Pigeon Talk

[backyard pigeons]

I'm curious about what you guys do for a flying schedule? Do you let them free roam all day? Only in the morning/night? I'd like to let them fly as much as possible so they don't feel cooped up.

I fly my old birds at around 3:00 to 4:00, unless I'm tossing them. And then my young birds at around 4 or 5, for about 1\2 hour. soon, they will be tossed as well. Once tossing begins, I will get the young birds flying for about 2 hours touching nothing but air in loft flys. My old birds are, well, too old to fly that long. Plus they have gotten into bad habits of landing in trees.

Open loft is risky, but I hope to do it someday. One of my many pigeon dreams is to build a 12×24 loft for feral birds only. I want to open loft them all day, and see how they fare. I wouldn't feed them, but provide water. Maybe when I get my own land...

 

[cavemanrich]

One of my many pigeon dreams is to build a 12×24 loft for feral birds only. I want to open loft them all day, and see how they fare. I wouldn't feed them, but provide water. Maybe when I get my own land...

Since you know my position on ferals, you get a..... ..... and an A grading on report card. ..... But note what I put a strike thru,,, If there is no food, ferals would not return

 

[memphis]

What's the purpose of not feeding them? I missed something.

 

[WVduckchick]

What's the purpose of not feeding them? I missed something.

I believe it’s to keep them hungry so they will return home, where they know they will be fed.

 

[backyard pigeons]

If there is no food, ferals would not return

you wouldn't think so. But ferals have strong homing genes. Once settled, they wouldn't want to leave. Same way they live under bridges. They don't find food or water under them, but they find shelter.

What's the purpose of not feeding them? I missed something.

I would feed them I til they could be free flown. I would love to see a flock of 'wild pigeons' that come back to me, but I don't have to feed them. It would be just like what they do in the wild, in barns, old buildings, and bridges. Obviously, if they weren't finding enough food to support themselves or their young, I would intervene. Does this make sense?

 

[backyard pigeons]

I believe it’s to keep them hungry so they will return home, where they know they will be fed.

That's generally the case of not feeding them, but what I was talking about meant that I was hoping to have a flock of feral pigeons, who live in a shed i would build, who would open loft all day and find their own food. My hope would be that they return for the shelter, just like under bridges.


sorry if I upset anyone! Again, if they weren't finding enough food, I would intervene.

 

[Bdg1104]

That is a great idea @backyard pigeons . I know that there are a few cities that have large feral populations and they do something similar on the rooftops. It is a great opportunity to limit the population humanely in cities as well by removing the real eggs and giving fake ones. Though I don't think pigeons are as much of a pest in cities as people make them out to be haha.

You could do something similar here if you are worried about it and want to reduce the population. Though I doubt it's necessary in more rural areas. They don't seem to harm the ecosystem as much as people think either. I always think of them as "introduced" rather than "invasive." As far as I know they don't take any resources away from native species and they tend to nest in different areas.

The worst thing they do is probably pooping on people's cars

 

[WVduckchick]

That's generally the case of not feeding them, but what I was talking about meant that I was hoping to have a flock of feral pigeons, who live in a shed i would build, who would open loft all day and find their own food. My hope would be that they return for the shelter, just like under bridges.


sorry if I upset anyone! Again, if they weren't finding enough food, I would intervene.

Oh! Gotcha. I hadn’t completely read everything, so my apologies.

 

[WVduckchick]

I just banded my new 6. I’m up to 31 birds now, I better start selling some.

I ran out of colors for the extra band (NPA on one leg, plain colored on the other leg) so I got creative and used my Dremel to drill 3 holes in the plain band, to differentiate them from the other of the same color. At 8 days old, some of the larger ones were a slight challenge to get the bands on.

 

[backyard pigeons]

That is a great idea @backyard pigeons . I know that there are a few cities that have large feral populations and they do something similar on the rooftops. It is a great opportunity to limit the population humanely in cities as well by removing the real eggs and giving fake ones. Though I don't think pigeons are as much of a pest in cities as people make them out to be haha.

thanks! I didn't mention, but how I would like to stock my feral loft is to talk to business owners in Nashville, which is about 45 minutes from me, and get permission to trap. Most would be very glad to have someone trap their pigeons, which can clog up their AC units by roosting on them. Then I would keep them in the loft for several months, until they produce some young. Then release them. some will end up going back, but the majority would probably stay if the have nested.

That would be a win win. They wouldn't have as many pigeons, and I would get my ferals. I would do it in the dead of winter so that there wouldn't be any babies that starve because the parents got trapped. And if I trap any sealed and registered bands, I could get it back to the owner.

As far as I know they don't take any resources away from native species and they tend to nest in different areas.

that's exactly right. Pigeons #1 choice of food is grain. 80% of native birds eat primarily insects. They nest on rooftops and under bridges. The only other native bird that does is purple martins. (there are several non native birds who do the same, such as monk parakeets.)

The only thing they really affect is farmers, but pigeons mostly feed in harvested fields with spilled grain. So, they aren't a real problem, but people like to fuss!