Providing heat for pigeons in winter?

SmittenChickens

In the Brooder
7 Years
Sep 7, 2012
41
2
24
My pijs live out in the insulated garage and so far seem to be doing just fine. But it can get brutally cold here... -50F windchills in Jan and Feb. There's no drafts in the garage and I offer them sunflower seed and peanuts as a high-fat supplement to help stay warm. They also have a nest box full of hay (that they never seem to use, LOL).

I'm wondering if I could offer some sort of heat source for them for the coldest parts of winter? Heat lamps are nice but they just seem so dangerous, especially in a garage full of lumber and hay. They make those electric heating pads for doghouses, or those microwaveable things that don't use electricity? Would a pigeon use any of these things?

Any and all input on how to keep my pijs warm and happy this winter would be great! If it matters, they are on the kind of young side.. they're about 5 months old now. Full feathered though. :)
 
No heat required and can be dangerous aside from possibly starting fire. Feed whole corn and layer with chicken or songbird grit. If they get too thin then can bring inside in boxes overnight. If pigeons don't acclimate to cold, they can die quick if power goes out.
 
As long as your birds are well feathered I think you loft is over kill as it is. I live in Canada (Canada is the Indian name for Cold!!)
My pigeons are more than content with an uninsulated baby barn. They have no heat of any kind. I change their water twice a day because of the cold.

I feed heavy with corn to combat the cold during the winter months. If you want birds that have no resistance and will be susceptible to disease treat them like premature babies in a incubator and you will get exactly that.

I have Muscovy ducks that are native
to a tropical climate living in the same conditions and all the birds are as healthy as a trout.
 
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As long as your birds are well feathered I think you loft is over kill as it is. I live in Canada (Canada is the Indian name for Cold!!)
My pigeons are more than content with an uninsulated baby barn. They have no heat of any kind. I change their water twice a day because of the cold.

I feed heavy with corn to combat the cold during the winter months. If you want birds that have no resistance and will be susceptible to disease treat them like premature babies in a incubator and you will get exactly that.

I have Muscovy ducks that are native
to a tropical climate living in the same conditions and all the birds are as healthy as a trout.
goodpost.gif

Lived in the UP for a few years, know what you are saying! Our horses were the same way.
Scott
 
see then you need four more birds to watch fly in a decent flock for amusement and safety for them. lol they can get addictive. i toss my extra eggs i can keep, to the dog. a breeding pair given two nests, can create more pigeons flying around pretty quick! maybe stick to all boys, until you get the bug like the rest of us! hahaha
 
A newer couple of good Birmingham rollers from new York, have just hatched days ago, two naked pink healthy young, from grouse footed bald headed badged checkered blue hen, and a black clean legged male.female was fluffing n spreading covering till yesterday when moved aside and now babies pop in and out from under her. All out in open wire rabbit cage, on open covered porch, board over top of cage, tarp on one side n board on other, tray under. Plastic dog bowls in back corners with bedding fourth to half filling. Feeding cheep layer crumbles and changing water twice daily. All other babies from show and performance families same,just dual performance show line hatch larger n thicker grow lot faster parents rarely cover except when eggs and real young when real cold, and larger eggs. If I had warning she would lay so sone I'd have made small cardboard box open on one end enough just to come and go, space for two adults to comply lay next to each other, with paper then bedding on bottom. keeping heat in better. Rock doves/pigeons are huskies of dove world, doing healthiest in dry cold climates provided basic needs met, breeding then instinctively when and because they have advantage then, feeding rich crop milk in winter. All my pigeon breeds ever had start and accelerate breeding when gets colder, through until it gets hot slowing or stopping then temp even. I've never had pigeons stop rearing from cold, but have from heat waves repeatedly, and when had heat applied inside (could just be anecdotal coincidence I'm told of over eleven years only.. some have had many more pigeons for two e as long or lot longer, knowing lot more. Ive only had personal experience with pigeons in cold dry of WI -100 (fed wild bird seed, scratch grains, dry dog food, cereal, bread, fruit, berries, nuts, with pea gravel and sand as grit), and hot humid +100 of TN (also added and fed with success: pigeon pellets, pigeon conditioning crumble/mash, hookbill n songbird food, chicken layer, greens bugs, etc I'm forgetting (with caged song bird n chicken grit), so curious about experiences others have had with things in this country and others in winter with provided area materials etc. I've sadly seen great pampered performance and show birds given to someone and birds lose one or both foot or legs in transit,then birds left in open wire cage in open no cover of trees even preventing sun rain snow wind or preds harassment, given metal tins with no drainage,and fed only old soaked bread mash,and they bred frequent getting guy lot of money for young. The birds would be let out to fly once day week month depending if guy around, and assume birds foraged while out for good food, as they were healthy when I saw the two times, guy saying they stayed strong that way (I tried buying them), and they just covered nests fanning out over them when full sun n rained. Exercise, fresh air, halfway decent feed, clean fresh water daily, and clean dry coop etc, does most of work keeping pigeons healthiest.
If ability to free fly they'll eat a lot of foods most won't notice (nuts seeds berries greens bugs stones soil). In winter snow mine eat and bath in.
 

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