Getting back into the Pigeon life....Again....

[jimmyrenex]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and I would just like to say "hello" to all the pigeon people out there. After 20 years of a pigeonless life, I decided it was time to get back into enjoying them again. When I was 15 years old, I had about 75 of all different breeds. Eventually, I settled with about 20 Komorners (many of which were first prize winners) and A few rollers. When we moved, I had to sadly get rid of them. Now, 20 years later, after moving to a 25 acre farm, I have a lot of space to start a new collection. I got a couple of pairs this weekend at a farmers market. I went to the market to buy rabbits, but after seeing the birds, I just couldn't resist! I ended up with a pair of Oriental Frills(which I had always loved but never had) , and a pair of Komorner Tumblers (for god old memories sake). There was no internet then, so books was all I had to go on. It's nice to have a place to talk about pigeon stuff.

I have a question about the frills. I know that with their small beaks that they have trouble feeding their young. But i also heard that some can and do feed their own. If anyone out there has more info about this and any other facts about frills i should know, I would love to hear from you....

Thanks ,,,,,

[Lin Hansen]

Hi Jimmyrenex,

Welcome to Pigeons.com.....how wonderful that you are now in a position to end the "pigeonless" period of your life!
I remember reading here at the site that some people who have breeds with small beaks that result in difficulty feeding their young will foster the babies out to to other pigeons they may have that have a more standard size beak, such as homers.....this is secondhand information as I have no personal experience here, but I am sure there are other members who have had experience with this situation and will be along shortly to offer advice to you.
Congratulations on your new birds....best of luck with them.

Linda

[TerriB]

Hey Jimmyrenex,

Welcome back to pigeons! I think you'll really enjoy this forum - lots of great folks here.

Sometimes the shortfaced breeds can feed new babies but not be able to support later rapid growth. If your frills can't feed their babies, maybe you could foster them with your tumblers.

You mentioned the Komorner Tumblers. What other breeds did you have before? Twenty years is a long time. Did you notice much of a difference in Tumblers from when you had them the first time?

[jimmyrenex]

Hey Terri..
I had a Modenas, fantails, giants, pouters and homers. Actually, the Komorners looked exactly the same as they do now....
And the pairs that I picked up last week were not pairs at all, the 2 frills were cocks and the 2 tumblers are hens! Well, this weekend I will be heading back to the market to make sure I can pair them up!

Jimmy

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Jimmy,

Welcome to PIgeon Talk! I notice you're a fellow Ontarian as well. By chance, the "market" you're talking about, is it Stouffville?

[SmithFamilyLoft]

Hello Jimmy !

Welcome back ! I think it is like riding a bicycle, once you get back on, it all comes back to you. Sorry, I know very little about frills, except that they sure are pretty !

[TerriB]

Jimmy,

What neat breeds you've had. I'm probably not the only one who has a list of breeds I'd like to have someday! There is so much variety in pigeons to choose from: some are adorable (frills) or elegant (Damscene) or endearing (Giant Homer).

[jimmyrenex]

Hi PigeonPal....

Yes,... it was the Stouffville farmers market..... There are a lot of vendors that carry pigeons, but I wouldn't expect to find many "show quality" birds there as most of the ones I saw did not have proper markings. You would have to find a private breeder to get the good stuff. I will be visiting one this weekend to look at some Old Owls and old fashion frills. The price is 3 times higher but the markings are correct and it looks like he takes very good care of his birds.... Don't get me wrong, I love them all!, from wild ones that live under a bridge to the feeding ones you may find in a market. I just would like to have a pair of show quality ones so I can raise a few to help pay for feeding of all the cute mutts I'll be ending up with!!!

Jimmy

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Jimmy,

I had a feeling you were talking about the Stouffville Market That is where I got my first Runt pigeon about 5 years ago now. Sadly, he ended up dying on me about a year later. The market does have a lot of different pigeon breeds usually and you're right, not really "show" quality birds. I was content in finding my "mutt" though. The man that sold the Giant Runts in Stouffville is Bill Fletcher, and he's got a pretty good reputation as a breeder. I went up to his place near Hamilton to pick out another Runt after I got the first one. If you look on the CPFA website you can find breeders for various different breeds here:

http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/CPFA/ONTARIO.html

Well, good luck in your search. If you need any help, let me know.

[re lee]

Ahh The pigeon bug has bit you agin. Good to have you here and back in the hobby. You said you had fantails befor. Well the breeders in canada have come along way in the fantails nowdays. Very good birds up there. Some of the best. You might take a look at them. As there is some top breeders in canada now.

[sirpigeon]

Welcome back to the pigeon fancy! I had alot of different breeds when I was a kid too. I'm trying to cut back to one breed,but it's hard to do,there are so many beautiful breeds.I have rare colored racing homers,rare colored starlings,and rare colored archangels.