Pigeons

[jeffkrop]

Ok as to the advise from my first post. I have some emails out to get some pigeons. But this is going to be very new to me.
Anyone have a link, a old post or some good quick how to on keeping pigeons?
What do I feed them?
How much room will 6 need?
How do you get them to come back?
Is this legal?
Im having fun now 50 quail coming in may why not get some pigeons for the end of winter.

So glad I found this site looking forward to many good chats.
-Jeff

[High Voltage]

If you look under the "Hall of Fame" section, it in just a few down from the "training" section, there are a couple of different post on pigeons.

[Gertie]

Hey Jeff. Welcome. I built my first pigeon loft last year. I got the plans from lion country supply and it was pretty simple to build. I think I got my aviary from them as well. Here's the link to the thread I posted viewtopic.php?f=69&t=36958&hilit=+Pigeon+loft

As for what to feed them, I just buy pigeon feed and grit from the feed store. Pretty simple. I was told to get the pigeons as 'squeekers' (before the bridge of their nose turns white) and keep them inside the loft until after that bridge turns white or at least 3 weeks before you start letting them venture out. If you do decide to go with that loft plan a great tip for cleaning is to put a couple strips of plastic cupboard liner on the floor. Makes it real easy to just pull them out, scrape them off and wash with a hose. Lots of good pigeon info on here so you should be able to find anything you need. Good luck!

[Sharon]

Feed shelled corn with grit. ( told to me by a pigeon expert. )

Basic plan that works for me ( I live in the city.) : I keep a large dog crate in the garage. Buy 6-8 pigeons a week during heavy pup training period. Use them up every week as they won't fly well if kept longer. Clean up takes 10 minutes daily. Use of pigeons for training does not normally involve a long time period.

[jeffkrop]

Feed shelled corn with grit. ( told to me by a pigeon expert. )

Basic plan that works for me ( I live in the city.) : I keep a large dog crate in the garage. Buy 6-8 pigeons a week during heavy pup training period. Use them up every week as they won't fly well if kept longer. Clean up takes 10 minutes daily. Use of pigeons for training does not normally involve a long time period.

Im going to do this Im going to buy 6 this weekend play with them and let them fly away.

[DogNewbie]

Feed shelled corn with grit. ( told to me by a pigeon expert. )

Basic plan that works for me ( I live in the city.) : I keep a large dog crate in the garage. Buy 6-8 pigeons a week during heavy pup training period. Use them up every week as they won't fly well if kept longer. Clean up takes 10 minutes daily. Use of pigeons for training does not normally involve a long time period.

Im going to do this Im going to buy 6 this weekend play with them and let them fly away.

Might consider catching pigeons. There's enough of them around where you're at. Just go to hw 100 at night and find a bridge where 100 is going over a less busy road...like at 44th, or 70th, or Cedar Lake Rd. I think 44th looks the best since it's fairly residential. Bring a flash light and a fishing net, shine them in the eyes and net them one by one. I've tried to find whether or not this is legal in Minneapolis but can't find it online anywhere, so I figure ignorance is bliss....

[whoadog]

I catch feral pigeons as well. I have both traps and a secret weapon. I have permission to catch pigeons in a local car wash. The birds roost in the bays at night. I slip in and close the doors and trap them in the bay. To catch them, I have a fishing dip net on a extendible paint pole. You can actually catch them right out of the air with a little practice. Try to take them off the roost first and if they fly come in from behind them. I caught 13 in 10 minutes last Friday night.

[Hattrick]

Dont mix your quail with pigeons. Quail have a bacteria in there digestive system that kills other birds chuckers, pigeons an pheasents. Even putting them in the same crate they can get sick. Bleach ur crates after you put quail in them. I would also get dacoxine 4-1 and keep on hand. Intill you get a good coop going you may have birds getting sick. First sign of birds looking cold and fluffy treat them with 4-1 for 7 days. I went thru many birds trying to get my coop going. This should save you some toubles that i went thru. Pigeons are the ticket for training. Good luck

[Hattrick]

If you build a coop i would suggest it be big enough to walk in. It makes it so much easier. If dont you will wish you did trust me. I feed pigeon checker pellets and mix in cracked corn 50-50 the pellets have grit in them. I also put a cap full of bleech per 5 gallon water or some guys use vinger. Just keeps water clean and birds healthy. Its alot hawks out now they say dont fly birds till you see robins 6 birds could be gone in a week with hawks

[jeffkrop]

Dont mix your quail with pigeons. Quail have a bacteria in there digestive system that kills other birds chuckers, pigeons an pheasents. Even putting them in the same crate they can get sick. Bleach ur crates after you put quail in them. I would also get dacoxine 4-1 and keep on hand. Intill you get a good coop going you may have birds getting sick. First sign of birds looking cold and fluffy treat them with 4-1 for 7 days. I went thru many birds trying to get my coop going. This should save you some toubles that i went thru. Pigeons are the ticket for training. Good luck

Agreed.
The quail will be kept at a coworkers house where we can shot. The big thing for me is a place I can fire a gun. So lots of birds then gun training when the snow is gone. no rush I guess.
With pigeons I would like to buy or get 6-8 and use them soon after. Keeping them in a small pen for a short time in my garage would be ok but I would just be letting them go near here and would not want to get in truble.

