Qwerty's Pigeons

[Qwerty3159]

Ok, thank you!
I'll be installing the wires tomorrow AM.

 

[Qwerty3159]

A little crude but it'll work for now, the bar that holds the bobs up is sturdy and the birds moved through them just fine when I stuck them all in the aviary then put some feed in the loft.

 

[biophiliac]

A little crude but it'll work for now, the bar that holds the bobs up is sturdy and the birds moved through them just fine when I stuck them all in the aviary then put some feed in the loft.
View attachment 1561777 View attachment 1561778

It looks good.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Well it's been a while and I figured I should post an update.

3 months into my pigeon keeping experience and I've had my ups and downs. I am sad to report that since my last posting in October I have lost 2 of my original 7 birds to hawks. Up until November training had been going well and the birds were/are adept at returning to the loft and trapping in. That being said as far as I know none of them have gone more than several hundred feet from the house. My first Cooper's attack occurred in November where an immature bird split the flock up and chased one of my regular colored homers far away across the sky and out of my sight. To my knowledge the hawk did not catch the bird but regardless I haven't seen it since. I only let the birds out one other time since the initial attack and this time I unfortunately had a fatality. A mature female Cooper's snatched another one of my regular colored homers when it landed on my roof. In the time it took me to grab a ladder and climb onto the roof to scare the hawk away, the pigeon was already dead. I lost a third bird, my gray check, to a mystery illness the day before Halloween. Its droppings had been normal and its behavior was entirely normal until I found it dead one morning. Luckily, if it did have a disease it wasn't spread.

Fast forward to last week, and my white pigeon managed to escape while I had the loft door open and within seconds was taken to the ground by a male Cooper's. Fortunately I was able to save her from serious injury and she has since recovered. If these hawk attacks do not decrease in frequency by the summer I feel I will have no choice but to try to return the birds to their original owner as I feel like at the moment letting them out is a death sentence.

At any rate, the four that I have left are doing fine, and I think we're basically through the worst of the winter here. I've decided also that when the weather is slightly warmer I will try to build a tray of sorts under the loft to catch the poop and spilled food as the wire mesh floor is making a hell of a mess in my grass, so stay tuned for that.

 

[cavemanrich]

You still may be able to keep your flock, just see if you can figure out the timing of the hawks. Release them during a safe time.
I know it is easier said than done. But Possible.
Not sure if those Cooper Hawks are resident, or migratory???
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Qwerty3159]

You still may be able to keep your flock, just see if you can figure out the timing of the hawks. Release them during a safe time.
I know it is easier said than done. But Possible.
Not sure if those Cooper Hawks are resident, or migratory???
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Thanks for that, I'd hoped that the hawks are migrants passing through because of the winter but I have had issues with at least three different hawks (a male, female, and immature bird). That being said I haven't given up yet and if all goes well when it warms up again I'll try to get a few new young birds to build the numbers back up.

 

[CCUK]

Sorry to hear about your birds getting taken by hawks. It always seems when things are going well something always knocks you back. I hope the hawks are migratory and will soon dissipate. I built a sliding tray under my loft and it catches 99% of the spilled seed and droppings. Feathers still seem to escape though.