# The Jasper Family



## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

We have this beautiful family of ferals that visit us everyday. Initially it was just Jasper (in first pic) but then after about 5 years he brought home a partner and babies (in second pic). They don't resemble any other pigeons living in Melbourne. They look beautiful like show pigeons, even though they aren't banded. Are they possibly homing pigeons, or just plain ol' birds?


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Cass,

Wow! Beautiful birds! I asked you in the other post where you are located, so now know that you are in Aussie land.

Those don't look like typical homing pigeons to me but more like cross breeds of fancies and homers or ferals or perhaps even some pure fancies.

Terry


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Do siblings ever hang around together for life? Two of the three little ones (sitting on the bird house above) seem inseparable. I feel bad for the youngest, Lily, because she's treated badly by the rest of them. I assume she's the youngest because she came about a month after the others and was a fair bit smaller at the time.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Hi Cass, absolutely stunning pictures of the pigeons and the trees! I am pretty new at the" baby thing", but I have heard that siblings stay together in many instances.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

Hi Cass,

Nice looking birds. In Sri Lanka, we call this coloring "badge" and is from the common pigeon group. they look rater big so i think they are crossed with homers. Is Jasper's family nest in your premises? if so get ready for alot of babies and a new flock to form around your house. pigeons attract pigeons when the pickings are good.

see ya


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Hi Cass,
Jasper & his family are beautiful.  
Love the babies by the birdhouse.  

Thanks for sharing your lovely 'feral' family with us.

Cindy


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi Cass and Welcome to the forum.

Your birds are beautiful but I believe they may be "regular" ferals. Probably there is a racer or show pigeon gene in their background to account for the pretty colors and size.

Is that a "real" parrot in the first picture?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Cass said:


> Do siblings ever hang around together for life? Two of the three little ones (sitting on the bird house above) seem inseparable. I feel bad for the youngest, Lily, because she's treated badly by the rest of them. I assume she's the youngest because she came about a month after the others and was a fair bit smaller at the time.


Thank you for feeding and looking out for the pigeons, great pictures,, by the way.

Siblings will hang out together until they are mature, unless they are emotionally bonded and also if one is male and the other is female. In that case they may mate, depends on the population of pigeons that they are socail with.


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Lady Tarheel said:


> Is that a "real" parrot in the first picture?


It sure is! We have lorrikeets come to our house every day and scare away all the other birds with their screeching. We've also get magpies who eat seed - is that normal?

It's interesting that the two little ones might mate. I suspect the black one is a male because he makes that croo-crooo noise while bobbing his head up and down, and generally acts like a bit of a boof. The other two are very gentle and timid, and are a little smaller.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Well, you are so lucky! We have beautiful birds in our area, such as blue jays, cardinals, etc., but none are as colorful as your lorrikeets. I hope you will post more pictures of your beautiful birds.


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## Rooster2312 (Mar 8, 2006)

Beautiful pigeons Cass! I also recognised the rainbow lorrikeet in the first picture. They are lovely little birds that I believe can be quite tame?

Lindi


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Rooster2312 said:


> Beautiful pigeons Cass! I also recognised the rainbow lorrikeet in the first picture. They are lovely little birds that I believe can be quite tame?
> 
> Lindi


Ours certainly aren't lovely.  They're really nasty to the other birds, and even scare away the magpies! Our lorrikeets screech at the top of their lungs if there isn't food out for them. I'll try to take some more photos next time they come. They're not as tame as you might think. It's pretty hard to get close to them.


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## Rooster2312 (Mar 8, 2006)

Cass said:


> *Ours certainly aren't lovely. * They're really nasty to the other birds, and even scare away the magpies! Our lorrikeets screech at the top of their lungs if there isn't food out for them. I'll try to take some more photos next time they come. They're not as tame as you might think. It's pretty hard to get close to them.


LOL  The reason I thought they were tame was from a video I have called 'Parrots..Look who's talking' from the BBC. It's been a while since I watched it, but there is a scene where they are all over a guy who is feeding them. I guess this must have been in a wildlife enclosure where they have become tame. Don't they eat nectar or something like that? Or is that another species? Anyway, I still think they look lovely  and look forward to more photos of them.

