Hamster Girl

Bwehehe. This is entertaining just to watch - much less to participate! Hmm..Next?

Red Billed pigeon?

If I am wanting to keep a total of eight - ten Homing pigeons (depending on whether or not I intend to include the First Generation breeding pair) How big a loft should I be having? Any information that is offered will be a humongous help towards me getting my dad to allow a semi-permanent loft to be constructed in "HIS yard." I was thinking like, either an 8x8 or a 10x10 but that is big, so maybe even a 10x5... But, I need opinions first. And then I can make some rough blue print type sketches. It'll be a blast. Currently my one set, the 'First Generation' if you will, is in a 3x3x5 until I can manage to convince him they will need more flight room and such.. Especially if I get them into a steady flow of releasing and such for weddings etc. Then they will be making money.. In a sense earning their keep and having a reason for a larger home. I don't know.. Any ideas are welcome!

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v431/n7012/fig_tab/4311046a_F1.html#figure-title Green Pigeon..? From Malaysia?

Hm.. I didn't realize that deep south Mexico didn't know they could have Araucana based breeds... Go figure!

Correct. Well done, and it's off to you - oldguy.

Nope. The hint is.... A gem-type of bird. Two part name.

Aw man.. That looks gorgeous! I'm jealous of you - that you get the beautiful weather whilst I'm stuck here in the desert! (Bleah.) Perhaps someday I'll manage to get all the traveling I want done, and I'll add Iceland (correct?) to my list - after Russia and before Okinawa. Luck to the birds, and they look quite happy.

I remember seeing this when I was five or six.. My grandad took me to his coop to collect the eggs, feed the hens, etc. And the minute we walked through the door and he lifted the lid to the nest-boxes, he told me to come look at an egg that was soft. When I asked what to do about it, he told me that he would buy some ground up oyster shells and mix that in with the food. I don't know where he bought it in large quantities - but he manged alright, and after about a week's feeding with it the chickens never had a problem with soft eggs for a while.

Hmm.. one more go at it.

Hah, this time I hope it worked! Good luck guys, though it should be relatively easy. Thank you Redcheq!

It won't let me post the image.. >.> I will keep trying until guests for this afternoon arrive.. and again when I get home from work - which will be like 3am-4am-ish for everyone on the far side of the pond. It isn't giving me the option of attaching an image for some reason. Bah.

Redcheq - I'm going to go with the Crested Dove... http://www.wightie.com/Sydney%202005/crested_dove.jpg Wotcher think?

For future reference; I learned when I got my first pigeons to feel the pubic bone. If it was round - in comparison to other birds it was a goo dbet that that particular bird was a hen. Th ebone has to have a rounder shape to make for the passage of eggs. - However - If it was more like a 'V' shape, then chances were it was a boy. Glad you figured it out the easy way - egg - than having to catch and then grope your bird.

Well, there's no worries now. I woke up this morning, did some house work, and went out to see my birds and their egg. They must have gotten in a tiff about who was going to sit - or just for th eheck of it, because the egg wasn't there. When I opened the cage and poked my head in further, they were both sitting on a crossbeam looking at me, and then I looked down. Seems that the egg was shoved out of the nest, so that's a bummer. Are pigeons like chickens in that, when a chickens egg breaks in a coop - all the chickens make a mad dash for it and try to eat it, or do pigeons just let it break and leave it alone?

Thank you. Err.. I s'pose my next question would be... The nesting spot the birds chose is a good foot, if not a foot and a half off the floor - as are the feed/water dishes... Should I be moving both food and water dishes to the floor in preparation for the babies? And how long before they are off looking for food of their own? And... (so many questions) Should I move the nest to the floor and secure it there, or just let it alone? I mean, if the squab isn't mobile until it's fledged (and by mobile I mean jumping out of the nest) do I worry about it managing to flip itself over a nest 'wall' of like.. two, three inches?

For bedding in the nest, what should there be? It occurred to me the shredded paper probably will papercut the babies to death. D: I have hay available, but if I put it in the nestbox, will it bring harm to the bebe' upon and after hatching? I was thinking, it's alfalfa hay - but it's pretty dern dry - so would it puncture its skin? I need suggestions so I can go and Splinter Cell my way into the nest and arrage it some during the night. Please help?

I like it too, th eonly down side is that for some reason it's eyes, both of them are tu-tone. Like, they are kind of a golden color, but the bottom half of each eye, it's like, bronze-sienna colored. Unfortunately, this will be a disqualification when I bring it to fair.. I didn't see that when I bought it though, I was in the loft examining the birds and I assume th elight wasn't quite good enough to pick it up right away.. Either way, the Bird man here in town told me it looked like something settled to the bottom of the eye, an dmaybe if I held it upside down for a few minutes before show - it would all go right side up and spread about evenly. ;D :D:D

Hmm.. Scaly-naped Pigeon? Though, the eyes are a different color than most of the photo's, heres one I thought was kind of like that.. http://www.kingsnake.com/westindian/patagioenasinornatawetmorei1.JPG the others I found have a redder eye, and this one isn't exactly displaying the scaled nape like the others..

Indeed! I'm hoping it spawns something... XD Here, now that I am home, and at three am most fo you if not all are asleep, I'm gonna throw some more photos of them up.. These are all when they first got "home" within a few hours. Nothing fancy, though I intend to take more, better ones.

I apologize for being edgy and agitated - but man, I don't feel well since donating the blood an hour ago - and this Idea of a pigeon exam tipped my nerves. -.- Honestly, that's an aggravating thought, and is in no way helpful to the person who came for advice. However, I agree on the point of wanting to know if the person can provide proper care for the bird.

In fact, I was looking all through the files I have on the campus computers and I realized, "Just go to photobucket, silly!' So yes, yes I do have some photos. This one was sitting on the nest last night, though I don't know if that's a shared responsability or if the male does night shift, or vice versa..! {Valencian Figurita} And this is the other one. {Domestic Show Flight} Unfortunately, I have no other photo's here, but have many more at home. Give me a few hours to get through my last class and get home, I'll put more up tonight - or for everyone across the puddle - tomorrow morning.

Huh.. so ... They can lay eggs regardless the fertilization... They seem to be like mini-chickens. Heh.. Thanks both of you - I'm hoping though, that I've got a cock/hen pairing... I'd like to see the baby of a Valencian Figurita (with crest) and a Domestic Show Flight (with crest)... Cross your fingers! It'd be an oddly double crested offspring I hope.. !

When pigeons lay eggs, am I right to assume they are different from ducks and chickens? Chickens and ducks, upon reaching an age, will just lay and lay and lay. Are pigeons the same, or ar they like Budgerigars (Parakeets), who only lay when bred? And - if this is the wrong forum, I apologize, I'm still learning to navigate to the correct board now that general is gone. ^^; Thanks to all, and I hope you have wonderful days.. I'm off to my choir class!

Unfortunately the bird died over this weekend before I could get him in to the biology professor on my college campus. She told me I could bring him in and she would check out his lump, and see if there was anything we could do about his wing.. But, the fellow passed on during a rain "storm" we had on Saturday. In a sense I feel like he was better off, as he was wild and IMO if his wing couldn't heal - he'd imprint on me. Not something that would be good for him.. So I guess his death was both a benefit and a loss. Reh... Well, that's a closed case now. Thanks all for the suggestions and advice.