Adopted Homers... will they stay?

[BecKub]

Thanks everyone for all of your help!! I snapped a few more pics of them to maybe guesstimate a breed or age. The larger white one is definitely a male. I've watched him do the "I love you" dance to the other ones lol. No idea about the other 3 though!

 

[BaJa]

Thanks everyone for all of your help!! I snapped a few more pics of them to maybe guesstimate a breed or age. The larger white one is definitely a male. I've watched him do the "I love you" dance to the other ones lol. No idea about the other 3 though!

beautiful pigeons! I certainly like the grizzled one

 

[BaJa]

nice coop too. like your Idea that they can go out and check their surroundings. I'm sure you can let them fly.

 

[BaJa]

they still look a bit on the younger side. that nose piece is not white yet, so they might not start breeding soon. Good luck!

 

[biophiliac]

beautiful pigeons! I certainly like the grizzled one

X2!!!

 

[biophiliac]

I don't know any thing about NY Flights, but they don't quite look like any homers that we have/had/seen. That being said, they look more like my roller/homer crosses that I am now breeding. JMHO!!
Scott

Quick question please - Are you breeding homer/roller crosses on purpose, or are they making their own decisions?

 

[Hokum Coco]

guesstimate a breed or age.

The cere which is white on the top beak of adult pigeons have not yet begin to develop which would lead to estimate that most of your birds are about 2 months old. Most likely just recently stopped making a squeaking vocalization. As far as guessing what breed they maybe there are over 600 breeds of pigeons. I am guessing from their flying ability they are homers or racers.

One sure thing I will relay to you when it comes to sexing pigeons "IF IT LAYS AN EGG IT IS FEMALE". Every fancier I know has made mistakes when sexing pigeons. I would say you have a good flock to build on.

Best of luck Backyard buddy.

 

[scottcaddy]

Thanks everyone for all of your help!! I snapped a few more pics of them to maybe guesstimate a breed or age. The larger white one is definitely a male. I've watched him do the "I love you" dance to the other ones lol. No idea about the other 3 though!

I see bands on your birds, those bands are but on within a week of hatching and are dated. You can lookup the band number and find out who bred the birds and when. The breeder should be able to answer all of your questions.
Hope this helps you abit.
Scott

 

[scottcaddy]

Quick question please - Are you breeding homer/roller crosses on purpose, or are they making their own decisions?

I sold off most all of the homer flock, and alot of the rollers. I then put the few (>20) birds left together in one loft section. I needed the room for DW's chick brooders. I didn't want to build another building again.
Scott

 

[LamarshFish]

Well I'm excited to say that she came back! My husband checked the loft after dark when he got home (we were gone all afternoon) and all 4 birds were happily perched in the loft.
Not only did she come back, but she managed to navigate through the bob door I left open for her!! I've only had them go through it once before, so I was thrilled she figured it out after not being trained! I left it open as a "just in case" but was kinda figuring on having to net her at some point. I'll continue to train them on it to get them used to it, but I was very happy! I guess she got hungry enough after a full 24+ hours away lol.

My next question... when will they start to breed? Spring? Or are they not on a cycle? We have nesting boxes and I put some straw in there just to help manage the poop. I also have wood shavings and sawdust (we use for our chickens). What's the best thing for them when the time is right?

Also, I feed them a mixture of wild bird food, chicken egg layer pellets and cracked corn. Is that a sufficient diet?

Great to hear! I had a similar story this weekend. Although there was a misty rain and low clouds on Saturday, I decided to let my birds loft fly for some exercise. They home well, so I didn't think the clouds were a problem. I let them out around 2pm and noticed within an hour or so #10, who is #4s mate, was not with #4, and they are always together. He was gone. And he didn't come back that night, and it started to pour rain all night and there was very high winds. I woke up the next day, still raining, and even higher winds, constant 30mph and gusts of around 45mph. I told my wife I think #10 had met his time, as he always stays with #4 but he's gone and the weather is terrible. Low and behold, that next morning #10 was back by 10am. He spent the night out, probably got stuck somewhere when it got too dark, toughed out the night, and then rushed home back to his lover in the morning. We were very happy to see him return. These birds' resilience and willpower is just amazing.

Mine started pairing up and doing the dances and you know what around 3-4 months of age, but mine have yet to reach the 6 month mark. Although mine are copulating, I have not seen eggs yet, so maybe that is due to their young age. What Hokum Coco said above about 6 months sounds right.