I was new to pigeons about 1.5 years ago. It it is a very fun and rewarding hobby, and I think you'll soon realize they bring a lot of joy to a home.
I'm so concerned I'm not caring for them right.
They are fairly easy to care for, so don't worry too much, just make sure you read up on the basics.
t's just a pair supposedly male and female. I have them in a rabbit hutch inside because they always seem too cold outside at night (I live in Kentucky)
A rabbit hutch likely isn't quite big enough. Fine for a pair short term, but you'll want to get something larger for them for the long term. They need access to natural light daily.
If they are a male/female pair, you can expect them to raise at least 8 youngsters per year, maybe (and very likely) more, so you will have to account for that in terms of your loft size and/or buy fake eggs as a means of birth control.
I do not think it is too cold for them where you live, even in the middle of winter, at least as far as homers go... I will let others weigh in on how fantails respond to cold weather, but I can't imagine they are much different than homers in terms of temperature sensitivity. They are all technically the same species.
I've been feeding them a mixture of our domestic bird food and chicken feed. Fresh water daily and other than watching and talking to them that's really it.
That food will work, but it's best you look for a pigeon specific mix, as they do best on that. If you go the chicken pellet route, just make sure the protein content is around 15%, not something like 22% that you see in the flock raiser or meat bird mixes, that is too much protein. Layer pellets work ok, but the problem is they have no choice of monitoring their calcium. The best bet is to offer pigeon mix, and allow them to browse their calcium needs by a separate dish of crushed oyster grit or other grit high in calcium.
Also, unless you are only feeding them pellets, pigeons need grit. I wouldn't feed the larger granite sized grit for chickens, I would order a bag of pigeon-specific redstone grit for them, such as this:
https://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/pigeon-grit-feed-grains/7011-red-pigeon-grit-10-lbs
Fresh water daily is wise, especially in the hot weather months. Pigeons benefit greatly from adding organic apple cider vinegar to their water, and garlic oil, at least once a week, but I always have my water treated with it. Prevents canker, and many other problems, and they LOVE it. Ratio is about 1 tbs per liter of water.
Also regarding water, pigeons, unlike most birds, drink by submerging their beaks into the water and drinking through them like a straw. As such, their drinkers need to have at least 1" of water depth for them to be able to drink with relative ease.
x2 on Hokum's suggestion above to offer raw, unsalted peanuts as treats. They LOVE them, and it works well for taming. Do not over feed them.
Also another x2 from Hokum's suggestion on offering some kind of green pellet. Pigeons do not necessarily
need greens, but they love them and thrive with them in their diet. Fresh greens such as romaine lettuce (or dandelion leaves (which cost nothing lol), and even parsley) are obviously best, and they love to much and shred that kind of stuff, but when you can't offer that a simple bowl filled with alfalfa based rabbit pellets works. They may not scarf it down, but they will eat them over time as their nutritional needs require. My favorite is the 40lb bags of organic alfalfa pellets from
Tractor Supply because they have no additives (just organic alfalfa), only draw back is some of the pellets are quite large so you have to spend about 5 mins breaking them apart before putting them in the birds' loft.
I tried letting them loose in my chicken coop but apparently they can't fly well. My grandfather kept racers in his coop is where I got this idea.
Probably not the best idea. You'll find there are folks who do this, and you may find it works ok for now, but you just never know what chickens will do. They are more than capable of killing your fantails, especially being that fantails aren't great fliers. In any event, if you do this, ensure the fantails are able to fly high up and away from the chickens.
Pigeons also LOVE baths. They should be offered a bath treated with anti-parasitic bath salts, such as the ones in the link below, at least once a month. Offer a normal bath once a week, but daily is always appreciated from your pigeons, they really love it.
https://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/pest-control/5022-bath-salt
https://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/pest-control/7031-dr-pigeons-bath-salts
I have found this site to be a great resource for many things:
http://mumtazticloft.com/default.asp
If they are mature birds, expect breeding almost immediately. Make sure they have 2 nest bowls and materials to make a nest, such as straw or pine needles, or small twigs. I buy tobacco stems online for my birds' nesting material because it prevents parasites and other bugs from living in their nests (I think the bugs are repelled by the nicotine).
Best of luck! Enjoy! Keep us posted as to the progress!
