What do you feed your pigeons?

[Iain Utah]

I was given bird food from a friend when I unexpectedly acquired a pigeon last month and now the food has run out. I really do not know anything about pigeon nutrition and I am not sure what is in the mix I was given, but my girl deliberately picks out the safflower pieces (pre-shelled) and peas first and leaves the seeds for last. She avoids the corn completely. I have also offered her chopped grass and dandelions, but she is not interested in that either.

My vet suggested Lafeber small parrot pellet food, but warned that she may not take to it, having been spoiled on her current diet. He said to otherwise go to whole foods and make my own mix with oats, groats, barley, wheat, flax, safflower and hemp seed from the bulk bins.

It got me curious.... What do you guys feed your pigeons?

 

[willygog]

I use a premade mix of 14% protein, millet, trapper peas, buckwheat, and green oat grouts, wheat. its available at most seed stores/
or co-op's. i have rollers and mixes are slightly different for other breeds,,, but that should keep yours going as well. 50# is around 20.00.

 

[jak2002003]

I was given bird food from a friend when I unexpectedly acquired a pigeon last month and now the food has run out. I really do not know anything about pigeon nutrition and I am not sure what is in the mix I was given, but my girl deliberately picks out the safflower pieces (pre-shelled) and peas first and leaves the seeds for last. She avoids the corn completely. I have also offered her chopped grass and dandelions, but she is not interested in that either.

My vet suggested Lafeber small parrot pellet food, but warned that she may not take to it, having been spoiled on her current diet. He said to otherwise go to whole foods and make my own mix with oats, groats, barley, wheat, flax, safflower and hemp seed from the bulk bins.

It got me curious.... What do you guys feed your pigeons?

Pigeon will eat just about anything!

But the parrot food will be a waste of money (you don't need to spend so much) and also its not nutritionally suited for pigeons... they are not the same as parrots... kind of like feeding a cat dog food, for example.

You can buy proper pigeon food.. for racing pigeons if you like, but as she is not a racing bird, again, its rather overkill.

You can feed her one a wild bird food mixed with some chicken pellets. She will do just fine on that. You can add things like raw shelled peanuts, dried peas, wheat, and barley if you like to vary the diet and as treats. You can buy all those from the supermarket in small bags.

They will not eat much (if any) fruit or vegetables. They are seed eaters.

AS WELL AS THE SEED YOU MUST PROVIDE GRIT AND OYSTERSHELL IN SMALL AMOUNTS.

They need the grit to digest the seeds, and they need the oystershell when they are laying eggs.

Happy pigeon keeping!

 

[laughingdog]

If your pidgy is eating the saflower and peas first, then its craving protien seemingly. maybe also add black oil sunflower seeds,crushed peanuts, beans and legums, for more protein. otherwise any pigeon mix will do, even for non racers etc, but best found was:
*"manna pro" poultry conditioner". chicken layer is fine but unless breeding, it must be mixed with decent scratch at least (can cause kidney trouble for non breeding hens and non growing ypung over years of constant using only), and find using natural layer to work better, but not grow out squeakers/squab as fast and robust/healthy to go. best scratch I've seen here was:
*"co-op premium 7-grain scratch feed" INGREDIENTS: cracked yellow corn, wheat, milo, oats, black oil sunflower seed, flint corn, canadian peas, vegetable oil. Course my many breeds had all ate at degrees, dandilions dirt and many types of bugs out of air, off of, and out of ground. Rock doves/pigeons being pure grain seed eaters is a myth, and i think why my birds don't have troubles most say about, as see even road kill/insects in being eaten at from rollers of friend, and from ferals etc also). Also eating greens (dandilions and collard type greens growing wild as weeds or from more recognised cultivated sourses are favs), berries,fruits, nuts, and many wild flowers and seeds seem to make up whole diets of especially left to totally free fly breeders (breeding birds are best at accepting and seeking out new foods to try). you could use small mealworms also, just leaving small shallow tub of open for them to eat as want.

Corn or carbs n starches are important for stored longe term energy and fat, especially in winter time/chilly. most other roller keepers are against corn cause corn seems to stop one of two types of rolling causes from making bird go into fit of epilepsy (its proven look it up before you object, please). any basic wild bird seed, let alone dove mix wilk let a pigeon be healthy for year even temp, but pennington has agreat ones for multiple birds that are pretty complete basic feeds cheap (some have vitamins and minerals added as well as, fruits, nuts even etc.

