by Rodney Schwencer

Created on: May 17, 2008

Pigeons make a great bird to raise for the beginner because they are so easy to care for and are fairly cheap to feed and maintain. Pigeons are very easy to find and are not very expensive to purchase,in fact you can find them in most any pet shop or you can catch them with very little effort.

A pigeon does best if raised in a coop outdoors,the coop is usually built with a nesting area that is enclosed to protect them from the weather and out of the sight of any predators such as house cats,hawks or falcons. The coop must also consist of an outside run for exercise and flying room. All the materials you will need can be purchased at any of your local feed stores.

The materials consist of a few sheets of plywood,a roll of chicken wire and a couple of hinges for an entry into the nesting area,and a good latch for your door. You will also need several nesting boxes which can be made up of most anything such as milk crates,a five gallon bucket,or built with any scrap wood.

Pigeons are very easy to feed and mainly feed on the ground out of a flat open pan or a chicken feeder which is placed outside in their outside run. Grains are their primary source of food such as chicken scratch,oats or wheat,they also love to eat bread. They love to take bathes so supply them with plenty of fresh clean water.

After setting up your pigeon coop and have put your pigeons in their new home it is best to let them get familiar with their new surroundings for a few days before entering their coop other than to feed and water them.

Pigeons thrive on raising baby's and it does not take long for them to start populating, once you have established a pair they will start to nest right away. Their nest are generally made up of straw. Pigeons only lay two eggs and always hatch one male and one female,this gives you a pair every time they hatch out new chicks.

All breeds of pigeons are homing pigeons and can be trained to be let loose to fly and return to their coop. The best way to train your pigeon to be let loose to fly and return to their coop is to keep them locked up for at least two months before releasing them. If you wish to do this you will need to build a flight door on the outside run of your coop with a landing platform just on the outside of the door,this door only needs to be about a foot wide which can be made to open and close when you want to let them out to fly,leave this door open until all your pigeons return.

Raising pigeons can be very rewarding if done properly and it is very fun to watch them sore the skies and return to their home.

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