Pigeon Food

[Ken Lynch]

Due to the cost of the pigeon food that I currently feed (Bay-Mor Pigeon Feed), I am being forced to switch to a new food. I am trying to switch to game bird feed (pellets not crumble). Two part question.
1) Should I go cold turkey and starve the birds onto the new food or go via blend to eventually get to new food?
2) When switching, is there a better alternative to game bird feed?

[ezzy333]

Just switch as the birds will like the grain better and tend to wait for it. The pellets will work well I am sure though I am not familiar with the particular feed you are talking about.

Ezzy

[DonF]

I have tried them on layer pellets and yesterday got a bag of pellet pigeon food. They turn their nose up to the pellet stuff until they are really hungry. To date I have been feeding feed for pigeons that is different grains, they love it. Pretty expensive though or so I thought. Grain was about $19 per 50# and the pellets are $21.95 per 50#. I ran out a couple days ago and gave them some flight conditioner for game birds. They ate it but didn't seen to care for it.

[wems2371]

A few years back, I fed the gamebird feed that my farm store carries. Brown bag with a pheasant or such on the front. At the time, it was something like $13-$14 for a 50lb bag. Price went way up around $18+, so I switched to Nutrena All Flock pellets or Nutrena Chicken Layer pellets. I just bought All Flock today, and it was $12.69 for 40lbs. My birds do just as well on that, as they did on the gamebird feed. I was at Menards once and they had 50lb mixed birdseed on sale for $9.99, and I mixed that in. They loved it. I don't do crumbles, because the bags are usually dusty, and it's wasted product IMO.

[ezzy333]

I cheapen the pigeion pellets up by adding while milo, shelled corn, wheat, red milo, depending what they want. Winter they get half corn and in summer practically none. You also can add some black sunflower seed, safflower, though they won't cheapen it much. But the birds will do fine on a straight pellet even though they like the grain better. Remember they only need an ounce and a half per day once they are grown. That is a heaping soup spoon or there abouts. I often feed as much pellets as they will eat in the morning and then give a real light feed of grain in the evening. That helps the cost and seems to keep them happy and healthy.

Ezzy

[ezzy333]

A few years back, I fed the gamebird feed that my farm store carries. Brown bag with a pheasant or such on the front. At the time, it was something like $13-$14 for a 50lb bag. Price went way up around $18+, so I switched to Nutrena All Flock pellets or Nutrena Chicken Layer pellets. I just bought All Flock today, and it was $12.69 for 40lbs. My birds do just as well on that, as they did on the gamebird feed. I was at Menards once and they had 50lb mixed birdseed on sale for $9.99, and I mixed that in. They loved it. I don't do crumbles, because the bags are usually dusty, and it's wasted product IMO.

Right on! that is the pellet I am feeding also. The 18% protein is good for the young growing birds and the breeders when they are raising young and also when molting. Other wise you can do a 14 to 16% and it will work OK. Just use the pellets like Wems says. Helps reduce the waste.

Ezzy

[ROTTnBRITT]

I recently switch to purina all flock pellets. I was feeding blue seal pigeon feed. Its was 30 bucks for a bag of blue seal. I got the pellets for 16. Pellets are not as clean but cheaper for me. I'm gonna look into feeding some grains in the evening to see if that helps any with the dropping.

[aulrich]

I am moving away from crumbles, and pellets in general , locally I can buy field peas and wheat for less than pellets at the local feed store, corn here is more expensive than pellets. when my current bag of pellet crumble runs out I am not sure I'll bother to replace it.But I would need to add safflower to get the fat content up.

The lady at the feed stroe tells me turkey finisher pellets are the most common with the pigeons folks around here. I think 18% protien is the sweet spot.

Ezzy323, what is it about corn that makes it a winter food, is it nutrition or that corn is cheaper right after harvest.

Idealy this varmint season I want ot see if I can arrange to buy wheat and peas right off of a farmer. a garbage can of each should go a long way .

[ezzy333]

Corn is a heat producing feed and the birds love it when it is cold and will leave it when it warms up. You have probably heard me talk about mosrt animal feeds that are heat producing which is normally good but when an animal is about to give birth you should reduce their feed and give them some cooling tyoe feeds. For some reason birds are smart enough to sort their own when they can. By the way if you want to increase the fat content add black sunflower seed or another way is to dribble a little oil over the feed and stir it before feeding. Safflower is a terrific conditioning feed for the pigeons but it is rather high priced also and not as high in fat..

Ezzy

[Meller]

I just feed the chicken layer pellet's and trow a little whole grain corn to them every once and a whyle; The layer pellets are 16%.

[ezzy333]

I just feed the chicken layer pellet's and trow a little whole grain corn to them every once and a whyle; The layer pellets are 16%.

That will work, I just like an 18% better and if I could find it year round I would use the 22% turkey grower. That gives you the option of feeding some whole grain and still having the total ration up around 16 to 18% which would ideal when the birds are being stressed.

[BMURPH]

I get my homers from a guy who raises them for racing and have for the past several years. He recommended that I give them "pig pellets" that were medicated and for a thirty-seventy pound pig. I buy a hundred pounds (2 bags of 50#) at a time. Sometimes even the grain elevator doesn't have it, not a lot of hogs in the area. The birds do great with some real nice babies. Never lost one of illness. Hawks another story. Wondering what some of the more experience people with homers thought. I copied and pasted some information on the product that I located.

A complete starter feed for baby pigs. Reduction of the incidence of cervical abscesses; treatment of bacterial swine enteritis (salmonellosis or necrotic enteritis caused by Salmonellae cholerasuis and vibrionic dysentery); prevention of these diseases during times of stress; maintenance of weight gains in the presence of atrophic rhinitis; growth promotion and increased feed efficiency in swine weighing up to 75 lb.

Crude Protein, Min 18.0%
Lysine, Min 1.10%
Crude Fat, Min 6.0%
Crude Fiber, Max 4.0%
Calcium (Ca), Min 0.7% Calcium (Ca), Max 0.8%
Phosphorus (P), Min 0.60%
Salt (NaCl), Min 0.4% Salt (NaCl), Max 0.6%
Copper (Cu), Min 225 PPM
Selenium (Se), Min 0.3 PPM
Zinc (Zn), Min 120 PPM
Phytase, Min 227 FYT/lb

[jeffkrop]

I just feed the chicken layer pellet's and trow a little whole grain corn to them every once and a whyle; The layer pellets are 16%.

This is what I feed and I have eggs and now some chicks.

[willt]

Rolled oats and barley here, they love it.

[V-John]

This is what we feed...



When the race season starts, we switch to a higher protein/fat diet.
Mixed grain still.

We use whole barley as well, but in a different manner as their primary feed. And the birds really dislike it.

[DonF]

There is a trend here. Doesn't matter much what you feed your birds, they'll be fine. The exception seem's to be the racing bird, understandable.