Your "handle" and how you got started

[corvid]

Gosh , you are so young and already 40 pigeons...

Im predicting, your name (or your pigeons names) will be know in Pigeons

racing circles.. in the future...LOL

Hope , your Hawk problem there will get manageable somehow.

[Owlskeeper]

I just Took the plunge about a year and a half ago and bought a homer from a livestock auction loved that bird.
I would let him fly and he would come back till one day he didn't return.
So i got some satinettes which turned out to be 2 males
But finally ran across someone with fantails and shield owls been hooked on these for over a year now.
I only have 5 breeding pairs of owls and 2 of fantails but they make me very happy.
I also got hooked on doves started a year ago and now have 7 varieties of ring necks and over 60 birds Just love these birds

[Lambish]

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. My prize (prize because I love her) dove died, but her name was Lambish. And when I desperately sought help via our forum, I signed her name. Before that, I had read the forum, but we (Lambish and I and the flock) kept to ourselves. When your babies are dying, though, you reach out and ask for help, which is why I signed in and joined the forum. Lambish was a top racer and a highly skilled dove. She was the best of the best.

[ceramicgirl]

since 1974 I've been involved with pouring, cleaning and painting ceramics, so in 1980 when we got a CB radio, my kids started calling me Ceramicgirl it has stuck.

I also go by Lady Andy, in memory of my 17 hand thoroughbred/quarter horse. he owned me for 11 yrs. and I miss him terribly. the day he died I belonged to a couple delphi forums, and one of them helped me thru the night as I nursed this dying horse. after he died, I took on the name Andy , then I found out there were 3 men using the same name, so one day I posted, the one and only Lady Andy it has stuck.

I also use Stumpo61 in the yahoo groups. Stump was my maiden name, and some one else was using it, so I added 61 the year I graduated from high school .

[LittleJohn]

LittleJohn is what my whole family called me up until I was about 16...then the hormones and the good eats kicked in and LittleJohn wasn't so little anymore.

I got into pigeons at about age 9 or 10, and I had a handful of birmingham rollers. I remember watching them fly, and how excited I was to get home from school everyday to fly them and then reward them afterwards with food, and then sit there for hours at the coop and just watch em coo and walk around. I distinctly remember the sound they make when they fly and it is always comforting to hear that....dont ask me why...just calms me down....go figure.

After a hitch with the Army and moving all over the country, I have finally settled in Pennsylvania and plan to stay here for a while.

I am just now getting back into roller pigeons and so far I have 3 pairs, two pairs of white bellnecks and one pair of blacks. I will be getting more soon, and I will keep them in the kitbox until my loft is completed. I am building a 6x12 loft and will keep the older birds split from the younger ones. The only regret I have is that I didn't get back into it sooner. Thanks for the great website and the nice people here. Feels like home already.
Here are a few pics of my birds.






LittleJohn

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for telling us your story, LittleJohn (or not so little John anymore! ) Your birds are lovely! Glad to have you here on Pigeon-Talk!

Terry

[Squeeker]

My handle squeeker came about as I thought back of the many baby pigeons that I fed by hand until they were able to eat by them selves. I was brought up by one of my older brothers who always had pigeons around so they have always been part of my life. In those days we only had wild pigeons which we got from barns, bridges, buildings and other places. I am now 67 years young and have had racing pigeons for about three years. I try to keep active so that I will not end up as a squeeker myself.!!

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for the intro, Squeeker! You're only 67 years young, so you've got a long way to go here!

Terry

[DayWalker]

My hubby laughs at my "handle" - - but this is how it came to be. I was a computer operator and was vacation relief for the night processor - - while on vacation a couple years ago he quit - - and I've been stuck here ever since. The hours are from 5 p.m. until anywhere between 1 and 4 a.m. (depending on if anything goes wrong! LOL) Early on a coworker here emailed me and refered to me as his "lady of the night". I was quick to point out that that I was pretty sure that phrase was reserved for women of illrepute that took money for it. He was quite embarassed, and next time he saw me coming into work, said "hello DayWalker" - - and the name stuck. There have been jokes about my shrinking from the sunlight and my serum I must drink daily to walk among those of you mere mortals. LOL Because as I tell people, it's not the late hours that kill me - - it's the next day that does it!!

My husband got into pigeons first - - he basically said one day: baby, I think I'm going to raise homing pigeons. And our journey began. We are still newbys (he is eyespyer on this forum) but are trying to learn all we can. The loft is mostly complete - - just need perches and a little more wire hung and they can move in!!! We currently have, I believe 11 pigeons. 8 homing pigeons to breed - - 4 are pure white. and my 3 capuchins.

