Pigeon Talk

[Serin]

I'm so happy for them and you!!! Are you for sure keeping Mr. Rose then?

Yeah. But I have been unhappy with any of the variations on his name, especially now that we have final confirmation of his sex.

Rosie, Mr. Rosie, Mr. Rose,Roosevelt, Ross, Rosco... nothing sounded quite right and I had almost taken to just calling him Olives husband. I decided today that from now on, I'm going to call him Rowan. Rowans are trees, like olives, so their names match better.

 

[biophiliac]

I'm going to call him Rowan

Perfect!

 

[memphis]

Rowan & Olive....quite the saga! Upon retrospect....Olive was playing hard to get & he won her over! And I still think she was bitey due to hormones. Can't wait to hear stories of them raising their family.

 

[Serin]

Rowan & Olive....quite the saga! Upon retrospect....Olive was playing hard to get & he won her over! And I still think she was bitey due to hormones. Can't wait to hear stories of them raising their family.

Agreed, she hasn't been snippy since she laid her first egg.

 

[backyard pigeons]

I brought the eggs inside today to candle and we have life! A little heartbeat is visible in the first egg! Second egg may have some traces of veins but was not as conclusive.

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Yay! I'm so happy!

 

[Serin]

Rowan & Olive....quite the saga! Upon retrospect....Olive was playing hard to get & he won her over!

He won her over in a very unconventional way for a male pigeon though, that probably wouldn't work well with homer hens or if he had competing males around. Very little of the showing off or driving behavior they normally do. His driving consisted of about 15 seconds of cooing and spinning and then he vigorously preened her neck while she was already sitting in her nest. Then he sat down with her... and that seemed to be it. He didn't do anymore to impress her but was really into preening her and being preened. Olive still seems to be the more dominant bird of the pair. Before she accepted him, she'd beat him around a bit if he was in her nest or in her way when she wanted to eat and he never defended himself.

I bet that he was at the bottom of the social hierarchy in the loft he came from, and being small and with such a meek personality, I imagine it was difficult for him to compete with other homer cocks to win a mate. But here, with just one very laid back little hen pigeon to woo, and nobody to fight with he seems to be thriving. And he is very easygoing and low energy, possibly more than even Olive. Does not seem like he misses flying long distances whatsoever. I never even see him pace the wire like he wants out. He seems very settled down and content, like he has everything he needs right there.

Basically, I think I have the pigeon version of Ferdinand the bull. I don't think Rowan wanted to be a racing pigeon or a homing pigeon (and given where he ended up he was probably not good at either). He just wanted to take things at a leisurely pace and smell the flowers.

If his gentle temperament is genetic, and if they are given the human socialization Rowan didn't get, their kids should have excellent personalities as pet birds.

And they're going to have a huge boost of hybrid vigor from this cross. Owls are pretty line-bred, but homers are super diverse, so they should be really healthy too.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Racers had a loft fly today. They did great! Went a little higher and farther than they ever have. Soon when they have been out a few more times, I'm gonna add some older birds with them. Right now, they are still sqeakers so the old birds would bring them out to far.
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Nice! Im glad they did good!

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The rings went on OK. There feet are bigger than I expected! Little hobbits!

Need an updated pic of the hobbits!

So I went back out and the bird is no longer wet but instead very greasy on the neck and head. I'm not sure what it got into but now that its dry it rubs off into a gross oily residue. I shouldn't joke about it but he honestly looks like one of those poor seabirds after getting into an oil spill.
I was hesistant to try and remove it and take some of the feathers natural waterproofing off but it seemed better than a bunch of oily filthy feathers. I decided to try to rinse off as much of it as possible with some water and a tiny amount of Dawn. Its an unusually cool night so Mr. Greaseball will be spending the rest of the night in the basement where he can dry himself in peace.

Poor fella.. hope he's doin good now.

I brought the eggs inside today to candle and we have life! A little heartbeat is visible in the first egg! Second egg may have some traces of veins but was not as conclusive.

View attachment 1875170

Oh my goodness!
Congrats!! What a beautiful pic!

I let 13 of my young homing pigeons out for a flight in view of the loft only 6 have return today. Hope my luck is better tomorrow.

Oh dear.. Im sorry! I hope they return..

No eggs from Alice yet.. but lots of pigeon romance goin on in my loft for sure..

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Perfect!

Agreed!
I knew I lost a quote.. had to go back and get it!

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

@backyard pigeons any new eggs or littles in your loft?

 

[backyard pigeons]

@backyard pigeons any new eggs or littles in your loft?

No there arent...

I am not totally sure why my birds aren't breeding like everybody's else's birds.

Perhaps age? Most were given to me, (might have something to do with my age) and are older. My youngest pairs are the ones that have given me the most offspring. Maybe this spring will be the year!

have you heard anymore about the Chattanooga pigeon show?