In modern racing pigeon sport, keeping the respiratory tract healthy during the season is of the highest priority.
Conventional methods such as antibiotic treatment for one or two days lead to a poor resistance of the available drugs to pathogens that can cause respiratory diseases. Röhnfried has therefore researched in a completely new direction and is now using a completely safe method to keep the pigeons' respiratory tract healthy with the help of new types of probiotic bacteria.
If you take a closer look at the mucous membranes from a microbiological point of view, you can find both pathogenic and non-pathogenic germs, so-called probiotics, through appropriate examinations.
Recent research shows that bacteria exchange information via cell-cell communication ('quorum sensing'). These are very complex processes in which messenger substances ultimately form the corresponding signals. Bacteria signal 'optimal conditions' when there is plenty of space and a good supply of food, which then leads to increased reproduction and cell division. Free space and a good supply of food signal 'good conditions' and encourage reproduction.
Little space and little food, on the other hand, cause the microorganisms to transform into a permanent stage, a so-called sporoid form. This means that bacteria produce signals due to a high population density, i.e. many benign bacteria in a small space, which cause all bacteria to form a permanent form (spore).
This finding was the starting point of our completely new hygiene approach: This does not involve disinfection, but rather so-called microbiological management is carried out on the mucous membrane through the continuous colonization with probiotic bacteria. Benign bacteria clean the surfaces, so to speak, by preventing the unwanted germs from multiplying due to the signals and thus being displaced by the probiotic bacteria.
The new generation of probiotic microorganisms use this completely new hygiene approach by colonizing the mucous membranes and thus creating competition for food and space against the pathogenic germs. This 'microbiological cleaning' of the mucous membranes creates a healthy and stable microflora. The formation of this probiotic microflora on the pigeons' mucous membranes provides protection against infections before and after the race, especially when transporting the pigeons in the cabin transporter.
