Any ideas??????

[mart]

am new to pigeon racing and my firt time paring up.  have paired my stock birds up now for about a month, most have paired up but have not taken a nest box.  the few that have taken one seem to have taken over 2 or 3 spare nest boxes as well leaving the others with no where to nest.   i have tried locking the other nest boxes up for a few days but as soon as there open i am back to square one.

 

any ideas ?

 

 

[Guest ROCKYandRAMBO]

lock every pair in the box and just let one pair out at a time for a couple of days so they get to know where to go and where they carnt go , then after a couple of days of doing this let two pairs out at a time keep doing this process until all pairs are out , or other thing to do is put some bowls on the floor in corners with bits of wood ect to make a dark nest and the birds will use these might be better as you are going to get fights did you let the cocks settle on there own in the section before putting the hens in and have you got any eggs yet ?

[Guest]

good advice off"rocky n rambo" work with that and you wont go far wrong.   andy.

[mart]

lock every pair in the box and just let one pair out at a time for a couple of days so they get to know where to go and where they carnt go , then after a couple of days of doing this let two pairs out at a time keep doing this process until all pairs are out , or other thing to do is put some bowls on the floor in corners with bits of wood ect to make a dark nest and the birds will use these might be better as you are going to get fights did you let the cocks settle on there own in the section before putting the hens in and have you got any eggs yet ?

 

thanks, i have 2 sets of eggs already from the pairs that have got the nest boxes.  

 

 

[Guest ROCKYandRAMBO]

id be inclined to put some bowls on the floor then and make some dark corners with boards of wood as you dont want to upset them to much now as you might get fights and smashed eggs

[mart]

id be inclined to put some bowls on the floor then and make some dark corners with boards of wood as you dont want to upset them to much now as you might get fights and smashed eggs

 

thanks i was told to take some of the perches down in there so they have to have a nest box to land on but this seems to be causing more fighting with a few of the younger cocks being pushed around

 

[Guest ROCKYandRAMBO]

yes i wouldnt do this not now you have eggs i think it will be best to do like i say and put bowls on the floor in the corners or make tempary boxers in the corner out of cardboard boxes ect

[Guest IB]

An alternative suggestion: you should lock up the offenders, not the victims. Birds tossed out of their boxes will lose confidence. They need to know that its theirs ~ and you gave them it. The others need to know that too, you're the boss, not them. Will be difficult if offenders are on eggs, when the cock is sitting you need to lock him up till hen comes to spell him; let others run free during that time. When he's spelled, and out, if he goes to another box, remove him and lock him up again. He'll soon get the message.

 

You'll also need eyes in the back of your head till things settle down.

 

Hope things settle down quickly for you.

[mart]

An alternative suggestion: you should lock up the offenders, not the victims. Birds tossed out of their boxes will lose confidence. They need to know that its theirs ~ and you gave them it. The others need to know that too, you're the boss, not them. Will be difficult if offenders are on eggs, when the cock is sitting you need to lock him up till hen comes to spell him; let others run free during that time. When he's spelled, and out, if he goes to another box, remove him and lock him up again. He'll soon get the message.

 

You'll also need eyes in the back of your head till things settle down.

 

Hope things settle down quickly for you.

 

thanks, all the offenders are on eggs typical!!!  

was thinkning of taking all perches down moving all hens that havnt a box or layed  into spare loft(which i didnt have before) and letting cocks fight it out until they have a nestbox for them selves?  

[Guest Hjaltland]

I've learned this lesson the hard way, smashed eggs, bleeding heads and threadbare temper. Not only the cocks can be aggressive, the hens can also.

 

I lock the pairs in their own boxes initially, having watched to see which cocks perch on them during the previous few weeks. The pairs are held in those boxes for a couple of days and fed and watered in those boxes. Then pairs are let out in small groups over a few days to feed and drink and return to their boxes, this repeated until all are settled. This takes a bit of time over a week or two but it is worth it.

 

Once all the eggs are laid then the cocks stop driving their hens and quieten down and things become easier. The worst offenders can be yearling cocks who can be a very disruptive until they settle. The older birds should have their boxes from previous year if possible - it's amazing how long they remember where they have been housed - especially the hens. (women seem to have longer memories then us blokes - am I correct in this observation? :X)

 

Dont let a cock take charge of more than his own box if you are operating with the neat number of nest boxes. A bolshie cock will take over a whole top row if given half a chance, which is good if he performs well as a result of having to look after several properties but not good if your other pairs are decamped to the floor.

 

Ennyhoo, all da best.

[Guest ROCKYandRAMBO]

if its the stock loft why worry about them taking boxes just let them nest where they want to nest , most important thing is that they breed and you have got pairs on eggs so you carnt really mess about with them now as you will get smashed eggs