getting into pigeons... book/website recommendations?

[Ben Brewcat]

I'm considering trying my hand at pigeons. Mainly for pets, with a possible eye towards squabs and homing (non-competitive). Can anyone recommend a good starting-out reference along the "for dummies" line (complete enough for a want-the-details guy but tuned for beginners)?

[Dreyadin]

You're in CO.. there is a racing pigeon club out this way. They seem like rather nice guys and probably a great means to getting started. My 12 yr. old daughter found a racing pigeon walking home from a friend's house and brought him home before it was discovered by the local cats. We found the number to one of the members online to try to find the owner (the bird was exhausted).. turns out the 1st person we called.. it was his bird! (released months ago in Topeka! It got lost coming home.)

He was an older gentleman.. very very nice. Try contacting the club, if the other members are like him, you are in excellent hands. Worst case they can point you in the right direction for this hobby or be a good contact for starting stock.

Here's a link for phone numbers to CO racing clubs Good luck to ya!

Here's another for the pigeon hobby.

[Ben Brewcat]

Much obliged Dreyadin. Looks like I'm a sucker for these "old guy" hobbies .

[Dreyadin]

LOL I didn't mean it like that!

Although it is a definite bonus to that hobby if you get bored, because they suddenly go from pigeons to squab! I'm just saying.. not something you could get away with if it were dogs, cats, or goldfish...

[Swobee]

Part of my business plan for spring 2012 is to get into squab pigeons. A local gentleman here is getting out of the business/hobby. He has raised them for 47 years and he is my book! I will be talking to him in a few days and if I don't forget, will ask his take on what books to avoid or are necessary. He's not into sport pigeons, but meat. He claims the pigeon hobby pays for all his other hobbies. He ships them to the east coast and other markets here in the Midwest, but is not into racing.

[power napper]

I tried pidgeons a several years ago but it was not my thing, at least I tried.

My Dad always talked about "Squab On Toast" while I was growing up, so I had to try it for that reason.

Dads family raised chickens, rabbits, pidgeons etc as well as catching snapping turtles for soup, just like everyone else doing the hard times.

Squab must be one of those "acquired" tastes or badly needed source of protein in my opinion or perhaps it was just not prepared properly.

Hope you have great success with endeavor.

[cow pollinater]

We had great fun with rollers for a few years. They are super easy. I don't have a book to offer but try eggbid.com. I bought alot of birds there pretty cheap that were great birds. The people that I dealt with there were always willing to share information. It's set up kind of like ebay so you can pick out people with good feedback to get information from.

[kbenz]

how long does it take a homing pigeon to consider his new home as home?

[Swobee]

Not to hijack the thread, but a friend was into the rollers and they were quite a fun thing to watch. The local hawks pretty well took care of the flock in a bad way, so he decided to stop raising them. I guess there are so many methods of pigeon to raise - squab, racing, homing, rollers. Should keep an old man busy!

[Ben Brewcat]

how long does it take a homing pigeon to consider his new home as home?

There's a training process, involving progressive free-flights and then further and further releases. Competitive trainers have some pretty serious training regimens, but (at least for homers) you're just building on a well-developed instinct.

I am interested in squab too... we're trying to steer our flesh consumption more into game each year.