Contact The Breeder
Larry Narcisse: BS Animal Husbandry, MS Wildlife Biology
512-388-4641, LNARCISSE@AUSTIN.RR.COM
 
 







Pigeon Requirements for Good Health
  • Clean pure water. Don't give them water you would not drink yourself.  Protect water from contamination.  Add 3/4 tablespoon of regular bleach to a gallon of water to maintain good health.  Give vitamins with probiotics in pH 5 water twice a week (don't add bleach to water when giving vitamins & probiotics). You can buy pH strips online to test and adjust water pH (use apple cider vinegar as the acid additive if needed).
  • Dry nesting material.  Remove and replace wet nesting material immediately.   Check nest daily!
  • Healthy dry feed with 13-16% protein.  I feed a mixture of 25% peas, 15% corn, 35% milo or wheat and 25% chicken lay pellets or game bird pellets.  Increase corn to 25-35%  and decrease milo in winter.  Do not feed moldy grain!!!  Feed pigeon grit (not chicken grit) at least twice a week. 
  • Protection from predators.  Good housing is the key!! 
  • Dry housing.  Lofts and coops should face south to provide needed sunshine.  Allow for the free flow of fresh air for you birds, but protect them from drafts, heat, and rain. Allow a minimum of 5 sq. ft. per nesting pair in the loft.  In a loft 8' x 8' x 8'  no more than 15-20 pairs. Don't crowd your birds!!
  • Eradicate internal & external parasites (Ivermectin or Moxidectin drench {in proper eye-drop dosages} & Permethrin in the right dipping concentration). You may need to dip twice in two weeks.
  • Two nest per pair.  Clean  nests as needed, add fresh hay/pine straw. 
  • Recommended reading: Squab Health by Dr. Rob Marshall; Pigeon Health  by Dr. Rob Marshall (I have the last 3 new copies of Dr. Marshall's Squab Health  & Pigeon Health  books for sale, they are out of print): Making Pigeons Pay   by Wendell Levi.