Qwerty's Pigeons

[Qwerty3159]

As promised here's a thread on my new birds. I'll probably be posting any updates on them as well as specific questions I have in here.

Here's the best shot I have of all seven right now. I have one white, one black, two blue bars, a blue check, and a pair of grizzled siblings.

They were all outside enjoying the rain when I got home from work.

The two grizzles are what I believe to be the youngest birds, as they have the most yellow fuzz left out of the group.

I already had to make a slight modification to the loft. I let the structural 2x4's overhang into the floor to give a little extra surface to staple the hardware cloth onto, but I didn't think about how difficult it would be to scrape the poop off the wood underneath the wire. I cut this piece of plywood and wedged it in at an angle in the hope that I can just scrape this board instead.

 

[CCUK]

As promised here's a thread on my new birds. I'll probably be posting any updates on them as well as specific questions I have in here.

Here's the best shot I have of all seven right now. I have one white, one black, two blue bars, a blue check, and a pair of grizzled siblings.

They were all outside enjoying the rain when I got home from work.

The two grizzles are what I believe to be the youngest birds, as they have the most yellow fuzz left out of the group.

I already had to make a slight modification to the loft. I let the structural 2x4's overhang into the floor to give a little extra surface to staple the hardware cloth onto, but I didn't think about how difficult it would be to scrape the poop off the wood underneath the wire. I cut this piece of plywood and wedged it in at an angle in the hope that I can just scrape this board instead.

They look great! I have the same problem with the mesh floor in my loft. I think I'm going to put a board down to make it easier to clean.

 

[biophiliac]

As promised here's a thread on my new birds. I'll probably be posting any updates on them as well as specific questions I have in here.

Here's the best shot I have of all seven right now. I have one white, one black, two blue bars, a blue check, and a pair of grizzled siblings.

They were all outside enjoying the rain when I got home from work.

The two grizzles are what I believe to be the youngest birds, as they have the most yellow fuzz left out of the group.

I already had to make a slight modification to the loft. I let the structural 2x4's overhang into the floor to give a little extra surface to staple the hardware cloth onto, but I didn't think about how difficult it would be to scrape the poop off the wood underneath the wire. I cut this piece of plywood and wedged it in at an angle in the hope that I can just scrape this board instead.

Great little flock!
I will look forward to your updates.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Thank you!
I was advised to put them on a mix of turkey pellets (I believe they have lower salt than most pellets), whole corn, sunflower seed, a bit of safflower seed, and some wild bird food. At first many of the birds only went for the pellets and the smaller wild bird mix and would ignore the corn but as of today I've witnessed almost all of them try everything.
I've been providing them grit since day one but they haven't touched it. I've seen some of the birds poke around in it but never actually ingest any. I'm using a poultry grit and I believe some of the pieces are simply too big for them to want to eat. Should I crush them up or use a different grit?

 

[CCUK]

Thank you!
I was advised to put them on a mix of turkey pellets (I believe they have lower salt than most pellets), whole corn, sunflower seed, a bit of safflower seed, and some wild bird food. At first many of the birds only went for the pellets and the smaller wild bird mix and would ignore the corn but as of today I've witnessed almost all of them try everything.
I've been providing them grit since day one but they haven't touched it. I've seen some of the birds poke around in it but never actually ingest any. I'm using a poultry grit and I believe some of the pieces are simply too big for them to want to eat. Should I crush them up or use a different grit?

I ordered pigeon grit online. It is the versele columbine mixed grit. Its a 20kgbag and will last some time! If you can't get any if you have a pet store nearby you can use budgie or canary grit. It's alot smaller maybe not ideal but will be easier to ingest. They will also need dried peas in there food.

 

[CCUK]

Here is a post with a link to a pigeon supply store. They do delivery.
Pigeon Talk

 

[biophiliac]

Thank you!
I was advised to put them on a mix of turkey pellets (I believe they have lower salt than most pellets), whole corn, sunflower seed, a bit of safflower seed, and some wild bird food. At first many of the birds only went for the pellets and the smaller wild bird mix and would ignore the corn but as of today I've witnessed almost all of them try everything.
I've been providing them grit since day one but they haven't touched it. I've seen some of the birds poke around in it but never actually ingest any. I'm using a poultry grit and I believe some of the pieces are simply too big for them to want to eat. Should I crush them up or use a different grit?

They will need smaller grit. There are special grits for pigeons that supply the minerals they need available thru pigeon supply places like Foys. For the moment you can crush the poultry grit into smaller pieces with a hammer..very tedious but I did that for a brief period.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Thank you I did as you suggested and put some of the grit in a bag then smashed it with a hammer and one of the birds went right for it.

I just wanted to ask here for opinions on my trap setup because I've heard some differing things. My original plan was to have the trap located on one of the aviary walls, but I've been thinking that it might be hard to train the birds to actually use the trap since they'd have to be totally free in order to do use it and I don't want to lose any.

However now I've been considering installing it over the hole that connects the aviary to the loft and simply leaving the bobs open whenever the birds are inside. I need to install a hinge on that piece of plywood and make a proper door to cover the entrance into the aviary regardless.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Bump sorry, I know I should have had this done before I got the birds but the day I got them was literally the only day I could and they were being offered first come first serve.

 

[biophiliac]

Thank you I did as you suggested and put some of the grit in a bag then smashed it with a hammer and one of the birds went right for it.

I just wanted to ask here for opinions on my trap setup because I've heard some differing things. My original plan was to have the trap located on one of the aviary walls, but I've been thinking that it might be hard to train the birds to actually use the trap since they'd have to be totally free in order to do use it and I don't want to lose any.

However now I've been considering installing it over the hole that connects the aviary to the loft and simply leaving the bobs open whenever the birds are inside. I need to install a hinge on that piece of plywood and make a proper door to cover the entrance into the aviary regardless.

The second way with the bob trap between the aviary and the loft. Ideal if you can then open the aviary when you want to release them, and have them come into the trap through the aviary on their return.