New to Pigeons

[Jason C]

I recently bought 19 pigeons from an auction near me. I got them home and was looking over them and all but five look the same (traditional pigeon) the other five have really big heads. I know nothing about pigeons. They were sold as "homers" so I am assuming they are!! They have seamless bands on thier legs with numbers and the year 2000 on them. I was wondering how long they should be "cooped" up for before they are let out for their maiden voyage. And approx how much room this many pigeons need? Thanks Alot Jason

[bigbird]

Hi Jason,
There is a lot to raising pigeons that space will not permit here, but I will give you some of what I know now...
19 pigeons will become 30 pigeons in a few months. Space for nesting and flying should be at least 6' x 15' minimum.
Winter can be hard to train your birds for the first time. Do you have hawks in your area, they can kill a pigeon very fast, so be careful. Summer months hawks usually go north so it is safer.
Allow your birds to become adjusted to their new home for at least 3 weeks, more if possible. Here is how you might start the release program.
Install a trap door in your coop. Open this door and watch for about 2 or 3 birds to discover how to fly out thru the trap door.
Then close the trap door. A proper trap door will allow them to come back inside thru the door (door swings in only). If these three birds do not know how to come back inside thru the trap door then you need to open the trap door (prop open) and place some feed near the open door. They will come back in soon. Then close the door.
Do this about 1 hour before dark so they will stay nearby and be ready to come back in before dark.
Repeat this process the next day. Maby new birds will come out on day two.
After you have repeated this a few times, alowing more birds to come out each time, they will get to know the coop, trap door and then feel free to let them all out at one time. To let them all out, chase them out thru the trap door, from the inside, then leave the trap door open. They will fly around for awhile and then come back in.
Once they are very familiar with your local surroundings, you can then begin to take them out in a transport cage, release them near home and wait for them to return. Keep taking the transport cage further away from home. They should always fly as a group (at least 6 to 10 birds).
Some homing pigeons are trained to fly home from over 2500 miles away, but you can also lose birds on long flights like this.
Ask for any additional information you might need. Good luck,
Bigbird.

[Jason C]

Thanks alot for the advice. Should I seperate the five that look different? The ones with the really big heads. Also if I take one out at a time and release it will it home just as well as with 6-10 birds? Is there anyway to distinguish the difference in males and females? I am going to start construction on a new coop for them this weekend I live on a farm so space is not a problem. Yes we do have hawks a very bad problem with them. Sorry for all of the questions just need to know. Thanks Jason

[raynjudy]

Hello, Jason C. I've learned a lot from the people here and a lot from the reading they've recommended.

You can bet that bigbird will get back to you, but I happen to know that his plate is pretty full right now, so I will offer my two cents:

1) Interbreeding: The characteristics of both types of pigeon will intermingle and produce variations in offspring. Which traits will breed "true" is beyond my knowledge.

If you do decide to separate the "large headed" variety, be aware that the gene pool will deplete rapidly and some tragic mutations may occur. To avoid this, you'll need to introduce "new blood" to the gene pool. If you cannot acquire the "large headed" variety of pigeons for breeding purposes, you will end up cross breeding to avoid unfortunate individuals being born.

Go to your library and get hold of a copy of THE PIGEON, by LEVY. Try to identify the large headed breed and look into the difficulty and expense of acquiring more; if breeding them "true" is your aim.

If not, let them interbreed and save yourself the headache. This may be what you'll end up doing, anyway.

2) There's safety in numbers. A lone pigeon is an easy target for a raptor. A group of pigeons in flight have a 50-50 chance of confusing and evading a winged predator.

Pigeons learn by doing and watching each other. The wise and gifted can teach by example. This knowledge is handed down, virtually, forever. This is partly why pigeons are so successful!

It is wise to release birds in numbers, as bigbird recommended.

Later, ask bigbird or my friend, Walt, about using a bright flag to communicate with your flock of pigeons, while in flight.

3) Observation and a little patience will tell you the boys from the girls. Most importantly--the pigeons know!

Males tend to be more "vocal" and put on quite a show with circling, leaping and "cape" dragging. It's very cute! It will be far easier to name your birds after you determine their sex--but names like "Sparky", "Lightning", etc., work either way.

And if I may digress a little, let me say that with any hobby, there can be a fine line between satisfying effort, and stressful work that misses the point entirely...

In astronomy, for example, I've seen people obsess so much about the state of their equipment, that they seemed to take little joy from the wonders overhead.

In practice, a 4" telescope used often, rewards its owner far more than a 12" telescope dragged outside twice a year.

Unless you have a specific niche targeted for your new hobby, let me suggest pigeons for the sake of pigeons, as the best place to start.

PIGEONS FOREVER!

--Ray

[This message has been edited by raynjudy (edited 01-09-2001).]

[ONEEYEPIGEON]

Hey Jason , Welcome to the group i found this site a few months back and these guys got me hooked on pigeons big time , They showed me how interesting these fine creatures are , Some times i just go out back and just sit and watch my birds fly .I started with one pigeon name oneeye cause a hunter shot out his eye to say the lease. But anyway i now have about 45 and i have four on eggs now so get ready . Sounds like bigbird and Ray got yu out the right track .The flag thing works great for my pigeons if you make them wait untill the end of the day than let them out to fly they will circle or mybe just kind of chill out on your roof for a little while but if you wave a red flag than go put feed in the door of your coup they catch on to this real fast.so it will help you kind of keep them train to do what you want . Dont let your homers out to fast or they are headed right back to the guy you got them from . When you have some babys they will always stay where they were born and the two will always be a pair . Yes its true i could'nt believe it brother and sister mate for ever. Welcome to pigeons .com Walt

[virginbear]

hi mate im new to the sport my self . my name is aaron . so if you learn some hot tips on how to start a good race team . pleaselet me know

[raynjudy]

This sounds like a question for mark.henry.

Oh, mark.henry?

Also look at http://www.pigeon.org/

--Judy