The Texan Pioneer utility pigeon- a tutorial

[yardbird tx]

Yes, I have been keeping these birds for two years now and it still amazes me how fast they grow. Here are some new pics of some potential show birds for this fall.

Also, I was going to talk about care of young birds. Theirs relay not much to it. The parents take care of the first four weeks or so. Then I ween the young. Witch consist of just making sure the young know where water is and how to drink. I dip the bills of the young into the water of the drinker. They will start drinking in a few seconds or so. Then they are good from there. By four weeks they are pecking around and know what feed looks like. So they will find food in the feeder on there own.

Pics

 

[tragic59]

Thanks for the info YardbirdTX!

This is really interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your posts through the raising and butchering.

 

[tragic59]

I just watched the karate chicken video in your signature.

Man, that was funny.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

LOL.... ya that was funny. That chicken was like I'll show you Karate...

 

[nicalandia]

looks Hot there....

just look at those birds, they look so rounded, and since a flying birds bones are lighter than Noneflying birds, much of the live weight is just meat...

 

[yardbird tx]

Quote:
Hot is correct. We are on our 68th 100 plus day this year. I am happy to say that the Pigeons are doing well in the heat. It seems the hotter it gets the more they reproduce.

Cant say the same thing for my chickens, they are just plain suffering.

 

[yardbird tx]

Here are some examples of young at various ages to give you an idea of growth.

And on the last pic I will show you a hen and a cock bird side by side. This will show how the auto sex feature works. The hen has the long yellow down and the cock bird has no down on it.

This hen is 10 days old.

This hen is three weeks old

And this hen.( Yes I have got alot of hens this year.) Is four weeks old.

 

[yardbird tx]

And here is a pic of a hen with her almost two week chick.

And the last pic. Can you pick out the hen from the cock bird??

 

[tragic59]

Thanks for the info & pics.

Do these birds mate for life?

What age do you usually process the birds for meat?

How long does a breeding pair stay productive?

Thanks again!

 

[yardbird tx]

Quote:
Yes they mate for life.

I butcher any where from 4 weeks to 16 weeks. Butchering for restraints usually happens around 4 weeks.

A breeding pair stay productive for 6 years.