Proper care for adopted pigeons?

[WVduckchick]

I made a couple videos, thought they might give you some ideas. Please excuse the mess, it’s just becoming spring enough for me to start some spring cleaning.
One of the videos shows a mom feeding some squeakers, they are amazing to me.
The whole section that the pigeons and d’uccle are in was originally 4 sections for different chicken breeds. I ended up removing some of the netting between it all when they kept getting thru to the other side. Now the pigeons have room to fly around some, even when I don’t let them into the larger duck section.

 

[bhawk-23]

@WVduckchick

I love your squeaky d’uccle rooster!!

How many pigeons do you have? And how many sq ft is recommended per pigeon? I cannot wait for the day I have property like yours. I am so jealous. I live in town Though I am very lucky my town has no limits on birds, only what your neighbors will tolerate.

My neighbors are awesome. They even asked if my roo was ok when they didn’t hear him anymore. I figured they would be thrilled but apparently they liked hearing him lol

Was that a rain water system I saw set up to flow into your duck pool?

Thank you for taking the time to video your set up. I LOVE seeing all the birds and what everyone has done!

 

[WVduckchick]

@WVduckchick

I love your squeaky d’uccle rooster!!

How many pigeons do you have? And how many sq ft is recommended per pigeon? I cannot wait for the day I have property like yours. I am so jealous. I live in town Though I am very lucky my town has no limits on birds, only what your neighbors will tolerate.

My neighbors are awesome. They even asked if my roo was ok when they didn’t hear him anymore. I figured they would be thrilled but apparently they liked hearing him lol

Was that a rain water system I saw set up to flow into your duck pool?

Thank you for taking the time to video your set up. I LOVE seeing all the birds and what everyone has done!

My roosters crow constantly. I really have too many, especially too many serama roosters, but they coexist, so I keep them anyway. They are so cute, I find it hard to rehome them.

I’m not sure what the recommended area is for pigeons. Maybe @Qwerty3159 might know? Mine seem to tolerate what I have for them. I think I have around 60 or so now, 9 have hatched just this year! They are very prolific in January/February, then again in late summer.

And yes, the downspouts from my building are routed to my duck pool. It’s a 300 gallon cow trough, I have a couple inches of concrete in the bottom, with a drain on the bottom, so I empty it before a big rain and let the rain refill as much as possible. Save me a little money lol

Newest set of squabs I found yesterday.

 

[WVduckchick]

@sourland may also know the amount of area recommended for pigeons, so I’m tagging him. Great wealth of pigeon knowledge.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I’ve heard anything from 2-4-8-10 square feet per pigeon. 4-8 seems reasonable.

I think it depends more on the temperament of the pigeons and if there are enough nest boxes. I have a 4x8x6 ft loft which comfortably houses 5-6 pairs or 10-12 pigeons. I also let my homers out, I think if they were in there all the time you’d want more space for each pigeon.
Some breeds seem to require more room than others. Roller pigeons are pretty small but they definitely tolerate living in higher densities better than say homing pigeons You want at least as many nest boxes as adult pairs you have but the more the better.

 

[WVduckchick]

@bhawk-23 thought you might enjoy seeing this. I noticed an empty egg shell this morning, and when I picked it up, it was obviously a hatched egg. I found the culprit. So now a pigeon has hatched a porcelain d’uccle chick, with at least one more egg. I have no idea how this is going to go! Lol

 

[bhawk-23]

I’ve heard anything from 2-4-8-10 square feet per pigeon. 4-8 seems reasonable.

I think it depends more on the temperament of the pigeons and if there are enough nest boxes. I have a 4x8x6 ft loft which comfortably houses 5-6 pairs or 10-12 pigeons. I also let my homers out, I think if they were in there all the time you’d want more space for each pigeon.
Some breeds seem to require more room than others. Roller pigeons are pretty small but they definitely tolerate living in higher densities better than say homing pigeons You want at least as many nest boxes as adult pairs you have but the more the better.

I can see the breed/temperament determining the housing situation the same as chickens. I’m still thinking on the small side like maybe 2 or 4.
My set up is definitely not good though. I’ve seen 2 small birds get under my net recently. They found their way out just as quickly but definitely no bueno for keeping pigeons in.

@bhawk-23 thought you might enjoy seeing this. I noticed an empty egg shell this morning, and when I picked it up, it was obviously a hatched egg. I found the culprit. So now a pigeon has hatched a porcelain d’uccle chick, with at least one more egg. I have no idea how this is going to go! Lol
View attachment 3777726

Omg!! Adorable!! I bet you were surprised to see all that fluff! Can you imagine the adjustment to being fed pigeon milk, they would both be so confused!
Did you take the chick out? If not can you send another picture or video of them interacting?

I had the most adorable serama rooster, Sir Screech A Lot. He was so fun to watch until he decided the full sized hens were no longer welcome in HIS coop for his 2 maturing ladies. After drawing blood on my top hen’s comb while she was retreating and submitting he was no longer welcomed in our flock. The 2 serama hens were a hoot though.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I apologize if it was discussed elsewhere in the thread, but have you considered building a small loft inside your netted area? It’s very easy to train pigeons with food and you should be able to get them back in the loft quite willingly. You could let them out in the netted area under supervision.

I wouldn’t keep homing pigeons in a set up like this. They are too active and would probably bolt right through the net if startled by a bird of prey. But fancy breeds like @WVduckchick ’s Satinettes could probably do quite well in such a setup.

There are also some breeds of pigeon that are quite large and don’t fly much at all, so they in some respects can be easier to manage. They also tend to be really docile and great pets! I have a pair of giant runt pigeons in addition to my homers and I love them.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@bhawk-23 thought you might enjoy seeing this. I noticed an empty egg shell this morning, and when I picked it up, it was obviously a hatched egg. I found the culprit. So now a pigeon has hatched a porcelain d’uccle chick, with at least one more egg. I have no idea how this is going to go! Lol
View attachment 3777726

Adorable!
Let us know what happens

 

[WVduckchick]

I can see the breed/temperament determining the housing situation the same as chickens. I’m still thinking on the small side like maybe 2 or 4.
My set up is definitely not good though. I’ve seen 2 small birds get under my net recently. They found their way out just as quickly but definitely no bueno for keeping pigeons in.

Omg!! Adorable!! I bet you were surprised to see all that fluff! Can you imagine the adjustment to being fed pigeon milk, they would both be so confused!
Did you take the chick out? If not can you send another picture or video of them interacting?

I had the most adorable serama rooster, Sir Screech A Lot. He was so fun to watch until he decided the full sized hens were no longer welcome in HIS coop for his 2 maturing ladies. After drawing blood on my top hen’s comb while she was retreating and submitting he was no longer welcomed in our flock. The 2 serama hens were a hoot though.

Thanks. Pigeon momma doesn’t like me to mess with her much, but I’ll try to get a video. I’ve been waiting to see if the other egg might hatch, I think there is only one, but I haven’t caught her out of the nest yet, to be sure.
I do have 3 d’uccle eggs in my incubator, day 13 I think. I thought I’d wait and see how a pigeon mom is with a chicken chick, I have no idea what they will do. I put a feeder and waterer in her coop though. There are also experienced d’uccle hens in there, it wouldn’t surprise me if they take over the chick.

I have a pen of seramas too! One of my first breeds, sounds like we have similar tastes in birds.