I heard from a friend about Daves Garden and as i breed and raise Bantam Chickens, Doves, and Pigeons. I would be glad to answer any question concerning these and i will most certainly have a
question or two myself. So hello from Harmonyplace and wishing all a nice day!
Hello! I'm new here
Welcome, Harmonyplace!
I'm sure you will love it here. Everyone is very friendly and what's great, anytime someone needs help with any problem there is someone there to help.
I have two Blue Silkie Bantam roos, Buff Orp pullets and at the moment one Pekin duck which has taken up residence with the chickens.
Sue ☺
Hello Harmonyplace, glad to have you aboard!
tf
Hello Sue thanks for the welcome!!
I'm already familar with daves garden from an observer point of view but decided to join as i have wanted to be of help to other bird owners.
I currently have 75 Bantams 60 Doves and 30 pigeons. I specialize in pure bred old english game bantams and i have white,albino,frosted,peach,ash,tangerine pearled,tangerine Pied,Rosey,and rouge doves and i Breed German Shield Owl Pigeons and several types of fantail pigeons. I Deal with between 100 to 250 chickens each year. I had a rare pair of blue winged arc angels but a hawk buzzed my cages and the female hit the wire and broke her neck.{so sad} Thanks Again for the Welcome!!!
*Harmony*
This message was edited Sep 3, 2008 2:25 PM
Thanks Tf Glad To Be Here !!
Wow! They all sound beautiful.
Sorry to hear about the loss.
Hi Harmony,
I have a question for you about pigeons. A couple of weeks ago, a racing pigeon was in my yard. To make a long story short, I found out it belonged to an Illinois racing club and contacted them. They said they'd give my info to the bird's owner, who has never contacted me. The bird was exhausted at the time (apparently they had recently had a race and lots of birds went the wrong way and got lost). I fed it for 3 days and gave it water in an old hamster cage. Then I released it and it flew away until I couldn't see it any more. When I got home that day, it was on the porch. Now it is always there. I really like it and if the person really wanted it, they should have contacted me since I gave 2 phone numbers and email info. I don't have it in a cage or anything - it just hangs out on the porch and around my bantam chickens.
So, my question is, what sort of housing should I construct for this pigeon if it is going to stick around for the winter? Is there a way for me to tell from looking at it whether it is male or female? What should I be feeding it besides chick starter feed (which it really seems to enjoy)?
If you would like to see a picture of it, you can check out this thread, partway down, where I give more details on the story.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/898023/
Thanks, and welcome to the forum.
Claire
Thanks Sue and my male bird was so lonely after he lost his mate so i put him in my community pen with 10 fantails and hes happy as can be. I know a breeder and i will be able to replace his mate soon.
Cmoxon So you have one of the thousands of pigeons lost each year to raceing. Most breeders don't want a bird that can't make it back home its sad but true. Houseing is any cage big enough for the bird to move around freely by that i mean it needs a roast to fly up and down from to keep his wings exercised. It doesn't have to be big and elaborate if you are satisfied with it chances are the bird will be too. A good food is a bird seed mix walmart has a good one called gourmet mix it has safflower and sunflower and these are thier favorite foods. They allso require grit to grind thier food you can use chick i use a special red grit for mine it contains minerals but its exspensive for one bird. Pigeons allso sip water like they are useing a straw they don't scoop and swallow like a chicken.
Sex of your bird? If it bow coo's and dances it is male if it is silent it is female of course sometimes males will only coo in the presence of a lady.
Hope i helped. Harmony
Welcome to the group, Harmony. We are gald to have you if you can put up with our craziness.
Sheila
Shame about all those pigeons. I think maybe "Marvin" is female then, because I have never seen it coo or bow. It tends to hang out around my bantams who are about the same size. I will have to try and make an enclosure that he/she will like so that he/she actually uses it. I am not sure where it goes at night. I have woods so maybe it goes in there. It comes back in the morning to hang out on the porch & with the banties.
If I make a roost and an enclosure off the ground with an enclosed part (like a wooden box with ventilation) and then an attached part with hardware cloth, etc, maybe that would be good. I just don't know how I'd encourage the pigeon to use it? Then should I keep it closed? Right now the pigeon just comes and goes as it pleases, but I'd like it to have an option for when the weather gets cold that is safe for it.
Claire
If your not sure you want the pigeon you can just leave him/her out.
Most people are suprized to know pigeon survives very well on thier own alot of pigeons you see on bridges and in barns were probably pets set free or lost. They rarely freeze and survive and breed even in winter most breeders breed in the winter months at least the ones i know.
So if your not sure just leave him/her out until you can make a final decision.
A note here caged Doves are not as good as pigeons at surviveing outside of there caged homes.
