# Fantail Breeding and Taming



## Kevin Stanly (Nov 20, 2015)

Breeding of Fantails,

Can you please advise me with the breeding period of fantails, also how to identify mail and female fantails,also if any sex of a pair dies, will it get paired to other sex, one eye of a pigeon is closed in morning times, what disease is this, will it spread to other pigeons,will mud pot be kept with sand for breeding, please advise, thanks in advance.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Get a good book on pigeon husbandry and read it well. That would be the first step.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Can't really tell male or female for sure, until you get to know them and watch how they act. The two genders normally act a bit different from each other. If one of a pair dies, then eventually they will normally mate up again. If one of your birds seems to have a closed eye often, then I would separate it and try to get a vets opinion on what could be wrong with it.


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## Kevin Stanly (Nov 20, 2015)

Hi, Thanks for the reply, one more doubt, my fantail was bought on Nov 4th with an already laid egg, the very next day itself it laid another egg, but the pigeon is not sitting on top of the egg, so am not able to identify which laid the egg to know the female one, also that egg got rotten and I threw the eggs off, till now it has'nt laid any egg, Some one told me 18 days is the time frame for a pigeon to lay paired eggs, once it gets hatched then only it starts to lay another one, what might be the problem with my fantails, please advise, both are pure white.

Also I give only pure wheat and plain water, what else can be given for the pegion.
I came to knowthat Cuttle tongue is good for Calcium which helps in laying eggs and good in breeding but my Pigeons never taste it , so instead I give egg shell of Chicken, even turmeric powder mixed with salt is good to get rid of small infections to Dove, please correct me if I am wrong.


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## tommyJG (Jan 14, 2016)

*Can I let my fantails out without taming or training them?*

I have a fantail and a regular pigeon, I don't know the breed, but it looks like a regular wild pigeon. They are both somewhat tame. It's relatively easy to catch them, but they won't come near my hand by their own desire. 

My question is: If I let them out without training them in any way, will they still come back if they adapt to their new home??
They are still babies, I would say anywhere between 1 month to 3 months old ( they still pip) like a baby chick...

???


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Why do you want to let the fantail out to fly? They are not good flyers, and therefore hawk bait. They will get grabbed by some predator. And 2 birds alone are really not safe if let outside alone. Pigeons are safer in a flock. Would be better to build them an enclosure where they can go outside and get the fresh air and sunshine and maybe bathe.
The more time you spend with them, the more friendly they should become if you aren't chasing them to catch them, which would have the opposite affect. Hold treats in your hand and try to tempt them to come to you.


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## Kevin Stanly (Nov 20, 2015)

*Fantail Taming*

Hi ,

I have heard that fantails tame easier than any other doves and they like to be left lonely in a room , but if you let them out while they are babies some eagles or cats would catch, it's better to keep them in a cage till they grow up.I also agree with Jay's reply.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Kevin Stanly said:


> Hi ,
> 
> I have heard that fantails tame easier than any other doves and they like to be left lonely in a room , but if you let them out while they are babies some eagles or cats would catch, it's better to keep them in a cage till they grow up.I also agree with Jay's reply.


They don't like being left lonely any more than any other pigeon. Don't know why someone would believe that.
Also, they wouldn't be any safer let out as adults. They don't fly well, and are not quick enough to get away from a predator. Made to be kept in a aviary, where they are safe.


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## tommyJG (Jan 14, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> They don't like being left lonely any more than any other pigeon. Don't know why someone would believe that.
> Also, they wouldn't be any safer let out as adults. They don't fly well, and are not quick enough to get away from a predator. Made to be kept in a aviary, where they are safe.


My question is: I know I shouldn't let him out. But if I did would he come back like any other homing pigeon? He's 3 months old.


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## 95SPORTSTER (Jun 30, 2011)

Probably not, but it really would depend on how fast the hawk attacks


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

tommyJG said:


> My question is: I know I shouldn't let him out. But if I did would he come back like any other homing pigeon? He's 3 months old.


What difference does it make? For you to ask that, then I guess you plan on letting him out anyway? That would be foolish, but if a hawk didn't get him right away, and he went too far, then no, they do not have the same homing instincts as homers, and would probably get lost and starve, if not eaten by something else. They aren't bred to find their way home, they are bred to show.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Kevin Stanly said:


> Hi, Thanks for the reply, one more doubt, my fantail was bought on Nov 4th with an already laid egg, the very next day itself it laid another egg, but the pigeon is not sitting on top of the egg, so am not able to identify which laid the egg to know the female one, also that egg got rotten and I threw the eggs off, till now it has'nt laid any egg, Some one told me 18 days is the time frame for a pigeon to lay paired eggs, once it gets hatched then only it starts to lay another one, what might be the problem with my fantails, please advise, both are pure white.
> 
> Also I give only pure wheat and plain water, what else can be given for the pegion.
> I came to knowthat Cuttle tongue is good for Calcium which helps in laying eggs and good in breeding but my Pigeons never taste it , so instead I give egg shell of Chicken, even turmeric powder mixed with salt is good to get rid of small infections to Dove, please correct me if I am wrong.


Hi Kevin,
Buy Cipcal 500 mg or Omnical 500 mg from Cipla if you are in India. Divide it to 4 parts and then each part into two again to get 8 parts of 500 mg tablet. Give one part (1/8 th of tablet) to each bird once a week. As this calcium tablet has calcium +D3 in it, it will help the calcium absorb in their body if even they don't get sunshine to synthesize vitamin D3.


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## Kevin Stanly (Nov 20, 2015)

Hi,

Thanks for such a wise reply,I would do accordingly I am at Kerala, India only.Also is there any way to identify a male and female fantail,is pellet good for fantails.Do we need to built a nest with wooden box for it to lay egg, or a curry pot made of clay with wide opening filled with sand is enough.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

You can't be sure about their gender until and unless you monitor their behaviors closely when they are adult and they breed and lay. No other method can tell you for sure who is who.

You have to look for the ingredients in pellets and if they form complete nutritious diet. I give my birds mixed grains because that's more normal for them, so I cant say much on pellets, hope some one else chimes in.

If you give them nest boxes, provide them with nesting material close to them and they will build their nests themselves, you don't need to build nests for them. I love seeing them collecting, flying with sticks and arranging them to form nests. Nice exercise and keep them busy also. If you give them clay bowls in their nest boxes with sand or even empty, they may lay there just like that in bare bowls or may get some sticks into them, that's their choice.
In winters we prefer hay sticks /straws(for warmth) and in summer some sand (to get it cooler). Don't prefer breeding during peak times of both the weathers though. 
Hay sticks /straws are also necessary for young ones to grab them and grip so to keep them from splay leg.


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## Kevin Stanly (Nov 20, 2015)

Thanks Kiddy, One of my friend gave me a clue on how to identify male and female, its actually at the back side just on top of their ****ting hole, if we touch with one finger our finger would go smoothly, it can be identified as female, similarly there would be a hindrance of two bones which restricts our finger to go in, that refers to male, also male fantails produces a sound, but female would be silent.I don't know if am correct but I have tried it and found the same true,but don't know if the same distinguishes between the two. just wanted to share with you all.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

May be. Actually you will find many other methods online or by people but none proved to be universal which holds true on eveyone.Great if it worked for you. Thanks to share.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Doesn't always work.


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