Budgie or "parakeet" feed, can be ok but too rich and fatty for, though the kibble or pelleted feed without seed seem pretty complete (my free range flying budgies, tiels etc all at above mentioned feed items as well), but myringnecks did so much better on budge feed, and non did well from tiel or same or up in sized types. i think thatsall my person experience in rescue, vet, pets, and of others and generational ferals, so you can take or leave as please, just trying to offer ideas, as i have mostly thirty, one forty, one fifty, and one hundred foot, rollers that don't bump (yet), and breed like rats, and haven't lost one in years to BOPs (having BOPsthat live in trees everywhere around me like squirrels), so hopefully doing something right.

 

[Hokum Coco]

It got me curious.... What do you guys feed your pigeons?

You will get practically as many answers to this question as their are pigeon fancier. I currently feed chicken pellets to my pigeons Layer pellets most of the time and Grower Pellets when they are with squabs. I also supplement their diet with rabbit pellets and corn through the winter months.

Oh to tame my pigeons I feed shelled peanuts by hand as a treat.

 

[jak2002003]

You will get practically as many answers to this question as their are pigeon fancier. I currently feed chicken pellets to my pigeons Layer pellets most of the time and Grower Pellets when they are with squabs. I also supplement their diet with rabbit pellets and corn through the winter months.

Oh to tame my pigeons I feed shelled peanuts by hand as a treat.

Do you think the chicken layer pellets are bad for pigeons? I keep getting told that they have too much calcium and will damage the pigeon liver and make them sick.

People also told me that if my roosters or chicks eat the layer pellets they will get sick too!!!!

But I have always fed some layer pellets to all my birds.. even my budgies... and they all seem really healthy.

People say that they seem healthy but they get damage on the inside and then die later.

Have you fed you pigeons on the layer pellets for many years?

I have only been feeding them for about 2 years now.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Do you think the chicken layer pellets are bad for pigeons? I keep getting told that they have too much calcium and will damage the pigeon liver and make them sick. You may be right it does make sense when I think about it. I think I will start feeding more Grower Pellets and stop the Layer thing. I do not think I lost any birds due to layer pellets in my own mind. That being said my oldest bird is only 2 years old.

People also told me that if my roosters or chicks eat the layer pellets they will get sick too!!!! I had my rooster eat the same feed as my laying hens. He is dead now but I do not think that was his problem personally.

But I have always fed some layer pellets to all my birds.. even my budgies... and they all seem really healthy.

People say that they seem healthy but they get damage on the inside and then die later.

Have you fed you pigeons on the layer pellets for many years? Off and on since January 23, 2012. When you think about it pigeons only produce about 10 eggs a year so it makes sense that they do not need a lot of calcium.

I have only been feeding them for about 2 years now. Ditto!

When I was a kid I only fed my pigeons what feed I could collect from spillage at the Co- Op Feed mill in our city. They got God knows what from who knows where and the birds did fine. I think if you give your birds options they will pick out what their body is craving. I think it is a good idea to mix your grains and see what they prefer.

 

[Iain Utah]

Thanks for the wonderful responses! I understand that everyone has a different feeding routine and I enjoy hearing about the variety of feeds people use, so I can try different things out. My waterfowl have specific tastes and turn their beaks at certain foods that other people's waterfowl have no problems eating. I find it interesting that my pigeon will not eat corn, all flock crumble, or greens, but seems to love legumes and safflower hearts. If only I knew what all the grains/seeds looked like in these mixes to determine what else she likes/does not like.

 

[willygog]

Here is a page that identifies some of the common grains that pigeons eat.. i found this on another site so i hope this is allowed.. http://mumtazticloft.com/PigeonBasicNeeds.asp scroll down to the seed pictures.

 

[willygog]

"When I was a kid I only fed my pigeons what feed I could collect from spillage at the Co- Op Feed mill in our city.


That is so funny, as a kid, my folks found it hard to give me even the .50 cents to buy a bird with.. let alone more for seed mixes..
I did the exact same thing at my co-op as well.. after a month or so the guys would scoop up spillage and give me a small bag full.. it was enough for me to feed the birds for a month.. I only had 4 LOL.. great memories really, and the co-op was still there back to the 80's.. good business practices go a long way,,

The local co-op here has been giving me straw for the loft floor as well, they sell bales, but are constantly pickin up what falls off.. I get that for free.. i did change to a pine chip shavings,, looks real nice, but i wanted to share the experience i got from going to the co-op..

I think that the old co-op is forgotten many times.. for specialty stores.. Just wanted to give them the tip of the hat they usually deserve..