WHEAT GRASS

Translated by Clarence Oostrveld. Ontario Canada. From the original article in Dutch.

It is freely translated because for some statements, or expressions, there are no proper expressions for in English.

During the racing season of 1983 I raced mainly on different types of sprouts, in addition to my regular racing  mixes, which I have thoroughly explained in my booklet : “ Duiven houden, ja natuurlijk” . The pigeons reached a fantastic condition in no time and ultimate form very soon afterwards. Yet I noticed that after five weeks or so they developed canker, light respiratory problems ( ornithosis) and coccidiosis. Regardless of the use of sprouts I could not avoid these diseases.

 Adriaan de Bruin seemed to have the same problems. His widowhood cocks also developed canker problems after a few times on the trailer. There seemed to be something lacking in our feeding methods. Both of us were convinced that sprouts improved the health of the birds considerably but that it did not protect the birds from diseases.

 We all know that pigeons are in constant contact with germs ( or diseases) when being transported. Every week on the trailer affects their reserves and reduces their resistance to diseases. Sometimes they have a bad race and do not make it home for several days. These are all factors that affect the health of our racing pigeons. It is also logical that it does not affect the specialists who only race the long distance races. ( fond )

 These fond specialists do not ship their birds as often. Their pigeons are prepared for the long distance races only. Their natural resistance is not as often exposed to outside influences. Besides that, the pigeons on the trailer are not as much exposed to unhealthy birds on the trailer as pigeons who race the young bird races or the early old bird races.

 How do we deal with these problems of cross-contamination?

 We really don’t want to use antibiotics. We are, and remain, interested in a natural method of protecting our racing pigeons. When using antibiotics they will help for some time but eventually they loose their effectiveness. The pigeons develop resistance to antibiotics. The medications usually have side effects. ( omitted last part  since that only affects Dutch fanciers)

 During that racing season we did not find a solution for our problem. We followed the regular medication regime with positive results. This year we could read that many strains have become resistant and to have some effect we have to use several cocktails of  different medications to combat these resistant strains.

 At the same time I continued to search for a natural method to cleanse, or even cure,  my pigeons. We want to be able to cleanse their system as quick as possible so our pigeons are able to participate in the next race in a super condition.

 During the winter of 1983/84 I discovered a product that appears to meet all above-named criteria. Wheat grass appears to have enormous qualities. Wheat grass contains an enormous quantity of chlorophyll, which works as as a blood detoxifier and cleansing agent.

 In his booklet A. Wigman writes the following about wheat grass:

"Nature uses it to cleanse and rejuvenate the body and also to neutralize toxins.  We therefore think the characteristics or the wheat grass cause to bring the blood in the body in balance."

 But does this wheat grass chlorophyll really work as a detoxifier? I’ll give you a striking example to show you, according to me, that this is indeed so.

 In 1984 I decided to raise winter babies. I intended to race double widowhood with my young cocks and hens for the first six races of the season. A round of winter babies would be most suitable for that purpose. In order to accomplish that we did the following.

 We separated the birds early; beginning of December we participated in the show and directly after that we mated the birds. The mating went very well because within 12 days all pairs were on eggs. Shortly after that everything seemed to be going wrong. When the pigeons were brooding apr. 4 days my best racing hen started to produce soft stools which became worse as time went on. She also became very thin. Soon one of my favorite young hens also became ill. Her symptoms were limping and soft droppings. I became suspicious and eventually sent a stool sample to the lab to analyze for a possible paratyphoid infection.

 My suspicions were correct. They had paratyphoid. I had never experienced paratyphoid but was very afraid of it. Within three days the eggs were supposed to hatch. The veterinarian subscribed Buforin, a fairly heavy broad spectrum antibiotic, which, as I was informed by a retired ( non-practicing) veterinarian, would most likely cost me all my young birds.

 What is wisdom??

 I decided to cull all affected pigeons and their young ones. At this time there were approximately ten. The eggs had already been transferred to the racers. Whether this would be the solution was questionable because the paratyphoid is also in the eggs. But what do you do? I decided to treat the breeders and give the racers wheat grass juice. Beside the young birds that I had already culled I had to cull three more youngsters with paratyphoid, but no older birds. Despite the treatment of the breeders  two excellent breeder hens became ill and eventually I had to cull them also.

 Perhaps they would have been fine but I did not want to take the chance that one of the remaining pigeons became a carrier.

 From that moment on I was convinced of the value of wheat grass juice. I was not the only one. Adriaan de Bruin,  who had heard about my problems,  came to visit me and found the pigeons in an excellent condition. Theo Zwanenburg could not believe his eyes either when he visited me during this period. For the past three years he had tried to control a paratyphoid infection but without much success. After using the wheat grass juice he was finally clear of paratyphoid.

 At Theo Zwanenburg the young pigeons did not flourish. By the time they were ten days old they were continuously squeaking and their legs were stretched out. It was hopeless. Several veterinarians had examined the stools but no paratyphoid had been found. Several years later we found out what it was. We suspected it had been paramixo- virus. Compulsory vaccination for paramixovirus did not take effect till 1986, I believe. Although the pigeons were in excellent condition several birds reacted to the vaccination. At the spot where the vaccination ( chicken vaccine) took place was a  bump the size of a marble. We think the forming of this bump can happen if the bird has been exposed to the virus earlier in its life. When the pigeon fanciers vaccinated their birds the second time with the killed chicken virus the forming of these bumps happened more often. After the first vaccination with the killed chicken virus Theo changed over to La Sota and did not experience this reaction again.

