Pigeon feeding and other related questions....

gdog · Post by **gdog** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:43 pm

Been searching on some info regarding feeding pigeons. I basically have some feeders that I fill up and they are good to go for a few days. I read a post that says to make sure the pigeons are "hungry" before you let them out to fly.

How do you feed? Put the feeder out for an hr then take it out? Limit the time they are able to feed?

Also, what setups do you use for water in the winter? It's getting pretty cold here at night and it doesn't take long for the water to be frozen solid. I don't have any electrical outlets near the coop, so I'm afraid I'll just have to change daily. The problem is when we go to our cabin for a few days.

I have a couple breeding pairs that have been producing off-spring all summer. The last 4 groups (2 birds each) of young birds, I have lost half of them. Basically, I let my main door open and when they decide it's time to fly with the rest of the crew...off they go. The problem is my return rate is about 50% with the young ones. I really don't think its hawks. I normally keep the bobs open when they first fly so the young ones can learn to get back into the coop. Any thoughts on how to cut down my loses on their initial flights?

ohiogsp · Post by **ohiogsp** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:06 pm

I use baking pans. Put it down for 10 min. then pick it up. I give fresh water daily. I would try to do this always. I use rubber bowls to break the ice out easily. Pigeons are very tough I once left a pigeon in a cage for 6 days cause it was under some straw and I did not see it until the next weekend. The bird was very hungry and thirsty but lived. No water or food for 6 days and it was summer so it was hot. About training, I am usually feeding about 1 ounce per bird per day. Then I make sure the birds have not fed that day and open the trap about 1-2 hours before dark to help them back in. I also whistle when I feed them and when they are hungry they will be fighting to feed. Then when I want them to come in the trap, I just whistle. Quality birds might be a factor, it might be your training, but I have done some experiments with some of mine that did not get banded. Since they are not very valuable to me if they are not banded. I took some that had never been out of the loft and took them to my training grounds. I used them over there. My loft is covered by trees (basically in a woods) and is impossiable to see from my training grounds. Plus it is way below the ground level in a bottom land. Anyway I let these birds go and most went back to the loft and trapped. I was blown away but that just proves they use something we are not aware of. Even more amazing is the fact they never seen the loft to know what it would look like and there was anouther loft right next to that one and they knew what one to goto. Point to my story is some birds you can't loose no matter what you do and some will get lost regardless of what you do. Record keeping is big for me and if I have a pair that is breeding birds that get lost alot they will become shooters.

I would also like to comment on race birds. They are not always great homers. They are usually good but there are alot of different birds. Some are for long distance, some sprint, middle distance. Plus some strains are built different. There are hard weather birds and speed birds and many other kinds. My point here is. A bird bred for speed might win the race if it makes it home but a growing trend with racers acorss the county is big losses. That means they are breeding more birds cause they are lossing alot. They might get a few very fast birds that win and come home and they might loose more but they got the few they wanted. The hard weather birds are not as fast but are tough and home better. These would be the ones we want. The race birds are most the times better than what your adverage guy has but maybe not always perfect for what we want.

Don · Post by **Don** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:05 am

There's been a nuber of times I've had banded birds show up in my coop, a few times with the rubber band on. There's two out there now that have decided to stay, that I don't get. My birds are a cross between racing culls and barn pigeons. They come home from farther away than I train. Haven't bought a bird or caught a bird in about 15yrs so they do alright and multiply like crazy. Last yeat I sold a hundred and still have 45 out there.

ohiogsp · Post by **ohiogsp** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:18 am

Don the rubber bands are birds that got lost at a race.

WiskeyJaR · Post by **WiskeyJaR** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:22 am

what or how do you folks get the banded birds to leave again? Or is it more of the birds choice if it wants to leave or not?

ohiogsp · Post by **ohiogsp** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:35 am

Sometimes they are very tired and looking for a place to hang out for a couple days (get food and water). If they don't leave on their own in a few days you could take them and let them go somewhere else (at least 10 miles away) and they will probably go home then. If they decide not to then you could contact the owner through the AU and it will most likely be your bird to do with it what you want. Most guys won't go too far to get a bird that did not make it home from a race.

Brittguy · Post by **Brittguy** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:54 am

Pigeon fanciers and those that race. Usually just feed what the birds eat in 10 min. I guess that waste less and causes less mess in the loft. I use self feeders and there is always food available, I do this for convenience. I probably waste feed.

A breeder once told me when you let young birds leave with old birds the older birds take the young too far and they don't keep up. I haven't personal experience with this but he was pretty certain of this.