# How much does it cost to keep pigeons



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

I was just wondering about how much ( on the cheap) would it cost to keep a flock of 20-60 pigeons. Also if anyone could guide me to a book or something that teaches you to build a walk in pigeon coop i'd like that. If I did white dove releases by having them be all white, would they be able to pay for the cost of keeping them through that?


----------



## sev3ns0uls (Jul 2, 2011)

wowo 20-60 birds will consume lots of feed. My guess is that with 20+ birds, you will have to buy feeds at least once a months. a 50lb of feed(regular economy feed) will cost around $10-$20. A good (premium)feeds will cost $25 -$35. In my opinion, i think 20 birds should be my max. Over crowded is not a good thing. Unless you have space available and have time to clean and look after. 

I only plan to keep 10-15 birds(racing pigeons) and thats already a stress for me as i do work for a living.


----------



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

Well the thing is i am making a business out of it and some people want more doves. Of course I would never keep them in an over crowded loft making sure the loft is big enough although I prefur calling them coops and i would build up to the bigger number starting with ten to twenty. If business is good and the demand is for more birds to be released ill get some more


----------



## tjc1 (Aug 22, 2012)

Main thing is clean, clean, clean. I went and spent about a $150 in medicine for my pigeons and the only thing I really use is Apple cider vinegar. I had one pigeon that got sick and used a little Bayitril but thats it. I now have 20 pigeons and go through about $25 dollars every 2 months. I scrape the nesting boxes everyday. And keep their water and food dishes clean. If the loft is clean it will cut down on a lot of costs in the long run.


----------



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

Yup I plan on cleaning every day just like when i had a pet cockatiel. I was thinking about having a grate floor so it seps through and i can pull it out at the bottom to clean it. Just like the cage i had for my cockatiel.


----------



## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

Doveman1 said:


> I was just wondering about how much ( on the cheap) would it cost to keep a flock of 20-60 pigeons. Also if anyone could guide me to a book or something that teaches you to build a walk in pigeon coop i'd like that. If I did white dove releases by having them be all white, would they be able to pay for the cost of keeping them through that?


FIRST do get race type whites . As release bred white From some people Are not bred well. You would find more birds get lost. return home slow, And you would have to raise more to keep them going.. With just up to 60 birds I would think start with 5 pair Of old birds Breed from them That would say be THREE rounds, A year. about thirty birds a year. So loft and birds will be your larger cost. I would say and 8 x 20 to 24 foot loft. That way you have your breeding section. And a seperate area for hens then a flying section for the others. Then your yearly costs should be less then a thousand dollars. You do not need a bunch of meds just certion ones. But vaccinate yearly for PMV . Feeds cost verys But say 60 birds about 70 pounds a month. As you feed more when breeding. But at 2 ounces per bird a day when not breeding from the breeder birds. Is a good way to figure feed amounts. Yes you can pay and make a little money doing your releases. If you get it going. BUT do buy race bred whites they wqill cost some more But in the end They will be better in the long run


----------



## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

tjc1 said:


> Main thing is clean, clean, clean. I went and spent about a $150 in medicine for my pigeons and the only thing I really use is Apple cider vinegar. I had one pigeon that got sick and used a little Bayitril but thats it. I now have 20 pigeons and go through about $25 dollars every 2 months. I scrape the nesting boxes everyday. And keep their water and food dishes clean. If the loft is clean it will cut down on a lot of costs in the long run.


Very smart what you said. Keeping a loft clean and providing food and water will keep happy pigeons and happy owner when there's no money loss of treating ill birds.


----------



## sev3ns0uls (Jul 2, 2011)

Got to tell you. I raise pigeon just for fun. I like racing pigeon and i like seeing them returning home from a far away distance. It prove how smart and agile they are and it makes me think highly of them for having such a gifted ability. Doing business with pigeon in your case is not a good profit return. Because how often do people release dove and how much can one get from it?? If you want big return i suggest why not race them. Find a good strain of racer and join a club and compete.


