Just Hello from another Pigeon Lover

[backyard pigeons]

I figured they would not release but that jerk released anyway. I entered 4 birds, I got 3 back. Many people entered 20-30 birds and got none back, so I do have good birds, but I got so ticked off by cruel decision I stopped racing with them. I don't care how much they paid the liberator to drive, hotel and gas, those are little lives that I care about, raised, nurtured & trained, a real bond happens, at least for me, they had no right to release those birds without our vote or approval to do so, during a freaking hurricane.

Woah. The club really should have voted, but, we do raise homing pigeons. We can't cancel a race every time it rains. (I know hurricanes are more, much more intense than rain).

Most club members are senior men & unfortunately many of today's youth are not interested in the sport or making the commitment of even keeping pigeons.

what are you doing to encourage the youth to get involved in pigeons? We can't expect them to participate without them knowing about pigeons. I wrote this yesterday, writing to "The Racing Pigeon Digest" magazine in the letter to the editor section. I was frustrated with all of the articles in the issues saying the youth had no interest, and it was the end of the hobby. As they are interested once they learn, but no one is teaching them.


"First, I want to say thank you so much for all you do for the pigeon hobby. It doesn't go unnoticed.

"Youth are the only hope for the hobby, but are not interested in pigeons" is the common phrase thrown around today. Why do we say this? Where are we getting are information from?

Coming from a minor, youth are very interested in pigeons, once they learn about them. I had no knowledge or interest in pigeons until I read one small pamphlet on them, that changed my idea. I had no idea you could free fly them, and they came back. "What other bird can do this?" I asked myself. And was immediately ready to get pigeons. After several months of research, I got the go ahead from my parents, and here i am, 3 years later with 45 homers in my city backyard.

I gladly tell my piers about my pigeons, what I do with them, what they can accomplish, how many I have, and much more. I have yet to meet a youth who knew about homing pigeons. I also have yet to meet youth who had no interest. This gives me hope! The youth aren't getting involved, because they don't know that homing pigeons exist.

How do we teach the youth about homing pigeons? I can't think of a better place to start than tossing birds. Bring the birds to them. I have tossed my homers in front of 60 students at a school, and the moment the birds exited the cage there was instant excitement in the crowd; students and teachers alike. As the birds flew, they began asking questions. Common knowledge to me, but a new language to them. "How far can the fly" my blood can return home from 500 miles. "What do they eat" I feed a grain mixture, with 13% protein. "How do you band them" "What do you keep them in" "Are there any clubs that do this" "how do they know how to get home" (i couldn't answer this one) "how long do they live" etc. Why are the youth said to have no interest in homing pigeons when they had never heard of them before?

To do this, individual's and clubs alike should take initiative. Educate the youth, their parents, offer your name and phone number, and if the kids get the go ahead from their parents in a couple months, help them get started. Help them plan a small but well made loft, offer a few young birds (we all have a few to many) encourage flying them, and stay in touch. I am so thankful for the people who got me started in racers. Wow! They have helped so much with food, flying, breeding, getting birds, or when my 2020 bands are late! Thank you for everyone who has helped youth get started, it means a lot to all of us.

I am so tired of hearing "I'm enjoying the last few years of pigeon racing" "another nail in the coffin" "A dying hobby". Those that say these things obviously don't care enough about pigeon keeping to do anything about it, as those aren't the people that helped me get started.

I think its awesome to get youth involved in pigeons, its the best hobby. But they aren't the only hope. Adults are interested when I tell them about my pigeons to. Its never to late to start in the pigeon hobby.

So go toss some pigeons at the playground! Explain them to kids and their parents. Let them hold a bird, let them open the door. It won't be something they will forget about.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions from getting youth started to my setup. I love to talk pigeons!


