# 2 Year Old Family Of Ferals



## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

New to the fourm but not new to pigeons. SO it started off in 2014 when i originally had a couple pair of homers and decided to trap the ferals nesting on my neighbors house, so I caught a dark check male and threw it in with my homers.. I know it could of spread dieases with my homers but I was a beginner so i didnt know better, luckily everything was fine. All the birds escaped one day because my dog chewed a hole through the plastic mesh in the loft and the homers flew away but the feral stayed. He eventually found a mate and produced a couple of youngsters. About 5 months later i had around 4-6 pigeons and they would home to the loft and i would drop them off around my neighborhood and they would come home. The cocks that grew up would bring back hens from the feral population because there was always more males then females in my loft so it reminded me of the thief pouters. So here i was 13 years old with a limited amount of money so i couldn't buy pouters but the ferals had a very strong sex drive and would always bring back more feral pigeons. I now quarantine the ferals they bring home and if there healthy i throw them in with my flock and they home rilly fast, like i could get them to come back after housing them for 1 week. Now I have about 30-35 feral or descendants of ferals. Seems a little for 2 years but I let them breed during spring and summer and separate them in fall winter, and however many they produce hopefully dont get eaten by hawks. during winter and fall i dont get to many strays because the feral population arent breeding i mostly catch youngsters that follow my birds home. Now im catching about 1-2 strays per week in the summer/spring. Sorry for long talk but had to explain everything. I band with 10mm personal bands to identifly my birds and the new ferals.It fits on adult birds so the ones i catch can be banded. pictures werent taken at feeding time so some birds are still out somwhere flying. Thanks for reading

all birds are feral except the fantail









some youngsters

















catch of the month in quarantine


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

Not lying, birds came back, and brought back a very young blur bar. So young that it didn't even fly away when i grabbed it. Just put on one of those personal bands I was talking about. Thats 3 birds this week, the other 2 blue bars behind it were caught this week


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Well, at least they have a loft and regular feed. The only problem I see is if something happens(life changes) it is hard to rehome or sell feral pigeons. Purebreds can be sold and rehomed ,so it's easier as more people are interested in those. So I would not build/let them breed too big of a flock of feral pigeons. You never know what the future holds.


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

Whytpigeon said:


> Well, at least they have a loft and regular feed. The only problem I see is if something happens(life changes) it is hard to rehome or sell feral pigeons. Purebreds can be sold and rehomed ,so it's easier as more people are interested in those. So I would not build/let them breed too big of a flock of feral pigeons. You never know what the future holds.


True but if that ever happens, i believe they would be able to survive with out my care because i let them in and out the loft all day and they know area with food source


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

SuburbFlyer said:


> True but if that ever happens, i believe they would be able to survive with out my care because i let them in and out the loft all day and they know area with food source


Most people do fly their birds, but they still don't know how to survive on their own. They are sheltered and fed, and that is what they know. Finding food, and other survival skills, they have not learned because you fly them.


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> Most people do fly their birds, but they still don't know how to survive on their own. They are sheltered and fed, and that is what they know. Finding food, and other survival skills, they have not learned because you fly them.


They have all day access outside, many of my pigeons hang around the feral population and have learned certain areas with shelter and food. But if I needed to get rid of my birds, releasing them back is my last option.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Lovely birds! I love ferals.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

SuburbFlyer said:


> They have all day access outside, many of my pigeons hang around the feral population and have learned certain areas with shelter and food. But if I needed to get rid of my birds, releasing them back is my last option.


I'm sorry, and not to sound negative, but you have no way of knowing where they are, or if they know how to find food and water, how to evade predators. I know it is what people like to think, that if released their birds would be fine, but that isn't often the fact. Human raised birds chances of survival go way down when released.


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> I'm sorry, and not to sound negative, but you have no way of knowing where they are, or if they know how to find food and water, how to evade predators. I know it is what people like to think, that if released their birds would be fine, but that isn't often the fact. Human raised birds chances of survival go way down when released.


I understand, i have no intention of getting rid of them right now


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Do you switch out the eggs so they don't breed too much?


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> Do you switch out the eggs so they don't breed too much?


no, i they usually stop breeding in winter/fall and i let them breed a few rounds during spring/summer


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

What do you do to stop them from breeding more then what you want?


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> What do you do to stop them from breeding more then what you want?


i dont do anything, i let them do there own thing. probably if i feel like there getting out of hands then ill do something


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Well don't just take the eggs, because they'll just have more right away. That will make the hen use all her calcium stores, and she can start having a lot of problems. If you do take the eggs, you need to replace them with fake eggs, so that they will sit on those for the 18 days or so, and won't lay right away again.
Do you give them calcium? That's important.


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

will use your advice, thanks. can i use something else other than fake eggs such as white rocks,balls,etc? They have grit, that has oystershells


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Fake eggs can be purchased very cheaply. Why not use fake eggs?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

cwebster said:


> Fake eggs can be purchased very cheaply. Why not use fake eggs?


I think he's 15, so more difficult for him to order the eggs online. 

Maybe your parents would help you with getting the fake eggs?


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

it not that i cant get access, but if i could get a alternative that doesnt need shipping, hassle of buying online, and possibly cheaper. ive heard people using wooden eggs and types of stones. Im not removing there eggs anytime soon but if i ever do need to i would be prepared


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Some are pretty smart and if not VERY much like the real ones, then if you have smart pigeons, it won't work. Even good ones don't work with some, as they're just too smart.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

SuburbFlyer said:


> it not that i cant get access, but if i could get a alternative that doesnt need shipping, hassle of buying online, and possibly cheaper. ive heard people using wooden eggs and types of stones. Im not removing there eggs anytime soon but if i ever do need to i would be prepared


If you have a loft and are going to keep pigeons , then you will have to get over the so called hassle (?) of buying online. Unless you have a veterinarian at your disposal that has pigeon/avian medications on hand. If you house and feed these birds then they are dependent on you, I would not hope they would just be turned out to feral life if things get to hard or changes happen. You will want supplies for them, like FAKE EGGS. 
Google "pigeon supply" there will be a few to choose from, go over the products and you will see they need "stuff"...lol.. IMO I think making it easier for them to multiply because of regular feed, shelter, then they become your responsibility. And that means all the time, not just when you are enjoying it. But the fake eggs will be a must for you, and any loft for that matter.


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

Thanks for the advice guys, but even if i dont have fake eggs i could always just separate me pairs


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## SuburbFlyer (Jul 25, 2016)

My dark check cock brought back this blur bar hen this mourning. Lol gonna put up pics of captures to keep track


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