# Thinking Of Breeding a Few Pigeons Outside?



## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

Hi everyone! I haven't been on for a very long time. I have enjoyed pigeons so much - they are beautiful, very emotional, hilarious, and graceful and clumsy all in one package! I was thinking about raising some pigeons outside in a little aviary I've started building, but I don't know what to raise. There is a great site at www.pigeonfanciers.ca that has a good list of pigeon breeders in Canada, so finding some wouldn't be hard, but the problem is - what kind? Here in Canada, we have harsh winters. The ferals, however, insist on raising babies all year round, even in January and February, our coldest months. They raise them successfully. What pigeons are best at dealing with cold temperatures? Which are good for beginners, but still interesting?

Thanks everyone. 











My beautiful Toadie, my male pigeon. Isn't he shiny?


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

He is gorgeous.

Reti


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Toadie is darling, is this one of the baby raised from "scratch" (egg)?

I think your hardiest pigeons to raise would be homing pigeons. You just make sure they have adequate ventilation, are predator and weather proofed inside their loft, especially protection from drafts of air, and keep their water from freezing-and they should do fine. Also, don't forget the added nutrition and extra corn that winter demands.


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## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

Yep, that's my hand raised Toadie.  He's a very proud boy, very very proud.

That sounds good. Homing pigeons...So, perhaps in the summer, they can be let out and will come back? Ferals do that too, from what I can see. My feral babies (Toad happens to be a hand raised feral) have very strong connections to "home".

But how would I go about keeping their water from freezing?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

If you are not actually keeping them outside in a loft, then you wouldn't need to worry about keeping their water from freezing.

So you want them to home to your window..apt.?

That will work but you need to train them carefully. With ferals we are not sure how strong the homing instinct is. If your birds have already been outside and come back, then they have a little bit of the instinct, but I hope you have considered that there are dangers in releasing them to the outside.


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## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

Oh yes. I wouldn't release my babies. It's just that they KNOW where they live. If I bring them downstairs, they'll immediately make their way upstairs right to their cage. I wouldn't want to release them outside, as there are many dangers. As for homing pigeons, I'd also be cautious with releasing them unless they were well-trained. Though there aren't very many predators here, I'm sure many bad things could happen, and maybe I'd be surprised by the number of threats.


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

Vasp said:


> But how would I go about keeping their water from freezing?


There are heated bird baths and dog/cat waterers for sale at places like Wild Birds unlimited or Petsmart (dog/cat bowls). I assume you aren't needing a really big water setup.
In the winter (I live in the balmy  Denver area where winter comes and stays and stays and stays (at least for this ol' Texan it stays too long))
I refill a watering dish every day and all the critters and birds come and take their turn. It runs on regular household current.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Vasp said:


> Oh yes. I wouldn't release my babies. It's just that they KNOW where they live. If I bring them downstairs, they'll immediately make their way upstairs right to their cage. I wouldn't want to release them outside, as there are many dangers. * As for homing pigeons, I'd also be cautious with releasing them unless they were well-trained. *Though there aren't very many predators here, I'm sure many bad things could happen, and maybe I'd be surprised by the number of threats.


Even if you train them very well, there is always unforseen danger, so there is never a guarantee your birds will come back safely-you should always be cautious. The odds are much better though, when they are trained.


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## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

Yes, of course. Would it better to just let the pigeons stay in their aviary? I'm building an 8 foot high aviary, about 4 foot width and 4 foot length. How many pigeons could stay in that? I'm generally following a plan made up by a person who actually constructs and sells aviaries, but also improvising a bit.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi Vasp

I remember so well your raising the two babies from eggs. That was a pretty exciting time. I think they hatched about the time we got in all those babies and eggs from the apartment house attic last spring so we kinda went through raising babies together. Toadie is very beautiful and I sure wouldn't let either of them out because I would be afraid they wouldn't come back. They should enjoy the aviary/loft a lot.

I can't speak about the size of your loft and how many those dimensions will accommodate but just make sure you make it predator proof.


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## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

Oh yes, of course. That's been one of our main areas of concern - making sure it's predator-proof. I think I'm going to get Toadie and his lady out in the new aviary when it's finished - sometime this week. Maybe I'll just let them raise a few of their own babies.

It was definitely an exciting time. That summer, though, I swear I only left the house once or twice!


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