AboutStacie G. Expertise I can answer questions related to health, care, behavior, and breeding. If you have an emergency situation, please take it to a veterinarian with avian experience. Unfortunately I do not know much about actually racing pigeons, but I do show exhibition king pigeons.
Experience I have raised pigeons for approximately 12 years now. I got started in the hobby by rescuing an injured feral when I was 12 years old and successfully rehabilitated him. Unfortunately, he was not releasable and so I kept him until he passed about two years ago. From that feral, I actually realized that pigeons were great companions and I had dismissed any previous misconceptions I had heard about them.
Now I am focusing my attention to the show king although I do have a few racing homers, utility kings, and MFC helmets.
Organizations National Pigeon Association
American King Club
Education/Credentials Mainly self-taught with my own experiences, but I have supplemented my knowledge with books and information from NPA and AKC.
Awards and Honors Numerous Best of Breed and Reserve of Breed in 4-H shows; Two Best in Shows acquired while in 4-H. (7 years ago!)
Best of Show and Reserve of Show in county fair
Expert: Stacie G. Date: 7/19/2008 Subject: Baby Pigeons Disappear
Question I live in an apartment building on the third floor and have a porch. In June, a pigeon made a nest in an empty planter of mine and laid two eggs and the whole process has gone normally; the pigeons hatched around July 4 and the parents have taken care of them both regularly. It's been really rewarding to watch. Well today when I went to check on them, now about two weeks old, I see the planter/nest and both babies are completely gone. After some investigation I found the planter in an empty dumpster, but no babies anywhere. Obviously someone just decided they didn't want them there and got rid of them. I am absolutely devastated and angry. I wonder if it was management and why someone could discard these birds so easily? All that said, my question is will the doting parents suffer as they try to find their nests and babies? Do they have such memories and/or emotions?
Answer Hello Jolene,
I am very sorry to hear of this incidence! Unfortunately, not everyone is fond of pigeons. They consider them pests and disease carriers and it very well might have been management that got rid of them. Can anyone have access to your porch? The parents may come back looking for their nest and babies and may even sit around in the area where the nest was located, but they very quickly realize that they are gone. Soon after, they may decide to start another nest nearby and raise more babies. It may take them a couple of hours to realize this, but they soon forget. Are there any other dumpsters in the area? I just want to know what happened to them, as this is very sad.