[jeffkrop]

Feed shelled corn with grit. ( told to me by a pigeon expert. )

Basic plan that works for me ( I live in the city.) : I keep a large dog crate in the garage. Buy 6-8 pigeons a week during heavy pup training period. Use them up every week as they won't fly well if kept longer. Clean up takes 10 minutes daily. Use of pigeons for training does not normally involve a long time period.

Im going to do this Im going to buy 6 this weekend play with them and let them fly away.

Might consider catching pigeons. There's enough of them around where you're at. Just go to hw 100 at night and find a bridge where 100 is going over a less busy road...like at 44th, or 70th, or Cedar Lake Rd. I think 44th looks the best since it's fairly residential. Bring a flash light and a fishing net, shine them in the eyes and net them one by one. I've tried to find whether or not this is legal in Minneapolis but can't find it online anywhere, so I figure ignorance is bliss....

Ive never thought to do this do they sit on the bridge or under?

[DogNewbie]

they roost under.

[Sharon]

[quote="DogNewbie

Might consider catching pigeons. There's enough of them around where you're at. Just go to hw 100 at night and find a bridge where 100 is going over a less busy road...like at 44th, or 70th, or Cedar Lake Rd. I think 44th looks the best since it's fairly residential. Bring a flash light and a fishing net, shine them in the eyes and net them one by one. I've tried to find whether or not this is legal in Minneapolis but can't find it online anywhere, so I figure ignorance is bliss....[/quote]

Yes I did that once in ON until the Officer stopped and asked me what I was doing at 11pm under the bridge. :roll:

[DonF]

I got my first pigeons out of barns 25 +/- yrs ago. Haven't had to buy or catch even one bird since. 2 sq feet per bird. Easy to feed. I would be if they wouldn't eat wild bird feed. Things I have fed, chicken scratch, layer pellet's, regular pigeon feed and read where even rabbit pellet's work. I've had guy's come get pigeons from me a lot, for no other reason than the only thing they think to do with them is shoot them! I decided that this year I'm going to price myself out of that market; I have my own dogs I can shoot them with.

Getting them to recall? Gertie told you the best way to do it. Works 100% of the time unless you throw them out rather than letting them go out on their own the first several times.

[jeffkrop]

So im might need to go look under some bridges. The pigeons I was getting fell through and everyone else only has racing pigeons, they dont want to sell for dog training. Dog training in the city is hard.

[UpNorthHuntin]

I catch feral pigeons as well. I have both traps and a secret weapon. I have permission to catch pigeons in a local car wash. The birds roost in the bays at night. I slip in and close the doors and trap them in the bay. To catch them, I have a fishing dip net on a extendible paint pole. You can actually catch them right out of the air with a little practice. Try to take them off the roost first and if they fly come in from behind them. I caught 13 in 10 minutes last Friday night.

I come home every day from work and see a telephone wire over public land with about 30-40 pigeons sitting on it every day. If I placed a recall box with a couple pigeons in it nearby, would they enter the box? I have been wondering how to go about acquiring pigeons myself too.

[Hattrick]

No they will not . The best bet is netting them.

[rinker]

If I placed a recall box with a couple pigeons in it nearby, would they enter the box?

You may be able to trap them. There are a number of pigeon traps that can be purchased, and they can be made fairly easily also. I would recommend putting a trap out and tying the doors/bobs open and scatter a lot of corn around and inside the trap. Do this for a week or two and get them used to eating the corn and entering the trap. Then lower the bobs with corn around and inside the trap. If they are leary, a pigeon placed inside the trap will give them a little confidence. I have homing pigeons now, but for years I had a farmer that had several out buildings trap them for me.

[UpNorthHuntin]

If I placed a recall box with a couple pigeons in it nearby, would they enter the box?

You may be able to trap them. There are a number of pigeon traps that can be purchased, and they can be made fairly easily also. I would recommend putting a trap out and tying the doors/bobs open and scatter a lot of corn around and inside the trap. Do this for a week or two and get them used to eating the corn and entering the trap. Then lower the bobs with corn around and inside the trap. If they are leary, a pigeon placed inside the trap will give them a little confidence. I have homing pigeons now, but for years I had a farmer that had several out buildings trap them for me.

That's what I was wondering. My uncle has an old barn on his property that is full of them. Mayb a trap would work pretty well. I'll have to see if he could try to trap some for me.

[Hattrick]

I've tried trapping and had no luck even in really good barns with lots of pigeons. Those barn pigeons are tuff and can get out of anything. They say get the trap as high as you can. Put feed in it and let the bobs open for a couple days then rebait it and shut the the bobs. Those bird would clean up the food but would go in and out like nothing. So i gave up. City birds are easier i think. Good luck.

[jeffkrop]

I just payed $40 for 5 pigeons. What ever it is worth it and am looking for more at a better price. Anyway there are now 5 living in a box in my garage so thats fun.
I showed one to my brit and he loved it. tomorrow I think ill release 2 and see what he thinks.
Next thought a bird launcher. Can I get away with one without a remote, just a rope pull type?