Keep 'em flying

-Nathan"

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Woah. The club really should have voted, but, we do raise homing pigeons. We can't cancel a race every time it rains. (I know hurricanes are more, much more intense than rain).
what are you doing to encourage the youth to get involved in pigeons? We can't expect them to participate without them knowing about pigeons. I wrote this yesterday, writing to "The Racing Pigeon Digest" magazine in the letter to the editor section. I was frustrated with all of the articles in the issues saying the youth had no interest, and it was the end of the hobby. As they are interested once they learn, but no one is teaching them.


"First, I want to say thank you so much for all you do for the pigeon hobby. It doesn't go unnoticed.

"Youth are the only hope for the hobby, but are not interested in pigeons" is the common phrase thrown around today. Why do we say this? Where are we getting are information from?

Coming from a minor, youth are very interested in pigeons, once they learn about them. I had no knowledge or interest in pigeons until I read one small pamphlet on them, that changed my idea. I had no idea you could free fly them, and they came back. "What other bird can do this?" I asked myself. And was immediately ready to get pigeons. After several months of research, I got the go ahead from my parents, and here i am, 3 years later with 45 homers in my city backyard.

I gladly tell my piers about my pigeons, what I do with them, what they can accomplish, how many I have, and much more. I have yet to meet a youth who knew about homing pigeons. I also have yet to meet youth who had no interest. This gives me hope! The youth aren't getting involved, because they don't know that homing pigeons exist.

How do we teach the youth about homing pigeons? I can't think of a better place to start than tossing birds. Bring the birds to them. I have tossed my homers in front of 60 students at a school, and the moment the birds exited the cage there was instant excitement in the crowd; students and teachers alike. As the birds flew, they began asking questions. Common knowledge to me, but a new language to them. "How far can the fly" my blood can return home from 500 miles. "What do they eat" I feed a grain mixture, with 13% protein. "How do you band them" "What do you keep them in" "Are there any clubs that do this" "how do they know how to get home" (i couldn't answer this one) "how long do they live" etc. Why are the youth said to have no interest in homing pigeons when they had never heard of them before?

To do this, individual's and clubs alike should take initiative. Educate the youth, their parents, offer your name and phone number, and if the kids get the go ahead from their parents in a couple months, help them get started. Help them plan a small but well made loft, offer a few young birds (we all have a few to many) encourage flying them, and stay in touch. I am so thankful for the people who got me started in racers. Wow! They have helped so much with food, flying, breeding, getting birds, or when my 2020 bands are late! Thank you for everyone who has helped youth get started, it means a lot to all of us.

I am so tired of hearing "I'm enjoying the last few years of pigeon racing" "another nail in the coffin" "A dying hobby". Those that say these things obviously don't care enough about pigeon keeping to do anything about it, as those aren't the people that helped me get started.

I think its awesome to get youth involved in pigeons, its the best hobby. But they aren't the only hope. Adults are interested when I tell them about my pigeons to. Its never to late to start in the pigeon hobby.

So go toss some pigeons at the playground! Explain them to kids and their parents. Let them hold a bird, let them open the door. It won't be something they will forget about.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions from getting youth started to my setup. I love to talk pigeons!


Keep 'em flying

-Nathan"

I'm also a member of another pigeon club, all types of pigeons, so it is nice when we have different venues with opportunities to set up a tent, bring some birds for people to pet, ask questions & see a release done, see Fancy & Homers, & we have small shows with judging & a yearly large show combined with all types of birds & poultry. Some of the local venues are yearly festivals that draw crowds, so we get exposure at those, but 2020 covid canceled them all. I think the guys I've heard say that youth isn't interested are mostly talking about their own kids & I understand how disappointing it can be to want to share it with your own kids, but they'd rather play video games...at least that what a few guys said. I am an adult now but when I was a kid I grew up in a neighborhood, only cats & dogs or parrots indoors were allowed. I was the kid begging my parents to let me get into 4H, raise pigeons, chickens, goats, horses, etc., & I started that when I was 3 yrs old! They thought I was either crazy or a reincarnated farmer LOL. So you never know who may be interested in pigeons. I know when Mike Tyson was on TV with them, he got some kids inspired. You are right, though, the only way more people can get involved is if they even know it exists. I look forward to when the venues we've had our pigeons at can get started again. A fun one I took my pigeons & doves to had a petting zoo section, horses, pot belly pig, goats, and here's a pic of kids petting my doves. It'll be nice when normalcy & venues resume.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Hello!

