Looking to buy baby pigeons online...

[MRetriever]

I’m looking to buy some unpedigreed baby racing pigeons online.

I have raised chickens ducks quail and pheasants.

Are baby pigeons a lot different to get started? Are they good with a heat lamp and will they eat and drink right away?

These are a more considerable investment at $60-$225 (if I get pedigreed racing chicks) a chick. So id like to not mess this up .

I’ve read up a lot on feed, care, the loft/coop/flight pen to build for them and I have a pretty good handle on all that.

but have seen very little on how to buy chicks online as babies and get them going.

 

[biophiliac]

I’m looking to buy some unpedigreed baby racing pigeons online.

I have raised chickens ducks quail and pheasants.

Are baby pigeons a lot different to get started? Are they good with a heat lamp and will they eat and drink right away?

These are a more considerable investment at $60-$225 (if I get pedigreed racing chicks) a chick. So id like to not mess this up .

I’ve read up a lot on feed, care, the loft/coop/flight pen to build for them and I have a pretty good handle on all that.

but have seen very little on how to buy chicks online as babies and get them going.

When you buy young pigeons you will be getting them after they are weaned by the parents and fully feathered 'dry' under the wing. They are referred to as squeakers at this stage, 6 -10 weeks. They can feed themselves and need no extra heat, even in cold climates. They should be acquired BEFORE they ever fly outside their home loft so that they learn to view your loft as home. Alternatively you can buy a breeding pair and keep them captive as you let them raise a few rounds of babies.
I started with 8 young birds I got off Craigslist. They turned out great and I'm still friends with the seller. Generally they are $10 - $20 apiece on CL. What's the nearest major town/city to you? I bet I can find you some nice birds on CL

 

[biophiliac]

So yeah, Pigeon hatchlings are much different than the chicken, duck, quail and pheasant which are all precocial, meaning that soon after hatch they are up and mobile with eyes open and ready to go. Pigeons hatch relatively undeveloped, unable to walk, eyes won't even open for several days, etc. Hatchlings of this type are called altricial. Pigeon parents even produce a substance called crop milk which is fed for the first week or so and very important to healthy development. This is why you don't hear of artificial incubation of pigeon eggs.

Thanks for the opportunity to use some of my favorite words - altricial & precocial.

 

[backyard pigeons]

I’m looking to buy some unpedigreed baby racing pigeons online.

awesome! Why online? And why unpedigreed? Nothing wrong with either of those, but getting them in person is better and pedigrees prove they are what you are buying.

Are baby pigeons a lot different to get started? Are they good with a heat lamp and will they eat and drink right away?

only if they are 6+ weeks old. Much younger and they will NEED their parents. it's not impossible to raise a squab (baby pigeon) by hand, but very didfucult. It would be much better to get weaned ones.

I’ve read up a lot on feed, care, the loft/coop/flight pen to build for them and I have a pretty good handle on all that.

great start! Be sure to research on the boring stuff to, like sickness, injurys, and medicine. As well as to make sure their diet is very good. They are what you feed them.

but have seen very little on how to buy chicks online as babies and get them going.

this is because they are dependant on their parents. When buying birds online, you may see it say 'young bird' or 'YB'. that's what you want if you want your ones that are recently weaned. These are also called sqeakers.

Do you plan on flying them?

I bet I can find you some nice birds on CL

you are good at that!

Thanks for the opportunity to use some of my favorite words - altricial & precocial.

I've noticed.



@MRetriever be sure to go check out pigeon talk. It's a fun thread where we help each other updated and ask questions. It's all about pigeons!

 

[MRetriever]

When you buy young pigeons you will be getting them after they are weaned by the parents and fully feathered 'dry' under the wing. They are referred to as squeakers at this stage, 6 -10 weeks. They can feed themselves and need no extra heat, even in cold climates. They should be acquired BEFORE they ever fly outside their home loft so that they learn to view your loft as home. Alternatively you can buy a breeding pair and keep them captive as you let them raise a few rounds of babies.
I started with 8 young birds I got off Craigslist. They turned out great and I'm still friends with the seller. Generally they are $10 - $20 apiece on CL. What's the nearest major town/city to you? I bet I can find you some nice birds on CL

wow great info thank you!

 

[MRetriever]

To be honest these will be used for pointing dog training. So I felt the need for pedigreed birds wasn’t totally nessasary but I do get the idea that I will know what they are if they are pedigreed.
The dogs are not allowed to catch the birds... thus my desire for good healthy Fliers that will last many years and produce more wonderful healthy birds.
Plus I get mucho attached to everything lol. So they will be named and spoiled and loved.

I did fing a local guy (through a friend) willing to sell Homers for $20 and Tipplers for $15.
I’m not sure if Tipplers would be right for me... as I read they fly and fly and fly.
I'm thinking $20 for homers would be more ideal and I can add in some better quality birds as I learn along the way?

 

[biophiliac]

To be honest these will be used for pointing dog training. So I felt the need for pedigreed birds wasn’t totally nessasary but I do get the idea that I will know what they are if they are pedigreed.
The dogs are not allowed to catch the birds... thus my desire for good healthy Fliers that will last many years and produce more wonderful healthy birds.
Plus I get mucho attached to everything lol. So they will be named and spoiled and loved.

I did fing a local guy (through a friend) willing to sell Homers for $20 and Tipplers for $15.
I’m not sure if Tipplers would be right for me... as I read they fly and fly and fly.
I'm thinking $20 for homers would be more ideal and I can add in some better quality birds as I learn along the way?

Homers would be best for your purpose. Release in a pointing dog exercise amounts to a training toss for them. There is no reason those $20 birds won't be perfectly fine. Given your plans for them, I doubt you would notice the difference compared to a pedigreed bird. For that matter, neither would I. lol
I recommend you teach them to enjoy peanuts and reserve them for treats on their return from training.
Finally, pedigrees may not be 100% accurate if the pairs are not locked into separate breeding cages. I just had a pair of blues hatch and raise an ash red and a blue! Obviously the red has a different parent, or two.