anybody here raise pigeons?
- Thread starter lee kent
- Start date
I used to keep, park pigeons. Had a co-worker that had issues with them eating all his bird seed, he was thinning them out with a BB gun. I gave him a trap, and a holding box. He caught me a few dozen. I put them in a coup I build from plan on-line that had nesting shelves. They started laying right off, I had plenty of training birds. Always thought Homers would be fun, but don't need another hobby, and current home is not set up for pigeons..... too many trees, and way too many hawks!
Matt_n_Barb
Well-known member
I think Al Hansen has pigeons, drop him a note
I raised a flock for several years. Pigeons are easy to keep - as long as you keep their coop clean they will stay healthy. Obviously they are prolific breeders -- I started out with three and within three years had about 36 -- and that was after culling my flock , frequently, for squab. Delicious.
I had white ones, rollers, and they did well. Also trapped a few of the street pigeons; after some isolation and antibiotics in their water they did an easy transition to my flock.
The cool thing about them is that, once they start breeding, you can pretty much open up the coop and let them come and go as they please. Very nice to see that flock coming home in the afternoon. Yes, you will lose some to hawks.
If you are going to raise pigeons, you may also want to consider Eurasian collard or ring-necked doves. I also had a group of those (heck, I may be the one responsible for introducing them to N.FL !) -- same deal, easy to keep, prolific, delicious, and since they are non-native you can use them for training dogs. You can buy em at livestock auctions or trap some feral ones if they are in your area....
Collard doves are spreading , at least here in FL and GA. Shot one on a GA dove hunt last year; They do well in beach environments, btw
I had white ones, rollers, and they did well. Also trapped a few of the street pigeons; after some isolation and antibiotics in their water they did an easy transition to my flock.
The cool thing about them is that, once they start breeding, you can pretty much open up the coop and let them come and go as they please. Very nice to see that flock coming home in the afternoon. Yes, you will lose some to hawks.
If you are going to raise pigeons, you may also want to consider Eurasian collard or ring-necked doves. I also had a group of those (heck, I may be the one responsible for introducing them to N.FL !) -- same deal, easy to keep, prolific, delicious, and since they are non-native you can use them for training dogs. You can buy em at livestock auctions or trap some feral ones if they are in your area....
Collard doves are spreading , at least here in FL and GA. Shot one on a GA dove hunt last year; They do well in beach environments, btw
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Matt_n_Barb
Well-known member
The Eurasian dove thingys are here also, plenty of them. I am curious as to the potential long term negative impact, does anyone have a clue what impact these birds will have? It seems that most non-native species that run amok are not a positive for the natives.
Matt
Matt