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Tips on the Best Feed for Pigeons and a DIY Pigeon Feed Formula
Reading Time: 6minutes
Pigeons are adaptable, hardy, and agile. And although the types of pigeons range in size and function, all pigeons have similar husbandry requirements. Knowing what to feed pigeons and the ideal pigeon loft design will allow you to ensure a healthy flock.
Pigeon Loft Design
Across the board, the rule of thumb when setting up and maintaining a pigeon loft is to keep the loft extremely dry with plenty of ventilation.
- BMC Roller Pigeons Doing What They Do Best. Download Beautiful Pigeons Kindle Free. PIGEONS Are Such FUNNY BIRDS Cute And Funny Pigeon Videos.
- Bare-Bones Roller Care basic guide If you are flying rollers, at least one kit box is required. Each kit box should accommodate twenty pigeons without overcrowding and should be well ventilated, which is key in the prevention of diseases. A box measuring 3'x3'x3' is suitable for 20 kit birds.
Philip Spatola of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, recently won the American Racing Pigeon Union “Loft of the Year” award. Members were encouraged to submit photographs and descriptions of their lofts. Not only was it an online loft “beauty contest,” but it also illustrated the variety of appearances that provide healthy housing for homing pigeons. The styles and sizes conveyed a large range of skill sets and funds.
“I contacted a local shed company to build a shed to my specifications and then had a friend install partitions and perches inside the loft,” said Spatola.
He cleans his “Cary’d Away Loft” once a day in the mornings and then feeds and waters the birds. In the summer, he cleans the loft twice a day. Fans and electricity were installed to aid in ventilation and convenience.
Deone Roberts, the Sport Development Manager for the American Racing Pigeon Union, says that a well-designed loft consists of a floor, four walls, a roof, external fixtures (landing board, trap, ventilators and turbines, and aviaries), internal fixtures, a storage area for feed and other supplies plus an infirmary. The loft needs to prevent vermin, including aerial predators.
“A neat appearance and blending into the neighborhood is most helpful to encourage good community relations,” said Roberts. And remember, “The cost of construction has no bearing on racing success.”
The size of the loft should allow eight to 10 cubic feet of air space per bird. A well-made loft would include at least three partitions: one for breeders, one for young birds, and one for old birds. To make it comfortable for yourself and to aid in cleaning, the ceiling should be high enough for you to stand erect. Having the loft elevated from the ground will help air circulation and keep it dry.
The roof should be slanted from front to back to allow the rain to roll off away from the landing board. The landing board should be large enough for all the birds to land at one time. The trap functions so that pigeons that fly outside can get back into the loft but not be able to fly out again. It should be in the center of the landing board. Traps can be purchased for around $20. My father and I built a trap out of wire coat hangers when I was flying tumblers and racing pigeons, and it worked out great.
Roberts says that aviaries are an essential part of any well-designed loft allowing the birds to have a constant supply of fresh air and sunshine.
“Each section of the loft should have a small aviary where the birds can go out into the sun and rain,” said Frank McLaughlin. “It is also nice to be able to close off these aviaries to keep the weather from the inside of the loft.”
McLaughlin of McLaughlin Lofts has been raising pigeons for 43 years.
“Most of the best lofts have air entering low and leaving the loft at a high point causing a chimney effect,” he said. “Many fanciers keep their pigeons on grated floors and some use a deep litter which I prefer a thin layer of wood pellets used in wood-burning stoves.”
“Dampness is the worst condition for pigeons so having sunlight enter the loft is excellent to keep dry,” said McLaughlin. “Pigeons rarely if ever get sick if they have space, dryness, good feed, minerals/grits, and clean fresh water.”
Each mated pair of pigeons should have their own nest box. The boxes do not need to be elaborate. Boxes that are 18 inches long and 12inches high and wide are suitable for most breeds. Having a small lip on the front will keep nesting materials, eggs, and squabs safe. Placing a small clay flower pot or bowl, along with nesting materials such as hay, straw, pine needles, wood chips or twigs will assist with the breeding cycle.
Perches throughout the loft and aviary can be constructed out of one by four-inch boards, tree branches, or half-inch doweling. While pigeons are highly sociable, another pigeon fact is that they can be territorial. Having ample perching is important to reduce quarreling.
