Raising Pigeons

[chilling in muscadine]

Quote:
Hummmmm!!! I only have the one pair and there is only one egg for her to hatch, other one got broken. The female is in a basin {large plastic container that might hold a galon or more of water}. This is where her nest is. I wouldn't have to move any part of the nest except the basin. So your advise is to wait and move them when the squeaker is at least 10 days old. {didn't know the babies were called squeakers} I can't wait to put that in a sentence like I know what I'm talking about with the old man. lol Is that wrong? NOT!!!!!!lol

Well I have a lot to think about, not moving her was my first gut instinct though.

Sara

 

[deerman]

With only egg you could try if you moved the whole nest unit. If she fails to set, not long before they will laid again.




More info on moving pigeon or dove eggs.

To get more babies from a pair like fantail, you can use foster birds like homers.

Thing the foster birds Must go setting with 3 days the eggs were laid. Reason the birds need to set 14 days before they can produce pigeion milk(crop milk) squeakers need that the 1 st week.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Hummmmm!!! I only have the one pair and there is only one egg for her to hatch, other one got broken. The female is in a basin {large plastic container that might hold a galon or more of water}. This is where her nest is. I wouldn't have to move any part of the nest except the basin. So your advise is to wait and move them when the squeaker is at least 10 days old. {didn't know the babies were called squeakers} I can't wait to put that in a sentence like I know what I'm talking about with the old man. lol Is that wrong? NOT!!!!!!lol
Sara

When you see a young pair chasing their father to be fed, you will know why they are call squeakers.



PIGEON ARE GREAT FUN TO RAISE!!!

 

[1acrefarm]

I have to ask. Is red or any other grit necessary if you give them access to dirt rocks and sand? If they can get outside won't they get the grit they need?

 

[deerman]

Quote:
NO if you feed a pellet food, but Yes if you feed grain, they need calcium for eggs shells,and bone growth. Not just for food grinding.

 

[chilling in muscadine]

I was able to find the gray grit. It is the same price as grit for chickens. We have decided to wait to move our pigeons until after the lone egg hatches. We don't want to take any chances on them not finishing up the hatch plus we are excited about seeing the new addition to our already large animal family.

Here is a pic of the female, the male was setting on the egg while I took the pic. Can anyone tell me what kind she is?????

Thanks, Sara

 

[FrChuckW]

Sara,

She looks like a Blue Bar Homer to me. Check her legs and see if she has a band on her. If she has a band on her, it should be a combination of letters and numbers.

 

[chilling in muscadine]

Quote:
Neither pigeon has a band on there leg. Now I know I can not turn these two loose because they would go back to where they came from. Now with the babies I get from them will I be able to tavel somewhere and then turn them loose and wait for them to come home or is there some kind of training I have to do with them? Also do you think they are a special breed or just a everyday common breed? It really doesn't matter I'm already loving these birds. lol

 

[FrChuckW]

Sara,

What you want to do, is release the baby to fly around the home first, but you might want to wait until you have a few more. Then you gradually take them further away, do it in 1 mile increments at first in all directions. Once you hit the 5 mile mark, you can jump the distance up by 5 mile increments. But make sure that you release them from different directions from your house. That way they get to know the home area and will home faster once they are released. Also don't feed them before you release them. Turn them loose and then fill the feeders inside the loft after they have flown for a few minutes.

 

[chilling in muscadine]

Quote:
Are you meaning wait a few minutes to feed them while they are flying around my house? Also how would I go about getting bands to mark them as my pigeons. Is there some kind of national registery or something. I told you I would have a lot of questions. lol My old man just said we would not be releasing any until we had several pigeons just in case we lose one. Do the pigeons need to be grown or can I start to let them fly around my house before they reach adulthood? I'm not thinking of a baby though.