-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
Bruce Perens Fri, 09 May 2008 12:42:22 PDT Science
-
While people are worrying about how to plant vegetable gardens for self-sufficiency, why not a Dovecote? The self-sufficient country estate had one to raise hundreds of pigeons for eggs and squab dinner. They ate the young ones - full sized, not yet able to fly, about 1.5 months old.
-
The city pigeons probably don't have such a healthy diet, and who knows what sorts of rat poison, etc., they're eating, but this doesn't seem that much different from urban fishing, which provides some borderline-unsafe dinners for many poor people. If you live in the country, they're probably fine.
I wonder how much land it takes to support a pigeon?
-
-
-
-
-
- farm pigeons
-
zogger Fri, 09 May 2008 12:57:17 PDT
- When I was a kid one day out in the sticks I noticed the wild rural pigeons were out in the same fields eating the same stuff the pheasants were eating. "Hmmmm" goes hungry teenager I. A quick trip back to the house for a shotgun gave me the evidence that they are quite tasty. Usually they are classed as pests, similar to starlings or english sparrows, so no bag limits or seasons most places, which makes it handy.. So I imagine the homegrown ones are as good. Flying birds are a hassle to raise, we *just* got done a few minutes ago moving out some baby chickens and our small quail flock to new outdoor housing I built (we had them up in the greenhouse for warmth). The quail are a lot more hassle, they have to be fully enclosed, already lost a bunch when we first got them and some escaped. Some I was able to recapture, others, not so lucky, one of the dogs caught them *chomp* *swallow* "one bite snacks".
-
-
-
-
-
- farm pigeons
-
Bruce Perens Fri, 09 May 2008 13:04:52 PDT
-
Hungry teenager, eh? Did you cook them first? :-)
We have had wild turkeys visiting the street (next to Tilden Park) for the past few years. I wonder if we'll start to see ilicit trapping and hunting. Lots of California quail, too. But of course we're getting the natural hunters too. We used to have coyotes, but they got parvo or moved their pack elsewhere. Bobcat sighting about a mile from here, California Lion (mountain lion) perhaps 5 miles away. Bears are getting to Marin, but not here yet.
-
-
-
-
-
- farm pigeons
-
Thomas Lord Fri, 09 May 2008 14:45:17 PDT
-
No kidding! You got turkeys, too?
There's a flock (right word?) that likes to hang out (afaict) near college and that have wondered down into our yard and about the neighborhood. Now, that might not sound so impressive but, as you know, first, these guys are huge. Second, our yard has pretty seriously high fences. You wouldn't expect these flightless buggers to get in. Flightless they may well be but, 15' jumpers? Oh, you bet. (6-8' for the fences. A solid 15 to get on a neighboring roof.) They're fun to observe as they graze. I don't know the right gender terms for these things but, let's say, "cocks and hens". In all senses, the cocks are indeed turkeys. "Hey, babe. How 'bout now? No? Ok, How 'bout now?" lather, rinse, repeat.
The recent spate of wildcats around here (it's all around) can't be much but a damn bad sign of habitat pressure.
-t
-
-
-
-
-
- farm pigeons
-
D. Hensley Fri, 09 May 2008 17:40:29 PDT
-
True story:
As a teenager I worked for a small (one man type) company that did artificial insemination for turkey farms...
The thing is that the semen must be gathered... So my job was to catch and hold a Tom so the guy could use his hand and induce the Tom to part with the desired substance.
Let me tell you catching and holding a full grown Tom Turkey is one difficult task... the first time.
After that they tend to knock you down trying to make your acquaintance again...
You really can't imagine the nightmares I had as a young man...
Don.
-
-
-
-
-
- farm pigeons
-
Thomas Lord Fri, 09 May 2008 18:38:35 PDT
-
Sadly, I probably can.
Why must you make me so sad?
:-)
-t
-
-
-
-
-
-
- farm pigeons
-
rubycodez Sat, 10 May 2008 09:49:32 PDT
-
at least you don't have it as bad as the other guy, he has to put Turkey Wanker (with Happy Ending) on his resume
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- farm pigeons
-
Bruce Perens Fri, 09 May 2008 13:12:38 PDT
- I guess that with a dovecote, the pigeons just take it as a good home and forage for themselves, and then once in a while someone comes in to collect some unfledged birds and guano. Or am I assuming too much?
-
-
-
-
-
- farm pigeons
-
Uncle Entity Fri, 09 May 2008 16:04:14 PDT
-
It's all in the homing instinct I think...
