Pigeon Talk

[Serin]

A healthy bird doesn't need regular veterinary care. My birds are healthy and get vaccinated, different minerals, supplements and most importantly flight time. I haven't had pigeons long enough for any to die from old age yet! The oldest I have is four!!

Birds hide illness well and without vet checkups it is hard to know what might be going on inside until its too late to do anything. Vet care is also usually necessary to save an eggbound bird. I haven't dealt with this myself but a buddy of mine has a pet pigeon who got eggbound a few months ago and ran up more than $1000 in vet bills after needing surgery and then having complications. I am happy Olive doesn't lay regularly but I'd do the same for her.

I'm not going to knock how everyone else keeps the birds any more, its everyone's choice, but birds kept indoors and seen by the vet do live longer. Same as indoor versus outdoor cats. If people think depriving either of freedom is cruel they have that right but I think their needs can be fulfilled without letting them at large without risk of getting lost and starving or being brutally killed by predators.

I've been in touch with the local pigeon shelter since rehabbing the lost racer last summer. Many of the birds they get are lost homers. They come in starved. People take their birds on tosses and accept that some don't come back. Those are the birds they deal with. Most lost domestic pigeons don't just join feral colonies and even those that do live short, hard lives. Many come in badly injured after being on the streets. Seeing all these casualties just... Makes me see the situation differently.

Some folks advocate for dogs or stray cats. I try to be a voice for pigeons. They dont have many advocates. There are only a handful of shelter networks across all of the United states.

 

[casportpony]

OK. I crumbled! I know I said I wasn't going to breed from the fantails until I decided what I was going to do BUT I just went out to do my chores and my white female fantail has decided to sneaky a nest and there is two beautiful little white eggs in there. She looked so content and even let me check under her with no fuss. I've let her keep them! So I have one archangel due on the 2nd march and two fantails on the 4th!!

Congrats!

 

[room onthebroom]

OK. I crumbled! I know I said I wasn't going to breed from the fantails until I decided what I was going to do BUT I just went out to do my chores and my white female fantail has decided to sneaky a nest and there is two beautiful little white eggs in there. She looked so content and even let me check under her with no fuss. I've let her keep them! So I have one archangel due on the 2nd march and two fantails on the 4th!!

My grandfather raised prized fantails way back in the day. I cant wait!!!

 

[casportpony]

Question, how many days do pigeon eggs take to hatch? Is it 19? And how about doves?

 

[CCUK]

My grandfather raised prized fantails way back in the day. I cant wait!!!

I love the fantails. Mine are just garden fantails so all vary slightly. I keep thinking about getting some Indian fantails. They are beauties. You will have to see if you have any pictures!

Question, how many days do pigeon eggs take to hatch? Is it 19? And how about doves?

17 normally. Give or take. It depends on when the second egg was layed. I normally go from the second egg but the first egg should hatch the day before but then sometimes they hatch at the same time.

 

[room onthebroom]

You will have to see if you have any pictures!

That was the stone ages so there was only one picture. I've been looking for it since WV got her birds & still haven't found it. So incredibly frustrating! It will turn up eventually & I'll proudly post it.

 

[backyard pigeons]

The oldest pigeon currently alive is 24.
There are many birds approaching or just over 20 I know of in the pet bird community.
The oldest pigeon ever recorded was Kaiser, a German war pigeon captured by the American millitary in world war 2, who lived to 32. He was kept as a breeder in a closed loft, thus his longevity.

very interesting. I was unaware of the fact that one was ever recorded living that long. Defently not normal though. Now days, fancy birds are very inbred, most not ever seeing double digits.

I guess the reason I questioned it was the way you said it; you made it sound like fact that pigeons live 25 years. But the truth is, even with great care, pigeons may or may not see double digits.

Yes, I got 2 Nigerian Dwarf bottle babies!!!!
They are darling little things, more like a puppy than a goat lol
I have little to no direct experience with goats, so I decided to go with 2 boys to start with. I may get more for the farm sometime later, but these 2 boys will be banded (neutered/wethered) as soon as they are ready.
But I’m in love!
They are staying in our home office for now, but we built a temp fence outside the door so I can let them outside at times.
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soo cute! they aren't gonna be indoors forever, right? I think I would lose my patience with cleaning up after them...

You defently need some nanny goats.

 

[memphis]

Ok, I'm wading I shouldn't...
Serin...I get it. And your a heck of a pigeon advocate. You know I love Olive! But I don't have issues with folks flying birds that were bred to fly. Yeah...ok...maybe it is a risk. But the beauty of watching a bird do what it was bred for can be unsurpassed. And the bird...there has to be a certain joy in that little pigeons heart when it takes to the air! I see both sides. I think folks here love their birds and do what they feel is right in their hearts.

 

[Old_Strain_Lover]

very interesting. I was unaware of the fact that one was ever recorded living that long. Defently not normal though. Now days, fancy birds are very inbred, most not ever seeing double digits.

I guess the reason I questioned it was the way you said it; you made it sound like fact that pigeons live 25 years. But the truth is, even with great care, pigeons may or may not see double digits.

soo cute! they aren't gonna be indoors forever, right? I think I would lose my patience with cleaning up after them...

You defently need some nanny goats.

My oldest pigeon (who flew through races, loft flying, road training etc.) was 23 years old. My current oldest is 14 years old I believe (again, a flying bird). I don't use a vet for my birds ever. The lifespan largely comes down to genetics, and health... just like in humans. I called out Serin on that statement because it rubbed me the wrong way, implying that people who fly there birds somehow care less for them than people who keep them locked up in a house. Somehow sending them out for a flight was a certain death for all of them. I knew he never flew a bird before because there is no other logical reason to make such a statement. Can a bird get killed by a hawk? absolutely. Can a person get hit by a car after they step out of their house? absolutely. But we can't live in a bubble. There are many signs to look for predators before letting the birds out. A couple simple ones, if the birds have access to an aviary and are very weary about going out it generally means danger is around (that's why we should never force them out). In the summer if the song birds suddenly go quiet and disappear, it's again highly likely that trouble is in the area. There are many little signs and tricks that you pick up over the years. But somehow implying that I care less for them is ridiculous. I mean how many people keep pets in the house and abuse them... filthy conditions, over crowded, no food or clean water etc... sadly there are countless people who do this. It all depends on whether the owner is a responsible person or not. I mean just on this very forum there is/was a member who kept capturing wild doves and taking their eggs etc and miserably failing at raising them in some sick sadistic experimentation... Ok I think that's enough ranting haha

 

[room onthebroom]

This isn’t the one I’ve been looking for, but I’ll post it anyway.