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Newbie from Oregon

1365 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  RodSD, 
A
Hi all, I've been searching this site for about a week or two now and am hooked. My daughter, Kimberly, is 14 and has found a love for pigeons. We started looking for Old German Owls but couldn't find any locally. I got a call from the woman who runs our local feed store and she had a customer bring in some pigeons, I went and looked (without my daughter), fell in love with the beauty of the American Fantail and brought them home. My daughter thinks they are the prettiest bird she's ever seen. Now we want to start breeding them and found a breeder in Wisconsin that we are buying a trio to start out with.

We lost the hen because of our dog, enough said, and it won't happen again, because my husband and my daughter built a very nice loft so we are ready to go.

My daughter hand raised 4 pigeons that were a result of our barn owners wanting to rid the barn of pigeons. Their eyes looked to have just been opened. She syringed feed to them every two to three hours through the day. She learned to speak quietly around the house because as soon as they heard her voice, they would start squawking. They are now fully feathered and just last week started to fly. They are just precious! Our friends think we are crazy for letting her keep the feral pigeon babies, but we love them too. We all have, at one time or other, been caught watching t.v. with a pigeon baby on our laps. :)

I have so many questions about wormers, vaccinations, feeding, etc.. I don't know where to start.
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Charis
Hi Arabella...I'm in Portland and I'm always delighted to know fellow Pigeon lovers near by.
I'm going to private message my phone number to you. I'm happy to answer questions or be available if you have an emergency and need a quick opinion.
I love Rainier. I think it's so quaint and beautiful.
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Revolution Lofts
You both are by far the closest americans to me :p lol

Good luck in this hobby!
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Charis
I think the Seattle area members are closer.
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Revolution Lofts
Oh well atleast you guys are still kinda in the north west :)

Arabella:
Things you'll have to keep in mind-

*Right food, water
*Seems like you have the shelter under control :)
*Never over crowd
*Always keep some medications on hand, like Baytril
*Control the breeding
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A
Gurbir said:
Oh well atleast you guys are still kinda in the north west :)

Arabella:
Things you'll have to keep in mind-

*Right food, water
*Seems like you have the shelter under control :)
*Never over crowd
*Always keep some medications on hand, like Baytril
*Control the breeding
Click to expand...

We keep fresh water in front of him at all times. We also have a pigeon mix that we've been giving him free choice, we just added some pigeon grit to his diet. The pigeon mix is only 17% protein, but at this time the best I can get locally. I understand from reading that the grit should be rationed out, not allowed free choice. I read the poop thread.:)

I was looking at Jedd's and trying to figure out what I should get for worming, vitamins, and meds. I will make sure to get Baytril, then. The choics for mixing your own mixes is mind boggling!

Controlling the breeding will be easy, we'll only have to pairs. I don't want quantity, I want quality.

Our loft is 4' x 8' x 6 or 7 feet tall. A nice, starter size.:) I have a feeling we will be "adding on" in the future.
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A
Charis said:
Hi Arabella...I'm in Portland and I'm always delighted to know fellow Pigeon lovers near by.
I'm going to private message my phone number to you. I'm happy to answer questions or be available if you have an emergency and need a quick opinion.
I love Rainier. I think it's so quaint and beautiful.
Click to expand...

We've been out here for over 11 years and we just love it. We are out of town by 6 miles.

Thanks Charis, I appreciate the info and the help!
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L
You aren't that far from me either. I'm in Damascus, Oregon. I only have one baby pigeon so far, he's roughly 24-25 days old. I hope to get more as I get more experienced. I'm guessing your in the Columbia County area? I'm in Clackamas Co. and I just figured out that the Clackamas Co. Fair has pigeon exhibits. It's a $2 entry fee and sounds like fun. Just an idea for you and your daughter, maybe you should look into the fair in your area, or maybe even start your own 4-H pigeon fanciers group.
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RodSD
Your family hobby seems to be doing fine. Pigeons are lovely birds, but they poop too much. Nevertheless, of all the birds that I ever had, pigeons seem to be my most favorite. Just ask any question. We are more than willing to give our advice.

To deworm you can try Ivermectin (will kill external blood sucking parasites(like mites) as well).
For feeding, you can start with 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) per bird depending on the breed. Breeders will usually get 16-20% protein while others can get 12-14% maintenance protein. Molting birds can get extra oily seeds such as safflower or sunflower seeds. For just weaned youngsters I just give them the same I give for breeders.
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