Nice birds! Heres mine: View attachment 2433603View attachment 2433604View attachment 2433605View attachment 2433607View attachment 2433608View attachment 2433609View attachment 2433611View attachment 2433612View attachment 2433613View attachment 2433614View attachment 2433615View attachment 2433616View attachment 2433617View attachment 2433618View attachment 2433619View attachment 2433620View attachment 2433621View attachment 2433622View attachment 2433623View attachment 2433624View attachment 2433626View attachment 2433627View attachment 2433628View attachment 2433629View attachment 2433630View attachment 2433631View attachment 2433632View attachment 2433633

Don't ya just love fuzzy babies?
My dad used to get a kick out of them, he said they all looked like Jimmy Durante...All Nose/Beak. LOL

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Yes. Mine live in a loft (the correctly term for a pigeon coop) for the majority of their life. But I fly them daily for about two hours or so. This seems to be enough to satisfy them. If I free flew them all day, I would not have any pigeons left, as hawks love pigeons! Once I have let them out and ready for them to come back in, a put feed on the ground and whistle. They know this means food, and they all come rushing in for food, and then they art safe and sound once I close the door. On the brown coop, the windows are removable. Both coops besides the white one are made of pallet wood only.View attachment 2434017View attachment 2434018View attachment 2434019View attachment 2434020View attachment 2434021View attachment 2434022View attachment 2434023View attachment 2434024View attachment 2434025View attachment 2434026

The 1st photo, what are they, Rollers? The dark red is a beautiful color.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Woah. The club really should have voted, but, we do raise homing pigeons. We can't cancel a race every time it rains. (I know hurricanes are more, much more intense than rain).
what are you doing to encourage the youth to get involved in pigeons? We can't expect them to participate without them knowing about pigeons. I wrote this yesterday, writing to "The Racing Pigeon Digest" magazine in the letter to the editor section. I was frustrated with all of the articles in the issues saying the youth had no interest, and it was the end of the hobby. As they are interested once they learn, but no one is teaching them.


"First, I want to say thank you so much for all you do for the pigeon hobby. It doesn't go unnoticed.

"Youth are the only hope for the hobby, but are not interested in pigeons" is the common phrase thrown around today. Why do we say this? Where are we getting are information from?

Coming from a minor, youth are very interested in pigeons, once they learn about them. I had no knowledge or interest in pigeons until I read one small pamphlet on them, that changed my idea. I had no idea you could free fly them, and they came back. "What other bird can do this?" I asked myself. And was immediately ready to get pigeons. After several months of research, I got the go ahead from my parents, and here i am, 3 years later with 45 homers in my city backyard.

I gladly tell my piers about my pigeons, what I do with them, what they can accomplish, how many I have, and much more. I have yet to meet a youth who knew about homing pigeons. I also have yet to meet youth who had no interest. This gives me hope! The youth aren't getting involved, because they don't know that homing pigeons exist.

How do we teach the youth about homing pigeons? I can't think of a better place to start than tossing birds. Bring the birds to them. I have tossed my homers in front of 60 students at a school, and the moment the birds exited the cage there was instant excitement in the crowd; students and teachers alike. As the birds flew, they began asking questions. Common knowledge to me, but a new language to them. "How far can the fly" my blood can return home from 500 miles. "What do they eat" I feed a grain mixture, with 13% protein. "How do you band them" "What do you keep them in" "Are there any clubs that do this" "how do they know how to get home" (i couldn't answer this one) "how long do they live" etc. Why are the youth said to have no interest in homing pigeons when they had never heard of them before?

