What to feed pigeons?

[subatomicstang]

I have converted my chicken coop over to house pigeons. I checked the local fee d stores i did not see anything that said pigeons. I saw some cracked corn some kind of game bird food. Different things like that but whats the simplest way to to feed these guys without costing a fortune?

-Randy

[ezzy333]

There are pigeon foods on the market. You can also feed shelled corn for a short time or mix milo and shelled corn. They want corn in the winter and cooler feeds in the summer. Some people just feed a non-medicated laying mash in crumble form or a pelleted pig grower. They will eat a wide varieity of feeds. Also feed some grit along with the whole grains.

Ezzy

[subatomicstang]

what exactly is grit im totally new at this. if you could put this in lamen terms i appreciate it im sorry!

Whole corn being the non cracked version just whole dry kernals? I want to feed the cheapest way i can and still have them healthy ya know.

And is it ok that i got a galvanized hanging feeder? and a galvanized waterer? I understand the feeder cant be hanging with young birds so or they wont be able t oget to it. Thanks for all the help! Im gonna read through the starting with pigeons thread in hall of fame to try to get some more out of it.

-Randy B

[Prairie dog]

The best food for pigeons I found is egg crumble 16% -18% protein..

No need for grit and since I been using it my hatch and chick survival rate has been near 95% if not better.

[gunner]

I've used pelleted hog chow for years. No need to give grit, however you'll notice an increase in fecal matter.

The best waterers for pigeons and gamebirds are waterers known as nipple waterers. They can be made from PVC pipe and the ss nipples available from Farmtech at approx 1.20 each. There is no way the birds can foul their water and it's difficult for algae to build up.

[okie]

One of the pigeon racer guys I got my pigeons from said not to feed them cracked corn because it causes cankers in the pigeons mouth. I mix my own feed with whole corn, milo, wheat, sunflower seeds and layer pellets. I have a friend that feeds chicken scratch which contains cracked corn and has not had a problem. The scratch feed is cheaper but is pretty low in protein if you are trying to raise more pigeons.
Dave

[topher40]

I go to the local coop and get a 50 gallon drum filled with milo straight from the elevator. It runs my around 30 bucks and last's forever. It usually has plenty of whole corn mixed in with it also. I also feed crushed oyster shell for grit. If your wanting to do it CHEAP this is the cheapest way to go. If you need anything else feel free to call or email me. Good luck!

[dirtdober]

Can quail use the nipple waterers? Looking for a way to keep the water clean and away from snakes.

Gary

[BoJack]

Ditto on No Cracked corn,it will cause Canker.I feed straight whole corn in the Winter(12.00-50lbs.)They need t the extra heat from the carbohydrates and also the fat in the corn in the Winter.Regular pigeon feed (maintainence) the rest of the year.And they Do need the grit to help digest the food in their crawl.Some just feed turkey pellets,but I think pigeons are just like dogs,the more balanced diet the better for their health.Your feed store surely should be able to order pigeon feed for you.

[High Roll-N-Angel]

Yes...you can get quail to use nipple waterers.

[Rick Hall]

I've maintained healthy birds feeding either whole corn or rice, plus grit, for months on end but feel they produce more young if high protien "pigeon" or "laying" pellets are also provided. The laying pellets being the cheaper of those, but my birds have much prefered the grains and don't eat much of either type pellet. Seeing that they come home to grain after morning flights keeps them homing quickly, despite 24/7 pellet availability when I'm after maximum young production. And grains produce firmer stools and easier clean-up than the pigeon plaster pellets produce.

[LoveMyGSPs]

stang's wife here.

My one feed store can get the pigeon feed but it is from Purina, which I wont feed any of my animals (due to the numerous recalls, etc). Any specific brand of pigeon feed you guys suggest? I understand about the corn and grit, but mainly suggestions for the actual pigeon feed brand.

For the nipple feeders, is there a "best" place to put them in the coop? High? Low? Near the nesting boxes? Etc?

Being that we are in Fla, do we need to worry about them getting too hot? With the humidity it can feel like 110 degrees and I keep my dogs/cats inside and put my horses in the stalls with fans on. Dont know what to do about birds though!

We should be getting the birds next weekend I believe when I go down to pick up our female GSP that we adopted. Of course knowing me, Ill post pics.

[ezzy333]

I feed Old Elm since we have a dealer close. I know a lot of people feed Purina and there are a couple of other brands too. They are all good. Most are all grain so there isn't much to them as far as manufacturing. You can feed a laying type crumble or Pig Grower which are both manufactured type feeds. The pigeons need about 16 to 18% protien.

