Pigeons

[Chickenhatcher89]

I am going to get a pair of pigeons in about a month, so I wanted to do some research on them beforehand. I have a few questions such as:
What kind of loft should be built for them? Can they be in a pen with chickens if the pigeons have a place to go? and what do they eat?
Any advice would be great

 

[elliemay0305]

i dont have any but i know you can buy food just for them. not sure where you can get it but ask at your local feed store. i know a guy who has some racing pigeons and he keeps them in hutch like houses.

 

[Chickenhatcher89]

Does anyone have any pictures of a simple loft I could build?

 

[seedcorn]

about 10 below this is another post on pigeons w/a very easy CHEAP way to house pigeons.

Feed.....wheat, corn, layer mash, pigeon grains, pigeon pellets. They will eat almost anything and survive/thrive. If you feed grains, grit is necessary.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=153506

 

[yotetrapper]

Ours dont have their own house. Most nest/roost in the garage/barn and the others voluntarily hang out in the chicken coops. We dont "feed" them either, since they are "free range" pigeons, but there is always my uncovered barrel of chicken food in the garage and they go in there and eat when they want to. They all do wonderful. In fact, we have 5 new baby pigeons they hatched out so far this spring.

 

[Chickenhatcher89]

Thanks for the information. I can't wait to get the pigeons!

 

[nzpouter]

here's my simple rule on building a pigeon loft...

width, left to right, back to front, spread your arms, your finger tip should touch both walls.

height raise your arm, you should be able to touch the ceiling.

perches are a waste of space, just build your nest boxes to fit the back wall.

 

[gaeamama]

Here's a pic of my pigeons inside the chicken coop on top of the chickens' nest boxes:

My pigeons live right in the same coop with the chickens, we got them in February and we haven't had any problems. In fact, we have two new babies now. If you'd like to see more inside my very basic coop, check out the album here: http://s646.photobucket.com/albums/uu190/rmhorrigan/033009pigeons/

Be forewarned though: Pigeons are very, very poopy creatures!! Much more so than chickens!

 

[Okla-doodle-doo]

Pigeons are very adaptable and can be housed in about anything. I took pre made wooden fence sections and made a 16x12 and added a cheap roof. It holds a lot of birds. Hang nest on the walls,can put up dividers to use several pens. Young chicks that aren't able to fly are alright with pigeons but once they are able to fly they compete with the pigeons for roost and nest and can destroy eggs and or eat babies.

 

[Willjg]

Hey there,

I think pigeons are one of the easiest birds to keep... Just give them good space and keep it dry.
I've always kept mine in with a mixed pen, chickens, and or whatever else I had at the time. I gave them pigeon feed, but they will eat just about anything (including treats) that you offer the other birds too.

Hope you love those pigeons!

Take Care,
Bill.