I was watching a show about pigeons a while back and apparently they keep a schedule. They fly from place to place at about the same time each day and either look for handouts or forage.
I think the trick would be to train them to hang out in the parks where they get fed so you would have nice fat pigeons...I've seen some pretty sketchy looking ones hanging around SF but maybe they'd fare better on that side of the bay.
Or just feed them, little guys can't eat all that much.
-
-
-
-
-
- Never raised pigeons or doves but I bet wild foraging plus some home feeding would work. Our cluckeraptors do that, forage during the day, then early evening I feed them surplus (to me) commercial broiler feed and lock them back in the coop and run area. Their forage area is ~ 3/4 acre we fenced in with chicken mesh over 4 inch square wire fencing (that was up first for the beefers). They do much better if they get to forage, eggs are better, their feathers stay cleaner and they don't molt as much, less mortality, overall healthier. More of a bother to get the eggs though, a lot of the hens will go out and nest and lay eggs in the weeds, so you have to go easter egg hunting a couple times a day. Not a bad job though, sorta fun...
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
mcrbids Fri, 09 May 2008 13:10:59 PDT
-
Yes yes yes!
But, why a small bird instead of a chicken? Chickens are cheap - $0.25 at the local feed store for chicks. We've recently started raising chickens, and we're finding that lots of our garbage becomes henfood. They eat just about anything, rotten or not, meat, plant, vegetable, bugs, melon rinds, seeds, burnt rice, ancient freezer 'mystery meats', you name it.
They also are real good for clearing fields - our back yard, with its 4' tall weeds is being stripped bare as I write this by a small flock of about 20 chickens rooting around in a mobile 'chicken run' made of 2x4s and cheap chicken wire.
Go chickens!
-
-
-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
Bruce Perens Fri, 09 May 2008 13:14:15 PDT
- Well, sure chickens. I think the main difference with pigeons is that they forage for themselves.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
Bhima Fri, 09 May 2008 13:42:31 PDT
-
The only problem with chickens is that many, many suburbanites are militantly and irrationally against chickens.
What's in between chickens and pigeons? Pheasants?
I wonder if those would generate such angst...
-
-
-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
Thomas Lord Fri, 09 May 2008 14:48:57 PDT
-
Not to jinx anything but in the bay area there's a modest current of vogue for urban chicken raising. Now, when I lived next to the peacocks and their early morning songs -- that was a little rough :-)
"Doctor, doctor: my brother thinks he's a chicken!"
"Why didn't you bring him in? You need to help him."
"Well, we would. But we need the eggs."
-t
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
rubycodez Fri, 09 May 2008 14:50:20 PDT
- with chickens it's the smell (speaking of for suburban setting), had one relative outside of city limits in downstate illinois get into chickens and the coop was too close to the house. glad when they got rid of it and went back to plant farming alone. in my wife's country the people let their chickens just roam by day but they know where they live because they (usually) come home to roost, heh. of course, that also makes for the origin of the bouts of influenza that go round the world
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
Alan Fri, 09 May 2008 19:55:02 PDT
- Here in rural Hong Kong many older residents used to keep chickens. Mostly inoffensive, except rooster crowing at 5 AM. But a couple of years ago with a chicken flu scare, keeping domestic chickens was banned. Too bad for the pensioners who used to get their eggs and occasional chicken dinner.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
Simon Sat, 10 May 2008 15:49:05 PDT
-
In the UK pigeons seem to have the irrational hatred.
On the other hand people like pea-fowl - bigger than chickens and you can sell the feathers for more - but they are noisy creatures to keep, and I'm guessing expensive to buy.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
Richard Sexton Fri, 09 May 2008 19:42:11 PDT
-
There's wild turkeys in abundance here. And ducks and as of last week a pair of Canada geese settled in the back yard. Somebody around here has a peacock as of last night; they were wild in Palos Verdes when I lived there and you never forget the sound of a peacock.
Pedgeons I'm not convinced are worth the hassle. Chickens would seem to make sense and I'm toying with the idea of getting some. I live on a couple of acres in the country and letting them roam is out, I'm too close to the road, plus racoons here kill them for fun.
How far away from the house do they need to be so they don't stink?
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Is There a Future for the Dovecote?
-
President4242 Fri, 09 May 2008 15:41:26 PDT
-
I wonder if you can trap them in crab traps? Found out these were a great way to catch neighborhood cats one day when I came home in the rain and didn't feel like removing the excess bait....
-
-
-
-
-
