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.
If I remove the other two. How long should I do it for? Will the be OK on a heat pad for this time?
Good to know! Thank you. Im not realy wanting to do any long distance releases or racing... so loft flying is perfect... lolYou 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/
It really is a fascinating read! And I've learned so much already. I know absolutely nothing about pigeons but have always loved them. We have an occasional pair or two that will land in the yard and nibble seed left around by the chickens. And i so enjoy watching them!
Ok... those are some really cool birds! I am really gonna have to put some serious research into all the different breeds ..@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!
Thay look so sweet all snuggled up together! Im glad they are all 3 doing well!
I have used the warm yolk from a chicken egg.
Thankyou. One of the parents was in there earlier feeding them. I'm not sure how much it got but I checked it and it's crop looked quite large and squishy! I just can't help but think it needs a little bit extra.
When you build the loft try to put an aviary on it so they can see around. They will be taking in all the surrounding area. When you first let the out, albeit that they have homeset, they shouldn't fly that far away. They will gradually venture further and take in all the area. I live where there is alot of houses and another loft 2 gardens away amd so far boomer and the youngsters have no problem finding here. It is easier if you hatch and release your own as they won't know anywhere else as home. If you buy some and release them after all the prescribed methods there is still a chance that they could return to there previous home. It shouldn't be a problem with trees they can be quite acrobatic!And... question..lol
We live on a mountain in a bowl shaped area with lots of trees.. will this be an issue for the pigeons when loft flying? I have seen pigoens here, not often but every now and again. I don't want to bring them here if it will be difficult or dangerous for them to fly..
Also, if you collect their eggs and replace with fake eggs to keep them from laying, what do you do with the eggs? I assume add them to breakfast scramble eggs or such but.. idk?
Thank you.. makes perfect sense.When you build the loft try to put an aviary on it so they can see around. They will be taking in all the surrounding area. When you first let the out, albeit that they have homeset, they shouldn't fly that far away. They will gradually venture further and take in all the area. I live where there is alot of houses and another loft 2 gardens away amd so far boomer and the youngsters have no problem finding here. It is easier if you hatch and release your own as they won't know anywhere else as home. If you buy some and release them after all the prescribed methods there is still a chance that they could return to there previous home. It shouldn't be a problem with trees they can be quite acrobatic!
As for the eggs I haven't eaten any but it did cross my mind to put some in a cake for my boss!
I don't like to say it but I just binned them. I am having a bit of a problem stopping them from laying because of the layout of my loft. I did keep putting plastic eggs in amd it all got a bit confusing as I didn't know if nests had been abandoned or not, the next thing I knew eggs in two nests and a staggered hatch! Not ideal! The BEST way is to separate the males from females. If you have an entrepreneurial streak you could find people who want to buy any youngsters and maybe make a little cash.
