Pigeon Diet

[gwalker]

Hello guys, I am new to keeping pigeons and looking for a good quality feed. I have heard of Kaytee Bay-mor but its too expensive(over 50.00 for 50 lbs) I am looking toward purina and was told today that during breeding you should feed game bird layena pellets. I just wanted to make sure before I really messed up. Thanks for any info.

[mb5322]

Not sure if it's right or not, but I feed purina seed mix 13% protein in the morning and Nutriblend green 18% in the evening. it works for me and my pigeons are eating well. During breeding season my breeders will be eating more of the pellets for the higher protein etc..

mb5322
Matt

[spirit wings]

Originally Posted by gwalker

Hello guys, I am new to keeping pigeons and looking for a good quality feed. I have heard of Kaytee Bay-mor but its too expensive(over 50.00 for 50 lbs) I am looking toward purina and was told today that during breeding you should feed game bird layena pellets. I just wanted to make sure before I really messed up. Thanks for any info.

sounds good to me, I did not like the bay-mor when I bought some, I use jm browns now, but found some one who is willing to order the purgrain advantage nutra pigeon for me, it has pellets already in the mix and is at 16%, so it won't take much to up that when Im breeding. I think purina is fine and up the protein with the pellets or they have an all stock pellet too that may be even cheaper....just make sure you use pellets, I bought the crumbles and my birds would not eat it, or at least alot went to waste as the smaller particles were just too small....

[Keith C.]

It may sound a little odd, but I have been giving ny pigeons 38% protein fish pellets to bump up the protein content of their diets.
I was given a free bag last year and gave my pigeons some and they seemed to relish it.
I liked it because there wasn't the all the fine dust, waste like there is with the 24 to 28% game bird pellets and crumbles I had been using.
I bought one bag of off brand pellets that had a really stong fishy odor that my pigeons did not seem to eat as well.
Since then I have stuck with the purina, game fish, pellets and I think they have really helped my breeders and young birds.
I also raise goldfish on on it.
Keith

[spirit wings]

Originally Posted by Keith C.

It may sound a little odd, but I have been giving ny pigeons 38% protein fish pellets to bump up the protein content of their diets.
I was given a free bag last year and gave my pigeons some and they seemed to relish it.
I liked it because there wasn't the all the fine dust, waste like there is with the 24 to 28% game bird pellets and crumbles I had been using.
I bought one bag of off brand pellets that had a really stong fishy odor that my pigeons did not seem to eat as well.
Since then I have stuck with the purina, game fish, pellets and I think they have really helped my breeders and young birds.
I also raise goldfish on on it.
Keith

cool,I saw some of those at my local purina dealer, heck if it is cheaper than the gamebird or all stock or layer pellets why not, I think learning has used fish pellets before also. also cat food...but that seems like it would cost more...

[Msfreebird]

I tried purina pigeon checkers and layena pellets - my birds wouldn't touch it!
I also tried mixing it with their seed - still wouldn't touch it, they just threw it aside.
So I'm back to "Agway's" pigeon maintenance ("blue seal" in a pinch but they don't like it as much as Agway) $26.00/50 lbs
I guess my birds are fussy

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by gwalker

Hello guys, I am new to keeping pigeons and looking for a good quality feed. I have heard of Kaytee Bay-mor but its too expensive(over 50.00 for 50 lbs) I am looking toward purina and was told today that during breeding you should feed game bird layena pellets. I just wanted to make sure before I really messed up. Thanks for any info.

WHOA!! Does it have flecks of gold or something in it??? LOL......that's pretty steep.
We pay $27 for a 50lb bag of Browns feed.

[pigeonmommy21]

I feed my pigeon regular Dove food from petco , she loves it and refuses to eat anything else I try to give her ha... it's only about 6.00 too really cheap!

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by pigeonmommy21

I feed my pigeon regular Dove food from petco , she loves it and refuses to eat anything else I try to give her ha... it's only about 6.00 too really cheap!

UMMM........can't do that when you've got 100 pigeons. THEN what you feed would be expensive too.........LOL

[gwalker]

Thanks guys for all the info. I think I am going to try the game bird pellets and see how it goes.

[RodSD]

That game bird pellets should work. You can add some grains, too, if you want like wild bird seeds. Kaytee Bay-mor bird seeds are very expensive. I think more than 18% protein is bad for birds in the long run because it taxes the liver too much. One of my feed is chicken layer pellets (16% protein). Initially it took them 3 months before they actually eat it. I just started adding only few percentage such as 10% of pellets and 90% grains, then increased the pellets parts as months went by. I can feed them all pellets, but I don't want to do that. I always like them to have grains as well.

[themela]

I, too, am new-ish to the "pigeon world" and reading everyone's post about different feed. What's a good mix of protein? Right now I get this pigeon mix at my local hay and feed store, but should it be a 'dove-type' food? And does the feed come in pellet and seed format?

I only have a few white homers and getting ready to buy another bag of feed. And boy - do they eat a lot. That saying of 'eating like a bird' is just not accurate. I don't overfeed them (at least I don't think I do) and I do remove any food after 20 minutes of eating.

[spirit wings]

Originally Posted by themela

I, too, am new-ish to the "pigeon world" and reading everyone's post about different feed. What's a good mix of protein? Right now I get this pigeon mix at my local hay and feed store, but should it be a 'dove-type' food? And does the feed come in pellet and seed format?

I only have a few white homers and getting ready to buy another bag of feed. And boy - do they eat a lot. That saying of 'eating like a bird' is just not accurate. I don't overfeed them (at least I don't think I do) and I do remove any food after 20 minutes of eating.

everyone has their own take on feeding, but the basics I would say is find a good pigeon mix, like you have already. this sounds simple, but different fanciers have different methods of feeding their birds, usually developed by trial and error and each person will do what suits their requirments and management. for maintenance perhaps 13 to 15 % protein, when feeding babies perhaps like 16 to 20 % protein. you can add protein as stated above, or some vegetable protiens are beans, legumes, peanuts, safflower. just try to find a balanced mixture with peas, corn, and smaller seeds. don't forget your minerals such as oytser shell, and granite for digestion. oh greens, they are good to give as a rich source of vitamins, but not too many at first.