DJ

thanks for reply jason and i think i understand what u mean but as i have only just got my 2 young pigeons used to flying in and out of my shed im worried that they may not like being locked in and fly off after they are let out after the 5 days of the chevicol treatment? can anybody tell me why they have to be kept in and why they cant eat grit or minerals while being treated ? debbie

i still have my 2 racing pigeons with me that came to me as strays and i now also have 2 young racing pigeons that were given to me and they have only just started flying from my shed and coming back to me over the last couple of days ive been given chevicol to treat my pigeons but ive been told that i cannot let them out each day after work or give them grit and minerals until the treatment has finished or it may not work, can anyone help with advice as ive started the treatment today which lasts for 5 days but dont want to keep my pigeons locked in for that long debbie

id ask u to call in and check my vents but with me living in the south and u living in gangsterville up north id be taking a liberty also my other half prob wouldnt be too happy about it but i can always dream i spose ;D ;D ;D ;D

your a bit of a cheeky chappie gangster-but i like it ;D

thats the spirit gangster :) and mo i agree with u totally

i can understand fanciers reactions especially if they have been the victim of a fox attack id be angry as well but its nature of course im not saying that its ok for foxes to help themselves to our pigeons all im saying is that with a secure shed and other deterents surely we shouldnt need to kill foxes i realise that foxes are cunning/devious animals and not cuddly pets but they are trying to survive in the wild and will obviously hunt for food i apoligise if ive upset anyone with my views as that is the last thing i wanted to do especially after everybody has been so good to me offering advice and pigeons when i first started with my 2 strays debbie

yeh wiley i understand that racing pigeons are tame and must be protected from wild animals such as foxes but surely in this day and age there must be deterents on the market that should prevent fox attacks ? dont think for a minute that im not sympathetic with other fanciers who have had fox attacks its just that i hate to see wild animals killed/injured when all they are doing is trying to survive debbie ps maybe i should try the peeing up the pigeon shed door but i dread to think what my neighbours would think if they were watching lol

sure i can understand wild animals being killed by wild animals wiley but surely we are above that?

i can understand fanciers getting angry when their pigeons are killed or upset by foxes as ive now got very attached to my two pigeons but surely prevention is better then attacking them? one of the first things i did after getting my pigeons was to have somebody make sure that my shed was safe and secure from any predators i know that i have only just started out with pigeons and have a lot to learn but i hate to see any animal hurt when it is just trying to survive in the wild debbie ps where is gangsterville anyway ?

i can understand fanciers trying to protect their pigeons against fox attacks but i cannot understand why some approve of their dogs attacking foxes and other fanciers applauding their actions? as one fancier said on here, the only way to get rid is to get rid once and for all???? at the end of the day the foxes are hunting instinctivly and surely all u should be doing is making sure that your pigeon shed is fox proof and not trying to harm them debbie

hi everyone, just a quick update for you as you have all been very helpfull recently,i still have my 2 pigeons and the 1 that went missing for a few days before is now behaving and is in my shed every night when i check on them, they still havnt laid any eggs yet but they have straw,a clay bowl,grit and minerals, is there anything else that they may need before laying their eggs ? kevin from pigeonbasics said to leave them to it and they will lay eggs when they are settled and ready to lay,what do you think? debbie

thanks guys for all your replies but i still cant understand why my pigeon dissappeared for days on end only to come back to me they both went out today for about an hour and then walked about the garden for a while before they came into the shed for their corn but its nice to see them back together again im buying them some straw tomorow in case they want to make a nest as there is some very loud cooing noises coming from the shed and i want to make sure that they have everything they need i will keep you all posted debbie ps ive been given a pigeon book which ive been reading but there seems to be so much to learn but i will take it step by step

