new questions

[dohiunule]

Greetings,
We are brand new here. My son has always been interested in pigeons and I just got him a pair for his birthday. Any starter advice would be greatly appriciated. The birds, Snowball and Rainbow are preening and displayign mating behavior, so I assume they are happy so far. How long do they mate? How long until we see eggs after that? Is this the only time of year they will mate?
Thank you for any answers.
Paula and Floyd

[maryco]

Hello and nice to have you and your son here

I'm posting a piece about basic pigeon needs, hopefully it will come in handy..

Yes sounds like they are getting all lovely dovey .. They will mate for about 10 days then you will see the first egg, in 44 hours you will see another (be sure to have a good source of calcium around for the hen at this time, oyster shell grit, chopped cuttle bone..etc)
They will take turns incubating (female at night, male in the morning) for about 17-20 days until the eggs hatch..
Pigeons will lay eggs all year round, my pet birds Dotty and Pearl will just keep going in a cycle, they just never stop, every 25 days Pearl lays a new set of eggs, then they incubate for 20 days until they figure out that it won't hatch (because I replace the real eggs with platic ones, a good birth contol method since I have no room for babies)


Hope I answered your question.. if you have anymore just post.

Mary

Pigeons make wonderful pets and are pretty easy to care for, here are some basic things that pigeons need:
1. Fresh water (I usually change it twice a day)

2. A pigeon mix either from a supply store or you can make your own by buying some seeds from a bulk store and mixing them (Pigeons like things like Milo, whole white or green peas, whole corn, millet, safflower, raw peanuts (NOT salted or dry roasted)..etc.

3. Pigeon grit (Not gravel from a pet shop) you can get red cross grit from a feed supply store, it contains crushed oyster shells and is a good source of calcium.
Also you can offer him chopped cuttle bone and crushed egg shells.

4. If your bird is an indoor pet he will need a vitamin and mineral powder that goes in the water since he won't be able to produce any vitamin D3 without direct sunlight, so you can buy a supplement from a pet shop.

Housing:

A nice cage will do, the pigeon should be able to stretch out both wings and still have some room. Pigeons don't really like round perches so you can get a flat perch.
The droppings should be cleaned once a day to keep the cage clean and the pigeon healthy.

You can add ACV (Apple cider vinegar) to the water once a week, this helps keep the bird healthy also.
The dose is 1/4 cup or alittle less per gallon of fresh water.

Also once or twice a week you can offer the pijjie a shallow pan filled with water to bath in, pigeons love baths and it's so fun to watch them splash around too!

If you have any questions please post them here..

[Trees Gray]

Hello and welcome to pigeons.com

What a wonderful birthday gift!

Are you keeping them indoors or are they outside in a coop?

Treesa

[dohiunule]

Thank you so much for the information!

For now, we have them inside in a nice roomy cage. I live in the upper Appalachain mountains, and have no idea where the birds came from. I was afraid if I put them outside they would experience a climate shock. When it warms this spring we will most likely set them up outside.

My son is 10 and has expressed an interest in racing pigeons for several years, since we found one hurt. We nursed it back to health and set it loose to fly back home.
I figured his own pair of pigeons was a good place to start. He loves them and they are very tame. My Lab thinks we got them for her however.
She lays by the cage and "guards" them.
Thank you both again
Paula and Floyd

[Trees Gray]

Hi Paula and Floyd,

I'm so glad you are keeping them indoors!

Please feel free to ask questions when needed and keep us updated .

Treesa

[dohiunule]

Arty and Roseane,

Thank you so much. We are grinding up egg shells to give them until I get out of the boondocks to a store this week to get some proper grit.
My son takes care of the plenty of love for the birds. He talks to them and pets them several times a day.
Thank you all so much! There are indeed nice folks here.
Paula and Floyd.