pigeon coop questions

[h&t]

Hi all,

I'd like to keep some homers for training and I have some questions.
I can't have it in my yard, but I can ask a farmer friend nearby.

1. I can't feed and water them every day, is there a way to get around it? Automated feeder?
But I'd like to do it on a tight budget. Also I am in Ontario, so water freezes in the winter. There won't be power for a heated water bowl.

2. I'd like to have birds ready next spring and summer, should I start now or is it too late in the year and they won't breed?

3. I looked for some simple plans, but if you have plans or pics - pls post.

Thanks

[hi-tailyn]

Use basically the same but larger feeders and waterers as in quail johnny houses.
I use 5 gal. buckets with nipples on bottom elevated about 10" from floor. Bucket will freeze but will not bust bucket most of the time.

Picture is actually a 20 gal barrel. More water for the hot summers here in TX.

Feeders are a bit trickier to make. To make food readily available, yet not pour out and get wasted on the floor. Dog self feeder with 2x4 wire grid over feed area keeps birds from throwing food everywhere.

Pictured is my own design taken from some other ideas. The PVC pikes are cut at 30 degree angles on both sides of a 4" at long side pipe. The length and angles are just a guess of trial and error to allow food to lay in the tubes, and birds can reach easily. I use crumble feed for my pigeons and quail. Buy one kind and use for all the birds.

I keep 18-25 birds with this set up, and I can go 10-14 days between refills.

[aulrich]

The only time better than now to start a koop is 6 months ago and that is true any time of year , though fall time is a good time to buy young racing birds since lots of racing clubs will run fall young bird auctions, typically October.

Power will be a bit of an issue, on two counts, keeping the water soft during the winter, and lights to get them to breed reliably over the winter. I was Lazy this year and did not get full breeding activity until late April/May. To do it right I should have plugged the light in January and for me it took 24 hour light to actually trigger them to start breeding the winter before. And breeing activity is already starting to slow down.

I built myself a bulk feeder out of two of those big plastic dog bone jars you get from wall-mart it works well. The downside of bulk feeding is the waste food it will attract rodents over time and if you feed straight pellets most of the spillage will be waste. To get around that I fed a mix of layer pellets, wheat, and field peas. The birds will pick the grains off the floor but they will not pick up the pellets unless I let them get hungry.

I use a tin poultry water fountain I wrap it with an eaves trough defroster wire and it will stay warm to at least -35c, I don’t realy like it because the water get plugged quick, there is a tin one on the foys website that interest me but buy the time it is across the border it will be pushing 75$ I have heard of guys feeding snow to the birds but I have not tried that myself.

I wonder if having a koop where the birds can leave to get water, could get you past the no heated water thing. I bet with food and shelter provided you could get them to hang around

[h&t]

thanks

[oldbeek]

Look for some one with young birds that havn't flown. Keep them inside for a few days feed them well, then cut off the food for a day, then let them loose. They will come back. I have bought old flyers and only kept them caged for 2 weeks. When released with the flock, they came back also. Do not buy white rock doves, they don't fly well out of the release trap. I use junk homers.

[ezzy333]

Look for some one with young birds that havn't flown. Keep them inside for a few days feed them well, then cut off the food for a day, then let them loose. They will come back. I have bought old flyers and only kept them caged for 2 weeks. When released with the flock, they came back also. Do not buy white rock doves, they don't fly well out of the release trap. I use junk homers.

I have 4 birds in my loft right now that I sold almost 6 months ago for breeders to start a training loft. You turn an old flyer loose and you have a chance of losing them, especially if you don't get them out in a cage to where they can have a chance to settle in a new location. Just a warning to those of you that are buying birds.

Ezzy

[gundogguy]

Look for some one with young birds that havn't flown. Keep them inside for a few days feed them well, then cut off the food for a day, then let them loose. They will come back. I have bought old flyers and only kept them caged for 2 weeks. When released with the flock, they came back also. Do not buy white rock doves, they don't fly well out of the release trap. I use junk homers.

I have 4 birds in my loft right now that I sold almost 6 months ago for breeders to start a training loft. You turn an old flyer loose and you have a chance of losing them, especially if you don't get them out in a cage to where they can have a chance to settle in a new location. Just a warning to those of you that are buying birds.

Ezzy

Yikes ezzy I would be a nervous wreck if I had only 4 pigeons in my coop. I usually look to buy 100 birds when I get down to 50 or so!

[ezzy333]

let me know when you need your next hundred