# Breeding pet pigeons?



## Ramster (Aug 9, 2009)

hello wonderful community! ive been thinking of breeding pigeons for quite some time now, the reason being i recently when to my uncles house and he has ALOT of pigeons! some of them come to you and eat out of your hand and perch on your shoulder! they seem like wonderful pets! so can some one tell me how i would go about breeding a bonded pair? like when do they breed? what age should they breed? when to take the chicks from the parents and hand feed them so they become tame pets? what temperature to keep them at?how many times a day to feed them? questions like these. i would very much appreciate your help


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Hello Ramster, welcome to the forum!
Pigeons are wonderful creatures indeed. We will gladly answer your questions and help you in your task. I am going to PM you more information of how to raise pigeons and what you need.
I also have questions for you:
- Is it not possible for you to spend more time with your uncle and practically learn about pigeons? (In writing things look different then for real)
- Are you ready to face the other side of the pigeon reality, cleaning, feeding, and treating sick pigeons? They will depend totally on you and your care, no holidays and weekends and nothing like I don’t feel like feeding and changing water today!
- Do you have patience to tame them? What you saw at your uncle house is result of long time spent loving and handling them. Unlike dogs and cats, pigeons do not start trusting people so easy.


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## Ramster (Aug 9, 2009)

i actually used to have a hand fed quaker parrot and 2 budgies that i tamed myself so im not new to keeping birds. i did ask my uncle about keeping them as tame pets (i think the birds that stood on my hand would've flew away if there wings weren't clipped) and he says that its impossible. i appreciate the help


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## Ramster (Aug 9, 2009)

that e-book you gave me was really helpful but there are some questions it didnt answer. like what age should i remove the pigeons so that they are tame? in parrots its 2-3 weeks of age.


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## egpigeon (Jan 15, 2008)

*hello Raster

I want to ask if u can share this E-book with us?

Best Regards*


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Nothing is impossible. I have tame pigeons that come to me when I call them and raise my hand to perch. It is taking time though and lot of patience.
Dog will come to you because you are the leader of the pack and he obeys the leader.
Cat will come to you when she feels like or when she wants something.
Rabbit will come to you to demand attention and will obey your commands as long as you obey his.
Pigeons will come to you because they trust you.
Ok, lets answer you questions:
- You can take squeakers around 20 days old. You can take even older birds. Unlike parrots, pigeons, even hand reared need taming. 
- If you take older birds, you get away without hand feeding.
- Build them nice aviary with shelter from rain, sun and cold and spend as much time with them. Do not chase and catch them roughly. Treat them gently with love. 
- Attract them with treats. They will come to you. Not in a day, maybe in a week or month.
I did ask you these questions before to be able to apprise you as a person. 
A lot of people treat animals as pieces of furniture. Today they want them, tomorrow they are homeless or in the animal shelter. This is a sad existance for creatures who need home care and love.


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## Guest (Aug 9, 2009)

if your just breeding them for yourself thats great ,but dont think there is much of a market for handraised pigeons if thats what your goal is... but good luck whatever venture you choose with the birds just treat them well


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

LokotaLoft said:


> if your just breeding them for yourself thats great ,but dont think there is much of a market for handraised pigeons if thats what your goal is... but good luck whatever venture you choose with the birds just treat them well


I agree and just to add...there are *more than plenty *of Pigeons to go around already without adding to the numbers.


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## Guest (Aug 10, 2009)

Charis said:


> I agree and just to add...there are *more than plenty *of Pigeons to go around already without adding to the numbers.


yes there are way to many pigeons out there in need of homes and many more to come


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Ramster said:


> hello wonderful community! ive been thinking of breeding pigeons for quite some time now, the reason being i recently when to my uncles house and he has ALOT of pigeons! some of them come to you and eat out of your hand and perch on your shoulder! they seem like wonderful pets! so can some one tell me how i would go about breeding a bonded pair? like when do they breed? what age should they breed? when to take the chicks from the parents and hand feed them so they become tame pets? what temperature to keep them at?how many times a day to feed them? questions like these. i would very much appreciate your help


You don't need babies to make great pets out of them. All it takes is patience and caring. A lot also depends on the personality of the bird. So even if you start with babies, that is no guarantee that they will remain really friendly as far as holding them, or them flying to you. Some pigeons are just tamer and friendlier than others.


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## Ramster (Aug 9, 2009)

so to keep pigeons id have to keep alot of them like 20? couldn't i keep like 3 or 4 of them? do they need free flight or can you just clip their wings like parrots and they'll be ok with that? keeping pigeons is starting to sound way different than keeping parrots.oh and plamenh could i share the e-book with everyone?


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

No, 2 or 4 will do. 3 is not really good idea as is better to keep them in pairs.
Parrots can climb if not flying, and they have strong beaks. If you clip pigeon’s wings you leave them helpless. The beauty of the pigeons is in their flight, that’s why you need bigger cage or aviary to give them space. Firs arrange living space for the birds, then as Charis and LokotaLofts suggested you could adopt some pigeons (even a tamed ones) through the members of the forum.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

E-book was created originally by Philodice, member of the forum. She collected texts from the Internet, which is public domain information. I just added some information I had, pictures and formatted book to be easy searchable.
Original idea is to help people in need of information. To save time when bird needs help and avoid common mistakes.
E-book is free to share for everyone. Link is published in this social group:
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/group.php?groupid=5


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## Ramster (Aug 9, 2009)

i dont have the space for an aviary how big should a cage for 2 pigeons be? what do i have to provide them so they can breed? could i remove the chicks at 14 days of age, or is that to young? i very much appreciate the help


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Explain me what is your goal please.
To be able to help you I need to know what are you targeting. 
You don't have space, but you want to breed, but you want 2~4 pigeons???
What you are going to do with the babies on day 14, to young for what???
I'm just confused.


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## Ramster (Aug 9, 2009)

to clear stuff up a bit. i want to get 2 pigeons breed them, hand feed the young, and when they are fully weaned keep some of the pigeons as tame pets and maybe sell some of them.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

OK, that’s clear enough.
Pigeons are bit different of parrots in this situation. They are territorial and when reaching maturity they change personality. Tame youngster can become wild senior and vice-versa.
Also they recognize person handling them and bird nice and tame with me will not be nice and tame with you. Quite opposite. Then again about trust, pigeons are prey birds and very suspicious about all changes. You put cap on your head and they panic, put sunglasses and they will keep distance.
After all this direct answer will be:
- To tame pigeons you will need grown birds or weaned youngsters with formed personality. Hand feeding makes no difference.
- You cannot sell tamed pigeons as they will behave totally different with other person. Everyone needs to win trust of the bird and tame it by itself.
- Pigeons are cheap because they breed easily and only racing champions and fancy pigeons can reach price high enough to make it worth breeding. Even racers with great pedigree who doesn’t show good results are worthless for their owners.
Hope this helps.


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## Ramster (Aug 9, 2009)

thank you so much plamenh! i dont think pigeons are my kinda pet. oh well i'll just go visit the ones my uncle has and maybe get a parrot! thanx for all the help!


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

You are welcome Ramster!
For me they are good pets but every person has different criteria.


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