Pigeon Talk

[Old_Strain_Lover]

Hey guys! I just learned that hawks are SCARED of geese. I do not know why. But supposedly they steer clear when they see a goose. Way more effective than crows is what I've heard. So, for those of you who have a hawk problem pick up a cheap goose decoy or two. If you want to go a step farther, pick up a goose call. If I have problems in the fall like I did, I will be getting some decoys.
I learned this by reading my racing pigeon digest magizine. Several top lofts in Europe all agreed that it helps hawks steer clear. I have also heard this from American fanciers in the same magizine.
This is the only info I could find online. Obviously not the most trustworthy since its one person saying this, but...
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=166873&ved=2ahUKEwil47imsP3oAhWnm-AKHRzeAxMQFjAQegQIChAB&usg=AOvVaw2fBXNqN9hsK2_qN2nqkSDp

Also, does anyone know what to call this color? View attachment 2103237View attachment 2103238View attachment 2103239

The pictures are very blurry, but it looks like an andalusian (spread indigo). As far as the geese thing... someone probably got lucky. I used to live on a farm and had pigeons, and geese, turkeys, guineas etc at the same time... all out and about free ranging and it made no difference with attacks on pigeons. I mean possibly if they were on the ground near each other... but aerial attacks? nope, no difference. My neighbors have fake owls in their yard and I have even seen the hawks perching on them LOL... I'm pretty sure they would end up doing the same thing if they were geese haha. You can try if you want... you might just get lucky.

 

[Old_Strain_Lover]

I do have one roller. She is quite alot smaller and Ash coloured. She is also called Ash! The one on the top perch is one of her offspring from last year. His father is racer. Sadly Ash can't keep up when they are flying so she just does her own thing! Both of her youngsters have no problem keeping up with the flock though. This is Ash doing a double flip. She doesn't do this often though.

Well that makes sense why it looks like a roller then

 

[Pyxis]

My pair should have a baby any time now, if the one fertile egg made it. Heck, they might have one right now, I've been reticent to disturb them and check. I probably will later today though if I still can't tell.

 

[cavemanrich]

. but aerial attacks? nope, no difference. My neighbors have fake owls in their yard and I have even seen the hawks perching on them LOL...

These pix come from BYC posts.

 

[cavemanrich]

I would say Mainline a pair of these farm geese. Feed them hefty, and they will be heavy and wont think of flying/escaping
View attachment 2103533

Cant help you on that pigeon color,,,,,,,, but,,, SHORE IS PURDY

I usually do not reply to myself publicly But when I offer suggestions, I also like to offer options

Spoiler: If goose keeping does not work out,, :(

 

[WVduckchick]

I got quite the surprise today. I noticed that Bonnie/Clyde had 1 egg a couple weeks ago. Never added the second, but that was ok. Yesterday when she came out to feed, i checked to see if it had hatched yet, and it was pipped! So I quickly closed the lid on the nest box. Today when I went to check, I was surprised by this:

Not a squab... a Porcelain d’Uccle chick!

The most surprising part is I don’t know how she got the egg in there! The d’Uccles are 2 pens away, and the egg would have to have been rolled thru 3 panels of chicken wire.... 2 layers to get out of the d’Uccle pen, across what was my cream legbar pen when the egg would have been moved (open gate, currently being used by ducks and yard roosters now), and thru another fence into the pigeon pen. Across the pigeon pen, up the ramp, and around up into the nest box.

I can’t believe that i didn’t notice the color/size of the egg, but I hadn’t bothered her throughout incubation, so other than a couple night time checks to make sure she was on the egg, I didn’t pay much attention.
The d’Uccle eggs are a tad bigger and have a light tint.

Good news is that i just hatched 6 d’Uccle inside, so the new one has friends the same age. Bad news is that Bonnie will have to start over. I would have let her keep it longer, but with their differences in feeding, I figured I was better off to just take the chick.

 

[biophiliac]

I got quite the surprise today. I noticed that Bonnie/Clyde had 1 egg a couple weeks ago. Never added the second, but that was ok. Yesterday when she came out to feed, i checked to see if it had hatched yet, and it was pipped! So I quickly closed the lid on the nest box. Today when I went to check, I was surprised by this:
View attachment 2104366View attachment 2104368


Not a squab... a Porcelain d’Uccle chick!

The most surprising part is I don’t know how she got the egg in there! The d’Uccles are 2 pens away, and the egg would have to have been rolled thru 3 panels of chicken wire.... 2 layers to get out of the d’Uccle pen, across what was my cream legbar pen when the egg would have been moved (open gate, currently being used by ducks and yard roosters now), and thru another fence into the pigeon pen. Across the pigeon pen, up the ramp, and around up into the nest box.
View attachment 2104369
View attachment 2104370

I can’t believe that i didn’t notice the color/size of the egg, but I hadn’t bothered her throughout incubation, so other than a couple night time checks to make sure she was on the egg, I didn’t pay much attention.
The d’Uccle eggs are a tad bigger and have a light tint.

Good news is that i just hatched 6 d’Uccle inside, so the new one has friends the same age. Bad news is that Bonnie will have to start over. I would have let her keep it longer, but with their differences in feeding, I figured I was better off to just take the chick.

That sounds just crazy! Is it more likely the d'uccle hen laid an egg in the pigeon box?

 

[WVduckchick]

That sounds just crazy! Is it more likely the d'uccle hen laid an egg in the pigeon box?

Not possible. They haven’t been out of their pen in months. Didn’t want one of my yard bird roosters trying to mate them.
Only other possibility is that I collected the d’Uccle egg, carried it in there, and laid it down, without remembering.

 

[biophiliac]

Not possible. They haven’t been out of their pen in months. Didn’t want one of my yard bird roosters trying to mate them.
Only other possibility is that I collected the d’Uccle egg, carried it in there, and laid it down, without remembering.

Your 'other possibility' definitely sounds like something I could do! Lol You say he is the same age as the eggs you collected for incubation?

 

[WVduckchick]

Your 'other possibility' definitely sounds like something I could do! Lol You say he is the same age as the eggs you collected for incubation?

I really don’t remember carrying an egg in there, but if I did, I still know I did not lay it in her nest box. Possibly on the ground, while filling their feeders. So she still would have had to carry it up, or roll it up the ramp to get it inside. Lol
The d’Uccle don’t lay every day, so missing an egg wouldn’t have bothered me. I set about 12 that time (from 2 pullets) so they were a day to a week old. It had to have been a fresh egg, I wasn’t checking that box every day, but apparently she started sitting on it at the same time I set them, since they hatched on the same day. Odd coincidence.