When do Pigeons Molt?

[maryco]

Hello Victoria,

Most birds at the moment are just finsihed their moult, some aren't done yet and they have a while more to go.
This is the moult season so afew weeks ago you would have noticed almost all the pijjies moulting and losing feathers.

My pet Pearl isn't totally done yet, her neck and head are still bare while her husband looks just perfect and he is all done. Every bird is different and sounds to me like your Sweetie is a young bird (could be her first moult) so this generally takes a bit longers as all the feathers chance to adult feathers, stronger, shinier and stiffer feathers. At this time also it can be a bit stressful on the bird.
I would suggest you add a supplement to the water, and give a garlic pill or fresh garlic in the water because these will help the body produce nice shiny feathers. Flax seeds are also good to add to the pigeon mix at the moment for the natural oils.

[pigeon george]

almost didnt put my two cents in from what i have read the actuall moult starts when the days start to get shorter and nights longer, this is why some racers use artificial light in the coops to delay the process

[SusanAmI]

Where do you get your food for your pigeons? Have one pigeon, but want it to be healthy. Global won't supply/doesn't recommend purchasing from them--tried--big quantities. And if one has one pigeon, where can one get vaccination for poxvirus and paramyxovirus? Vet says try fanciers--can't locate any. Vaccinations comes in packages of mnay. Assistance, PLEASE.

[ZigZagMarquis]

Originally Posted by SusanAmI

Where do you get your food for your pigeons? Have one pigeon, but want it to be healthy. Global won't supply/doesn't recommend purchasing from them--tried--big quantities. And if one has one pigeon, where can one get vaccination for poxvirus and paramyxovirus? Vet says try fanciers--can't locate any. Vaccinations comes in packages of mnay. Assistance, PLEASE.

Ah... ignore my comment in my PM to you about buying a 50lb bag of pigeon feed if you only have one bird.

I've heard that you can feed them "Wild Bird Seed" which places like WalMart, KMart, hardware stores, even seen brands of it at places like Home Depot... BUT I've also heard that if you buy a brand of wild bird seed that has whole sunflower seeds in it, you should pick them out before feeding to pigeons since pigeons don't shell their seeds, just swallow them whole.

You can get varrious seeds or Pellets in small qantities from Jedds too.

Where are you at Susan?

As for the shots... for one bird, seems that will be tough. Root around on this website http://www.pigeon.org/index.html ... somewhere there it tells you how to find a club near you... I'm assuming you're at least in the USA, right?

[re lee]

If you have just one bird. I think you may not need to worry about pmv. Unless you expose it to other birds. Pmv wont be a problem . About feed. Do you have a local feed store that handles feed pigeon feed.? They may sell by the pound.

[Birdmom4ever]

I agree with RE Lee that a single bird is not at risk for PMV or probably for most other diseases, either. Is he a pet house pigeon?

We buy our pigeon feed at a feed store. Where do you live? There should be feed stores somewhere in your area, whether it's a rural or major metropolitan area. We live in a large city and have several feed stores near by. If you can get 10 pounds and keep it in an airtight container it should last you a loooong time with just one pigeon.

Wild bird seed is okay temporarily, but often doesn't have a high enough protein content for a steady pigeon diet. It should be in the 14-16% range.