Ezzy

[subatomicstang]

anyone have any pics of nipple waterer systems? I want to use a holding tank mounted high and some pvc piped from it down hill and into the coop will that work? think I could use a large plastic drum and pipe into the bottom with pvc?

[High Roll-N-Angel]

We used a 50 gallon drum secured to the joists in our barn outside of the quail pen. We then ran a flexible rubber hose from the 50 gallon drum thru a small hole in the wall into the quail pen to our automatic waterers (they weren't nipple waterers). And it worked great! The only problem we had was then they decided to pick and pick at the tubing and somehow got the tubing off of the fitting. So if you use PVC I think it would be better.

[Don]

I fed straight scratch for years. Tried a pigeon mix but it was costly and birds didn't seem to do much better on it. Since harvest has been over, I've been feeding wheat I got for free laying on the ground. One thing I'm pretty sure of is that pigeons aren't to choosy what they eat and seem to do alright on whatever they eat. It could be that my feed program, developed through years of scientific study, might not work for long range racers but it's fine for what I have! I have read where feeding layer crumbles increases egg production, gonna try it this year although I have to kill a bunch each year to stay ahead of them. You guys near by need some this summer to start a loft, get ahold of me. If I have them I'll give you 10 to get going for free.

Grit is something they use to gring up their food. I've used granite chicken grit and medicated grit (fine pebbles is grit). For a long time I let them find their own and they seem to do it well, they are all alive!

[subatomicstang]

We used a 50 gallon drum secured to the joists in our barn outside of the quail pen. We then ran a flexible rubber hose from the 50 gallon drum thru a small hole in the wall into the quail pen to our automatic waterers (they weren't nipple waterers). And it worked great! The only problem we had was then they decided to pick and pick at the tubing and somehow got the tubing off of the fitting. So if you use PVC I think it would be better.

I was gonna build a stand outside the coop for the drum high enough to offer good gravity feed. Along with the 50 gallons of water for weight to push downward it should have decent force. What size pvc do you guys generally use? Also as far as watering location do they prefer it on the ground or up off the ground or what?

[ezzy333]

If you use a 4ft length of 4 inch PVC with the nipple about 6 inches of the floor you really don't need an addition resevour(sp). That will hold plenty of water for a few days unless you have n awful lot of birds.

Ezzy

[High Roll-N-Angel]

We used a small flexible tubing that was probably 3/8" at the most 1/2" from the tank to the waterers. If you use automatic waterers and not nipples I highly recommend placing the waterers on some sort of stand or blocks that it won't fall off of or where birds can cause it to fall off. Reason being is that will keep your waterer MUCH cleaner and free of shavings or litter.

[subatomicstang]

If you use a 4ft length of 4 inch PVC with the nipple about 6 inches of the floor you really don't need an addition resevour(sp). That will hold plenty of water for a few days unless you have n awful lot of birds.

Ezzy

oh ok as simple as that! I thought that the nipples would need some pressure to operate properly. That was the main reason for the barrel. If it will work that easy it will be a sinch

[subatomicstang]

I ordered 4 nipples from farmtek. My plan is 4 inch pvc started outside about 5 ft off the ground then down with a 45 degree angle into coop, and thenstraight down from there. 6 inches from ground level a T to go off in both directions cap on both ends and nipples installed . How does that plan sound? IS 4 to many? Or ok?

-Randy

[littleking]

i feed: 1 part layer mash, 1 part turkey feeder, 1 part cracked corn...

they seem to love it

[subatomicstang]

How do you teach pigeons to drink from a nipple waterer?


-Randy

[topher40]

I bought a copy of "Nipple Waterer's for Dummies, The Drinkers Edition" and would read it to them every night before bed. Worked like a jiff! :roll: Sorry I couldn't resist!

You should be able to put 10% of the birds beaks up to the nipple and make sure they get some water out of it. They will show the rest how to do it. Good luck!

[subatomicstang]

So i have to manually use a bird to push it in and get water lol. That sounds like fun!

-Randy

[subatomicstang]

Well i have great news My wife says that we have 2 pigeon eggs alreayd !!!! I am excited!! Only 4 days in and we have eggs ! What are the chances these things hatch and what not? How long before they might make a baby?

[GRIFF MAN]

We used a 50 gallon drum secured to the joists in our barn outside of the quail pen. We then ran a flexible rubber hose from the 50 gallon drum thru a small hole in the wall into the quail pen to our automatic waterers (they weren't nipple waterers). And it worked great! The only problem we had was then they decided to pick and pick at the tubing and somehow got the tubing off of the fitting. So if you use PVC I think it would be better.

Can you show us a picture of this ??