how many people keep pigeons for training? Anyone raise them for training? Anything wrong with trapping them like diseases?
Pigeons
c.j.
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I keep a loft of pigeons. They are super handy when you need a bird, especially on young dogs/puppies. Pigeons are dirt cheap to raise and if you can get a loft started they will home even after repeated training sessions. If mine can still fly they always end up beating me back to the loft. Mine will also hatch and raise their own young so if you're not banging them up too hard you can even make some extra birds. They reproduce very quickly once mature.
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I'm on my third (and "just right") loft in nearly as many decades and have found keeping an essentially endless, recyclable supply of live birds a particularly valuable training asset whether tossed to fly off while teaching steadiness in the face of game or tossed with some primaries pulled to simulate shot fliers. And we enjoy both watching them exercise around the place and eating those shot "for the dogs" (ours are waste rice fed and better table fare than many of the birds we train for):
While they are susceptible to the same parasites and diseases as chickens, ducks and other fowl, they're a whole lot cleaner to keep than ducks, and pigeon "multi-mixes" to treat most of what might ail them are inexpensive and readily available online. Probably the most real danger to humans is histoplasmosis, a respiratory condition caused by a fungus that can occur in bird droppings/dust, hence the advisability of a well ventilated loft and a mask or respirator when dealing with the droppings.
While they are susceptible to the same parasites and diseases as chickens, ducks and other fowl, they're a whole lot cleaner to keep than ducks, and pigeon "multi-mixes" to treat most of what might ail them are inexpensive and readily available online. Probably the most real danger to humans is histoplasmosis, a respiratory condition caused by a fungus that can occur in bird droppings/dust, hence the advisability of a well ventilated loft and a mask or respirator when dealing with the droppings.
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A healthy house has a good keeper.
Like a ferret for rabbits ..used only a few weeks in the year ,but requires all year husbandry .
They all require training for the purpose of intent ..just like the dogs that will be trained for the same .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb0bbznFCPo
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Yes I use pigeons and live ducks...that being said, the fear of disease from these guys is much less than what we might be facing from N Korea and ISIS
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This may sound stupid but anyone use chickens? Live chickens
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Most here would just shake the feed can.
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I too have never kept pigeons before but I am going to try it. Recently I got a Boykin pup and will need birds for training. I have kept chickens, so hope I can keep a few training birds for the pup.
I just finished building a basic loft to keep some pigeons for training my Boykin pup. Before I finished, I bought 10 adult quail and they are now being kept in the loft. I plan to put 5 pigeons in with them next week to see how that goes. If the pigeons want to raise young, I may add provisions for that. But for now I would be pleased if they thrive without having young.
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I just finished building a basic loft to keep some pigeons for training my Boykin pup. Before I finished, I bought 10 adult quail and they are now being kept in the loft. I plan to put 5 pigeons in with them next week to see how that goes. If the pigeons want to raise young, I may add provisions for that. But for now I would be pleased if they thrive without having young.
We have a training barn for Dog Agility just North and East of Philadelphia. Our club would LOVE it if someone would be interested in trapping the Pigeons that we are trying to get rid of. The have started to roost in the rafters of the barn and are a real pain. Anyone interested please PM me.
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Most likely you'll have 5 dead pigeons in the first night.
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Would that be due to disease, or something else? I have been using the quail already, so I could put them in the freezer instead.
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Polmaise #5 X2 Nice video for those unaware. Polmaise and I have a long history of racing pigeons and my current racing pigeon stock comes out of race proven parents.Cleanliness based on the keeper. They produce young for me which I use. The dogs go out to p/p and next go right to the loft to check out their birds. My dogs have always been birdy. We practice a shooting sport which requires keeping birds, no birds, poor dog birdiness. Do not mix unknown birds into your loft due to potential disease introduction. Just like we give our dog's shots.
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Banties were once popular for flier training with some here due to the fuss and show they make when tossed - but I'd be concerned about the possibility of their feisty nature sparking mouth issues.
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A great many dogs are trained with feral pigeons, and more than a few of us have made beer, er...cold drink, money shining and netting them at night for dog pros. (Sometimes from under bridges, but the county fairgrounds sheds were my honey hole.) Trapping them is a finer art, and if I were to practice it, it wouldn't be with the little bobbed door traps dog supply places sell.
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I've been trapping and raising pigeons for almost 35yrs. I use a 10x10 chain link kennel. I wrapped it with chicken wire, top and sides, and put a tarp on for the roof. I get good air flow with this set-up and the chicken wire keeps the critters out. I've hung a metal nesting box, six hole, on the side. They raise young very well and I've had no issues with sickness. When I can get them, I put pheasant in with them.
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