They will usally starve to death so i ask please if anyone is thinking of letting doves go at a wedding or funeral make sure the trainer agrees to recapture the doves after the services or you can use white pigeons who when released naturally return home. I have talked many people into not releaseing these birds and they thanked me because they didn't know they wouldn't survive.
Good luck with your pigeon *Harmony*
OOP'S sorry i meant that Breeders that breed raceing homers breed in the winter months.
I breed only during the warmer months {sorry}
Claire saw your pigeon picture and that is a Blue Bar Homer and a nice lookin bird too.
This message was edited Sep 3, 2008 5:03 PM
Thanks Sheila i was out back checking on my Self Blue hen she just hatched 11 bitties and i wanted to make sure they had enough feed and water. *Harmony*
Thanks Harmony! I didn't know there were particular kinds. It's nice to know it is a blue bar homer. I will have to look up more information on those now. I guess my thought is that I would like to keep the pigeon around, if it wants to stay. I keep thinking maybe it is going to fly home! But since it has been more than a week, maybe not? I don't want to keep it always confined though - especially since it seems to come and go right now. But, I would like for it to have an option of a safe, predator proof place to be when it is cold or stormy, etc. I am glad to know it will be OK on its own in winter if it doesn't like the house that I make (which I can always use as a backup for bantams, etc).
Thanks again!
Claire
oh, i LOVE self blue OEGs. we had one...
TamaraFaye i have 2 trios of self blue and they are pure and a beautiful sky blue.
I have blue splash and blue mille fleur but my favorites are my lemon blues and brown reds.
There is nothin as pretty as that glossy black body with that green sheen and fire orange hackle feathers. BB's are most peoples favorite but those brown reds really get'em lookin.
Now i have to admit my crelle has turned a few heads but people adore my fawn an silver Duckwings.
Now i have a question i have been looking for somebody who knows how to breed Porcelain OEG.
I know of duccle porcelain and i have even owned a couple porcelain but i want to know the combination of genetics to breed them. I love the genetics of putting this with that and getting WOW!
I learned genetics from a gentleman thats been doing OEG for 40 years and pigeon genetics from a breeder whos been in it for 20 years. I'm learning Dove genetics and have a ways to go on that.
So if anybody can help me with the porcelain genetics i would be so thankful. *Harmony*
Claire if you want him to go to a certain place you can lure him with the bird seed mix.
Pigeons are notorious endless stomachs and will eat any time of the day and of course are very how should i say it poopey. Feed him only where you want him to be and he will return to that spot and in answer will he leave unfortunately that is a possibilty. Male or female will seek out a mate and could leave in search of one so if you really want him cage him. Pigeons are flock birds and they are not prone to staying alone as where he/she came from they were in a pen with up to 50 birds depending on the breeder. These birds as far as cost if its a pure raceing homer can range from $50 to over $100 each or even more. They are trained to fly in flocks and the first bird home is the one who is considered the best he/she will be breed for the next years bird. These Birds are judged solely on thier performance. If you need to know more just ask! *Harmony*
Hmmm...this is the dilemma for me. I really like this bird - she is so pretty. And I like it that she hangs around my bantams. Maybe she thinks they are pigeons. They are fawn silver duckwings. But I don't want to cage her by herself and never let her go because that isn't fair to her either. I guess I will just build some kind of house with a door and let her come and go as she pleases for a while, and then when she gets used to it, maybe at night I will close the door to keep her safe, IF she decides to roost in it at night. Sometimes in the day she is up on the roof, but not always. She comes and goes. Just makes me smile. I feel like keeping chickens is different because they are not really "wild" flying birds. But keeping a racing pigeon in a little house seems possibly not right to me....I am not sure. Especially by itself. She is so pretty though, and seems like perfect coloring. I don't want to judge her on performance though - just give her a place to live if she wants it. She is meant to fly, I think. Maybe she would bring a mate back if I gave her a nice house!
Claire
Claire How about another approach to this i know that you can teach a bird to home and it does require short term cageing. You put the pigeon in the cage and after say couple months when she is use to it you open the door and let her fly. She should fly awhile and when tired return to her cage i have done this when i bought some homers last year. It worked but a hawk also thought they would taste good and took 2 of mine out so i no longer have homers. I couldn't bare the thought of feeding that hawk my pigeons. But it did work after 2 months i let them out and when they became tired they came right back. But with one pigeon i'm still afraid she might go seeking love.
*Harmony*
Harmony--Welcome!
I don't know anything about porcelain genetics--but Garrie at zebrafinch.com has some porcelain mille fleur dutch bantams. He is seriously involved in breeding--he might be able to tell you something. I am hoping to buy some porcelain mille fleur dutch hatching eggs from him when I get back from my business trip this month. They are so beautiful!