What do Pigeons Eat?
Commercial grain and seed mixes are easily available at farm stores and solve the question of what do pigeons eat. Protein is important for pigeons that are producing. Peas and soybeans are great sources of protein. What do pigeons eat depends on the activity level of the birds. Different compositions are made for birds that are breeding, raising young, molting, or racing.
Some of the first food items that are eaten by the birds include green, maple, and yellow peas, mung beans and lentils. To guarantee that your birds are getting the nutritional value that is advertised on the package, the birds must eat the full range of grains. If they are given too much seed, they will pick out their favorites. By offering only the amount of food the pigeons will consume in one day, you will ensure that they are eating the nutritional diversity the bag advertises. To create your own pigeon food, check out this baseline formula.
DIY Pigeon Formula | |
---|---|
Corn | 40% |
Red Wheat | 27% |
Peas | 18% |
Kefir (sorghum) | 15% |
Mineral grit | Free Choice |
The Scoop on Pigeon Poop
Ten thousand years ago, farming was evolving in Iran. The shift from short-term profits to sustaining yields had begun. Farmers needed a way to amend the soil after their crops had decimated the soil’s fertility. Pigeon towers, or dovecotes, became a crucial part of the agricultural economy by providing fertilizer for crops such as melons and cucumbers, which require a lot of nitrogen.
Wild pigeons would live in these towers, which were strategically placed in fields, and the caregivers would harvest the manure once a year to sell to other farmers. The pigeon manure was considered so valuable that guards were posted at the dovecotes to keep thieves from stealing the wild birds’ droppings! In a different time in history, pigeon droppings were used as a component of gunpowder.
Dr. Ayhan Bekleyen of Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Turkey shared this dovecot from Eastern Turkey.
Cleanliness in your nest boxes and loft are important for preventing manure buildup, minimizing moisture, and keeping a healthy environment, which reduces the likelihood of disease. Placing an inch of sand on the loft floor will assist in the cleaning on the loft. You can easily sift through the sand and remove debris. Daily raking of the sand will keep the sand clean and dry. By adding a little dirt and organic matter like grass clippings to the manure, it will compost down, making your own valuable pigeon poo fertilizer. This high-nitrogen fertilizer works well on tomatoes, eggplant, melons, roses and other plants that do well in rich soil.
Do you have a pigeon loft design or feeding tip to help beginners with figuring out what do pigeons eat that you would like to share? Let us know in the comments below.
Categories : Poultry 101
Violet is a strikingly beautiful, gentle, petite Birmingham Roller who is trying really hard to recover from a devastating injury. She was taken to WildCare in January, unable to walk or stand. She still cannot unless she is flapping her wings to generate lift. Her legs aren’t paralyzed but they lack the strength and control she needs. Her WildCare report states, “Came to WildCare on January 17th, found in El Sobrante, unable to stand with no deep pain response in either leg and a deep laceration along her keel along with multiple puncture wounds – we assume caught by a hawk based on this presentation. Through physical therapy, anti-inflammatory and pain meds, was able to stand, with pain reponse in both legs, wounds all healed, but with lasting spinal and probably nerve damage. Physical therapy included active and passive range of motion along with a sling during the day. She was always calm and began eating on her own once she got the sling in early February. By mid February she had plateaued, standing but wobbly. So was removed from WC and sent to Palomacy.”
Violet flaps her wings in order to stand & to walk
Roller pigeons are tragically selectively inbred for the genetic inclination to flip backwards in flight. They inordinately suffer injuries and death from “roll downs” and raptor strikes. Roller Pigeons are used in competitions and their performances are judged. The “Ariel Standard” from Lewis Wright’s book titled The Practical Pigeon Keeper states, “the true Birmingham Roller turns over backwards with inconceivable rapidity through a considerable distance like a spinning ball.”
Fanciers consider the rolling beautiful but how anyone can enjoy a hobby that so endangers the birds? This news article excerpt is telling.
