[dogfuel]

Is it practical/possible to maintain a dovecote as they were years (100s of years) ago?

Imagining a tower (4x5x8h ish, maybe 10 nest boxes), predator resistant with the only access though a latched door for me and a high-up poop door for the birds... after a few pair are homed there, just leave it open, occasionally feed and clean and let'em do what birds do (stealing the occasional squab). Is this crazy?

I'm fascinated by this idea but know nothing about pigeons and only a little about chickens. I'm near a small city, but there is some grain grown in the area - would this work at all? If so, should I worry about the 'dirty' food and water they may find in the city?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Chimerical Beast]

Possible? Yes. Practical...depends on what you're going for.

Old style dovecotes (like, wooden ones, not stone towers) are hard to come by. You could build one yourself, if you're handy.

However...some cities have started putting up pigeon housing as a means of population control of feral birds (they take the eggs and replace them with wooden ones). So, you can do something like what you're talking about if you really want to.

But, you're running the risk of birds seeking greener pastures.

 

[Ladygrey]

Is it practical/possible to maintain a dovecote as they were years (100s of years) ago?

Imagining a tower (4x5x8h ish, maybe 10 nest boxes), predator resistant with the only access though a latched door for me and a high-up poop door for the birds... after a few pair are homed there, just leave it open, occasionally feed and clean and let'em do what birds do (stealing the occasional squab). Is this crazy?

I'm fascinated by this idea but know nothing about pigeons and only a little about chickens. I'm near a small city, but there is some grain grown in the area - would this work at all? If so, should I worry about the 'dirty' food and water they may find in the city?

Thanks in advance!

Pigeons need more than just a nesting house or dovecote, if you are looking to give nesting sites to feral living pigeons then I suppose that could be an in between domestic but still feral if your not going to feed them and look after their needs. Problem is, you just shouldn’t take ferals and expect them to use it, they would fly back to their flock, they mate for life and disrupting their flock would be just that.

If you want some pigeons build a loft and keep and buy pigeons where they can be fed and housed and safe from birds of prey .

Dovecotes can work in countries where they have few birds of prey, because if a hawk finds a dovecote it pretty much will come back over and over and eat those using the dovecote. Which makes them sitting ducks.. or pigeons..

 

[Stony]

Dovecotes can work in countries where they have few birds of prey, because if a hawk finds a dovecote it pretty much will come back over and over and eat those using the dovecote. Which makes them sitting ducks.. or pigeons..[/QUOTE]

I like your idea but here in SA we have crows flying about as well as Hawks thats always on the hunt. I have Rollers and have lost quite a few young birds.