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.