 He had expected to see a lot of problems but nothing was further from the truth. The older pigeons and their young ones, who had been hatched two weeks ago, looked excellent. He encouraged my experiment and decided to apply the therapy himself. Father and son Krijnen, current General Champions of  the combine Hilversum and surroundings,  also decided to participate in the wheat grass experiment. We will discuss these people and their results with wheat grass juice later. First I want to discuss wheat grass.

 Wheat grass is a simple remedy. Nature uses it to cleanse the body and to make it healthy again; also to neutralize the toxins. Dr. Thomas, scientist,  isolated more than 100 elements from fresh wheat grass. It appears that 10 kg. of wheat grass has the same nutritional value as 230 kg. of  the best vegetables. The chlorophyll that is abundantly available in wheat grass is used to combat anemia. Chlorophyll also appeared to have a therapeutic effect in cases of peritonitis, brain tumors, infections, common illnesses etc. Chlorophyll improves the function of the heart, works on the blood circulation, the intestines and the lungs. It increases the oxygen level and is therefore a remedy that, considering its therapeutic value, cannot be compared to any other remedy. Scientists inform us that every known vitamin in the wheat grass chlorophyll is found in quantities and  a quality that is most suitable for human and animal usage.

  Above are a few of the citations in the booklet of A. Wigmore about wheat grass and chlorophyll.  This is quite something when you read this. I am not a scientist or a biologist and therefore I  cannot justify to their correctness. I can, however, assure you of the validity of the vast amount of examples  by A. Wigmore of patients who the medical doctors had given up on and who were healed by the wheat grass therapy. This is sufficient proof for me of the positive influence that wheat grass has on the overall health picture.

The growing of wheat grass.

 The growing of wheat grass is relatively easy. You fill a bowl with wheat kernels and let it soak till you see little sprouts growing. In earlier articles I have explained this thoroughly.

 You prepare a growing tray with good quality soil  ( potting soil) in it. Then you sow the sprouted wheat kernels in this soil. You can purchase special growing trays  which makes it a lot easier. The growing tray is appr. 4 cm. high and on top of that is a  see-through plastic top that is appr. 12 cm. high. On the growing tray you spread appr. 2  cm. of good potting soil You then spread the sprouted wheat kernels on the soil till the tray is full. You then put the plastic top on set it in a place where the sun can reach it and warm it. In the winter you can put it close to a heat source. After a few days you can see the grass grow. When it is appr. 10 – 15 cm. high you can harvest it by cutting the grass. If you want to get another harvest you can let it grow again but the harvest will not be as good as the first cut.
 

Summary.

1. A place in a window ledge is the best.
2 Good quality topsoil or other good  soil  from a bush area are both excellent.
3 Growing boxes of 30 by 40 cm. are sufficient.
4 Sowing under glass is all right.
5 Avoid direct sunlight is this appears to take away from the quality of the grass. Consequently do not seed in outside growing beds.

How to use wheat grass.

 The pigeons will eat it without any problem. At my cousin Theo Zwanenberg the pigeons are used to eating a lot of greens. Carrots, cabbage, spinach, lettuce etc. are readily available and the pigeons are crazy about it. This is the ideal situation. Pigeons who are regularly fed greens will have no problem eating wheat grass. To help them along you can cut the stems in smaller pieces.  Even if the growing box is put in the loft when the wheat grass is ready they will soon know what to with it.

 I think this is the best way to administer it to the birds because the chlorophyll will be utilized by the birds in its purest form.

 After Leo fed his pigeons wheat grass this way for about a week he phoned me and was all excited. He did not recognize his pigeons anymore. They were as round as a barrel and  as shiny as a mirror.  It was too bad it was in the middle of the winter because the birds begged to be basketed.
 There is also another way to administer the wheat grass by cutting it into small pieces and feeding it with the feed mix. This is the way A. Wigmore fed wheat grass to some baby chicks. She cut the grass real fine and mixed that through the daily ration. The baby chicks that were fed the wheat grass mix were doing considerably better than the chicks that were fed the same mix but without the wheat grass. Consequently wheat grass can also be fed during the breeding season. The results will only be better.

 You can also add the finely cut wheat grass to the drinking water. It appears the chlorophyll is taken up by the water if you add the cut wheat grass to the water. A. Wigmore states the following about this method :

 15 grams of wheat grass added to the drinking water  purifies the water. It has the same effect in pasteurized milk, baby food, food for small animals, etc.

 I used the same method when I treated my pigeons with wheat grass  during my paratyphoid outbreak. It may not be the most effective way to use it but it is the easiest way to administer and that is also important.

Squeezing.

Another method is to press, or squeeze, the juice out of the wheat grass. This can be done by a juice press or a modern juicer. The juice and the pulp can be added to the water. I found this also gave satisfactory results. The pigeons reacted favourably to this method.

 One word of caution with the juicer. In some cases you may encounter problems on account of the fast-moving knifes because that may oxidize the chlorophyll. Be careful when you use this method.

 If you would like to read more about wheat grass go to the following:

 http://www.nopapers.nl/DiZijn/wat/tarwegras/

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