How long to keep pigeons in loft?

[QuailMan6666]

I am planning on getting some pigeons but how long do I keep them inside my loft until they can remember to come back after I let them fly outside?

 

[sourland]

What breed of pigeon, and what age. Build a settling cage so that they can get on the landing platform and even access the roof.

 

[QuailMan6666]

What breed of pigeon, and what age. Build a settling cage so that they can get on the landing platform and even access the roof.

Also is there a chance of wild pigeons coming in and infecting my birds with illness such as Pox or Canker?

 

[sourland]

Also is there a chance of wild pigeons coming in and infecting my birds with illness such as Pox or Canker?

I would recommend culling any wild birds that join your flock to keep that from happening.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Also is there a chance of wild pigeons coming in and infecting my birds with illness such as Pox or Canker?

Certainly, especially with feral pigeons. But the likelihood of this happening depends on how many wild pigeons are in your area.

Once in a while I will get a stray racing pigeon come into the loft and I normally just isolate them with a bit of food and water and release the next day. When there’s a wayward bird like this on its way home they usually aren’t too sickly and a brief exposure is fine.

Maybe three times ever I have had true feral pigeons show up but they didn’t have the nerve to trap into the loft with my pigeons and flew off shortly after.