|
 F.A.Q
What is Pigeon
Racing?
What's the difference between a street pigeon
and a racing pigeon?
Do pigeons foul on my washing and windows?
I have a pigeon problem - what do I do about
it?
Please tell me more about breeding?
Why do you never see baby pigeons?
What do pigeons eat in the wild?
How do i look after a Pigeon?
Aren't homing pigeons extinct?
How does a homing pigeon know
where to go?
Are pigeons used to carry
messages, letters, or packages? Anything else?
What is a carrier pigeon?
How do you race a pigeon?
How fast do racing pigeons
fly?
How do you know which bird is
the winner?
How can I learn more about the
sport of racing pigeons?
Do I need some sort of license
or permit to keep homing pigeons?
Where can I get some pigeons?
Where can I buy pigeon
supplies?
Where can I get bands for my
pigeons?
What is Pigeon
Racing?
Pigeon racing is a
very old sport and has many fans around the world.
Pigeons have the ability to home from an unknown
destination over very long distances
(thousands of kilometers). Pigeon racing
clubs arrange events where in up to six thousand
Birds are transported in a large purpose built
air-conditioned lorry to release point and then
simultaneously set free. Each bird has a secret
numbered ring and when they return to their home,
the pigeon owner locks this into a special clock
which stamps the arrival time.
The breeding ,
feeding & training of race winning pigeons needs a
great deal of experience and knowledge. Good
racing pigeons are very valuable.
Pigeons some times
get lost or confused on their Homeward flights,
and increasingly they are killed by hawks and
other predators. Owners obviously wish to locate
their Lost pigeons, or to know that their bird has
been killed, for this purpose the website has been
created keeping in mind owners needs & specificity
What's the difference between a street pigeon
and a racing pigeon?
Street pigeons (feral) are often much dirtier and smaller than racing
thoroughbreds such as that on the right. Racing pigeons carry little or no
disease compared to ferals and as such, they pose no threat to humans. Parrots
carry more deadly diseases than pigeons do!
Do pigeons foul on my washing and windows?
No they don't! This is a common misconception. A pigeon always excretes waste
before taking off and never in flight like many wild birds do. If your windows
or washing have been fouled, it is more likely to be caused by sparrows or
starlings that do excrete a lot more than pigeons do.
I have a pigeon problem - what do I do about
it?
If you have a pair of pigeons nesting in an awkward place, the best thing to
do is see if they have laid eggs there. If so, simply remove their eggs and
place something where the nest is to block nesting opportunity. If on the other
hand the problem is much larger (such as flocks of pigeons causing problems)
then the best route is the exterminator. If you do not wish to do this, then try
fake owls or hawks - these sometimes do the trick. Make sure their food source
is stopped as many steal from bird tables and hanging feeders.
Please tell me more about breeding?
Pigeons in the wild breed from around March to September if the weather is
warm. They chase each other for 10 days and then the female lays 2 eggs in the
nest, one day apart. They then sit these for 18 days and they hatch into two
squeakers (babies) which are covered in yellow down hair. They rear their young
until about 4 weeks old and then they leave the nest and go wild themselves.
Pigeons in captivity can be induced to breed from as early as November right
through the year if necessary. During the first week of rearing, pigeons make a
soft milk which they regurgitate to their young before they pass onto harder
food.
Why do you never see baby pigeons?
This common question has a very simple answer - they look like adults when
they leave the nest! By the time they are 4 weeks old, they are completely
covered in feathers and are only distinguishable from older birds by their dull
eyes, smaller build and pointy pink beak.
What do pigeons eat in the wild?
Contrary to what most people think, pigeons are not carnivores! They don't
eat worms and insects like many people think, but prefer to eat corns such as
maize and pulses like peas. In the wild, they will eat virtually anything
offered to them because they are perpetually starving.
How do i look
after a Pigeon?
(1) A small bowl ( coffee cup size
) of water will suffice.
(2) The Pigeon will eat any type of bird seed or corn.
(3) a (temporary) 2'sqaure wire cage will work fine.
(4) Don't be afraid to handle the found pigeon.
(5) The Worst you can do is ruffle feathers.
(6) By the way, Pigeons don't bite -
Aren't homing pigeons extinct?
No. You
might be thinking of the passenger pigeon.
The passenger pigeon was a migratory bird that
numbered in the billions in eastern North America
in the early 1800's. The bird was hunted to
extinction for food and sport. The last known
passenger pigeon died on September 1, 1914 in Ohio
at the Cincinnati Zoo.
How does a homing pigeon know where to
go?
Despite
all of our modern advances in science, no one can
truly say exactly how homing pigeons know where to
go. Common theories are:
-
magnetic navigation:
pigeons possess a magnetic substance called
magnetite in their brains. It is suspected
that pigeons can detect the Earth's magnetic lines
of force to aid in their navigation. This would be
similar to using a compass to aid you on a
journey.The Japan Times Online published an
article (May 12, 2001) on the subject of iron
found in the ears of birds.
-
astronomical
navigation: A sailor using a sextant and a
watch can regard the position of the sun in
relation to the time of day and make a
determination of his geographic location. Perhaps
pigeons can do the same internally, without the
need for a physical sextant or clock.
-
smell and/or hearing:
This theory states that pigeons can hear sounds
much too low for people to hear. It is thought
that every area has its own unique sound, and the
birds have the ability to detect the sounds over a
distance. Others think that pigeons can smell
their home area from a great distance.
