UK pigeon owners

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Hello all! @Chickencountryuk this is a wonderful thread so full of great advice, knowledge and stories. Boomer is such a lucky girl to have picked you, or maybe it was more her instincts and intelligence! And @biophiliac thanks for the link to this you posted on Laura's thread. I have so much to learn. Im really hoping to start on a loft and be ready by next spring to start my pigeon adventures.
This read has been very inspiring!

And just have to add.. those are some beautiful birds throughout this thread!

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

I have a question... im a serious newbie...
Are homing pigeons the only variety you can release to fly?
I've been looking at all the different types and oh my the beautiful birds available out there just amaze me.. but i want to be able to let them fly.

 

[cavemanrich]

I have a question... im a serious newbie...
Are homing pigeons the only variety you can release to fly?
I've been looking at all the different types and oh my the beautiful birds available out there just amaze me.. but i want to be able to let them fly.

You can Loft Fly all pigeons. That means releasing them from your loft and let them fly around. All can be trained to come back into home loft. Homing pigeons are the ones that can be released from far distances and they find their way home. Usually the longest distances (races) are 600 miles.... It is possible for pigeons to come from farther distances.

Birmingham Rollers, and tumblers can be trained to return to a Kit that is a portable cage. You take them to a park and release. The training is quite intensive, but you can train them to come back to your cage. Then you pack them back into your vehicle and come home.
Similar with High Flyers. You take them to competitions in a Kit, and they return to it.
I never had any of these pigeons, although I do want to get some High Flyers. Rollers,,,,,,, I have no interest in
The above 2 varieties will not make it home from far distances.
I am not sure how far they venture on their own when loft flying, but they usually don't go very far.
You can also hang out on the Pigeon Bulletin Board. Much useful reading there also.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-bulletin-board.1174207/

 

[CCUK]

Is your wee little one still hanging in there? I bet you have thought about hand feeding if needed based on @LauraMunro 's thread.

Yes. I did think about that. Even if just to supplement it. It does seem to be doing ok. It's growing but still pretty small.

 

[CCUK]

Hello all! @Chickencountryuk this is a wonderful thread so full of great advice, knowledge and stories. Boomer is such a lucky girl to have picked you, or maybe it was more her instincts and intelligence! And @biophiliac thanks for the link to this you posted on Laura's thread. I have so much to learn. Im really hoping to start on a loft and be ready by next spring to start my pigeon adventures.
This read has been very inspiring!

And just have to add.. those are some beautiful birds throughout this thread!

Thankyou @Fields Mountain Farm! It's quite some read this thread! It all happened quite by chance for me so I had to learn on my feet! I have been quite lucky with finding the loft and birds when I did everything just seemed to 'be there' when I needed it! @biophiliac also has a fantastic thread to read Pigeon Bulletin Board?
Everybody has been so supportive for me.

 

[CCUK]

@Fields Mountain Farm here are some great videos!

I really like rollers but will take more training.

This how it should work! or they just sit on your neighbours roof for 2 hours laughing at you!

 

[CCUK]

Babies this morning.

The one in the middle was the last one to hatch.

 

[biophiliac]

Babies this morning.
View attachment 1500960
The one in the middle was the last one to hatch.

You must be psychic! I wanted to ask you to post a pic of the three lined
up for comparison. They look very healthy.

Excellent photo captures a rare occurrence.

 

[CCUK]

I saw mum feeding them earlier. So I know there getting fed! I just got back and went to check them and no one was on the nest so it was a great opportunity to get a quick picture! I'm trying not to disturb them too much. Fingers crossed for this little one. The big one's a little white spot on the end of its beak so I'm hoping it could mean it will have alot of white patches! Still nothing from the other nest yet though.

 

[Hokum Coco]

The one in the middle was the last one to hatch.

The last one to hatch is sometimes the one that may perish. I never had a pair of pigeons lay 3 eggs as of yet. I have put 3 eggs under one pair before. If the runt was falling to far behind its brothers or sisters I would remove the other two fledglings from the nest to let the parents give the runt some sole attention. You can always hand feed which will accomplish the same thing.