45-90 minutes. The pigeon can rise in a vertical column, the height of which is about 10 meters. During the summer, the battle is dry and loud. Birds make flips in the air 2 to 9 times, depending on the training.
In addition, the lack of freedom negatively affects reproduction. And due to their small numbers, this is just a disaster. Therefore, if you decide to breed this unique breed, then you need to provide the birds with comfortable conditions and give the opportunity to make training flights.
Bird house
If the bird is kept in a house or other premises, then they are equipped with smooth perches. The walls are plastered and treated with white. Litter with a thickness of 6 cm or more is laid on the floor. For a pigeon to feel comfortable, he needs personal space. For 1 bird should be 1.5 square meters. m
Pigeons are unpretentious in terms of care and maintenance, but to prevent the development of diseases, the house is monthly disinfected.
Before carrying out this procedure, the room is cleaned from litter, fluff, dirt with a scraper. Then the room is washed with soapy water and treated with a blowtorch. This allows you to get rid of pathogens even in the most inaccessible places.
In warm time, they carry out complete disinfection - a set of measures aimed at thoroughly processing the premises from various insects, germs and viruses.
It includes:
- mechanical cleaning;
- wet cleaning;
- aerosol treatment.
With mechanical cleaning, armed with a scraper, clean walls, floors, drinking bowls, feeders and perches. Further, all objects and rooms are washed with hot water, adding caustic soda to it. After wet cleaning, the dovecote is aired and dried.
The final step is formaldehyde vapor treatment. To do this, for 1 cube meter take 45 g of formalin, 30 g of potassium permanganate and 20 ml of water. All components are mixed in a ceramic container in the house. When mixed, a chemical reaction occurs, as a result of which a gaseous substance is formed. Leaving the container indoors, all windows and doors are tightly closed and can withstand 2 hours. After treatment, the room is well ventilated. Vapors penetrate into all cracks, and do not give a chance to survive any microbe.
To prevent the formation of mold and mildew, the dovecote is regularly ventilated in warm and dry weather.
Feeding
Proper nutrition is the key to poultry health. With an unbalanced diet, they have problems with digestion and vitamin deficiency.
Pigeons are fed 2 times a day - morning and evening. A serving of one individual is 40 g. In summer, 10 g is given in the morning, and the remaining 30 g in the evening. After the birds have eaten, the feeders are cleaned with leftover food.
The summer menu consists of wheat, peas, oats and corn (they take 10% each) and barley, lentils, millet (each 20%).
During molting, the diet leaves the most nutritious and protein-rich grain - millet, oats, barley and peas.
During the rutting season, the menu reduces the proportion of wheat to 5%, increases the amount of peas to 35%, takes oats, corn, millet and lentils 10% each, and barley 20%.
The winter menu consists of barley and oats (40% each), corn and lentils (10% each).
Be sure to install a container with fine gravel in the room, the bird needs it for normal digestion of food.
Vitamins provide pigeons finely chopped fresh leaves of nettle, dandelion, spinach, cabbage. They are given in the summer every day.
Drinking water should be at room temperature. When using tap water, it must first be left standing for 12 hours so that the chlorine evaporates.
Disease and Vaccination
Vaccination is necessary for birds to increase their immunity to diseases and prevent an epidemic from developing. It is carried out in early spring and autumn, that is, when there is a sharp change in weather and fluctuations in ambient temperature. Vaccination is done with a minimum interval of 10 days, that is, one injection, the next can only be done after 10 days.
Often they are vaccinated against salmonellosis and Newcastle disease. If only lazy people did not hear about salmonellosis, then the second disease is little known to most of the population.
Novice pigeon breeders should be aware that Newcastle disease or “twirl” is a viral disease that spreads through the air. More than 2 thousand individuals die from it annually. The virus kills the nervous system of the bird, and affects all internal organs. At the last stage, the bird constantly turns its head, its neck is bent and brain inflammation is diagnosed.
The disease spreads quickly enough among the livestock, and the wind carries the virus over long distances. Prevention has proven itself in the fight against this disease, so it is better to play it safe and get vaccinated in a timely manner.
The treatment of pigeons for Newcastle disease with the La Sota vaccine is described in this article.
Propagation Features
The dove is a faithful bird and picks a mate for life. In this regard, the enclosure must contain the same number of females and males, so that during the mating season, everyone finds a mate.
Females cope perfectly with the role of mother, they hatch and take care of the offspring on their own. Help will be required only for short-billed “Armavirians”. Due to its natural feature - a short beak, it cannot fully feed the chicks. Specialists recommend laying eggs of this variety with other breeds of birds.
So, the Armavir cosmos is a beautiful and unique breed that needs to be regularly flown. Only in this case will she retain the skill of her amazing flight, which so bewitches a person and makes time stop.