Gun Dog Forum

Do you use a light to get your birds to breed sooner?
When do you start?

I would like to have birds ready to fly early this spring. Last year it was late in the spring before I had young bird ready to use for training. Spent a lot of time waiting.

I have never used light to bring on earlier spring breeding for pigeons, but I have had them lay eggs if we get a warm spell of a week or two in the winter. The problems begin when the squab begin to get bigger, and the parent can no longer cover both of them on the nest. Then one dies from exposure to cold night time temps. If you could keep the loft warm enough with heat lamps, it might work though.

marysburg wrote:I have never used light to bring on earlier spring breeding for pigeons, but I have had them lay eggs if we get a warm spell of a week or two in the winter. The problems begin when the squab begin to get bigger, and the parent can no longer cover both of them on the nest. Then one dies from exposure to cold night time temps. If you could keep the loft warm enough with heat lamps, it might work though.

Mary, if you are losing babies there has to be some other reason than temperature. Ten days of 24 hour light will usually start them laying. I am banding young birds now and have some that are on the floor and eating. I do not heat the lofts and we often have temps below zero as we did this year when many of them were laying and suppose to be like that again next week. Don't think I have ever lost a baby caused by cold weather except for one that got out of the nest a year or two ago. I just don't worry about the cold as long as your loft is pretty much draft free and the birds have enough to eat. My lofts are all open under the eves and have windows open out to the aviaries.

I am keeping my lofts lit 24 hours a day even now and will till the 1st of April when I will shut them off and the young birds will go into a full molt so they will be ready to fly with adult feathers by sometime in May. Just for dog training you don't need to have them molt that early so I would just use the lights for 2 or 3 weeks now and then shut them off. And do not worry about the temps as they will take care of themselves and the babies really well.

Ezzy

Well that was quick.

Put a light up Saturday so they have 24 hr light. I checked today and I have a nest with 2 eggs already.
Hopefully the the other pairs are not far behind?

Next question. How do you know if they are fertile?
Don't want to waste 29 days if the first ones are no good.

Wait a few days and hold them up to a bright light and you should see blood vessels or maybe just completely dark if they are fertile. If you can see light they are duds and pitch them. Seldom will you have non-fertile eggs after the first ones and you might find one of those is open. By few days I mean a week or ten days.

ezzy

turned light on 3-2-15 ngow have 4 pairs setting. Temps in the 70's