Thanks for the welcome Catscan i'm looking for old english game bantam porcelain genetics.
I love the genetics of birds and the many varieties you can get from these birds i have 3 vareities of old english mille fleur and porcelain is the only one that has eluded me.
I can purchase eggs and chicks but i have yet to find anyone who knows the genetic combination to these beautiful birds. Well I'm Signing off for now thanks to all who welcomed me i never expected to hear from so many this quickly. Will certainly be back here sometime tommarow and looking forward to it THANKS!!!! *Harmony*
This message was edited Sep 3, 2008 10:47 PM
Welcome Harmony,
You have been a great help here to Cmox aka Claire. I really enjoyed reading all you had to say.
I really like your idea about the 2 months and allowing her to fly, Harmony! Thanks! I think that is exactly what I will do. I certainly worry about hawks also. We have quite a lot of them around here. It is another reason I do not fully free range my cluckers...
hiya and welcome
(bit late but i always am)
Josh:)
Claire once you are sure about your pigeons gender you could always get it a mate. Wouldn't have to spend top dollar since you aren't a racer.
MollyD
I was thinking that might be a good way to go, Molly. The only thing is, I'm not sure how to figure out the gender. I keep watching for bowing/cooing, and I haven't seen any yet. The other day he/she had a friend, up on the roof. I think it was one of the pigeons who hangs out near the grain elevator by the railroad tracks. I haven't seen that one since though. So it still doesn't tell me what it was.
Warning!!Claire Your pigeon has had a visitor that means it could have been approached by the opposite sex. Be warned this could be and outsider trying to lure this pigeon to the grain elevator as i said before pigeons are flock birds. Is there a flock of pigeons at the grain elevator? if so then the one pigeon came over as a rep. from the welcomeing committee sorry but i hope she/he stays because you like he/she so much.
I know a pigeon i had that escaped it stayed around a few days and i couldn't catch him he left one day and i figured a hawk got him. Why sure as the world i found him at the farm my son works at hes in a barn just over the road with about 40 other pigeons well at least hes happy.
There are usually about 4 or 5 pigeons at the grain elevator, so a small flock I guess. I wonder sometimes if that is where my pigeon goes when it's not on the porch or the roof. Since I don't have a house for him/her yet, I can't really catch him/her with the net again. I can get close enough to do so, but where would I put it. Not right to keep it in a hamster cage. I only saw this other pigeon once and that was a few days ago. Well, I will let nature take its course I guess. If I can get a pigeon house built soon, maybe I will catch it. But first I need a second coop for my egg layers!
Claire found this link for a simple pigeon shelter http://www.uplandbirddog.com/training/loft.html
MollyD
Hey that's great Molly! Thank you!!! Looks pretty easy. I would make it a bit smaller than that one I think, for my one bird (or maybe 2 if I get it a friend), but it looks like something I can tackle and make it stay together and not fall apart into a heap!
i want one!
looks like i may have some new pigeon buddies.
Might i sudjest some of the more fancy breeds thier are some beautiful ones.
They are not difficult to keep they will eat any seed mix and will mate,hatch and rear there young with absoulutly no help needed from you.
The Owls are especialy people friendly and not flighty like homers.
oh, i meant i want a loft like that for our pigeon. her name is Mrs. Whitey [my son is so origianl], i think she is a carrier pigeon? she is huge, white, red feet and eyes... her wings had been clipped when we got her, and the chickens pecked at her, so she is in a small cage. i would like to have a loft for her like that.
no more pigeosn, or birds of any kind at this time PLEASE... but thank you... yes, you have pigeon buddies here, they will come out of the woodwork now and then. we hide behind our chickens LOL
Just my opinion but i don't like those pens just seems too inclosed and not enough air flow or outside flight room. I wonder if they shoot thier birds some bird hunters have pigeons to train thier hunting dogs??? just wondering :)
I'm confused, are they owls or pigeons?
They Are Owl Pigeons
I know next to zilch about pigeons so I yield to Harmony on the subject ^_^. Do you have links to coops that you think are good for pigeons? Maybe Claire can take a look at those too.
MollyD
I donot Judge less i be Judge i don't know of any links most of my pen ideas actually came from breeders themselves. I allso design my own pens and just know a pen with poor ventilation can cause breathing problems due to poop,feather,and dusty conditions my pens are mostly open for flight and fresh air circulation. I enclose a portion of the back so they have cover if needed but they stay mostly in the open area. if the weather is to harsh i cover the front with wind break cloth it lets in light and air. I prefer everbody build thier pens the way they like them then bird and owner are happy. I'm Building a large flight pen this fall for my doves but my pigeons are in individual pens built just for pairs.
My Shield Owl Pigeons