Lindi


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Lady Tarheel said:


> Is that a "real" parrot in the first picture?


what!!!???? I thought for sure it was a plushie bird, like the ones I have adorning the interior of my pigeon coop. In fact, my 4 plushie birds are the only ones living in the coop at this moment,and I am here to tell you, those plushies are the cleanest birds around including my blue bar plushie. 

But seriously, that is one beautiful parrot.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

Hi Cass,

where in australia do you live to have lorikeets coming to your garden. continueing from yr previous trend. i think this is a sign to become a pigeon keeper


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

warriec said:


> Hi Cass,
> 
> where in australia do you live to have lorikeets coming to your garden. continueing from yr previous trend. i think this is a sign to become a pigeon keeper


I'm in the SE of Melbourne. It's highly unusual to have lorrikeets here, though it's probably because they're in search of water. Victoria is in a drought at the moment, and many bush creatures are travelling into suburbia just to survive.

I really would love to keep pigeons. I've been thinking about what you said and it's almost as if there's a reason that Fawn came to us. I checked out the trading post, and it turns out that pigeons aren't quite the expense I thought. At the moment I'm having a look for any avian vets in my local area - so far the closest is 40 mins away.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

any reason for an avian vet right now. i recommend that you some pure breeds for starters. try some owl(pigeon) breeds. do u plan to fly your birds when you get started


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

warriec said:


> any reason for an avian vet right now. i recommend that you some pure breeds for starters. try some owl(pigeon) breeds. do u plan to fly your birds when you get started


I haven't really thought about flying them yet. I still need to talk with my parents about it because they're the ones who have the final say. Mum's really reluctant to get any more pets because the death of our last rabbit, Jazz, really affected her. We had him for 8 years, which is astounding for a rabbit. I still keep a photo of him on my desk.

I'd just be concerned about my bird flying away from me and never coming back  Is that common?


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

i read that 10% of the racing homers do not make it back for so many reasons. dont over do yr pigeon keeping. try get a pair of small breeds such as owls. they take less space and are pretty & simple to take care of. i sometimes breed my pigeons in a medium sized metal dog crate of H1.75'xL2.5'xB2'. We dont let our owls out, they are exhibition birds only.


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

So it is only homing pigeons that can roam around? 

If I do end up getting pigeons I'll get them at the end of the year when I finish school. That way I can take full responsibility for them since I'll have a car and can drive them around to a vet if necessary. (Legal driving age in Aust. is 18)

I just need to research pigeon care before I make a decision.


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Hey there. I thought you guys might like to see the newest additions to the Jasper family.










How sweet are they! I just saw them 5 minutes ago when I went out to feed the birds. They're really quite tame - they looked at me with interest, but didn't fly away like their siblings do. We noticed that for the last few weeks, only one of the parents has come at a time. Perhaps they were looking after the little ones.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

hi cass,

who is who here


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

You have some real beauties there, Cass!!

Once you have a pigeon, you will never be the same again! They can sure nestle their way into your heart!

You are very wise to read up about their care. This site should give you all you need to get started. We have wonderful knowledgeable members who are ready, willing and able to answer your questions!

There is also a terrific member named "Alaska" who has the most beautiful pigeons and lives in Australia too. Don't know how close Alaska is to you though...

We will look forward to your updates!


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

I'm not quite sure if the one on the right is one of the older siblings (Lily) or if she's a new one. The ones on the left (above) are definitely young. 

It goes Jasper + Jessie = JJ, BJ, a month later Lily, and finally these newbies.










Check out the eyes on the left one!


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

he or she looks cool. any idea for names yet


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

We called the grey one Paris (short for parasite) because she's very attached to her dad. She follows him everywhere even though he always pecks her. It's funny watching her run across our deck, trying to catch up with daddy whilst he runs away.

The two babies did a weird thing earlier. One, well, 'mounted' the other one and scrabbled at its back with its feet. The other one went "screek!" and I went out and tried to break up the fight. They're so tame that they didn't fly away and I could have even grabbed them if I'd wanted to!

