New pideons owner

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brettshomestead

brettshomestead

Chirping
Nov 27, 2016
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Central oklahoma
Hello, I was at a swap meet and had several pideons given to me, he said they were show birds. Lahore and Russian tumblers I think. Can anyone confirm these are those breeds? Also any tips for raising them? Are they prone to disease like rabbits? Any info is appreciated.
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I am not sure about raising those kinds of pigeons, but if they are anything like homers, they are hardy birds and relatively easy to care for. Find them good feed, grit and provide them with clean water and a clean loft of appropriate size, and they should thrive. I'll share below what I've learned in the past few months regarding feed, grit, water and loft, but I'm also posting a link at the bottom to a great free resource I found that you may find useful (it's for homing pigeons, but the sections on care and such should apply to all breeds).

Feed and grit. Pigeon mixes are available at most feed stores. If you cannot find a pigeon-specific mix, research alternative options, as there are plenty. One example is feeding a non-medicated chicken layer pellet, so long as the protein content is not too high. Pigeons need grit to digest seeds and such, and it should be provided always. An all crushed granite grit like that fed to chickens is not ideal, as it is too large and pigeons require other minerals. The red or grey pigeon grit made from crushed clay is what you want, with crushed oyster shells mixed in when they are ready to breed. Grit is required for seed mixes, but not if you feed pellets, however it is still a good idea to offer grit when feeding pellets as it offers vitamins and minerals that they may choose to ingest for one reason or another, and this may change seasonally. Some chicken layer pellets already have quite a bit of vitamins and minerals in them in any event, and it seems many fanciers' birds do well on them alone. Game bird pellets can also work, just be careful as to the protein contents, as they are often quite high (like 22%, which may be a bit high for pigeons). Some say pellets make the pigeons poop more runny, compared to seed mixes... Just some things I've heard.

Loft. General rule is 1.5-2sqft per bird minimum. Your birds may be larger, so I'd err on the side of 2sqft per bird. Take into account reproduction, and your current bird numbers. They will reproduce, but that can be controlled--just decide how many you ultimately want to have at one time and build the loft accordingly. Pigeons need perches and nest boxes, so research how you may construct those and the appropriate sizes. The loft must strike a good balance of (1) good ventilation, but (2) not too much draftiness, especially near perches and nest boxes. The loft should be kept clean. Like fancy chickens with foot feathers, that may require extra loft care, so as to make sure those feather do not become excessively dirty from poop and such.

Water. It needs to be fresh. They drink more when it's hot out. Most recommend changing daily, but I do it about every other day, and just make sure the waterer is clean and no poop or mold. Pigeons drink differently than other birds--rather than scooping water then throwing their heads back to gulp it down, pigeons stick their entire beak in water and drink like their beak is a straw--and as such their water needs to be deep enough for that. Buy some kind of waterer that prevents the birds from stepping in and fouling it. I add apple cider vinegar and garlic to my water as much as possible (in the appropriate ratios), for the health benefits that they offer (which you can read about).

I recently posted a link to a PDF of the U.S. Military's technical manual for raising homing pigeons (used in war). It mostly applies to homing pigeons, but there is quite a bit of information in there about simply caring for pigeons, and IMO can be applied to other breeds. The nice thing about this resource is that it is free, and you can just browse the table of contents and read what you like. Or you can simply buy a book on pigeons. I found "Pigeons: For Pleasure and Profit" to be a decent read.
But if you'd like to take a look at that Army manual, the link is below:
https://ia801207.us.archive.org/10/items/1945TM11-410/1945TM11-410.pdf
 
Last edited:
BEWARE! I've raised thousands of pigeons of many different a strains/breeds. But not Russian Tumblers or Lahore. Pigeons are tough and contrary to popular opinion are not dirty. Unlike English House Sparrow they do not carry lice and mites that will also infect humans. Or at least I've never had that problem.
Currently I have only 40 birds consisting of Capuchine, Kazan Tumbler, West of England Tumbler, American Roller, 4 seperate pure strains of Racing Homer and 5 X-bred Racing Homer in of my design.
I like changing water 2X/day and clean my waterers every day alternating sun-dried, sun-bleached, sun-sterilized waters every other day. In winter I do it (clean and dry) in the house with warm water. I scrape the coops every other day and literally "CLEAN" them spring and fall with hot water and priginal PINESOL. After it dries completely I use DE and LOFT WHITE with cornbroom in every nook and cranny.
Of course as with all creatures big and small there diseases and conditions(too many to write down just now). Most are merely a nuisance and easily contained/dealt with. Some are serious and take more effort in controlling/ treating.
Adding 1 tblsp of organic ACV to 20lts(4glns) of clean water and keeping a clean coop does very much so increase good health and happiness for birds and caretakers.
As for feed, most strains/breeds(s/b)are pretty easy to please. That said, there are specific blends for certain s/b that will increase chances in the show ring or performance of certain s/b.
Since I've raised so many different breeds I've done a lot of research in books and online and I encourage anyone who wishes to raise pigeons to do your homework. The pay- offs can be rewarding. That just said it is not so much the $$. That aspect is not much on the equation of raising pigeons. The payoff is more often than not in the love and pride.
I personally recieved the plaque. 2010 CPFA National Champion in Breed "KAZAN TUMBLER". It cost me about 11,000$$ to raise that hen. Although I didn't recieve a cent in winnings $$ can't buy the feeling I still have.
Although I haven't shown for 5 years I still have that hens lines.

