Any traps you would recommend? If they have diseases like frounce, what would you use for a cure all? Or is there no cure all? what is the most popular disease in pigeons?
I have raised pigeons professionaly for 37 years before I got into falconry, you can freeze them a rid the frounce/ or canker as it is called in pigeons/ but there are numerous other dieases which are too many to memtion, best plan is to stay away from them and purchase hand raise quail from a reptable producer
Hey, my kestrel just got killed by a huge rat that got in the mews and attacked her while she was sleeping. So, my concentration has been switched to building a pigeon loft. I talked to my sponser (whose peregrin got killed by a golden eagle around the time mine did!) and he told me to build a 6x4x8 house with nesting boxes and a 6x8x8 weathering yard. Another awesome hint he told me is that he would let me borrow 3 pairs of his breeders to hatch some young for me!!!! So I don't have to buy some!!
Post by profalconer on Mar 17, 2009 13:40:50 GMT -5
Does anyone have a suggestion on how to get a large flock of about 30 racing homers? I do have 5 good racers but they have only produced one baby so far. All 3 females laid eggs but only one baby hatched. Should things go better for the next clutches? The one that raised the baby is on eggs again so I'm hopeful.
Well I had no faith in them breeding me that many birds so I just put my name on the list for 12 squeekers from Xingu bird farm. Best price I have seen anywhere for racing homers, and its run by American Falconry.
Last Edit: Mar 17, 2009 14:10:07 GMT -5 by profalconer
Kyle what was the price for the racing homers. I have been building my pigeon loft for the last week. Just doing a little each day. I have a friend who has 6 birds for me as soon as I get it done. I used to have a loft when I was in California.
Post by profalconer on Mar 17, 2009 17:26:36 GMT -5
They are $10 and the shipping costs $70 for up to 16 birds which I think I will upgrade to since that's what fits in the box. I was the second person to order but I would order soon before they have too many orders. He said my birds should be ready to ship by late may.
Last Edit: Mar 17, 2009 17:36:04 GMT -5 by profalconer
Anyone have any good pictures of their pigeon loft?
Building is elevated off the ground about 8 inches, deep gravel pad underneath. Entire base of building surrounded by wire (critter exclusion). Building is split in half inside - left side for homers, right side for captives. Separate wired/screened entry doors for each section, and solid outside doors for closing it up completely. Above the doors, a motion detecting light.
The building is double-floored - hardware cloth sandwiched between them. If a rat or weasel gets past the wire and under the building somehow and chews thru' the first floor, the wire will stop it. Inside both sections, we have electric water pans so water doesn't freeze, and very large gravity feeders for grain and grit.
Captive's outside flight pen is fully enclosed with chainlink fencing and wire-roof. Homer's outside flight pen is open on top so birds can come and go. Can add a wire roof if needing to keep them confined. Both flight pens have wire under their gravel floor to prevent digging critters. About 1 foot below the chainlink top rail on the homer side, we strung an electric hot wire on insulators 2 inches away from the fencing to prevent climbing critters from entering (coons, cats, possum, etc.). Gives em a hefty nose-bleeding jolt. We have bobs on both the captive and homer entrance windows to keep birds inside the building when desired.
No problems with four-legged animals getting to the birds. But since the homer's flight pen is open on top, we do get some sparrows/starlings inside for the grain. That's not really an issue since we use them for trapping and hawk food too. Now and then, we'll get a Coopers inside for a pigeon, and Kestrels come in for the sparrows.