[UpNorthHuntin]

I just payed $40 for 5 pigeons. What ever it is worth it and am looking for more at a better price. Anyway there are now 5 living in a box in my garage so thats fun.
I showed one to my brit and he loved it. tomorrow I think ill release 2 and see what he thinks.
Next thought a bird launcher. Can I get away with one without a remote, just a rope pull type?

I was watching a video today that stated that if you use carrier pigeons they fly right back to the pen when they are released. This could work pretty well. I have a large field about 1/4 mile from my house. If I released them there for REMI they should fly right back to their coop in my back yard. I just can't shoot them because the field is behind a school. That could only end badly if I was firing a gun back there. But, I could get some good bird work and then take a dead bird for some retrieve training too. Did you find the person online that you bought them from? I need to find somebody here in Michigan close and get a few.

[whoadog]

Retail pigeon traps do not work well. The birds seem to just walk right back out the way they came in. I will try to post a youtube video of my trap and the one-way door along with some instructions in the next few days. I have caught as many as 19 birds in a week. I can also tell you that checking the trap every day is not a good idea. If the trap is left alone for a week or so between checks, more birds gain the confidence to peck the feed just inside the door. I also always leave a bird in the trap once I start catching them as a "confidence bird".

[aulrich]

I did a little work with manual launchers last year, the work but it sure seems like you need a helper. I read here there are guys who solo it, but it probably takes a bit of practice.

At this point I am converting them to remote, there is a PDF buried on the site showing how, but there is an update to that one, now there are cheap remote senders/receivers out there that make the electronics fairly easy. I have the electronics worked out just need the time to modify the launcher.

Google pigeon carding, that way you can recycle those birds to keep costs down since you’re not growing your own

[jeffkrop]

Ive read about carding and I worry that my dog will catch the bird. Also I worry that the bird will fly to a tree and get stuck there and I will feel bad. Call me soft but Id rather spend more money then kill a bird without a gun.

[Higgins]

Ok as to the advise from my first post. I have some emails out to get some pigeons.

Hello Jeffkrop,

If you are interested in starting a loft, I have a lot of nice, quality birds available. These are adult breeders. You would not be able to use these for training because they would fly back to their original home. They would be kept captive for breeders. These birds have competed in races of 200 miles up to 600 miles.

Brad Higgins
http://www.HigginsGundogs.com

[DonF]

I think the guy lives in Minn your in Sacramento. How you gonna get them to him? Shipping pigeons I understand is very expensive.

Carrier pigeons are extinct. Your thin king of homer's.

I think you said a relative has a barn full. That's your answer. Go there one dark night, turn on your flashlight and climb up to the pigeons. You then move along picking up one after another until you have all you want or the barn is MTY. Getting pigeons seem's to be a real challenge to a lot of people and it is the easiest part of training.

[JeremyS]

If you get a proper loft built and want some homers, I would be glad to sell you some once mine start laying. I would guess it will be pretty soon. Mine are mostly saddle homers, which are bred for color, so they probably aren't going to win you any races, but they are very reliable homers and nice to look at too. I am about 3 hours away, but could probably work something out to meet you half way.

[ibbowhunting]

post a ad on craiglist, took about a month but i found some homers for a good price you can post what your doing with the birds but you may have better luck not posting that, i posted that i was going to use them for dog training, took a little bit but found some birds, most of the bird i found were in your area which was to far of a drive for me. good luck

[buckeyebowman]

I've tried trapping and had no luck even in really good barns with lots of pigeons. Those barn pigeons are tuff and can get out of anything. They say get the trap as high as you can. Put feed in it and let the bobs open for a couple days then rebait it and shut the the bobs. Those bird would clean up the food but would go in and out like nothing. So i gave up. City birds are easier i think. Good luck.

Oh, man! I saw a TV show or read an article about this very thing years ago. Guys were having trouble with pigeons getting out of the trap. It turns out that the bobs were at fault. In these particular traps the bobs hung on the bar, or wire, or whatever you want to call it, with no spacers between them so they could slide back and forth on the bar. When a pigeon tried to get out of the trap it would peck at the bobs until it would slide enough of them to one side or another and make a space big enough for it to squeeze through. And once that was done the trap was pretty much worthless. The fix was installing spacers on the bar between the bobs so that they couldn't be slid back and forth. I would imagine small O rings, shrink tubing or other fixes could work.

[hill]

I bought plans from LCS and build my loft. My uncle knows the manager (and dog trainer) of a private plantation and was able to get me 6 grown pigeons. I brought them home and left them in the loft for 2 or 3 weeks. Around that time, one of them got out when I was cleaning the loft but came back that evening. After that I could let them free fly occasionally. I was working on getting them to return from some short distances when they didn't come home. I have often wondered what happened to them, but a couple of days later we had a few hawks start hanging around. I am currently in the process of re establishing my loft, and hope to get some pigeons in the next couple of weeks. Good luck with yours.