Four Inland men are among suspects accused of killing raptors to protect pigeons.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
By JENNIFER BOWLES, SANDRA STOKLEY and IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise
The Press-Enterprise
Seven Southern California men, including four from the Inland region, were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of killing scores of red-tailed hawks and other raptors that prey on the pigeons they breed for aerial acrobatic competition. The men have been charged with violating the federal Migratory Bird Act, which protects raptors. Each misdemeanor count carries a maximum sentence of six months in federal prison. Brian McCormick, 40, of Norco, denied the charges Thursday and said he was “extremely shocked” when federal agents showed up on his doorstep at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. He said that while hawks and falcons cause “devastating losses” to enthusiasts who breed and raise champion birds, he would never kill them. A breeding pair of roller pigeons that perform backward somersaults while in flight can fetch $300 to $500, he said. “For me the loss is emotional,” McCormick said. “I raise 100 birds to make a team and half of them are eaten by birds of prey. It’s heartbreaking.”
Heartbreaking indeed.
Violet was extremely lucky, when she was injured in January, most likely from a “roll down” collision into the ground, to be found and taken to WildCare. They cared for her for a month in the hopes that she could recover the use of her legs and be transferred to the Marin Humane Society for adoption.
Despite all their resources and best efforts, she made little progress. She clearly wanted to live- she ate and preened and paid close attention to all the happenings around her- but she couldn’t stand up. She was unadoptable and would be euthanized if transferred to the shelter. In February, when she had to have a placement, WildCare RVT Nat reached out to Palomacy on her behalf to ask if we could take her on to our caseload. Nat knew we were full and offered to foster her for us. We said yes.
Nat lovingly fostered Violet until May when she transferred into my care. Throughout all this time, her progress has been incredibly slow.
Violet’s sitting posture 4/2/15
Violet lounging in her special cage set up 5/13/15
Violet is fostered in my special needs bird room. She can’t be out of her cage all the time because she has to time-share the space with other birds. When too-aggressive Freckles is out of his cage, she has to be in hers. But she loves to come out for a couple hours each morning and evening. As soon as I open her cage door, she flies out and begins flapping her wings.
Flapping her wings for lift, Violet can stand & walk
She spends most of her out-of-cage time flap flap flapping. When she flaps, it generates the lift she needs to be able to stand up and to walk a few steps. She’ll flap continuously for an hour or more. It seems almost involuntary or compulsive while she is doing it but there are times when she chooses not to do it (when she’s in her cage or sitting in a food bowl) so perhaps it feels good or reduces discomfort from sitting all the time.
The trauma Violet endured when she was injured has impacted the transmission of neural information between her brain and her legs. She has feeling in her legs and can control them (somewhat). We were surprised to discover that when turned on her back, which I did the first time to exam her, she will pedal pedal pedal her legs. This does seem more involuntary than deliberate. I occasionally turn her over for some pedal time in the hopes that it will help her recovery.
We know that birds sometime make extraordinary recoveries if given enough time and support (see Ava’s story and Bell’s story for examples). Violet seems to be getting better rather than worse and she shows a strong desire to live. We are committed to helping her live the very best life she can.
Breeding domestic pigeons to fly wild skies is an inhumane practice from the start but to further endanger them by selectively inbreeding “Roller Pigeons” for the genetic inclination to somersault mid-flight is truly heartless. The fanciers’ enjoyment of their “sport” in no way makes up for the suffering of the birds. Breeders have gone so far as to create “Parlor Rollers”, pigeons so compromised that when they try to fly, can only somersault across the ground. (The current world record roll is 662 feet.) It is perverse and indefensible. Watch Parlor Rollers compete to see for yourself and set aside time to see the BBC documentary Pedigreed Dogs Exposed to learn more about the horrors of “purebreds”.
But Violet can’t help any of that. She is here and she wants a life just as we all do.
Show Roller Pigeons
- Sitting in the food bowl
- Having a soak
- Working at the computer
- In the sun
- Flapping
- Violet
I think Violet’s progress may be plateaued and that she needs some extra help to increase her chances for success. I want to rig up a sling that can help her bear some weight on her legs and improve her strength and control. Slings aren’t easy to get right and I’ve not had much luck with past slings that I’ve made. Here’s one I found on the Internet (creator unknown) that has inspired me. I’ve also been thinking about how a pair of pigeon pants or a flight suit might be modified to serve as a sling… Stay tuned.
Thank you for reading Violet’s story and for helping us to help her and all the others. Compassion matters.
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10/18/17 UPDATE: See Violet’s adoption story- Violet to Go!