I love animals - - all kinds. During our 15 years of marriage we have had dogs, with one litter of pups (English Bulldogs, which is what we still have 2 of), cats with a few litters of kittens, a conure parrot we raised from a baby and hand fed (we purchased from a breeder), chickens, ducks, turkeys, a green water dragon, iguanas (one that I brought home from the local animal shelter after my water dragon died and I missed him so much!!), hamsters, rats, fish. Let's see - - did I leave anything out?? My husband, who is the level headed, analytical one of us is the only reason why we don't have a literal zoo at our house - - although it has appeared as a petting zoo from time to time. Oh yes!! how could I forget my bunnies!! New Zealands, which are not your little pet bunnies, but huge rabitts!! (picked those up at a animal show on a whim. )

Guess that tells the tale fairly well. I am looking forward to learning more and watching our birds breed and can't wait until we can train the babies to "home" so we can watch them fly!!!

[RodSD]

My handle doesn't have interesting story associated with it. It is just my first name (Rod) and SD stands for San Diego. That way I wont forget.

I resurrected my pigeon hobby after I was gifted 8 pigeons last year (2008) from my brother's friend. I have had pigeons before like 12 years old or so. I have had lots of pets when I was a kid. I think I never ran out of pets. I even had pigs at one time, but that was used for food. I fattened that pig so much I was so proud to claim it was the biggest pig at my area. And once the day came to lose her, people had to hold me on both arms, body and legs to prevent me from rescuing her. Her squeals I still remember today. Such is life!

[wolfwood]

Just found this topic - great to get to know more about all the folks who have been so helpful to us!!!

KB & I met 32 years - camping - and we'd go out at night to hunt for "Wolfwood"... quite beautiful phosphorecent (decaying) wood ... also sometimes called "Foxfire". Here's the warm, fuzzy part - we finally found what we were both looking for when we brought our lives together 19 years ago ... and named our home "Wolfwood". When we 1st logged into this site, "Wolfwood" was the natural ID (and one I'm not likely to forget)

As for pigeons .... we are brand new to this and LOVING every minute!!! Although birds have been VERY special to me all my life (to the point *they* called me "Bird" when I was a kid), I've mostly admired them from afar. Occasionally rescuing/rehabbing one or saving one who had fallen down our chimney. I've been involved with Raptor Rehab and have even saved a Pelican (watch out for those beaks!!) Several years ago, my dog took me to (what ended up being) two 2 day old doves. With the help of the local "Bird Guy", Majic and I ended up raising the pair, teaching them to fly, and released them back to the wild. They then stuck around for a year or so and it was just incredible to walk through the yard and have a dove land on my shoulder or nest between the dog's feet!!!

Magellan (aka Birdzilla) - an unbanded Homer - then appeared on our kennel deck last September and, although he's been free to fly whenever & wherever he wishes, he chose to fly our fields but come home to Wolfwood each night. No question that he had moved in!! Because it would soon be VERY cold and we don't have other pigeons in the area for him to flock with, we figured we'd provide him with shelter...which then led to also providing him with companionship....so we rescued 2 more Homers from a local Shelter. 1 of them immediately paired up with Magellan, so we needed to find a companion for the other. Again - 2 new pijs (Rollers) came home. We now have 2 pair and a solo female ... and 3 Grandeggs (1 due to hatch tomorrow!!!) We've recently been speaking with a local guy who's moving and needs to find homes for his 20 pet Homers & Rollers soooooooooo, depending on how our 3 current eggs turn out, we expect to adopt 2 or 3 more pair from him at the end of this month. We do have a 6x8 loft, with flight boxes in the process of being built, and a larger wrap-around aviary to be added this summer. We have no plans to race or show - - - we're just enjoying sharing our home with these new winged friends and we thank YOU for helping us learn how to give them the best care we can.

[Maggie-NC]

Daywalker, RodSD and Wolfwood - thanks to each of you for wonderful stories of your names and, more importantly, your love of pigeons. I enjoyed each story very much.

[ian price]

hi all how r u

[Pidgelsmom]

What a great read, everyone! My name, Pidgelsmom, well it is easy, my first pigeon Pidgel I found as a squeaker, he was being forced out of his nest by his Daddy who mercilessly picked the same place on top of his head. He wasn't ready to fly yet, so I took him home not knowing what to do with him, what to feed him or anything. I had a parakeet so Pidgel ate parakeet food for the first few weeks. This was 5 years ago next month! time flies, so to speak! Now he has my husband trained to break open peanuts for him at a designated time every day. He still loves parakeet food, but it is only a treat.
I have been a bird person since I was young. I rescued seagulls and rehabed them. They can get real spoiled, too!
Pidgel stays right by my side when I am not feeling well, he brings me presents ( small wires, bread ties etc) He has slept on my bedroom door since day one, and is just pretty much my feathered mate. I still can't lay eggs, though. I'm sure glad my husband isn't the jealous type.
Lianne

[Maggie-NC]

Lianne, Pidgel sounds like a wonderful friend and I'm so happy you found our forum and hope you will continue to join in our discussions.

Would love to see a picture of Pidgel.