Pigeons

[92caddy]

I dont have any pics of them, the full name is Spanish Valencian Fiquritas, they are known as the worlds smallest pigeon.......

 

[therealsilkiechick]

mine r all frillbacks, hhhmmm... can't say anything but good about them i love my birds,lol.

oh wait i lied,lol as for bad part of them they poop way to much, specialy if u want to hold them and they don't want held, lmao u get a dirty look and they just let it fly then act like they didn't do a thing.

every one has done it to me so i'm going to make pigeon diapers since they r house pets to wear when out to excersize.

oh and pigeon poo

stinks apple cider vinigar in the water helps and pine shaveings and cleaning often if not it will gag ya, smells different than chickens or caged birds and actually worse than quails.

the only real prob i've had with mine is eggs not fertile and it bounces back and forth. either do to my kid's or their babies they tend to get interupted and then when they lay the eggs half the time they r clear and half the time both eggs r fertile and hatch. so they seam to need more to them self cages where can't be distracted in breeding season.

other than those two main things i've not had any probs. only regret i have is not getting them years ago.

 

[nzpouter]

their poo only stinks if they can't dry out quick enough.

Make sure you have good ventilation and plenty of sunshine in their loft and you'll be right.

There's a method called dry powder that'll save you some work...

 

[Tripp]

To me the favorite thing about my pigeons is being able to stand in the yard and have them land on my hand looking for food I have a wire floor in my loft so I don't really have to scrape alot of poop!! just out of the nest boxes. I guess the only thing I don't like about them is that come spring the can have 4 babies abot every 36 days atleast that is the way my birds do it! They eat twice as much when they are raising babies!other than that I really really enjoy mine and if you are luckey enough to have a club near you then you will be addicted!
The people are always nice and when they find out that you are interested usually they will start giving you birds! Thats just what happened with me!! The most important thing is that you don't talk to your wife about them because eventually she will start telling that she REALLY don't care LOL!!!! I have 20 white homers if you would like some I can ship them just pay for shipping and a box?????


Tripp

 

[deerman]

have enjoy pigeon most of my life, breed for every person. If you live where you can fly them. Homers are great, just something about taking birds 500 mile from home and seeing them return.

Only con I see is with some of the show birds, some need trim just to get fertile eggs,other can NOT feed their young.
What a joy to win the show or a race with a bird you raised.

pic.of english trumper.

 

[LilPeeps]

The only con I can think of is that they do poo a lot, other than that, they're great! I have an indian fantail, a capuchine, a fantail x capuchine, lahore, german owl, chinese owls, priests, rollers, modenas, komorner tumblers, turbits, scandaroons, and frillbacks.

 

[Feathered Wings]

Like all here the only con is the poop.
They are what i call no fuss birds all you do is feed them give them grit and fresh water.
They will return with cute baby's and all you have to do is give them a nest and they do the rest.
I have German Shield owls in Brown.Black and Tan winged. White and Black Fantails, Chinese Owls, Jacobin's and i will be getting some Italian Owls in Feb.

They are very addictive and you can never have too many and there always one more you just have to have,

 

[merry hens]

Pros:

They come in a huge variety of sizes, shapes and colors. A breed for everyone.
They (homers) can fly home from hundreds of miles away, which is absolutely incredible.
Rollers!
They are addictive, as others said. I put this as a pro because they are so much fun.
Don't require much space.
They don't eat that much.
They can fly!
You can send messages with them.
Their coos are quiet and relaxing.
They breed readily on their own and are very prolific.
They are hardy and tolerant of almost all weather.
Very inexpensive.
They are easy to tame and make good pets.
You can also raise them for meat.
You can show them, race them, have rollers/tumblers, or just have them for fun.
An excellent chance to get to know your local birds of prey very well, as you can expect them to start hanging around a lot once they find out you have pigeons.
Pigeons are fabulous! There are few people I know who started with pigeons and didnt get completely addicted.

Cons:

Pigeons are a favorite food of many raptor species.
They are not particulary more messy than chickens. They poop more because they have a faster metabolism. To me, messiness is relative to the # of birds you are keeping in a given space and how well that space is maintained. But they do not spend much time on the ground so you cant just lay shavings down (If you do, they just get blown about by flapping wings). A regular scraping of perches/shelves is necessary.
Most people seem to hate pigeons. Expect looks of disgust when you tell people you have pigeons. Sorry, its just the cold hard truth.
Pigeon-keeping is a dying hobby.

Despite the cons, I highly recomend pigeons. I got my first pigeons 5 years ago and now I cant live without them!

 

[fantai lover]

how will ya know the gender of an indian fantail

someone plz help

 

[gunnarwordon]

Okay. Let's go....
Pros:
easy beginners bird.
cute.
cheap to raise.
don't need too much space.
can be lucrative.

Cons:
Lots of feces.
can be messy.
vulnerable to predators.
My American Fantails are very slow.