pigeons molting

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sdoliver
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pigeons molting

Post by sdoliver » Tue Feb 03, 2015 2:14 pm

I live in central Iowa. Is this the right time that my pigeons would be molting? I am seeing a lot of feathers on the ground and some of the birds seem to have lost some feathers off the back of their necks.

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ezzy333
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by ezzy333 » Tue Feb 03, 2015 2:37 pm

sdoliver wrote:I live in central Iowa. Is this the right time that my pigeons would be molting? I am seeing a lot of feathers on the ground and some of the birds seem to have lost some feathers off the back of their necks.
This isn't the normal time to molt. Have you been using lights?

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sdoliver
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by sdoliver » Tue Feb 03, 2015 2:49 pm

Nope no lights. I changed their food from 16% poultry layer pellets to whole kernel corn. Might that be the cause?

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brittfans
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by brittfans » Tue Feb 03, 2015 7:16 pm

may be over crowded fighting for perch.

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ezzy333
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by ezzy333 » Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:49 pm

Taking a good well balanced feed away and going to just corn could be a factor and crowding could also but it probably is a combination of factors.

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sdoliver
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by sdoliver » Tue Feb 03, 2015 10:04 pm

Ok I only have 10 birds in an old round building about 12 ft in diameter. I got the corn free from a grain spill so maybe I will mix it with the pellets I have left.

mowermandan
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by mowermandan » Wed Feb 04, 2015 9:40 pm

My pigeons leave whole corn and peas on the ground can't get them to eat them even if I don't feed a couple days in a row they won't it whole kernel now I'm using scratch and lay crumbles but I've had no molting I have 12 birds in a 5x10 pen built from a dog kennel so it doesn't sound like crowding my 1st baby's hatched this week and I have less space than you I do use a light

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ezzy333
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by ezzy333 » Thu Feb 05, 2015 10:30 pm

mowermandan wrote:My pigeons leave whole corn and peas on the ground can't get them to eat them even if I don't feed a couple days in a row they won't it whole kernel now I'm using scratch and lay crumbles but I've had no molting I have 12 birds in a 5x10 pen built from a dog kennel so it doesn't sound like crowding my 1st baby's hatched this week and I have less space than you I do use a light
What pigeons want to eat when given a choice changes greatly as the temps change. With our temps in the winter they eat the corn first.

Ezzy

marysburg
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by marysburg » Sun Feb 08, 2015 5:14 pm

If you are feeding captive birds who only have a single food source, then whole corn is very low in protein and in calcium. It is not a balanced ration like the pellets you were feeding. If they are flying everyday, then they may be able to pick up some other grains, but they are pretty scarce if there is snow cover. If you want these birds to reproduce when the weather warms up, then they will need more protein (to make eggs) and more calcium (to make shells on the eggs) than whole corn will provide. Pellets are a balanced ration.

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ezzy333
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by ezzy333 » Sun Feb 08, 2015 6:29 pm

marysburg wrote:If you are feeding captive birds who only have a single food source, then whole corn is very low in protein and in calcium. It is not a balanced ration like the pellets you were feeding. If they are flying everyday, then they may be able to pick up some other grains, but they are pretty scarce if there is snow cover. If you want these birds to reproduce when the weather warms up, then they will need more protein (to make eggs) and more calcium (to make shells on the eggs) than whole corn will provide. Pellets are a balanced ration.
This makes sense but maybe more severe than what would actually result. But it is true. I feed an extra good diet since I am racing but just for comparison we feed a grain mix of about twenty different grains plus feed grit and oystershell and use some flaxseed oil occasionally. Also use apple cider vinegar, garlic, and V-8 on alternate days in the water. We are experiencing some cold weather (18 blow zero a couple of nights ago) and our babies all handles it well( 1 day up to 4 weeks old) and our lofts are all open and without heat. With these cold temps the birds are eating a lot of shelled corn but that will cut down as the temps come up.

Ezzy

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Re: pigeons molting

Post by marysburg » Tue Feb 10, 2015 8:30 am

Ezzy, I want to be a pigeon at your house. No wonder they race so well. The ration you feed is a banquet for those birds, and it makes sense that they pick out the corn during cold spells when they need a little more carbs for warmth. The single grain, corn only ration, doesn't work. It has shocked the birds into molting, and now they need protein and many other balanced nutrients to feather out again and get ready for breeding and summer dog training flights. We wouldn't do very well either if all we ate was cornmeal mush.

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sdoliver
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Re: pigeons molting

Post by sdoliver » Tue Feb 10, 2015 10:41 am

Thanks for the replies. I have started mixing back in the layer pellets and will continue to feed this. They seemed to do well on it. Hopefully they will start nesting soon.

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