Pigeon "shed" - questions

[BlueEggs4Life]

Currently my 6 city chickens own the back part of my "tool shed" which is appx. 12 foot long, 7 1/2 tall and 8 feet wide. I would like to make the front half for white homing pigeons which I do not have yet, but will soon. My question is, can I just add roosting poles, perches and nest box areas and let them go where they please inside the shed? Do I need to fence off the interior so when I open the door to enter they do not escape or will they likely not try to get out as I come in? If I fence off the interior so they only have a section of it the area will be appox. 3 1/2 ft wide, 8 ft long and 7 1/2 ft tall.

Do they NEED an aviary?- I wasn't planning on one until early spring. My plan is that once old enough they will be trained to fly home for "white dove releases" for a church nearby. Also, the chickens are confined to the back portion of the shed and while the pigeons would be able to fly over to them if they wanted, the chickens cannot enter what would be the pigeon side.

I hope my explanation makes sense. Basically, I am just trying to figure out how to set up the area for the pigeons and if they really need to be confined with fencing/netting inside the shed or not and what others have done when housing pigeons in a tool shed type housing. Thanks in advance for your help everyone!

 

[Tony]

How old will these pigeons be when you get them? If they are young and not able to fly yet, you should be fine once you house them for a period of time and they become used to your yard and shed and you. If they were to escape when you opened the door, it wouldn`t matter because they probably wouldn`t leave anyway and in time would just return to the coop, but if they are older and already able to fly and have already been flying around someone elses yard,neighbor hood, if they escaped when opening the door, they`d fly back to the previous owner. So in response to your questions...if young/not flying yet, just add some higher perches in the coop, no divider netting. If they are older, do add netting to avoid escaping. Also, if they are to live along with your chickens, I would feed and water them from feeders up high that the chickens can`t reach and prevent the pigeons from eating and drinking. Also, no aviary is necessary if you let them fly around, just cut a nice entrance/exit hole high up in the coop, a perch right below it on both inside and out and let your neighborhood be their "paradise" aviary. I hope this helps.

 

[BlueEggs4Life]

Thank you for your advice. The birds I am getting will be about 2months and while they will be in the same shed as the chickens the chicken side is sectioned off with a plywood divider and door, but the pigeons could get over to their side if they wanted from the top. The space isnt large enough for the chickens to get through and is up high.

When you say entrance/exit hole do you mean one where they can leave and return free choice or would I be better off getting one of those "trap door" styles or drop in styles that let them in but not out?

One more question There are no pigeon supplies sold in my area....would you recommend feeding the pigeons chicken feed (16% layer feed) and supplement with seed/corn or should I be looking into ordering actual pigeon feed online(could get expensive real fast) ? Is there a particular website you would recommend for pigeon supplies?

Thanks so much!

 

[deerman]

Best to have a pigeon trap door. Easier to train them, better control. Dont want your birds setting around outside , dont want them to be hawk bait.

you can find good pellent feed about 18%. DONT feed cracked corn,if feeding grain.

Good racing sites have great info on homers,and training them. 2nd great site for pigeon supplies.

http://www.pigeon.org/lostbirdinfo.htm

http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/