Sound like a sound plan to me. If you are wanting a new cross for the birds you already have then that is the route I would go.
Dan
Sound like a sound plan to me. If you are wanting a new cross for the birds you already have then that is the route I would go.A friend gave me a 2 month old pigeon and I decided not to train him or her.. This bird came from a winning line of my friend... It's just a gift though!!! Now, my plan is to keep the pigeon and breed him/her in the future to have another line of youngsters for the race next season.. Is this a good idea??? If not, what should I do with this pigeon??? Is it possible to produce competitive youngsters for the race or it will be just luck is ever.. Please help!!!![]()
It's hard to tell if any bird will produce winners in any case IMO. Some winners make horrible breeders and some non-winners only produce winners....I would say it's a toss up anyway you look at it. Even some of our experts in this forum can only assume.you got quite a choice to make lol
its kinda hard to know if the bird will produce winners if it hasnt been raced itself to prove how good it is.
I agree 100%......AT LEAST, break it to your loft.....you don't have to fly it all the time, or even let it out every time the other birds are out. Just teach it where HOME is and HOW to get back in that home..........If you don't want to take the chance of loosing the bird from training then stick to your plan and keep him/her as just a prisoner. Personally, I would trap and loft train the youngster so that it's settled to your loft and that will eliminate any chance of loosing it. It's still young enough to resettle IMO.
Thanks Dave. I finally got one right! lol.YES! Well put Henry. Dave
Yes, and to have an opinion means that one truly knows and cares about their birds! Which is the case with you, Renee, Warren and a few others on this site.Dude! you get a lot right, remember, there are Many ways to do most stages/management subjects! I just happen to be VERY opinionated about the care of my Birds! LOL! Dave![]()
Thanks!!! I'll stick with your advise... Another thing, what is the advisable age for a pigeon to start breeding???If you don't want to take the chance of loosing the bird from training then stick to your plan and keep him/her as just a prisoner. Personally, I would trap and loft train the youngster so that it's settled to your loft and that will eliminate any chance of loosing it. It's still young enough to resettle IMO.
One year is a good rule to follow. I let one young pair keep their first eggs and they were sorry parents. Lost one baby and fostered the other. Waited two more months letting them sit on dummy eggs before I let them try again, then they were mature enough to raise babies. If you let them mate, foster the eggs and give them dummies until they are a year old.I've been told to start them at exactly a year old before you let them have their first set of babies. You can if you want start as early 6-8 months depending on the maturity of your birds.
You can start settling the birds right away if they are 2 months old. They are in no risk of getting lost during the trap training and settling cage phases. Just make sure the have plenty of time in the settling cage before you decide to let them completely out of the loft. I would recommend 3-4 weeks. This will give them ample time to get familiar with the loft and give you time to teach them to trap with your feed call.de Vera Loft decided not to train a 2 month old bird, and every body said to settle it. I would like to know how long to keep the bird befor i can settle them, i baught 2 Houbens the same age.
Dave