feeding pigeons

[95yj]

i have about 9 ringneck doves and 4 russian tumbler pigeons, the doves i'v been keeping for years, the pigeons are a relatively new addition. i bought a pair of tumblers on impulse from a good breeder after wanting pigeons for years and it worked out nicely. my only problem is that ever since i got the pigeons i'v been feeding them dove food, which does not appear to be at all detrimental to their health but is however detrimental to the health of my bank account. i was wondering what people fed their pigeons and if they knew whether it was cheaper than dove food.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I feed mine a mix of cheap bird seed and Flock Raiser 20% pellets.
They seem to be doing well on it
I used to buy "pigeon feed" until it went up to $27 for 50 lbs

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

What Bear Foot is feeding is ideal for anyone who can't find pigeon mixes. Pigeons like variety, so the wild bird seed helps with that.

I feed my birds Brown's pigeon mixes. At the moment, I have the International mix, but usually it's Breeder w/ Popcorn. We get it because a guy in our club sells it, so it's not too incredibly expensive. Although it is over $20 for 50 pounds when bought from him. Others may sell it cheaper or more expensive. The only reason I go for mixes made for pigeons, is because I race mine. If you don't have a competition to worry about, pellets, scratch feed, and/or wild bird seed is just fine. I used to feed my pigeons 5 grain scratch only when I first got them. Couldn't find anything else, and then they were just raised for fun.

The most important part is probably the grit. They do make pigeon grit, but chicken and chick grit will work. Crushed granite is good for digestion aid but the crushed oyster shells is what gives them the calcium they need. A mix of the two is most beneficial, since oystershell isn't strong enough to help with digestion as efficiently. It's broken down quite easily itself.

 

[chinbunny]

Id like to see pictures of your russinas. Do they get very big. I saw some on eggbid.com that looked a lot like my house pigeons. Guy that I bought them from at an auction said they were house pigeons, but I just want to be sure.

 

[95yj]

thanks, i might check around the local feed stores and check out the pigeon food prices, cause right now feeding them dove food is not working... i'm using cheap wild bird feed for the doves, but i might be able to get it cheaper in bulk. i also ocasionaly mix their seed with some gamebird pellets, they seem to like it, or at least eat them.
this was the original pair, got them last january at new england poultry congress

this is just the male, he's alot smaller than the hen

this is one of there babies, obviously not fully fledged

these aren't great pics but its dark, raining and i'm not running out their with a camera right now...

they were also about to molt and coming off of mud season so there feet look like crap, literaly...

 

[chinbunny]

They are pretty. They do look like the birds I have so I am wondering if I may have russian tumblers instead. guess I will find out when the show quality giant house pigeon hen come sin next week.

 

[chinbunny]

BTW i like your red grizzle. Pretty. I am pretty sure mine are house pigeons. Seeing russian tumblers that looked like my cock bird over on eggbid.com got me confused. There are so many breeds that do look a lot alike.

 

[95yj]

yeah, they do look alot alike, i'd never heard of house pigeons before, are they an apa accepted breed or could they be an offshoot of russians, just wondering. btw which one of my birds are you calling the red grizzle cause i'v been calling them red and red pied... i'm terrible with pigeon colors but know almost all fifty ringneck dove phases.
when my russians are in show cages like that they sit alot like that, they turn into liquid and lie down, their sooooo lazy....

 

[chinbunny]

The red and white bird in the first abd second pictures. are you going to shoe them? They look nice.

Yep giant house pigeons are an apa accepted breed. They are very rare, and expensive. I got lucky and got my pair at a local auction for less then $5 each. I got a hen coming to me next week from eggbid.com that I picked up for $70.00 including shipping and handling. so if she turns out to be gigantic compared to them, I may have something else. Area poultry breeders said mine look like house pigeons. Just a little small for the breed. Of course they never saw my cock(the grey one with whitte flights). He's huge.

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

A lot of breeds look the same. The full name is the Giant Hungarian House Pigeon. Much larger than the Russian Tumblers. House pigeons should weigh 28-39 ounces, wingspan up to 40 inches, and 22 inches long. Muffs should be 4-6 inches long.

Russian tumblers on the other hand, should have rosettes on the sides of their crests. They're 11-13 ounces, muffs 3-4 inches. Both breeds have more than 12 tail feathers.

http://thenationalrussiantumblerclub.org/
Can't find the standard for the House pidgies. But I've seen pictures of them at shows so I know they are recognized.


So, you both have the breeds you originally thought you did