I need information- Questions relating homing pigeons

becc

In the Brooder
9 Years
Feb 16, 2010
77
2
39
on a chair
My friends and I are trying raise and train homing pigeons.
How would we go about it?

Would it be perferable to get chicks?

How long does it take?

What is the perferable feed?

Can the live in chicken coops?

Aproxmately how long do they live for?

Do you need to register them?

What peroids of the day are best for training them or doesn't it matter?

Any more information will be handy,

thanks
 
The best advise that I can give you is : If you are serious about your goals, Find yourself a homing pigeon breeder/ racer that has successdfully bred, raised and WON races MENTOR. Follow his/ her advice. Doing anything different will bring you some good as well as well intentioned but may be faulty advise on any public open forum. Good luck !
 
Quote:
You can't start with chicks bacause the parents need to take care of them for the first 40 days.
I feed mine a mixture ( roughly 50/50) of layer crumble ( 17 %) and hen scratch.
 
How would we go about it?
Find a Breeder and figure out what color homersyou want to have.

Would it be perferable to get chicks?
Not chicksbut young unfown birds.

How long does it take?
To turn lose? About a month if unflown and 6 months if they are flown (With ni guarantee they will come back)

What is the perferable feed?
I feed my Pigeons TMC

Can the live in chicken coops?
With chickens or without?

Aproxmately how long do they live for?
Pigeons live anywhere from 3-10 years.

Do you need to register them?
No

What peroids of the day are best for training them or doesn't it matter?
When I had homers I always liked to turn them out in the evening because they seem to not want to fly a long long ways away and then want to go back to roost

Tips: NEVER scare them out of the pen for their first time being out. They will sometimes fly and just keep going.


If you have any more questions ask I can try to help. I started with pigeons and now have what I have now. I had pigeons for over 6 years.



Ryan
 
Also be prepared to say bye, bye birdie if there are any predators in the area especially when you let them out to fly and there is a hawk or falcon in the area.
 
How would we go about it?
About getting them? There are quite a few people here and on pigeons.biz/forums that have homers for sale. If you want to race, you'll want to get them from someone who actively races their birds. If you just want pigeons for fun, then you can get them from someone who just breeds or flies around the house. A lot of people just have them for fun and breed more for color than long distance flying.

Would it be perferable to get chicks?
As long as they are weaned before you get them. Up until then, they rely on their parents to feed them crop milk. Handrearing pigeons is time consuming and sometimes quite difficult.

How long does it take?
For what? Keep the birds inside for a few weeks, training them to a feed call. For example, I whistle everytime I feed mine. This way when I let them out hungry, I can easily call them back inside when I want by whistling.

What is the perferable feed?
I feed mine Brown's pigeon feed mixes. Right now I'm feeding International and Breeder w/ Popcorn. Be sure to provide them with grit as well.

Can the live in chicken coops?
Yes. My first loft was a modified chicken coop.

Aproxmately how long do they live for?
15 years or longer, if you take good care of them. I think the oldest one on record was about 32. They grow 9 times faster than humans, so that's a lot of pigeon years!

Do you need to register them?
There is no registering in the pigeon world. However, the seamless bands you put on their legs at 5-8 days old, is registered to whoever bought them. Every band is unique. This way if one gets lost, you can trace the band back to the person who bought the bands. Anyone who breeds and sells birds SHOULD keep a record of which birds are sold to who, so that they know who currently owns each bird, in case it gets lost.

What peroids of the day are best for training them or doesn't it matter?
Early in the morning is best for road training. I let my birds out twice a day for exercise around the loft, but when we take them down the road, I try to get up there as early as possible. I race my birds, in which on race days they are liberated at about 7:30-8:30 depending on the time of year. So I like to get them prepared for that.
 
How would we go about it?
find a local club and join find a mentor that will school you. the arpu has a list of clubs and local breeders

Would it be perferable to get chicks?
get squeakers about 3 weeks to a month old they should be pecking at seeds but still cant fly yet

How long does it take?
They will be flying by a month and traveling by 3months of age

What is the perferable feed?
pigeon feed by browns is my prefered choice

Can the live in chicken coops?
not recommended, pigeons are very highly succeptible to coccidia

Aproxmately how long do they live for?
up to 20 plus yrs

Do you need to register them?
your bands will be registered under your name if someone finds the bird it will be traced back to you

What peroids of the day are best for training them or doesn't it matter?
nice sunny days you should always train west of where you live start by taking them 3miles then 5 then 10 then 20 then 50








http://www.pigeon.org/beginnerscorner.htm
 
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