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Here are our answers to some of the common and frequently asked questions that were receive. If you have one that isn’t addressed here, feel free to email us and we will try to answer it here.
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At what age do you band the youngsters? - It varies a little (based on the temperature and how well the parents are feeding them) but it is generally at day 7 or 8. The leg has to be big enough to keep the band from slipping off but not so big that it is a struggle to get it on the leg. I put a little hand lotion (Vaseline works well too) on the leg and toes when applying the band to keep from injuring the tissue. If you make a mistake and the youngster gets too big, you can sometimes get the band on if you use WD40 or glycerin. Hint: always come back 24 hours later and make sure the band is still on the leg. Sometimes if you put it on just a few hours too early, it will slip off and if you don't discover the fact within a day or so, the leg will grow too fast for the band to be reapplied. The band is generally put on up-side-down (e.g. the numbers are seen as up-side-down when the bird is standing) so that it can be easily read when holding the pigeon. This is because when we race we have to read the band when putting the bird into the shipping baskets. It doesn't really matter which leg you band, but it is a good idea to always do the same leg - this just makes it easier down the road with various pigeon handling tasks.
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How many times a day do they need to be fed? - Ideally, you should feed them twice a day (not much though, since you do not want to overfeed and get them fat). If your work schedule is such that you can only feed once a day, this will work. I prefer to have breeders with youngsters on full feed (meaning they have feed available at all times).
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How much do I feed? - It really depends on the condition of each bird. Age, fitness, breeding situation and the amount of flying they are doing will affect how much they should be fed. Handle your birds regularly to make sure they are getting enough feed, but not enough to get fat. In general that is about 1 ounce of a well balanced grain mixture per day. One effective way is to feed them all they want and then remove the feed after 20 minutes. Measure before and after and you will get a good indication of what the right amount is for your particular situation. Fat birds don’t race well and can have breeding problems. One exception - I prefer to have feed available at all times for pairs that have youngsters. all they want to eat
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What do I feed? - Books have been written trying to answer this question. Click here for details on what we do. In general, feed a good quality commercial grain mix (16% protein) that is regularly supplemented with vitamins, minerals and probiotics. Clean fresh water should be available at ALL times.
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