To do this, individual's and clubs alike should take initiative. Educate the youth, their parents, offer your name and phone number, and if the kids get the go ahead from their parents in a couple months, help them get started. Help them plan a small but well made loft, offer a few young birds (we all have a few to many) encourage flying them, and stay in touch. I am so thankful for the people who got me started in racers. Wow! They have helped so much with food, flying, breeding, getting birds, or when my 2020 bands are late! Thank you for everyone who has helped youth get started, it means a lot to all of us.

I am so tired of hearing "I'm enjoying the last few years of pigeon racing" "another nail in the coffin" "A dying hobby". Those that say these things obviously don't care enough about pigeon keeping to do anything about it, as those aren't the people that helped me get started.

I think its awesome to get youth involved in pigeons, its the best hobby. But they aren't the only hope. Adults are interested when I tell them about my pigeons to. Its never to late to start in the pigeon hobby.

So go toss some pigeons at the playground! Explain them to kids and their parents. Let them hold a bird, let them open the door. It won't be something they will forget about.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions from getting youth started to my setup. I love to talk pigeons!


Keep 'em flying

-Nathan"

Excellent letter btw!

I've helped a few newbies get started, donated a shed & helped convert to a coop, added the perches, window, stall traps, landing board, etc., donated feeders & the bullet waterers & water heaters.

What feed do you like? I've used Brown's but mostly use Purgrain out of Souderton, PA. I tried another brand once but when I poured it in the tins dust rolled off, no way did I buy that crap again. Purgrain really is sparkling clean feed. It was a whole day trip driving up to get feed, so I'm glad our club gets the feed delivered now, only 45 min instead of hours to PA.

 

[backyard pigeons]

The 1st photo, what are they, Rollers? The dark red is a beautiful color.

they are Portuguese tumblers. I have 11 ports,,, A fun breed. I fly and show them. The recessive red is a male.

I've helped a few newbies get started, donated a shed & helped convert to a coop, added the perches, window, stall traps, landing board, etc., donated feeders & the bullet waterers & water heaters.

awesome! Thank you!

What feed do you like? I've used Brown's but mostly use Purgrain out of Souderton, PA. I tried another brand once but when I poured it in the tins dust rolled off, no way did I buy that crap again. Purgrain really is sparkling clean feed. It was a whole day trip driving up to get feed, so I'm glad our club gets the

I have tried A lot of different grains, but so far my favorite has been https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai...wjyv4_Es7PtAhVuuVkKHWERAqsQwg96BAgMEAY&adurl= . I then add 25 pounds of wheat to it, and 25 pounds of whole corn to it in the winter.

I did use purgrain, a great feed. But I can get it cheaper online and like it a bit better. Always add wheat to commercial mixes. they never add enough! And its cheap! Wheat is the single best grain for pigeons if you ask me.

For my breeders, I do 50\50 grain chicken pellets. The breeders need the boost for breeding and feeding. Mine do well on it, and raise some great babies. Here's some photos taken yesterday, two grizzles, both YB's.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

they are Portuguese tumblers. I have 11 ports,,, A fun breed. I fly and show them. The recessive red is a male.
awesome! Thank you!

I have tried A lot of different grains, but so far my favorite has been https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai...wjyv4_Es7PtAhVuuVkKHWERAqsQwg96BAgMEAY&adurl= . I then add 25 pounds of wheat to it, and 25 pounds of whole corn to it in the winter.

I did use purgrain, a great feed. But I can get it cheaper online and like it a bit better. Always add wheat to commercial mixes. they never add enough! And its cheap! Wheat is the single best grain for pigeons if you ask me.

For my breeders, I do 50\50 grain chicken pellets. The breeders need the boost for breeding and feeding. Mine do well on it, and raise some great babies. Here's some photos taken yesterday, two grizzles, both YB's. View attachment 2436250View attachment 2436251View attachment 2436252

I add some chicken feed pellets, too, a few times a week, gives some nutrition. The racers told me add more barley when racing, they do the same with race horses, adjust feed when racing. I usually get the European Supreme blend, it has a good selection of various grains.

