My Flight of Pigeons at the Farm
After a brief summer shower, it's nice to see my pigeons outside their dovecote enjoying the cool breezes.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, I keep a small group of pigeons - Homers, Tipplers, Tumblers, as well as one of the oldest breeds, the Syrian Damascene. They live in a pen adjacent to my peafowl yard and across from my stable. Pigeons have been domesticated for thousands of years and have been kept by people worldwide for their companionship, their sport, and their loyal service. Caring for these birds is a nice way to pay tribute to these fascinating and intelligent creatures.
Enjoy these photos.
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- My Bedford flock started with 10-pairs of birds, which included breeds such as Dunn Tipplers, Egyptian Swifts, Damascenes, and Isabella Tipplers. Many of the birds were featured in the well known New York City “Fly by Night” performance by artist Duke Riley and were members of Duke’s personal flight. Others were borrowed or rescued from pigeon fanciers for the performance. Since I first acquired them in 2017, we’ve also hatched babies right here at the farm.
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- Fancy pigeons are domesticated varieties of the wild rock dove, bred by pigeon fanciers for size, shape, color, and behavior.
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- They love to perch atop the branches waiting for visitors. We “planted” this tree inside their enclosure. Pigeons have excellent hearing. They can detect sounds at far lower frequencies than humans, and can hear distant storms and volcanoes.
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- Their entire pen is well protected from aerial predators. Here, one can see the protective fencing above. An adult pigeon is about 13 inches in length and can weigh up to 20 ounces. I am glad this enclosure is very safe.
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- I provide many different types of perches in each of my bird yards. We hung this swing from the top of the enclosure not far from their dovecote.
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- There is also a wide all-natural ladder made right here at the farm.
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- All my birds have several bowls of fresh, clean water inside and outside their coops – it’s so important to always provide the cleanest water for all my pets. Their food and water supplies are checked a few times a day.
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- The pigeons are housed behind one side of my Linden Allee and right next to my peafowl pen. Their dovecote is the perfect size for these fancy homing birds – painted, of course, with my signature “Bedford Gray.”
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- While most of the pigeons are perched on the roof, there are a handful nesting indoors. There is a group of nesting boxes against the back wall. Pigeons mate for life and both female and male pigeons share the responsibility of caring for and raising their young. They take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the chicks ‘pigeon milk’ – a special secretion from the lining of the crop which both sexes can produce.
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- On the other side, we made a second ladder. These ladders are built out of felled branches saved after storms or when trees are taken down.
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- Here’s another pigeon a couple steps higher on the ladder. This bird is a White Flying Homer – among the most famous pigeon breeds. Homers come in a variety of colors and have a remarkable ability to find their way home from very long distances. Although they love to roost, pigeons can fly at altitudes of 6000 feet or more. Pigeons can also fly at average speeds of up to 77 miles per hour.
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- Pigeons are very docile, gentle, and sweet-natured birds – everyone at the farm loves visiting them. This is an Almond Tippler. A pigeon’s diet contains about 50-percent grain crops, and 10-percent oilseed, rich in vitamins B and E. An average adult-sized pigeon can eat about 30-grams of food each day.
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- Pigeons are very observant and one of the most intelligent of all the bird species. These birds also have a remarkable capacity to recognize and remember many things.
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- This pigeon is perched on the narrow ledge in the dovecote. This is an Isabella Tippler. Tipplers are renowned for their endurance – they can remain in uninterrupted flight for long periods of time.
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- Do you know… a group of pigeons is called a flight or a flock. And a baby pigeon is called a squab. The two gray pigeons here are Dunn Tipplers.
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- Pigeons are thought to navigate by sensing the earth’s magnetic field and using the sun for direction. Other theories include the use of roads and even low-frequency seismic waves to find their way.
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- And like humans, pigeons can see in color, but they can also see ultraviolet light, a part of the spectrum that humans cannot see. As a result, pigeons are often used in search and rescue missions at sea.
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- Pigeons have side-mounted eyes. And because pigeons have monocular vision rather than binocular vision, they bob their heads when they move so they have depth perception.
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- Pigeons are very social animals. They will often be seen in flocks of 20 to 30 birds or even more.
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- And it’s true, “birds of a feather flock together.” Pigeons are able to make group decisions and compromises that benefit them in flight, allowing them to get to their destinations more quickly than if traveling alone.
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- These pigeons are watching all the farm activity from the roof of their coop. Today is expected to be very sunny with temperatures in the 70s here in the Northeast – another great day to be outdoors.
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