-
non-local
consciousness/psychic navigation:
Rupert Sheldrake,
among others, believe that pigeons have some sort
of non-local consciousness
connection with their home, owners, or mates.
It's
worth noting that experiments show that pigeons do
not seem to rely exclusively on any one method of
navigation. Experiments on pigeons in which they
were outfitted with frosted contact lenses still
showed that they could get very near their home
loft. Similar experiments with magnetic fields
showed the same results.
The
questions of how pigeons home still remains
largely unanswered.
Are pigeons used to carry messages,
letters, or packages? Anything else?
History,
both modern and ancient, has many example of
pigeons being used for the purposes of delivering
messages. Still today, some police departments in
India utilize official pigeon messengers to carry
interdepartmental communications. Iraq used
messenger pigeons as recently as the Gulf War. I
think the Swiss army still experiments with
messenger pigeons. The US Army Signal Corp had
it's own special pigeon messaging unit until the
1950's or so. A young Mr. Reuter (of Reuter's News
fame) made his fortune sending financial
information via messenger pigeon.
In
addition to carrying messages, pigeons have also
carried reconnaissance cameras, film, maps, etc.
Pigeons are used at this time by a white-water
rafting outrigger in Colorado to ferry undeveloped
film canisters in special backpacks down a
mountain so that printed photos can be purchased
by the outrigger's clients.
What is a carrier pigeon?
A
carrier pigeon is the same as a homing pigeon,
though this term may be applied more directly to a
pigeon which is employed to carry a message or
small package.
Please
note that there is a breed of fancy pigeon called
a "carrier." It is named for the way it carries
itself when walking and strutting.
How do you race a pigeon?
Very
simply, all the racing pigeons are put into a
specially designed truck, trailer, or rail car and
released at a predestinated point. The birds are
liberated and fly home to their respective home
lofts.
How fast do racing pigeons fly?
The
average airspeed of a racing pigeon is around 50
miles per hour. The actual ground speed can vary
based on the wind encountered. For example, a tail
wind may dramatically increase the ground speed,
and a head wind may significantly impede the
ground speed, but the air speed may remain fairly
constant.
How do you know which bird is the
winner?
Each
birds arrival is timed by a special racing clock,
thus recording the total amount of time lapsed
since liberation. Knowing the exact geographic
coordinates of both the release point and the home
loft, the exact distance flown can be computed.
Then taking the exact flight time into
consideration, the average speed can be computed.
The bird with the fastest average speed wins.
How can I learn more about the sport
of racing pigeons?
The
advanced topics of proper training and motivation
techniques take up countless volumes of books, and
is beyond the scope of this FAQ. I would highly
recommend to anyone interested in learning more
about the sport and hobby of homing pigeons to
first visit their local library and check out all
available books and videos about pigeons. In
addition to, or in place of a visit to the
library, you might find enough information on the
World Wide Web to satisfy your curiosity. Check
out my Links section for more web sites. If, after
this, you desire more information, make
arrangements to visit your local racing club.
Meeting with people face-to-face and visiting
lofts is, by far, the best way to make sure that
you truly want to get involved in the sport.
Many of
the national level pigeon organizations have
programs and information to help beginners get
started in the sport. You can get a list of some
national level pigeon organizations from my Links
Page. Visit their sites and request whatever
information packets they have available. I am a
member of the
American Racing Pigeon Union
and I know they have a form you can use to request
information. I am sure some of the other US
organizations do as well, but I am not familiar as
much with them.
Do I need
some sort of license or permit to keep homing
pigeons?
It's always wise to
check with your local government before jumping
into the sport/hobby of homing pigeons. Perhaps
your local codes and ordinances are online. Maybe
you can check with the members of your local
pigeon club.
In my city there is no
code or ordinance on anything relating to the
keeping of homing pigeons. Yet, in the county
adjacent to mine, a fancier had to work with the
county government to establish an ordinance
favorable to the keeping of pigeons.
Where can I
get some pigeons?
Many people sell
pigeons. Some people give them away. If you join a
healthy, competitive club, you may have people
willing to help you get staretd by giving you some
decent breeding stock and/or young birds to train
and race.
If you want to obtain
some pigeons, start locally. Ask for or buy birds
that have been bred and raced in your local area. There are many sites
operated by breeders. I don't know any of them
personally, and haven't yet bought birds from any,
so I can't really recommend them. You can get a
list of such sites from my Links Page.
Where can I
buy pigeon supplies?
Items like medicines,
vaccines, water and feed dispensers, training
baskets, racing clocks, and many more are
available at special supply houses that cater to
the sport and hobby of keeping pigeons.
A partial list follows:
This list is by no means
complete. View my links for more equipment and
supplies.
Where can I
get bands for my pigeons?
Permanent, seamless
identification bands, also called rings in some
places, are required for racing and showing of
pigeons. Bands are usually assigned and issued
when you pay your dues to your local club each
year. Even if you do not race or show, having
permanent ID bands is a good idea, as it allows
you to more accurately keep an inventory of your
birds.
If you are independent
of a particular club, you may purchase bands from
a supplier such as the ones listed above in the
question on supplies. In some cases, you can order
custom bands with the markings of your choosing.
Apart from the
permanent, seamless identification bands, you can
also get temporary marking bands which snap or
twist on to the bird's leg. These are usually
color coded, but can sometimes bear numbers.
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Arabian
Pigeon Club