Advice on dovecote and pigeons

[Keith Hudson]

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To introduce myself, I'm Keith Hudson, and I live in a house in Bath. Thirty years ago in another place (Coventry -where my next door neighbour kept Birmingham Tipplers) I built an hexagonal dovecote on a brick pillar and raised dozens of fan-tails. The problem with these (in a small suburban garden) was they ate all the new green shoots in my and my neighbours' gardens at spring-time On reflectin, perhaps I should have been giving them some greenstuff or some vitamins additives in their feed). However, they were great fun to have.

I'm now 70 and have had a sudden yearning to have pigeons again. This time, however, suffering from emphysema I couldn't make a dovecote -- never mind build a brick pillar! -- but I have a pal who can make one for me. Some of those I've seen advertised are enormously expensive.

Now then, I wonder whether any of you kind folk can help me with a number of questions:

1. I don't want fan-tails this time but a smaller pigeon. Could anyone please direct me to a website with illustrations?

2. What would be the best way of getting hold of a pair, (or perhaps two pairs? or perhaps two pairs of different sorts?) living as I do in Bath?

3. I am thinking of designing a dovecote myself and asking a pal to make it for me. I am thinking of something large enough for two pairs (what size entrances? what size compartment) but also to have two or three other compartments for wild birds - tits, etc. Does this make sense?

4. Is there anything else important I need to know?

Thanking you in anticipation,

Keith Hudson

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Keith,

Welcome to Pigeon Talk! Sorry to hear of your health issues that are making it difficult for you to do things on your own. There are a many breeds of pigeons that are smaller in stature than fantails. However, maybe you should consider doves instead as your new pets. Doves are easy to obtain, quite tame and can also be housed outside in moderate climates year round. I have no experience myself with building or housing birds in a dovecote. However there is another member here, her name is Lynnette and she has built a dovecote for her pigeons. She might be able to provide you with more details and information on this type of housing at least. As for what kind of pigeon or doves you'd like to get, I guess that is up to you. It's good to research the pros and cons of each and what you can feasibly manage the easiest

Let us know if we can assist you further,

[TAWhatley]

Hi Keith and welcome to pigeons.com. It's great to have another member from the U.K. with us!

I'm not all that familiar with the types of pigeons that folks in the U.K. might or might not have, but you might consider rollers, tumblers, or german owls .. these are all smaller breeds of pigeons.

A good site for reading about the different breeds as well as seeing pictures of many of them is http://www.azpigeons.org. Click on the link to Bird Standards and then select any that catch your interest.

Terry