----------



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

Well I've looked into it and most places charge a few hundred bucks depending on how many birds they want released and how they want the releasing to go, like a hand release between the bride and groom, if theirs music. Also the ones i've seen always charge travel fees for gas included with the releasing. 20 or 30 birds they usually charge 500 bucks. I figured my birds wouldn't always win or may never win so i figured that dove releasing would be a better what to get money with them. to tell you the truth if i make a profit im glad. The releasing i just figured had two benefits. Free training since obviously some of the releasings are gonna be from miles away, and i can definitely make enough money to keep my babies fed, and have good medications to keep them healthy. I was going to join a club though , just for fun. Not expecting to become like the best. I watched a few documentaries and alot of the fanciers seemed overly competitive  even trash talking other fanciers. I hope if i do enter racing it won't be that way. I could honestly care less if my birds become big winners or not..if they come back I'll be happy. hows it go..if you love something set it free, if it comes back its meant to be


----------



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

re lee said:


> FIRST do get race type whites . As release bred white From some people Are not bred well. You would find more birds get lost. return home slow, And you would have to raise more to keep them going.. With just up to 60 birds I would think start with 5 pair Of old birds Breed from them That would say be THREE rounds, A year. about thirty birds a year. So loft and birds will be your larger cost. I would say and 8 x 20 to 24 foot loft. That way you have your breeding section. And a seperate area for hens then a flying section for the others. Then your yearly costs should be less then a thousand dollars. You do not need a bunch of meds just certion ones. But vaccinate yearly for PMV . Feeds cost verys But say 60 birds about 70 pounds a month. As you feed more when breeding. But at 2 ounces per bird a day when not breeding from the breeder birds. Is a good way to figure feed amounts. Yes you can pay and make a little money doing your releases. If you get it going. BUT do buy race bred whites they wqill cost some more But in the end They will be better in the long run


Thank you for the advice my main thing was how do I keep my males seperate from my females? Can they breed all year or is it only sometimes? I planned on just keeping the males in seperate lofts and hoping that they wouldn't trap in the female loft. Then in the female loft having a second section for when i decide to breed them. I was planning on getting racers. Racing wasn't my main thing. I just like them and find it beautiful how they always come home. They calm me down. The dove releasing's would just be to pay for them and if i do get it going good a good way to make money on the side in this economy as i have seen people getting married all year around and they generally have a dove releasing. Also if they are white will that make it easier or harder for hawks to kill my babies?


----------



## M Kurps (Mar 19, 2009)

It costs exactly a dollar two ninetyeight. 
Kurps


----------



## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

Doveman1 said:


> Thank you for the advice my main thing was how do I keep my males seperate from my females? Can they breed all year or is it only sometimes? I planned on just keeping the males in seperate lofts and hoping that they wouldn't trap in the female loft. Then in the female loft having a second section for when i decide to breed them. I was planning on getting racers. Racing wasn't my main thing. I just like them and find it beautiful how they always come home. They calm me down. The dove releasing's would just be to pay for them and if i do get it going good a good way to make money on the side in this economy as i have seen people getting married all year around and they generally have a dove releasing. Also if they are white will that make it easier or harder for hawks to kill my babies?


Well what i said was race bred whites Would be better birds to get NOT that you have to race them. AND NO being white would not make it any easy for hawks JUST train them to feed And trap fast so they do not sit the loft as then any bird is a target. I believe there was a member her a few years back That went by doveman. From MO I gave hime 40 white race birds to get him started. He may still have whites He lived near Branson MO.


----------



## DonsPigeons (Jul 27, 2012)

*Cost to feed 300+ birds*

It cost me over $2,000 to feed over 300+ birds annualy. If that gives you an idea. I sold birds (white racers) on a regular basis for $45.00 a pair and and made a profit of of approx $1,200 Just to give you an idea. Not very profitable considering time and labor. Not to include medications. Just a little insight if you tru to make a business selling birds.


----------



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

re lee said:


> Well what i said was race bred whites Would be better birds to get NOT that you have to race them. AND NO being white would not make it any easy for hawks JUST train them to feed And trap fast so they do not sit the loft as then any bird is a target. I believe there was a member her a few years back That went by doveman. From MO I gave hime 40 white race birds to get him started. He may still have whites He lived near Branson MO.


