Pigeon and Dove Q&A and Pictures

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Nickeyo

Nickeyo

Songster
7 Years
Aug 11, 2012
1,832
73
196
England, West Midlands, Worcestershire
Hi, I'm new to keeping doves and as I couldn't find a thread on this topic I thought I would start one. Please feel free to answer and ask as many questions as you want.

I recently got 3 pairs of white doves and they are currently being kept in my stable. How long will it be before they start laying? The youngest pair are 4 months old.

And are they ok to be all kept together or do they need their own space for each pair?
 
Nickeyo said:
I recently got 3 pairs of white doves and they are currently being kept in my stable. How long will it be before they start laying? I have white homing pigeons. I find the males mature around 4 months the females around 6 months

And are they ok to be all kept together or do they need their own space for each pair? I house all my birds together in the same loft with few issues (there is a pecking order same as in chickens).
Click to expand...

My nest boxes are designed to accommodate a nylon mesh feed bag makes cleaning easier fold up the soiled and pop in the new
Easy Peasy












My pigeon trap with inner bobs to hold birds inside loft.


Nest Bowl available at the Dollar Store in Canada. In a perfect world you will have best results with each pair having two nesting bowls or sites. I uses wood shavings and pine needles for nesting material.


My baby barn converted into pigeon loft

I

I used this converted Styrofoam cooler as a nest box over winter months with excellent results (Rule of thumb my pigeons stop breading around September) there are always one exception this pair layed eggs Christmas eve.
 
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Thankyou, I believe my youngest pair are 6 months old, I assume as it's end of October they won't breed until spring? Also when can I start letting them out, I was thinking I would let them out after 4 weeks of keeping them in which will be the 30th of October, is this too soon as they are homing pigeons
 
Nickeyo said:
Thankyou, I believe my youngest pair are 6 months old, I assume as it's end of October they won't breed until spring? In a perfect world you are correct however there are always surprises. Also when can I start letting them out, I was thinking I would let them out after 4 weeks of keeping them in which will be the 30th of October, is this too soon as they are homing pigeons
Click to expand...

Good luck back yard buddy.
When flying new squeaker pigeons I only flew them in the morning after they had been without feed for at least 12 to 14 hours. That always gave me an edge to attracting them back to their loft. It is also a good idea to let your young squeakers view their surroundings from a wire cage or some type of aviary to get them familiar with their immediate fly zone. Do not let your total flock out at once let them out as singles or maybe pairs. A trapping device to keep the birds in their loft is a definite asset as well..

This is a photo of my bobbed pigeon pigeon trap that doubles as a small aviary when the landing ramp is closed. When the ramp is up they get used to walking through the bobs in a matter of hours and returning into their loft and have it mastered in a few days.
The opening into the loft has bobs that only swing inward.

I usually release them in full view of the landing ramp maybe 10 - 20 feet away.


 
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Thanks for the help
1f60a.png
When you buy adult birds how long do you keep them inside before releasing them
 
If they are squeakers they should be ok to let out after month of settling. If they are no longer squeaking and have chalky. White "nose" cere, then decent homers should try to go home.
 
Thankyou, I have discovered that, I'm down to 3 doves from 6 as spli the pairs up so that I had 1 member of each pair in a cage in the barn and then opened the door to let the others out, needless to say only one stayed around and that only stayed for a day or two
 
Nickeyo said:
I have discovered that, I'm down to 3 doves from 6 as spli the pairs up so that I had 1 member of each pair in a cage in the barn and then opened the door to let the others out, needless to say only one stayed around and that only stayed for a day or two
Click to expand...
I am sorry for you loss first and foremost. There is still a change (have it be remote) that you may have your birds return home. It is my opinion that doves are only something to make you wish you had a homing pigeon. If you have ring neck doves especially their homing instincts are poor and cannot find their way home from around the corner in some cases. They also are poor fliers and fall prey to predators more readily than homing pigeons.

One thing I wished I had mentioned to you on releasing doves is to release them hungry for the first few times. I always take the food away from my new arrivals for at least 12 hours before release. It gives them more incentive to return to their loft.
 
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This last summer we had 20 Ringed Necked doves just show up, we have built several feeders for them and really enjoy having them around. Is there a home, housing other then the barn they have moved in. I want them healthy and happy and I'm terribly new at this. Thank you for all the information you have posted! do I need to be concerned about worming and lice? any information would be helpful. I have no idea where they came from but they sure feel like this is there forever home!
 

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