Finally got the pigeon coop built, nothing fancy but should hold a few birds. Need to just paint the roof. Trying to get some homers so I can get them to breed and hopefully off spring will home back to coop. I am new to this but trapping pigeons is becoming a headache....need a steady supply of birds.
I am new to owning pigeons but have nesting boxes in coop, nesting material (hay, grass etc), feed and water containers...
Any tips for a first time pigeon owner (specifically homing pigeons)? How do I get pigeons to understand they must go through bobs to get into coop?
I need to have grit for the pigeons too?
Very green in the pigeon world...
coop is built!
- Vaoutdoors42
- Rank: Junior Hunter
- Posts: 54
- Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 9:37 am
- Location: Manassas, VA
- pinebrookkennel
- Rank: Senior Hunter
- Posts: 160
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:26 am
- Location: Nw ohio
Re: coop is built!
Va
First find yourself some young homers that have never flown out of there coop and bring them home to your coop
Leave them locked inside your new coop for 5 weeks so they take a liking to there new home. Then tie up the bobs on
You homing door and start feeding on the landing platform. That will force them to come in and out of the door. Do this a couple
Days then take them out 50 yards right before you feed and let them fly, put feed on platform like normal they will fly to thr
Platform for food. At that point they know were they are and in they go. homers!!!! It may take a couple days for them to come
In and out and feel good about it, there shy at first
Good luck, its nerve racking at first you swear your going to lose your birds.
First find yourself some young homers that have never flown out of there coop and bring them home to your coop
Leave them locked inside your new coop for 5 weeks so they take a liking to there new home. Then tie up the bobs on
You homing door and start feeding on the landing platform. That will force them to come in and out of the door. Do this a couple
Days then take them out 50 yards right before you feed and let them fly, put feed on platform like normal they will fly to thr
Platform for food. At that point they know were they are and in they go. homers!!!! It may take a couple days for them to come
In and out and feel good about it, there shy at first
Good luck, its nerve racking at first you swear your going to lose your birds.
Make no distinction between practice and combat !
Miyamoto Musashi.
Knowledge, once gained can never be stolen or repossessed.
Jered
Miyamoto Musashi.
Knowledge, once gained can never be stolen or repossessed.
Jered
Re: coop is built!
how do you make sure that predators, such as cats, don't make it in
- pinebrookkennel
- Rank: Senior Hunter
- Posts: 160
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:26 am
- Location: Nw ohio
Re: coop is built!
Keep the door shut at night
Also The higher you put the door the better.
When I know all my bird are in I close The coop for the night. I have left my door open for two or three days by accident a few times and they were fine.
Shhhh, any Cat around our place get a dirt nap. They are the number 1 predator of birds, imho.
Also The higher you put the door the better.
When I know all my bird are in I close The coop for the night. I have left my door open for two or three days by accident a few times and they were fine.
Shhhh, any Cat around our place get a dirt nap. They are the number 1 predator of birds, imho.
Make no distinction between practice and combat !
Miyamoto Musashi.
Knowledge, once gained can never be stolen or repossessed.
Jered
Miyamoto Musashi.
Knowledge, once gained can never be stolen or repossessed.
Jered
Re: coop is built!
Preditor door in front of your bob's. Five weeks should do but you can start sooner by getting them before the waddles turn white but they are flying around inside and have never been out. Once I tie up the bob's, I leave them alone to come and go as they please for a month or more. When they do that you get what you see in the photo, they come out and look around and get their bearings. These birds have been out quite a bit, Early on they would do as seen here and fly only to the roof. Not a problem, they are working things out.
I found that ferals seem to learn to trap easier and fly off sooner. If your training within 30 mi or so from the loft, ferals are a good way to go. Trap some and make prisoner's out of them till you have young flying around inside. Then open the bob's and let them do as they will, your gonna lose some of your traped birds but all the young one's will hang around. You get a half dozen breeding pairs in there and you'll have to shoot birds before long to keep from being over run. My ferals, all hatched here, have already hatched two nest's this year. My homer's I got last winter started with three pairs, turned into 28 birds the first breeding season. The origional six also settled here even though I got them about 20 mi from here. They were from the year before aqnd hadn't been flown.
When you start training to trap, just start letting bob's down one at a time. Drop a bob, a middle one, and do it that way for several days. Drop the middle one rather than an end one so they push just a bit getting in.
I found that ferals seem to learn to trap easier and fly off sooner. If your training within 30 mi or so from the loft, ferals are a good way to go. Trap some and make prisoner's out of them till you have young flying around inside. Then open the bob's and let them do as they will, your gonna lose some of your traped birds but all the young one's will hang around. You get a half dozen breeding pairs in there and you'll have to shoot birds before long to keep from being over run. My ferals, all hatched here, have already hatched two nest's this year. My homer's I got last winter started with three pairs, turned into 28 birds the first breeding season. The origional six also settled here even though I got them about 20 mi from here. They were from the year before aqnd hadn't been flown.
When you start training to trap, just start letting bob's down one at a time. Drop a bob, a middle one, and do it that way for several days. Drop the middle one rather than an end one so they push just a bit getting in.
I pity the man that has never been loved by a dog!