I assure you I am not him lol. I assure you I am not him. I picked doveman because I am a man and my name means dove in gaelic so since thats why I decided on Doveman1 since Doveman was taken


----------



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

DonsPigeons said:


> It cost me over $2,000 to feed over 300+ birds annualy. If that gives you an idea. I sold birds (white racers) on a regular basis for $45.00 a pair and and made a profit of of approx $1,200  Just to give you an idea. Not very profitable considering time and labor. Not to include medications. Just a little insight if you tru to make a business selling birds.


No no I wasn't going to breed and sell them. Dove releasings. Basicly when people want doves to be released at their wedding they contact a dove release business. Then you take your birds in a crate some of them look fancy for weddings then you release your birds and they fly back to the loft. Generally from what i've seen for 20-30 birds 400-600 dollars depending on how elaborate one wants it to be. I may sell a few birds or raise a few to give away to people wanting to get into the hobby, but mainly to feed them I would just do releasings plus everything else is extra profit. Thank you for the insight though. The quote of 2000 dollars annually does help me get a general idea about how much it'll cost to feed them.


----------



## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

Doveman1 said:


> I assure you I am not him lol. I assure you I am not him. I picked doveman because I am a man and my name means dove in gaelic so since thats why I decided on Doveman1 since Doveman was taken


I was not trying to say you was. I was just saying You may be able to contact him And get a few birds IF he still is around I gave several people some decent white birds to help them get there birds going.


----------



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

re lee said:


> I was not trying to say you was. I was just saying You may be able to contact him And get a few birds IF he still is around I gave several people some decent white birds to help them get there birds going.


I know i was making a joke of the irony with it. Since when i first went to register the first username i tried was Doveman and it was taken I'm nervous to get pigeons before I have a permanent home for a loft. I don't want to have to keep them prisoners, but it will probably be a few years. people tell me I am wasting time learning and gathering information when my goal is at least 2-4 years away What do you think?


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I think the more you learn, the better you will do. I don't think there is any bad time for learning. We are all still learning here. The more you know, the better you can take care of your birds. You could be here 10 years, have a flock of birds, and you would still be able to learn a thing or two. It's never too early.


----------



## Country84 (Nov 12, 2012)

Doveman1 where are you located? Definitely listen to these folks as they know what theyre talking about! I, too, am starting a release business and theres definitely lots and lots of work involved and planning a couple years ahead to learn and get familiarized with the birds is definitely a great idea!


----------



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

Country84 said:


> Doveman1 where are you located? Definitely listen to these guys as they know what theyre talking about! I, too, am starting a release business and theres definitely lots and lots of work involved and planning a couple years ahead to learn and get familiarized with the birds is definitely a great idea!


Currently I am in ohio. I will be moving to kentucky. A friend of mine is helping me get started breeding bearded dragons ( hes an established business man with many different businesses although I am not going to reveal any info with out his okay) for a few grand I can get started with some of the more higher end morphs that sell for more then after I sell the babies ( they sell quick especially if you can set up a site or get put on a suppliers list for pet stores ) i will have 56,000 after taxes. Then i am going to invest in the higher end morphs that sell for five grand a piece. After taxes from selling them I will have a little bit under 700 k. Then I will be moving to Tennessee because we can save more money that way due to no income tax. I will then establish my loft there. It may take a year or two like I said, but I really want to give my birds a forever home. Dove releasing will give me the advantage of getting paid for at least some short distance training and definately enough to pay for their food and meds. I am also looking into historic properties as they are protected so I don't have to deal with some big corporation coming in and turning mine and all the sorrounding farms into a subdivision then have some HOA say I can't keep my birds. Sorry if I seem like im a big dreamer and that it will never happen. I just seem pretty secure with my math especially since my friend sells even more then i would be selling.


----------



## Doveman1 (Dec 10, 2012)

Jay3 said:


> I think the more you learn, the better you will do. I don't think there is any bad time for learning. We are all still learning here. The more you know, the better you can take care of your birds. You could be here 10 years, have a flock of birds, and you would still be able to learn a thing or two. It's never too early.


Exactly my thoughts i just wasn't sure if anyone agreed with me.


----------