Have you noticed they eat certain grains 1st, according to what time of year it is? They're so smart! They know what they need, really like the tiny grains in summer, but love the corn when weather gets cold. They also like little Spanish nuts for occasional treats (plain, never salted). I use red grit and mix with white grit & a bit of charcoal & add calcium, especially for egg laying. I like those pick pots from Belgium, I get those in spring & summer.

When I 1st got into Pigeons some of the old timers shared good health practices with me. Get the pigeon bath salts to add to their bath occasionally, it does wonders for their feathers. Drinking water bowls should be cleaned daily & they said if my water was chlorinated (it was where I used to live) to fill water jugs day before & let them sit open so some chemicals dissipate. I have well water now, it's great.

Many of them did this 1x per week, added 1 teasp apple cider vinegar per gal, 1 teasp minced garlic per gal & probiotics 1 teasp per gal or dusted onto food, on a rotation, on the just plain water days they fed the chicken feed pellets, so I've continued that as well as inoculate. Handle the birds often, gets them used to you & you get to feel if anyone may be going light. Many of my birds land on me, it's cool.

They gave me advice & shared their challenges. Some had mite issues & they'd blow torch on their loft perches lightly to kill mites living in the wood perches or even build a new loft & let the older one sit empty awhile. I'm not messing around with any blow torch! I read up on mites, they say that if you paint the wood it helps, mites live in cracks or joints, so every spring & again in fall, I spray lightly the inside of loft on a nice day (while birds are outside flying, bathing, etc), I have a tea tree spray & also use Bronco Equine spray (permethrin) & let it dry well before birds fly back in, warm day, windows all open & fan on low. Since doing that any lice is rare & never got those nasty pigeon flies or red mites. I do the same in the chicken coop, lightly spray their wood chips. I haven't gotten all surfaces in loft painted...yet...a work in progress. I tried perches like a skinny ping pong paddle & I did buy some V perches but I find the square box perches made with wood (looks like Pigeons are playing the game Hollywood Squares, Lol) are easiest for me to clean, paint, plus the pigeons can snuggle with a mate better, so that's another project on the "to do" list, go back to box perches. Plus some of the ping pong paddle perches, I'd back into them & get all bruised up, well, I've had lots of good ideas in theory, that turned out to be not so good in practice. My place is nothing but fixing, so yeah, takes time to get that list done.

They told me biggest thing is don't overcrowd my birds. At 1 point years ago, I did, had to build another coop, so I learned my lesson. If you walk into your coop & get hit in the head by flying Pigeons, odds are they're overcrowed Lol!

So far so good, rarely have heath issues & have seniors in 20s, a few were nearly 30 when they passed. I knew one guy who did juicing, was chugging it alongside his birds Lol, spinach & carrots juiced.

Your birds are beautiful! You take good care of them, they are the picture of good health.

I need to get more photos of mine. I had over 2500 photos that Verizon idiot lost & was supposed to save when I got this new phone. Very upsetting.

So I just tried to find pics of my Fantails & can't find them now...ugh, sometimes technology is not my friend. I will get more photos soon.

Have a good day!

 

[cavemanrich]

Have you noticed they eat certain grains 1st, according to what time of year it is? They're so smart! They know what they need, really like the tiny grains in summer, but love the corn when weather gets cold.
I am personally the same way. Eat much Ice-cream during summer, and Hot Soup during winter.

Some had mite issues & they'd blow torch on their loft perches lightly to kill mites living in the wood perches I'm not messing around with any blow torch!
Consider this option since it is Fire Safe. Use an electric Heat Gun. and blow the hot air into suspect crevices.,, This would be good only to treat small suspect areas. I think that would be sufficient to bake dem lil devlz

I had over 2500 photos that Verizon idiot lost & was supposed to save when I got this new phone. Very upsetting.
I use my phone for most pictures I take now. I regularly transfer the pictures onto my computer into separate folders. I backup my folders onto an external HD, for safekeeping.
I do this because some of my phones just died, and nothing was retrievable. Glad I always backed up my pix regularly.