Again, BEWARE! Pigeon keeping is addictive
 
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LamarshFish said:
I am not sure about raising those kinds of pigeons, but if they are anything like homers, they are hardy birds and relatively easy to care for. Find them good feed, grit and provide them with clean water and a clean loft of appropriate size, and they should thrive. I'll share below what I've learned in the past few months regarding feed, grit, water and loft, but I'm also posting a link at the bottom to a great free resource I found that you may find useful (it's for homing pigeons, but the sections on care and such should apply to all breeds).

Feed and grit. Pigeon mixes are available at most feed stores. If you cannot find a pigeon-specific mix, research alternative options, as there are plenty. One example is feeding a non-medicated chicken layer pellet, so long as the protein content is not too high. Pigeons need grit to digest seeds and such, and it should be provided always. An all crushed granite grit like that fed to chickens is not ideal, as it is too large and pigeons require other minerals. The red or grey pigeon grit made from crushed clay is what you want, with crushed oyster shells mixed in when they are ready to breed. Grit is required for seed mixes, but not if you feed pellets, however it is still a good idea to offer grit when feeding pellets as it offers vitamins and minerals that they may choose to ingest for one reason or another, and this may change seasonally. Some chicken layer pellets already have quite a bit of vitamins and minerals in them in any event, and it seems many fanciers' birds do well on them alone. Game bird pellets can also work, just be careful as to the protein contents, as they are often quite high (like 22%, which may be a bit high for pigeons). Some say pellets make the pigeons poop more runny, compared to seed mixes... Just some things I've heard.

Loft. General rule is 1.5-2sqft per bird minimum. Your birds may be larger, so I'd err on the side of 2sqft per bird. Take into account reproduction, and your current bird numbers. They will reproduce, but that can be controlled--just decide how many you ultimately want to have at one time and build the loft accordingly. Pigeons need perches and nest boxes, so research how you may construct those and the appropriate sizes. The loft must strike a good balance of (1) good ventilation, but (2) not too much draftiness, especially near perches and nest boxes. The loft should be kept clean. Like fancy chickens with foot feathers, that may require extra loft care, so as to make sure those feather do not become excessively dirty from poop and such.

Water. It needs to be fresh. They drink more when it's hot out. Most recommend changing daily, but I do it about every other day, and just make sure the waterer is clean and no poop or mold. Pigeons drink differently than other birds--rather than scooping water then throwing their heads back to gulp it down, pigeons stick their entire beak in water and drink like their beak is a straw--and as such their water needs to be deep enough for that. Buy some kind of waterer that prevents the birds from stepping in and fouling it. I add apple cider vinegar and garlic to my water as much as possible (in the appropriate ratios), for the health benefits that they offer (which you can read about).

I recently posted a link to a PDF of the U.S. Military's technical manual for raising homing pigeons (used in war). It mostly applies to homing pigeons, but there is quite a bit of information in there about simply caring for pigeons, and IMO can be applied to other breeds. The nice thing about this resource is that it is free, and you can just browse the table of contents and read what you like. Or you can simply buy a book on pigeons. I found "Pigeons: For Pleasure and Profit" to be a decent read.
But if you'd like to take a look at that Army manual, the link is below:
https://ia801207.us.archive.org/10/items/1945TM11-410/1945TM11-410.pdf
Click to expand...
Thank for the informative post:goodpost:
Ive posted some pix of of a few of the breeds I've raised.
 
RezChamp said:
Thank for the informative post:goodpost:
Ive posted some pix of of a few of the breeds I've raised.
Click to expand...

Very cool. Is second to last pic a giant homer? Those are neat.

I just got into pigeons this past spring. I built a small loft and started it with good racing homer stock I was able to find locally, and have been trying to start a loft with returning birds, with challenges, failures and successes.

You're not kidding about it being addictive. I started out saying "I'll just keep the food simple, feed them whatever, give them any grit, etc, and it will be auto pilot".... but here I am, adding things to their water, cleaning the loft constantly, calculating the protein and carb content in their feed, and my grit mix is like 4 different things LOL. When one goes missing during first flights, I'll stand outside waiting for hours. :he

I LOVE these buggers! The satisfaction and relaxation that comes from raising and flying them IMO gets very overlooked by too many people.
 

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