Keeping pigeons warm in winter?

[HeartsHolly17]

So I’m building a home for a breeding pair of pigeons I’m getting soon (probably Homers, but I’m looking into fancier breeds) and I’m really concerned about keeping them warm in the wintertime. I live in Eastern PA and it gets quite frigid some winter nights. My chickens are all fine and satisfied in their coop, but pigeons are much smaller and I’m concerned they’ll get too cold, especially any babies they’ll have. Do I just make it so they can’t go outside when it’s freezing? I want to make sure they’re safe, as well as their chicks

 

[sourland]

Keep them dry, draft free, well fed and watered, and they will be fine. It is generally not a good idea to allow them to breed through the winter as chilled eggs and lost squabs are a possibility.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Cold is fine, drafts are not. As long as they have a place where they can shelter and not have wind blowing on them they’ll be fine. If your coop or loft has big areas of wire mesh you might consider covering some with plastic sheeting to reduce the drafts. Don’t close them up too tight though, as a lack of ventilation is just as bad as drafts

 

[cavemanrich]

Can you post some pix of what you already constructed?? We can offer some advice, on things that work well.
My suggestion.. Create/make an aviary so they can experience outdoors when they feel they need to.
Have your loft ventilated, and allow daylight to shine in. (windows)
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[purslanegarden]

I suggest not to let them breed during winter time. I had some birds do that 2x and the babies were OK for a while, but invariably, something happened. Maybe a freak cold or something, that just made things colder than what the parents could provide for the babies, or maybe the parents were off the nest too long for some other reason, and the babies died.

 

[DenverCityCat]

I'm very new to this & started actually by accident when a pigeon flew into my garage this March. I have 6 pigeons (had another one but it flew off with some other pigeons a month ago & never came back. . )

I actually built a small portable heater for my loft thats outside. It has a thermostat on it thats adjustable, I took a small metal shelf, then caged it in itself with a wire mesh- (It actually works pretty nice although Im just at he start of my Colorado Winter) It stays 50 deg. but I even now worry about that alot. (Hah I cant seem to win I guess)

I built another small loft that I'm probably going to put inside my garage tonight though as were expecting 6" of snow & it's supposed to get into the teens this weekend.

Colorado gets fairly cold in January with wind chills sometimes -75. I'm not a fan of them being outside in that & perhaps worry too much-

Seems I love & worry now about every single one of them. Haha. . . .
Best Wishes to everyone. . .

 

[Hokum Coco]

I live in Eastern PA and it gets quite frigid some winter nights.

I feed whole corn through the winter to my pigeons helps them combat the cold.

As mentioned by other Backyard fanciers not a good idea to let them breed during the winter.

 

[LittleGecko]

So I’m building a home for a breeding pair of pigeons I’m getting soon (probably Homers, but I’m looking into fancier breeds) and I’m really concerned about keeping them warm in the wintertime. I live in Eastern PA and it gets quite frigid some winter nights. My chickens are all fine and satisfied in their coop, but pigeons are much smaller and I’m concerned they’ll get too cold, especially any babies they’ll have. Do I just make it so they can’t go outside when it’s freezing? I want to make sure they’re safe, as well as their chicks

I live in North Wales and although the winters here can be pretty cold I don't heat my loft. They have a wooden loft (18mm thick shiplap exterior boards) perspex window and ventilation, but however cold it has been (minus 15 a few times) they have all been fine and when I open the loft I can feel how much warmer the air is inside. I don't breed in the winter and never have pigeons nesting before March, but this suits me fine and seems to work well for my birds.