Oh and Paris flew into our window. Poor thing. The pidgies only seem to do it once before they learn their lesson.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

u need to worry about birds flying into windows. its a major problem and cause for there deaths from injuries


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

What's the best way to prevent it? They do it regardless of whether our curtains are closed or open.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

You either don't wash them or put stickers, or decals on them.


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Do you reckon that decals might scare the birds away and prevent them from coming to my garden? But I'm willing to give it a try. Where would you guys go to get them?


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

No, the decals won't scare them away. We have ours in our laundry/pigeon room. It helps remind them of the glass, and I have yet to have one of my 6 get hurt yet. You can get them at hobbie or crafts stores. Many discounts stores also sell seasonal decals. I have trees, flowers and scarecrows with crows resting on their arms.My favorite ones are the red cardinal decals.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

pigeons need to see something is obstructing them for them not to fly straight thru the glass. you can cut out shapes or strips from paper and paste. have some fun doing it. it will keep your birds healthier


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Very creative idea Warriec, I like it!


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Done and done. We've put up something temporary until we get some nicer-looking decals.

Also, how often to pigeons breed when food is plentiful? It seems we're getting 1 litter (of 1 or 2 birds) every 2 months


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

if you already have a pair it will be as below:

18 days - incubation
21 days - rearing young

so technically if everything is perfect you should be getting young every 39 days on a perfect situation.


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Woow that's a lot. How many eggs in each litter?


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Cass said:


> Woow that's a lot. How many eggs in each litter?



Usually TWO...most people will replace with dummy eggs if possible. Keeps the population down AND less feeding, less breeding... usually...

Yes, pijies are prolific. They have three track minds: EAT/POOP/BREED


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Yikes. That means we could potentially have 18 pigeons per year from the one couple. Then the siblings will start breeding with each other. Uh oh, what have I gotten myself into


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Cass said:


> Yikes. That means we could potentially have 18 pigeons per year from the one couple. Then the siblings will start breeding with each other. Uh oh, what have I gotten myself into


That's why people purchase dummy (wooden or plastic) eggs. Once the second egg is laid, you can just replace them with the dummy ones. The pijies (male usually day/female night) will take turns. Also, by letting them sit on the dummy eggs full term, it will keep the hen from depleting her calcium supply too rapidly.

Of course, we DO get occasionally "OOOPS!" stories!  

Cindy (AZWhitefeather) is quite familiar with egg replacement! LOL  she gave me a wooden egg for Mr. Squeaks and when he's in 'daddy' mode, will sit almost 24/7!


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Unfortunately that wouldn't work because they don't nest on our property. We're not really sure how far away they live. I read somewhere that pigeons tend to nest in craggy bits of cliff - my place is very close to the beach, so that might be where they're coming from.

It'd be sad if one day we had to stop feeding the pigeons to prevent them from breeding


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

nature has a funny way of controlling population so for now continue what you are doing. if food is getting scarer, some of the flock may disperse to wider feeding areas where the food is plentiful


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

warriec said:


> nature has a funny way of controlling population so for now continue what you are doing. if food is getting scarer, some of the flock may disperse to wider feeding areas where the food is plentiful


Thankyou, that's very reassuring. Tomorrow I'm off to buy some nice decals! At the moment we just have ugly squares of newspaper taped to our windows >_>


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Actually, when people feed pigeons a LOT, pigeons will eat a LOT and then do their best to continue the line, raising babies who will eat a LOT!

So, in order to help prevent TOO many pigeons, people need to feed LESS. Works...  

Sure beats poison, shooting, and introducing more raptors! Studies have shown these methods don't work and can be quite dangerous, especially the poisoning as not only pigeons are affected! And don't get me started on basic "cruelty" issues!


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

How much would a pigeon consume in a meal? They usually come twice a day. 

I'm just wondering what kind of amount I should be putting out there for them. There's the pigeon family of 7, plus about 10-20 doves when the pigeons are feeding. We usually come out a few times during the day to feed the lone doves that are hanging around.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

records indicate that pigeons eat 10% of there body weight so its an avg of 40g per birds. you can feed much less because they are feral and they should not become totally independant on you.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

...AND, if feeding TWICE a day, cut to one...


