Pigeon Talk

[Qwerty3159]

What would the best pigeon breeds be for a person who wants to begin keeping pigeons? (Not like I have the room or time for that, but still.)

I’ve heard nothing but good things about breeds such as Old German Owls or Satinettes. These fall into the coop/garden category. Fantails are a popular choice and with good reason.

I do love my homers though. Nothing beats seeing them fly together!

 

[Amer]

I’ve heard nothing but good things about breeds such as Old German Owls or Satinettes. These fall into the coop/garden category. Fantails are a popular choice and with good reason.

I do love my homers though. Nothing beats seeing them fly together!

I agree

 

[Amer]

Yeah, that and Mookie, Lucerne, and Chinese Owl.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Qwerty3159​

How is your pigeon progressing.?

Not bad! He could definitely be a lot bigger still so I’m starting to face the reality that he may be stunted forever. He’s been mostly-grown and eating like an absolute pig for well over a month now. No parasites or anything like that, he’s always been healthy with a strong will to survive in spite of the stunting and severe dehydration he suffered in his first few days

But because “he” is still not getting any bigger I’m trying to plan my options for his long term happiness. There’s plenty of perches and areas in the loft where a little guy like him can seek refuge, but on the rare occasion another pigeon tries to bully him at the drinker or something he is utterly defenseless and just had to run. Fortunately I have a fairly even tempered group and don’t see much of this happening but always a possibility. He is able to wing slap the others and hold his own space at the feeder, but I make sure to give him a one on one hand feeding each day to ensure he’s getting enough. He flies out of the door with the others, his flight is weak but controlled - he’ll zip from the roof to the loft and back a million times but I don’t think he can do more than that. He is definitely not going to be able to free fly in hawk season which is like 1/2 the year. You can see how white his nostril area on the beak is indicating age. Lots of very obvious stress-barring as well but I think he’ll molt out of that just fine.

Maybe I should build a small aviary and get him a dove or something for company. He is a similar size to a ringneck dove.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I’m really hoping he’s a male. I wasn’t able to find much literature on how stunting effects egg laying.
Obviously I won’t be breeding, but even with a female pair it seems likely that some eggs will be laid. So hopefully he’s a male and we don’t have to think about that at all

Here is the youngun with one of my more petite hens for comparison.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Obviously I won’t be breeding, but even with a female pair it seems likely that some eggs will be laid. So hopefully he’s a male and we don’t have to think about that at all

How do you know if they are males? I know the males are bigger and less slender than the females overall, but is there any other way? Besides the pigeon dancing at the females.

 

[Qwerty3159]

How do you know if they are males? I know the males are bigger and less slender than the females overall, but is there any other way? Besides the pigeon dancing at the females.

One of the best ways I’ve been able to tell is by introducing a foreign hen or young pigeon. Usually, when a cock sees a brand new hen/potential hen for the first time he is often compelled to start strutting and tail-spreading.

The males tend to be bigger, louder, more aggressive and dominant. Sometimes they just have a look about them and you can tell. Breeds like homers, the males tend to have bigger wattles on their cere and in a ring around their eyes.

It’s all on a spectrum though and frankly can be difficult to tell. The top dog in my loft is a hen; she’s by far the toughest. I also have a proven male/female pair where the female will mount the male and do a faux-mating with all the steps simulated. Definitely the only time I’ve heard of this occurring in pigeons. It’s pretty bizarre but they happen to also be my most productive pair. As for this runt, I expect it’ll be hard to tell for a while as those physical sexual characteristics will probably take even longer than normal to show.

 

[avjudge]

My little injured baby is all grown up & flying [sniff]

Mostly blue bar but got one single white wing feather and white “underpants” from black-and-white dad.

 

[cavemanrich]

My little injured baby is all grown up & flying [sniff]

Mostly blue bar but got one single white wing feather and white “underpants” from black-and-white dad.

View attachment 3894675

You don't band your pets???
I never raced or such, but always banded for my own info records. I also kept mostly white. so that was helpful with bands showing YEAR.

 

[avjudge]

You don't band your pets???
I never raced or such, but always banded for my own info records. I also kept mostly white. so that was helpful with bands showing YEAR.

I only have a maximum of eight (the reason I only hatched one baby at a time this spring, from my two unrelated families) and colors are all over the map so at least so far I’ve been able to keep track in my mind.

Definitely harder to keep track of when they are pure white, but I have only had two of those and both are now gone – both rescues, one significantly larger, the other with a drooping wing so a moment’s checking told me which one I was looking at.

As time goes on, particularly if I end up with more blue bars, I may have to change my practice and band!