Pigeon NEWBIE!! HELP ME!

[biophiliac]

Are you thinking about some type of flooring? Most Racing Homer fanciers like to keep their birds mostly off the ground.

ETA: Nice birds!

 

[sniper338]

Are you thinking about some type of flooring? Most Racing Homer fanciers like to keep their birds mostly off the ground.

I was thinking gravel... if not id have to built a new loft... at least I could reuse the wire though, wouldnt be too expensive. I just havent seen enough lofts down here in the south where its hot to know exactly how to build..

 

[LamarshFish]

View attachment 1058104 View attachment 1058102 View attachment 1058103

Thos is what Im working with. Old chicken coop im trying to configure for them

That last picture, with those nest boxes, to me it looks enclosed and away from drafts enough such that they should be fine in a warm climate such as Texas. If that was up here in the North I'd be concerned during the winter, but you don't have to worry about that.

Since those birds you have now are old birds and have to be kept prisoner (otherwise they'll home back to their original loft or die trying), it's nice that they have lots of room in such a large loft.

Best of luck. I'm pretty new to this too. Lots to learn, but a very fun and rewarding process.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Chicken grit is not supposed to work for pigeons well,

I supply my pigeons with both grit and oyster shells they seem to consume very little to none in my loft. I do notice they like the grit on my asphalt shingles the best. Then again I have them flying free almost every day for 2 hours or more.

 

[LamarshFish]

I supply my pigeons with both grit and oyster shells they seem to consume very little to none in my loft. I do notice they like the grit on my asphalt shingles the best. Then again I have them flying free almost every day for 2 hours or more.

I give pigeons my this stuff called "Neo-Grit" made by Versele-Laga from Belgium, which is a mix of gastric grinding stones, silex stones, oyster shells, seashells and redstone.... but since I started feeding it to them all they seem to do is pick out the redstones. Makes sense, since I hear a lot of folks get great results by giving their pigeons redstone grit.

I also gave mine a red clay pickpot about a week ago, and they have been going nuts over it.

I've been experimenting with different grit additives, like seaweed grit and charcoal. I hear their needs change seasonally, so I figure just have it all in there for them to take as they please, but so far they are hitting that redstone.

 

[LamarshFish]

I supply my pigeons with both grit and oyster shells they seem to consume very little to none in my loft. I do notice they like the grit on my asphalt shingles the best. Then again I have them flying free almost every day for 2 hours or more.

I just learned the difference between the grit fed to chickens and the redstone that pigeons prefer. Chickens usually get fed a granite grit, which is in some grit given to pigeons, but the red grit that is common and favored by many fanciers and their birds is simply clay... it is essentially like clay bricks, they bake huge blocks of clay until they are brick-like and then grind that down into the grit.

 

[sniper338]

I just learned the difference between the grit fed to chickens and the redstone that pigeons prefer. Chickens usually get fed a granite grit, which is in some grit given to pigeons, but the red grit that is common and favored by many fanciers and their birds is simply clay... it is essentially like clay bricks, they bake huge blocks of clay until they are brick-like and then grind that down into the grit.

Hmm thats interesting... so its actually water saluable in the end. I still dont understand why granite grit, or any other rovk would be bad for pigeons. They are doves, snd in the wild doves eat small rocks to help crush and digest seeds... dont make sense..

 

[LamarshFish]

Hmm thats interesting... so its actually water saluable in the end. I still dont understand why granite grit, or any other rovk would be bad for pigeons. They are doves, snd in the wild doves eat small rocks to help crush and digest seeds... dont make sense..

I don't think it's bad for pigeons at all. You're certainly right, in the wild they pick at whatever they can find, and essentially all they need is something hard, that is the right size, and is of a substance that will not harm them, so most any rock..... but when it comes to finding what they prefer and will eagerly take in, for whatever reason that "red stone" grit is the go-to. I had heard that from plenty of sources, but then saw it first hand with my birds when they picked the redstone grit out of the grit I feed them, which is a blend of all sorts of stuff.

As far as chicken grit goes, I think the main issue with it is size, and the fact that it is only granite. When I first got my pigeons, all I had was chicken grit, so I crushed it into smaller pieces. My pigeons wouldn't touch it.

One option for you if you want to take grit out the equation entirely is to just feed them pellet pigeon food.

Another thing about pigeon specific grit, is that many companies will add something like anise to it, which pigeons go NUTS over for some reason, and will be more inclined to use the grit.

 

[sniper338]

I don't think it's bad for pigeons at all. You're certainly right, in the wild they pick at whatever they can find, and essentially all they need is something hard, that is the right size, and is of a substance that will not harm them, so most any rock..... but when it comes to finding what they prefer and will eagerly take in, for whatever reason that "red stone" grit is the go-to. I had heard that from plenty of sources, but then saw it first hand with my birds when they picked the redstone grit out of the grit I feed them, which is a blend of all sorts of stuff.

As far as chicken grit goes, I think the main issue with it is size, and the fact that it is only granite. When I first got my pigeons, all I had was chicken grit, so I crushed it into smaller pieces. My pigeons wouldn't touch it.

One option for you if you want to take grit out the equation entirely is to just feed them pellet pigeon food.

Another thing about pigeon specific grit, is that many companies will add something like anise to it, which pigeons go NUTS over for some reason, and will be more inclined to use the grit.

I agree. My local feed stores dont carry any of this stuff though. I need to find out the name of it all to see if they will special order it for me.

 

[LamarshFish]

I agree. My local feed stores dont carry any of this stuff though. I need to find out the name of it all to see if they will special order it for me.

I order my stuff from Foy's Pigeon Supplies online. With some of the heavier items like big bags of feed and grit it gets expensive with shipping, but if you get smaller bags like 10 lbs and such it's not too bad. They get a lot of their products from Belgium, really high quality stuff.

I first used Versele-Laga Neo Grit I ordered from Foy's, but my pigeons had just been picking out the redstone grit from that, so I just recently ordered a 10lb bag of only redstone grit from them.