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

also give basic cheap feed that they will eat from hunger not anything special that they like. how often do they visit you for a day


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

warriec said:


> also give basic cheap feed that they will eat from hunger not anything special that they like. how often do they visit you for a day


Personally, I disagree, Warriec...if one is going to feed ferals, I say feed the best you can - promotes HEALTHY pigeons!

They can certainly get "junk food" any time!

Just cut back on HOW MUCH is fed and how OFTEN...


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

normally cheap feed is something that pigeons dislike because they dont taste so good. i have noticed that pigeons favor certain type of seeds and will normally head to the tastier seeds first before looking around.

I know this is illegal but did you know that pigeons like hemp seeds (weed, cannabis seeds) and will actively seek it out first. 

i tried many types of feeders including chicken gravity feeders & filled each with a single type of seed and i noticed that only one or 2 were been eaten. the habit needs to break.


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

warriec said:


> normally cheap feed is something that pigeons dislike because they dont taste so good. i have noticed that pigeons favor certain type of seeds and will normally head to the tastier seeds first before looking around.
> 
> *I know this is illegal but did you know that pigeons like hemp seeds *(weed, cannabis seeds) and will actively seek it out first.
> 
> i tried many types of feeders including chicken gravity feeders & filled each with a single type of seed and i noticed that only one or 2 were been eaten. the habit needs to break.


It's not illegal according to the fellow at the feed store where I purchase some of my seed. He said something is done to the seed making it impossible to grow the 'plants'. 

Cindy


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

AZWhitefeather said:


> It's not illegal according to the fellow at the feed store where I purchase some of my seed. He said something is done to the seed making it impossible to grow the 'plants'.
> 
> Cindy


Yep...I heard that Hemp seeds were good for energy BEFORE I heard that they were supposed to be good for "mating." I bought some for Squeaks who LOVES 'em - along with his Safflower seeds! Now I have a SEXY ENERGETIC BIRD, when he's not in "daddy" mode....mmmmm, speaking of "daddy" mode...


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## Cass (Feb 10, 2007)

Yeah I'll definitely cut back now. Methinks I've been feeding them too much. 

They don't always come at once for meals - each bird comes twice a day, but they sometimes come individually or two at a time. Perhaps if I just put out a handful for every 5 birds, and allow each one to eat here twice a day.

I'm not sure about the quality of the seeds. We buy them in bulk from a stock and station agent in 40 kg bags  It's pretty much just a mix of corn kernels, sunflower seeds, something small red and round, and something that's probably wheat. I've noticed that they always go for the corn first, but leave the wheaty thing until last.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

we dont have treated hemp seeds except for the seeds that grow and they cost a fortune to buy.


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## JGregg (Jul 28, 2003)

BTW, some of that "processed" hemp will still grow.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

hemp seeds is suppose to contain lot of protein and fat. i think this triggers the hormonal level in the birds.

i dont know how the "illegal" part works with the birds. maybe it hallucinates them


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

JGregg said:


> BTW, some of that "processed" hemp will still grow.


Just HAD to let the "cat" out of the bag, didn'tja, JGregg!   

GREAT! Now, I'll be having the cops knocking at my door to check my lovely green plant that I've been growing for awhile - NOT to mention that my favorite feed store will now be forced to quit selling me Hemp Seeds! 

Poor Squeaks will have to go on "withdrawal!" This is VERY sad, JGregg... 

**SIGH**

Hallucinations, Warriec? Mmmm, maybe THAT's why Squeaks makes growling noises and there's not a cat in sight! Oh, my, this is worse than I though! JGregg, it's all your fault! My poor Squeaks!


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

any law enforcement officer who reads this must be a pije lover too, so i dont think they'll take it seriously


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

warriec said:


> any law enforcement officer who reads this must be a pije lover too, so i dont think they'll take it seriously


Well, I certainly HOPE SO (pijie lover) and I certainly HOPE NOT (take seriously)!


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