The recovery of Pedigree pigeons after breeding

Do Pedigree pigeons have to recover after breeding?

The subtitle is only related to pigeons kept for breeding. Not to pigeons that are still in flight training during the breeding period.

At a pigeon breeder meeting there was a widespread discussion about the recovery of breeding pigeons after breeding. There was one opinion that 2 broods are enough, otherwise the recovery period would be too short for the pigeons. Does a pigeon need 9 months for recovery? Another big subject was vitamins and recovery drugs of all kinds before and after the breeding. Is this all necessary, are our pigeons “softies” or is it exaggerated? Let’s take a look at the street pigeons, of whom most live as “wild animals”. (For 26 years now I care for the pigeonries in the city of Basel). Because of that I have quite an insight in the life of street pigeons. In the pigeonries of the city of Basel there are only mineral stones for the pigeons, which they use infrequently. They receive neither food nor water in the pigeonry! They live almost as “wild pigeons”.

Below I have listed the differences between the breeding of Pedigree pigeons and street pigeons, highlighting the 7 steps of breeding.

Pedigree pigeons*Street pigeons
Finding a mate
Is usually cared for by the breeder*Have to fight against rivals
Paarung

They are often disturbed by other pigeon males

*

They have the opportunity to find a quiet spot for pairing

Niestplatz
Is provided by the breeder.The breeder locks the rival away when fights occur.* A good nest location is mandatory for a successful brood and raising the young. These spots are popular and so it often leads to fights between rivals, also during the brood and raising of the young.
Nest location
The breeder puts a nesting bowl into the cells. Sometimes the bowl is packed in paper so it doesn't get any nesting material even though they would love to carry halms and twings into their cells. * This is another important point for a successful brood. If not enough nesting material is put on the nest the eggs might roll away or the young don't have a good grip and may get deformed legs. A good pigeon nest can consist of about a 100 nesting materials. A pais needs several days to finish a nest.
Brooding
Normally thosw 18 days are a queit time. * There is always the danger that another male pigeon tries to rape the brooding female pigeon or to conquer the nest. Many broods and young get destroyed this way.
Raising of the young
The food is only 2-3m away from cell, same with the water and minerals. There is often the risk that the breeding pigeons get too much food and neglect the feeding of the young. * When the young are 5 days old the stress begins for the street pigeons! From now on there has to be more food every day. The food is often miles away from the nest and when they have all the food they need to search for water, which is often in another area altogehter.
The young leave the nest
When the young are around 30days old they are put in a different area in the pigeonry by the breeder and the brood is finished for the parents. * Now it is the job of the male pigeon to show the young how life on the street can be managed and simultaneously he starts to build a new nest and everything starts from the beginning.

These 7 points show the differences between pedigree pigeons and street pigeons. One has to add that our pigeons get the best diet, which cannot be said about the street pigeons. Despite that the street pigeons manage more than 5 broods a year and raise their young successfully. They are also often brooding during the moult. On top of that in the 9 pigeonries that exist in Basel the pigeons breed very differently. There are pigeonries where no egg is laid after November. In other pigeonries they breed for 12 months straight, of course not all pairs, but most of them.

I am absolutely convinced that for the largest part of the Pedigree pigeons the breeding period is not stressful but the most pleasant time. They are always occupied and never bored.

Walter Stettler CH Binningen www.flugtippler.ch

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