Pigeon question??

[MindenFencesFarms]

I was at a swap yesterday, and saw these to pigeon (wanting pigeons for a while) I bought them, but I don't know what kind they are and is there a way to tell if you have a pair or not?
Here is a couple of pictures of them.

Any help would be great. Thanks

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

They are either ferals or Rollers I think.

As to sexing, if they are older and had babies already you should be able to tell by the pubic bone. You pick up the bird and feel for the 2 pointy bones by the vent, if the tips of those 2 bones are touching you have a male and if you have about a finger width of space inbetween the tips of those bone then its a hen.
The pubic bones of a young hen that hasn't laid an egg yet will be closer together though and can be mistaken for a male.

Another thing to look for is behaviour, do they squabble a lot? - That would mean most likely 2 males. Or does one coo lots in front of the other but the other seems indifferent? -Good chance you have a pair.

If they start nesting and you get 2 eggs in the nest, that means you have a pair. If the have 4 eggs in the nest it means you have 2 hens.

Thats all I can come up with right now, I bet other pigeon folks will chime in too.

Anna

 

[MindenFencesFarms]

Anna, thanks for the info, that does help me out a lot.
One coo's all the time and I have not heard a sound out of the other one. I am hoping for a pair.

. The guy I bought them from got them at a auction and didn't know much about them. Their bands have 06 on them, so I am guesing that is the year they were born??

Again thanks much for the info

Denise

 

[tnkinhunting]

They could be rats (ferals) or homers - as far as sexing, Anna is correct. You can tell in mannerism, if one struts and drags his tail around the other, it's usually a male.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

Yup, the '06 stands for hatch year. So they could already be proven and thus the pubic bone sexing should work.

Also most legbands have the initials of the club that sold them, and that club usually has on record who ordered those bands. Maybe they can give you the breeders contact info and s/he can tell you what they are.

Hope this helps,
Anna

 

[chickenzoo]

You can check out the pigeons.biz forums, they have a lot of good info

 

[BirdBoy88]

i used to have some just like that we call them ( Barn pigeons ) here

cuz there to big to be rollers

and to me they both look like males

 

[RioLindoAz]

It might be a Checker mix. Or just some kind of roller or homer

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

The one in the top pic looks like a black pied from what I can see, the bottom one is a blue t-pattern also called velvet.

Their body shape looks a bit off for homers(at least compared to mine).

 

[MindenFencesFarms]

Thanks for all the replys.
I did go to pigeontalk.com and got a lot of good answers there. I also found out that the pigeons I have are Giant Runts. Mystery solved

Again thanks for all the replies.

Denise