BTW,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Beautiful loft, Aviary, and Pigeons

 

[Cinnamon11]

I don’t want to be a bother but one more question. How much is a good price and where is a good place to buy doves/pigeons

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I don’t want to be a bother but one more question. How much is a good price and where is a good place to buy doves/pigeons

No bother! Talking Pigeons...I think you'll see it's our fav topic, we love them!

When I got into Pigeons, I looked up what local Pigeon clubs were nearby, called the club secretary & found out when there was an upcoming meeting I could attend. Right now due to covid no one is meeting, so you may need to wait awhile.

Anyway, when I started going to meetings & learned about the many types of pigeons there are & met many club members, they were the ones I learned a lot from...everything from types of pigeons, how to build the right loft, things I'd need & what exactly was required, what types of things I need to do & when, daily responsibilities, weekly chores, etc.

There are racing pigeons, rollers or tumblers, high flyers, other Fancy types, so sometimes people are drawn to one aspect more than others...some people specialize in show birds that will be judged at shows for best in breed, etc., some love high flyers where they spend a lot of time right in their own yard, or racing where there can be driving a lot of miles especially during training young birds. I'd suggest first looking up what kinds of clubs may be close, you can probably talk to some people on the phone for now & ask questions. By learning everything involved & what kind of commitments & responsibilities the various types of pigeons require, & eventually visiting the clubs, people's lofts & getting to spend some time with types of pigeons, you can make a better decision. There are also huge Pigeon shows, there is a yearly one in Lancaster, PA, there are several around the USA & throughout the world, they're pretty awesome, so many various types of Pigeons! Covid canceled most this year but hopefully they can resume at some point. Walking around these types of shows is so cool & you get to talk to people about their pigeons. I remember seeing the pretty Fantail & chunky Modena breeds for the 1st time, the next year I took my Dad, he got hooked on Pigeons too!

When I 1st got started with Homers, I was covering 3 states in my career, driving hundreds of miles 4 days a week, so taking pigeons on a training release was no problem at all. Now however, I have a different career that is more local, when I'm off work I am more of a homebody, so if I was to get involved with pigeons now for the 1st time, I'd probably get rollers, tumblers or high flyers, just because it would make more sense. So there are many things to consider, what you enjoy, how you like to spend your time and what your willing to commit to. Racing pigeons will require training flights, it's just like if you wanted to run a marathon you would have to train up for it to build your body up, the same with the pigeons, you have to take them on distance flights so by the time the race arrives they are in good shape able to fly it. Weather permitting I would fly them every other day, gradually getting up to 50 miles, 2-3 months prior to start of the races. That's a lot of gas & miles on the vehicle, and your time, all in the morning or by noon, you need time to crate them up, drive to release point & allow them plenty of daylight time to fly & arrive back home, then eat dinner, all this well before sunset.

If you just want pigeons for your own enjoyment that's different but when you're talking about racing & competition, it's a serious commitment and buying good pigeons can be expensive, Especially if you're buying youngsters from pigeons that have won previous races, Club members may give you some pigeons just to get started, or you can pay $20 to $50 per bird or some birds with pedigrees can go for thousands, it just depends who you are buying from and what kind of pedigree or race history that pigeon's family has. So I don't mean to overwhelm you but there is a lot to consider, but the 1st thing is to figure how do you want to enjoy your pigeons, how much time can you devote, are you more of a homebody or do you like camaraderie of a sport & how do you envision or plan on enjoying your time with your pigeons. You might just love the company of Pigeons, I find it very soothing to hear them coo & love watching them bow to eachother & do their little dances. Even the years I have not raced, I look forward to my time in the loft or in the yard as they fly over me, they're part my life, my family.

Here are a few links to check out

https://www.pigeonracingpigeon.com/whats-new/american-racing-pigeon-union-au-arpu/

http://www.npausa.com/

https://nbrc.us/

https://ftsofusa.tipplers.com/

https://www.pigeoncote.com/clubs/clubs.html

https://www.theamericanpigeonmuseum.org/

https://www.theamericanpigeonmuseum.org/pigeon-breed-gallery