Tbird looks like she had the silky geneThey make wonderful pets, too. I love nice weather days when I'm working in the yard either gardening or the latest DIY & the chickens are digging & scratching for bugs & my pigeons are flying overhead, they flock up & fly, often down low buzzing over me!
One year when I was raising young, 1 seemed to be running around on the floor in the loft a lot longer than the other youngsters, and I thought that is the biggest baby in pin feathers I've ever seen, so I scooped her up to check her out...they were deformed feathers. Now I knew why she flapped wings yet never got lift off! She'd never be happy in the loft...so, I brought her in the house. As I didn't have a dog or cat in the house during that time, she had full run of the house. I set up little cushions at her favorite spots, in front of the sliding glass door (we never used that door), under my dad's bed, by the sofa, etc., set up her food & water, a bath bowl in a pan to catch what splashed, her poo area was on newspaper in a spare bathroom. What's amazing is I didn't potty train her, I had thrown some junk mail in the door on the floor one day & resumed my outside chores, once back inside I glanced at the junk mail & noticed she had "christened" it, so from then on I spread the circulars on the floor in the spare bathroom & TBird's personal litter area was established, like a bunch of marbles on the paper. I can't even tell you in words just how much joy & love that little bird brought into our lives. She'd come running when called, if we asked " TBird where are you?" she'd coo loudly to answer, she loved being scooped up & snuggled. Whenever I dried my hair she'd coo & jump on my foot looking up at me, she wanted to "be dried" too, so on low I'd dry her & she'd preen, it was a funny routine. She loved time with my dad, if he was watching TV she'd coo for him to pick her up so she could nestle down on his chest & watch TV with him. He loved her so much, too, she was 1 in a million.
The Pigeons living in the loft are also very wonderful, they all have unique personalities. Some are very friendly & land on me, they are not ones I would race as the best racing birds are ones that will be naturally more energetic & fast to be able to escape the occasional hawk chase. The very tame or slow pigeons, like Fantails, etc. do not typically escape predators. I have 4 sections in my loft. The Fancy/Friendly & senior sections do not free fly Fall or Winter with the rest, due to hawk attacks. For their safety they do have large flight pens to fly in at those times. When I relocated here I had no idea hawks & falcons were so numerous.
Whatever types of pigeons you decide on, you'll love them, they are so awesome.
Here's the few pics I saved from emails after the Verizon phone disaster. My sweet TBird, she'd visit with this statue & my Canary & Cockatiels. Here's my Dad doing a White Dove release with a young Homer at the cemetery. When you love Pigeons, odds are your family & friends will love them, too.
