I'm new to pigeons and I have a few questions.

[Kalyka]

I was just given a pair of 1 year old pigeons with two four/five day old eggs. We also have free-ranging chickens that we lock up in a small coop inside of a large run. I was wondering whether I can house them together or not. I've heard that you can as long as you give the pigeons their food far enough up that the chickens can't get it, and have their roosts and nests high up too, but the part of the run that's covered is only about five and a half feet tall, and we some bantam hens that love scratching around in high places.

 

[Blackberry18]

I've never raised pigeons, but have a friend who is a huge pigeon breeder for years, so I know a fair amount, and am in Poultry Bowl as well. My friend keeps hers in the same barn as her chickens, but in a separate stall, so it is also best to keep them separate, just in case.

 

[Kalyka]

Ok thanks. Also, can they eat pelleted chicken food?
We removed the eggs because didn't sit on them all yesterday or today. When will they lay more?

 

[Kalyka]

Is there a certain color that will have more varied colors in the babies?

 

[Blackberry18]

Ok thanks. Also, can they eat pelleted chicken food?
We removed the eggs because didn't sit on them all yesterday or today. When will they lay more?

Probably shouldn't go with chicken food. Pigeons usually need their own food, a mixture of grains usually, like so. But feed them VERY sparingly! My friend kept warning me not to feed them too much.

As for the eggs, they may or may not. Pigeons usually have two broods of squabs, so I'm guessing they might.

 

[Blackberry18]

Is there a certain color that will have more varied colors in the babies?

Not sure what you mean by this. Like, if one parent is a certain color, will it produce other colors in the offspring?

 

[Kalyka]

Not sure what you mean by this. Like, if one parent is a certain color, will it produce other colors in the offspring?

Yes, both the cock and the hen are white, black, and grey, (I'll post a picture of them soon) so I'm wondering if the babies are all going to look like that, or not. (that would be really upsetting, because they're not exactly very pretty)
BTW, the cock is a roller, and the hen is homer or homer/roller, I think, because she has the homer beak.

 

[Kalyka]

The run has two doors, so should I just divide the coop into two part with wire, put the pigeons in one side, chickens in the other, and let the chickens out for free-ranging, because otherwise I'd have to train the pigeons to come back every day, and not feed the chickens until the night, when I would lure the pigeons in with food, then I might have problems with my bantams scratching the squabs out of the nest in pursuit of bugs.

 

[Blackberry18]

Yes, both the cock and the hen are white, black, and grey, (I'll post a picture of them soon) so I'm wondering if the babies are all going to look like that, or not. (that would be really upsetting, because they're not exactly very pretty)
BTW, the cock is a roller, and the hen is homer or homer/roller, I think, because she has the homer beak.

Genetics in pigeons is complex. The squabs could be same as the parents, unless each have a recessive or dominant gene that is different. Even if the parents don't have any of the latter, pigeons change dramatically through domestication. I'm guessing they'll be different, you'll just have to wait and see!

 

[Kalyka]

Genetics in pigeons is complex. The squabs could be same as the parents, unless each have a recessive or dominant gene that is different. Even if the parents don't have any of the latter, pigeons change dramatically through domestication. I'm guessing they'll be different, you'll just have to wait and see!

Thanks.
Here are some pictures of them. the one with the mostly white head and blue band is the hen, the one with almost no white on his head is the cock.