Gun Dog Forum

Any ideas why my homers have quit laying? They started laying early this spring and I had three or four different nests going all at the same time. Went from 8 birds this spring to 20 now but since the last pair of little ones have grown and are flying I have no more active nests. I cant think of anything that has changed. I have plenty of room on the coop. It is a circular building about 20 feet in diameter with lots of roost space.
Any one got any thoughts...

I suspect it a fall thing, as I understand it with the drop in light in the fall the nesting really slows down, I just started my koop end of July and really was not halfway proper till August, I had some eggs on the floor but now that I am set up only a pair of disposable rollers are nesting(i'll probably just squab those to see what they taste like, none of the homers are showing any get up and go. I am thinking I will add a light in the koop and give them 16 hours of light to force out a few more young out of the homers before winter sets in.

season change will shut them down. when i kept pigeons they would shut down after 4 or 5 rounds. the moult will do it also. hope this helps

Less light tells them it is time to moult and they pretty much quit laying. You can increase the light and keep them laying but you do not want to force the moult too late. I would let them moult and then around January first turn the light on at 4 or so in the morning and they should start laying about 2 weeks later.

Ezzy

That sounds like a plan, there is no pigeon playing this fall but once the pup is ready for finishing work next spring/summer i should have a full flock of my own homers and can move the brood stock to someone else.

I keep light on mine year round. Make sure you have good feed, clean water, and oyster shell helps to promote good egg health.

Hey topher how do you keep water for them in the winter, a heated bowel or do you just put water out for them every day.

I drilled a hole in the side of a feed pan so that I could run an electrical wire through it to power a 60 watt light bulb. Then I turn it upside down and place a 2 gallon metal fountain waterer on top of it. Hasnt failed me yet.

topher40 wrote:I drilled a hole in the side of a feed pan so that I could run an electrical wire through it to power a 60 watt light bulb. Then I turn it upside down and place a 2 gallon metal fountain waterer on top of it. Hasnt failed me yet.

That is a great idea! I made a wood box to put the light in and sat a metal water fountain on it. The dog bowl is a much better idea. My pigeons have all about quit laying now but the start up again about Feb and march. Molting all over. I could make a feather mattress with all the feathers laying around!

For any of you who don't feel they can do what Topher descibed you can buy a heater of that type.They do work well till the temps get really really cold and i might need a box or something over the waterer to give it a little more heat enclosed around the waterer itself. Try it, I think you will like it. Also be careful what you set the pan with the bulb in it on. Use something that won't catch fire.

I have been using the heated bowls and I think they run a little cheaper since they don't heat when the temps are abov freezing. Either will do the job.

Ezzy

Seems that a majority of people I've known that had problems raising birds was due to lack of quality feed.

Speaking for my set up that was probably true, but I have added proper grit, oystershell and no more bird seed(turkey finisher pellets of all things). I think I still need to tweak the nest boxes, enclose them a bit more, they mostly look like bookshelves.

I use mty two pound plastic coffee cans for grit, oyster shell and sometimes water. Cut out a hole on each side for them to stick their head in and put the lid back on keeps the stuff clean.