he/she is back i looked out of my kitchen window this morning to see my missing pigeon sitting on my garden fence without a care in the world i opened my shed door and he/she shot in like a bullet after having some corn and water my missing pigeon settled down for a snooze but not before my other pigeon chased him/her around the shed pecking on the head and body for about 10 mins why did my other pigeon do this ? the good news is that they are now snuggled up together on their perch and i dont have to worry any more debbie

well my missing pigeon has still not come home and im now really downhearted kevin who gave me the pigeondrinker and is a member on here has offered to breed some baby pigeons for me if im seriouse about keeping pigeons hes local to me and i probably drive him mad with all my worrying about my missing pigeon i just hope my pigeon hasent gone to his old home as his former owner didnt sound like a nice person and said he was only fit for the bin debbie

sill no sign of my missing pigeon i just cant understand why he or she would have flown away as i thought i had given him or her everything that was needed how do you all manage looking after flocks of pigeons debbie :'(

well one of my racing pigeons has gone missing as i was warned could happen by a pigeonbasics member it didnt come home as usual last night and it hasent come back today either and its now dark im really hoping that it hasent got lost or hurt in this bad weather and didnt realise how attached you can get to a little pigeon will my other racing pigeon go looking for him/her ? debbie

well ive now been put in touch with a local pigeon keeper and he has visited me and made sure my shed is pigeon friendly he has given me a water drinker and some grit for my pigeons he looked at my two racing pigeons and said everything seemed ok health wise he has given me a nestingbowl in case one lays eggs so far everything seems ok and im keeping my fingers crossed that my racing pigeons stay with me and dont decide to fly back to their old homes deb

well my shed is all cleared out now apart from my pigeons thanks for the offer wiley it didnt occur to me that they may fly to their old home i hope not cos one of the owners said that his lost pigeon was only fit for the bin should i keep them locked up for a while and hope that they have eggs which will encourage them to stay? thanks for other replies but most of the comments about colouring went way over my head i can see there is a lot to pigeon keeping and thank you everybody for your help deb

yeh wiley i have still got a couple of tins of paint in my shed which my friend is collecting tommorow with some other bits so that my guests have more room,i didnt realise what a mess they make and ive only got two but their worth the trouble as i enjoy watching them walking and flying around the garden

DJ'S PHOTO'S

thanks wiley north wales novice and snowy for your advice i will ask my daughter to put a pic of my pigeons on pigeonbasics as i wouldnt know how to do that myself so watch this space deb

thanks for info wiley and jim i will start feeding my 2 pigeons inside the shed and hopefully the street pigeon will stop calling but i hate to see any animals suffering its just not in my nature to ignore a hungry animal but id hate to see my 2 pigeons getting infected with any diseases deb ps i went to a shop and bought a huge sack of gem irish corn which looks like it will last a year,will this be ok for the birds and will they need anything else to keep them healthy ? im sorry to keep bombarding u with questions but i just want to make sure that my pigeons have everything they need is there a beginers book that i can buy

hi its me deb again,ive now got another pigeon turn up at my shed but it doesnt sleep in the shed at night with my other 2 racing pigeons all it does is eat the corn and then fly off after eating,my neighbour said it looked like a street pigeon as it doesnt have a ring on and that they carry diseases,is this true and can it spread to my 2 racing pigeons?

to barry i am from crawley in sussex and thanks everybody for all the replys its nice to know that advice is on hand if i need it you have all been a great help.

hello, i started with pigeons in the summer after a lost racing pigeon took up residence in my back garden and the owner said that he didnt want it and that i could keep it myself the pigeon settled into life in my garden shed and some weeks later a neighbour came to me with another stray racing pigeon that needed looking after,i contacted this pigeons owner and asked if i could keep this pigeon as company for my other one which he agreed to and i am now the proud owner of 2 racing pigeons, how can i tell wether they are boys or girl pigeons and what should i feed them on do they have a special diet and why did they get lost ? they both seem very happy and even though i let them out of my shed most days they always come back before dark and sleep side by side in the shed, im feeding them on wild bird seed and leave them water to drink from any tips would be great