Texan pioneers and cold climates?

Silvester

Chirping
7 Years
Oct 10, 2012
72
10
99
Milton, PA
Sorry if this has already been asked and answered - please direct me to that thread if so.


I live in central Pennsylvania and use a horse stall for a coop for my chickens. I have sectioned off an area in another horse stall to brood out some chicks I got for free earlier this summer and would like to re-purpose it for Texan pioneers if possible and I have a few questions.

Are texan pioneers a cold hardy bird? We are seeing near 100 degrees this week, but come winter we see below freezing and even into the negatives for weeks/months, feet of snow....

The space I have is in the north east corner of the structure with a window at chest level on the eastern face, I think I read that they prefer to be on the south wall... Will this be a make or break issue?

I believe I read that they can't/don't fly, but are they climbers/roosters? Would I need to make ramps and ladders and roosting bars for them? If I did would they use them? Would they get bored without them and self-pluck like parrots?

There are many cross-beams in the structure and I was hoping to use them as the foundation for the nesting boxes, but most are not at ground level - this is an extension of the climbing question I guess...


I'm not looking to be a breeder, but how many mated pairs would I need to keep the gene pool decent?

I'd like to start with four pairs, what is a good square footage for them?

Assuming the answer to "do they climb?" is "yes", would it be a good idea to provide them space outside their window to get out of the coop structure for fresh air, sunlight and generic out of doors stuff during the day?

What is a good litter material for them? I use pine shavings in my chicken coop.

What is a good feed for them? I have 2 Tractor Supply's near me, but they obviously don't have "pigeon feed" on the shelf. Can I use scratch grain or wild bird seed or a combination or do they really need a specific diet that I can buy online? I'm mostly looking for squab production, but the mated pairs will effectively be pets.

Would they reside well with ornamental pigeons in the same coop?
Do they colony well or are they territorial? Does each pair need their own sectioned off space or will individual nesting boxes suffice?


Again, sorry if these have been asked before, please direct me to the answers if they have.


Silvester
 
They are a utility or meat pigeon raised for the table generally. They would do just fine through cold temperatures in my opinion especially if you provided and extra feeder with just whole corn.

The space I have is in the north east corner of the structure with a window at chest level on the eastern face, I think I read that they prefer to be on the south wall... Will this be a make or break issue? No

I believe I read that they can't/don't fly, but are they climbers/roosters? Would I need to make ramps and ladders and roosting bars for them? If I did would they use them? Would they get bored without them and self-pluck like parrots? No experience personally with this particular breed.

There are many cross-beams in the structure and I was hoping to use them as the foundation for the nesting boxes, but most are not at ground level - this is an extension of the climbing question I guess...No experience


I'm not looking to be a breeder, but how many mated pairs would I need to keep the gene pool decent? I am thinking 3 but personally I did fine with just 2.

I'd like to start with four pairs, what is a good square footage for them? Have two nest boxes per pair and two square feet per bird is a good rule of thumb.

Assuming the answer to "do they climb?" is "yes", would it be a good idea to provide them space outside their window to get out of the coop structure for fresh air, sunlight and generic out of doors stuff during the day? Yes

What is a good litter material for them? I use pine shavings in my chicken coop. I have two tarps. I place a tarp over my floor in my loft and I do not use any litter material and exchange tarps 2 to 3 times a year (works for me). Homers where they fly in the loft will cause pine shavings to migrate to the outside perimeter walls of the structure. Leave the tarp to bake in the sun for a day or two and droppings just flake off. I rake up some pine needles for nesting material and what ever sticks or grass accompany them.

What is a good feed for them? I have 2 Tractor Supply's near me, but they obviously don't have "pigeon feed" on the shelf. Can I use scratch grain or wild bird seed or a combination Yes.
If you are raising for the table maybe Grower would be the way to go (the same as for meat king or Cornish chicken breeds.)


or do they really need a specific diet that I can buy online? No. I hand feed shelled unsalted peanuts to my homers as a treat only and they become tame and fly to me on command.

Would they reside well with ornamental pigeons in the same coop? Yes
Do they colony well Yes or are they territorial? Similar to chickens once the pecking order is established Does each pair need their own sectioned off space Not necessary or will individual nesting boxes suffice? Yes.

I have used something similar to this for nest boxes worked just fine for homers (Mine were square cat litter tubs about 5 gal.) Pine shaving also make a good nesting material.

Check out the links maybe the Texas Pioneer can fly more than give credit for I am thinking they can fly six to eight feet in height personally.

The commentating is in French but take a look at his loft set up it may give you some ideas.
 
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there is a face book page for pioneers they are cold hardy funny but they are very popular in france so cold weather not problem you can feed layer pellets for chickens they can fly a little but not fast most breeders nest are off the ground
 

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