Proper care for adopted pigeons?

[WVduckchick]

Adorable!
Let us know what happens

Sad news, I found the chick dead this evening. I’m guessing the pigeon Mom couldn’t feed it and it didn’t know what to do. I should have pulled it, but I was curious to see how it would go anyway. My bad.

 

[bhawk-23]

Sad news, I found the chick dead this evening. I’m guessing the pigeon Mom couldn’t feed it and it didn’t know what to do. I should have pulled it, but I was curious to see how it would go anyway. My bad.

I’m sorry.

Yep, we do seem to have the same breeds in mind. lol

 

[bhawk-23]

I apologize if it was discussed elsewhere in the thread, but have you considered building a small loft inside your netted area? It’s very easy to train pigeons with food and you should be able to get them back in the loft quite willingly. You could let them out in the netted area under supervision.

I wouldn’t keep homing pigeons in a set up like this. They are too active and would probably bolt right through the net if startled by a bird of prey. But fancy breeds like @WVduckchick ’s Satinettes could probably do quite well in such a setup.

There are also some breeds of pigeon that are quite large and don’t fly much at all, so they in some respects can be easier to manage. They also tend to be really docile and great pets! I have a pair of giant runt pigeons in addition to my homers and I love them.

Building a new structure is not feasible right now. I was going to convert the upper coop my hens do not use as they have always preferred to roost in the run.

I was thinking of adopting pigeons who could not be released back out but was kindly reminded they probably could not retreat from the hens quick enough if needed, which totally makes sense!
I will look up the large pigeons out of curiosity. Thanks!