keeping piegons with chickens

[dragon86]

I have a big chicken coop (16x20x10ft) and a run thats completly roofed and its big to (60x20x6ft). i want to get piegons but really dont want to spend a lot on housing them if i can help it and was wondering if i could house them togather. If not looks like i might be building a place for them. An if thats the case what would make a good size place for about 5 or 6 pair.

 

[billgarb]

It would probably work, given the size of your chicken house and run. However, I suggest you set up an area within the coop that would only be acessible by the pigeons, so that they could eat, bath, nest, and roost away from the flock and secure from any aggressive roosters. Might work. I had a small cage when I was a boy and I kept them together until my bantam rooster just about killed one of my male pigeons. But their was no escape or shelter for the pigeon to flee to. Good luck.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I bought a feeder like this at TSC and hung it about 6' up on the wall in our barn for the pigeons and hung their nests about 9' up the wall. Of course, the crafty bantams were still able to get to the feeder and nests but for the most part they left the pigeons alone.

As an addition to the above post, an area inaccessible to the chickens would probably be a fenced area with an open top. Make the opening big enough for the pigeons to get in and not the chickens. It should work

You could also make a type of trap door with a landing platform entering in to the 'pigeon area'.

 

[dragon86]

thanksfor the info ill probly trie to make something today to add to my pen.

 

[shanal]

My pigeons & chickens share a run & everyone gets along. I had a large coop w/a secure, roofed run, and built lofts on the far end. The pigeons have a high shelves for their food & bath. I asked the same question you posed when I started the project, and most pigeon people thought it was ill advised, as chickens are predatory. A couple things that I think makes my set up work are: I got Silkie chickens, which were not my first choice (not great layers), but they cannot fly & have a wonderfully gentle demeanor, thus pigeons can always get away; I do not breed the pigeons in my coop/loft. If a squab were to end up on the ground it would be killed. The pigeon are very messy eaters & the chickens hang around under their feeding shelf & clean up after them. It might also have helped that the pigeons were settled in first; the chickens grew up w/pigeons in their territory.

 

[peepblessed]

My pigeons are housed with silkie hens and roosters but they grew up together. The pigeons and the silkie roosters will attack a newly introduced pigeon. Some of the pigeons have choosen to nest in the silkie nest boxes on the ground and the tiny babies are exposed to the rooswithout incident . It's been amazing to watch. The pigeons go in and out and I see the free range delaware rooster attack them quite frequently when they are out but they always get away easily. I am diligent about lice control also and so far no problem.

 

[mr.mc.]

but can you keep them with quail?