getting pigeons next saturday!

[mystery]

ok so only another week to wait and have a few more questions:
if i buy an established pair how long will it take for them to become settled and lay eggs?
if i buy 2 pairs from different breeders and put them in the same aviary will they fight?
i've read lots of stuff on what kind of diet they should have but im still confused as i have read so much conflicting articles, what do they like as treats? can they have chicken feed aslong as it is supplemented with other types of seeds?
thanks

[Matt D.]

First, it will be about 2 weeks. No, all cock birds fight, no matter where you get them from. Treats, safflower and peanuts are what I use. Chicken pellets I give my birds, not to big on chickens so I cant really answer it, but the chicken pellets are what my birds get. Congrats.

[Charis]

I think you need to feed them what they have been accustomed to eating and any change made gradually. You can buy a seed mix especially for pigeons. That would be the best. Chicken pellets are developed for chickens and can contain animal by-products and or antibiotics. Pigeons are vegetarians and chickens are not.
It's important to provide the protein amounts...14%-17%.
I supply my pigeons with leafy greens, broccoli and minced carrots daily and they love them.

[mystery]

thanks for that i will just get them a pigeon mix from scats then and i can provide them with the other stated stuff because my mum grows alot of plants.
and about the males fighting: does that mean that you can never put males together? i have experience with chickens and bantams and know that if cockerels arent brought up together they will never live happily together, i just assumed any pigeons could live together because i thought people kept loads of different pairs together in their loft or can male pigeons get used to each other unlike chickens?

[Charis]

Males can be in the same aviary together but not a small confined space.How large is the space you will be keeping them in?

[mystery]

i think its roughly about 6 ft in length, 4 ft wide and about 5 ft high, is that enough space for 2 pairs so that they wont fight? i did that calculation thing and it came up as 7.2 so i assume its ample space for 4 pigeons

[Charis]

Technically it is big enough. Personally, I wouldn't put 2 pair in a space that small unless they had been babies growing up together. Even then I think there will be squabbles. Be very careful to keep your numbers low by replacing the eggs with wooden ones. It's so easy to become overwhelmed with too many pigeons in a short amount of time and it can be hard to find good homes. If you have fewer pigeons that you can handle, you will enjoy them more.

[mystery]

ok i will just get the one pair then, the only reason i wanted 2 pairs was so that i could pair up the offspring and sell them at the same auction, but i'll just sell them single or in same sex pairs
thanks for your help!
x x

[Charis]

Be careful with the auction. It would be a shame for your sweet little babies to end up as trainers for bird dogs. When you sell at an auction, you have no control over who buys them and for what reason. This past year, a pigeon came into my care that I've pretty sure had been used to train dogs. He was lucky to have gotten away. Still, he was in sad shape when he came to me. Earlier in the year, I was told of 5 pigeon abandoned in the back of a pick up. This was after they had been used to train a couple of Lab puppies. They were left to die, their legs tied together and without food or water. They were rescued in the nick of time but for many others, the rescue never comes. So be very careful. I can tell that you are a kind person and would want no harm to come to a living creature. I can tell by the questions you have asked.
I just wanted you to know.

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by mystery

ok i will just get the one pair then, the only reason i wanted 2 pairs was so that i could pair up the offspring and sell them at the same auction, but i'll just sell them single or in same sex pairs
thanks for your help!
x x

Mystery, I have to say this, so please don't take it the wrong way. First of all, in my opinion, the space you have is big enough for two pair of birds IF they are all introduced to the loft at the same time. You're biggest squabbles would come if you put ONE pair in and then tried adding another pair. The first pair would consider the whole space as being theirs and any other bird would be considered an intruder. Sharing is NOT what pigeons do best.
Second of all, I too can tell that you care, but by you're age, you're still young and it sounds like you are trying to make a little money on the side. TRUST me when I tell you that buying two pairs of birds with the intention of raising babies to sell for a profit is NOT going to work. You'll spend WAY more money and time trying to get those babies raised than you'll ever be able to sell them for at some auction. Why not get you one or two pair for your enjoyment AND just maybe by you taking them home and caring for them, you'll be saving the birds from the next person in line to buy them who just might feed them to his dogs or who knows what?
If you want to get a couple of pair of pigeons cause you just like pigeons, then by all means do that. If you're trying to come up with a way to make extra money, go get you a job and I don't mean that sarcastically.
Like Charis said, just about anyone who goes to an auction to buy pigeons is NOT doing it for the right reason. Obviously, there are exceptions to that rule, but by and large, their intentions for the birds are not good.
So, all I'm saying is think about what you're doing and why you are doing it. Pigeons are marvelous creatures and deserve the best that you can do for them. Just my two cents.

[mystery]

ok i understand what both of you have said and i have taken it onboard.
this wasnt about profit,i just wanted to raise pigeons as a hobby and the auction was just my idea of finding home for the young,it just never occured to me that people would want to buy purebred pigeons for cruel purposes, im lucky in that a live in the country so alot of people near me also keep pigeons and there is also a pigeon club down the road, maybe i will just surrogate some eggs from someone else who doesnt have any pumpers or just raise a few rounds and give them to the other breeders and then give my own pigeons dummy eggs.
thanks for you concern

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by mystery

ok i understand what both of you have said and i have taken it onboard.
this wasnt about profit,i just wanted to raise pigeons as a hobby and the auction was just my idea of finding home for the young,it just never occured to me that people would want to buy purebred pigeons for cruel purposes, im lucky in that a live in the country so alot of people near me also keep pigeons and there is also a pigeon club down the road, maybe i will just surrogate some eggs from someone else who doesnt have any pumpers or just raise a few rounds and give them to the other breeders and then give my own pigeons dummy eggs.
thanks for you concern

Thank YOU for listening. Sometimes the written word doesn't come across the way it's meant. No one was trying to give you a hard time and I'm glad you understood that. It's just that so many of us here "have seen that dark side"...........and it ain't pretty.

[Charis]

Originally Posted by mystery

ok i understand what both of you have said and i have taken it onboard.
this wasnt about profit,i just wanted to raise pigeons as a hobby and the auction was just my idea of finding home for the young,it just never occured to me that people would want to buy purebred pigeons for cruel purposes, im lucky in that a live in the country so alot of people near me also keep pigeons and there is also a pigeon club down the road, maybe i will just surrogate some eggs from someone else who doesnt have any pumpers or just raise a few rounds and give them to the other breeders and then give my own pigeons dummy eggs.
thanks for you concern

What a great idea!