Although the breeding of pigeons may be a little less certain than that of other birds, it must be meticulously planned. Some fanciers, particularly those who have a thorough knowledge of genetics, plan their mating's as much as two or three years ahead to make sure that things goads they would like them to. But for every fancier, a study of his previous breeding's will show which family of birds has tendency to be breeders and which successful racers.Many things need to be taken into account when selecting birds for mating, but try to pair those which are physically suitable. Do not use extremely different types. For example,you will not necessarily achieve success by pairing a very large bird with a very small bird in the hope that you are going to strike a happy medium. It would take many years even for an advanced geneticist to be sure of doing that. Nor is the mating of very long birds to very short-breasted birds to be encouraged. The continual mating of birds which have a tendency to be oversized should also be avoided, as should the mating of extra-small ones. And one must keep one's eyes open to make sure that body size does not deteriorate, which often happens where fanciers practice too frequent and too close inbreeding .However, having said all this, you will always find exceptions to the rules.
It has already been said that every bird in your loft should be an individual to you, so never let the number of birds rise beyond your capabilities of management; keep the numbers small enough to note each bird separately. There has been tendency in recent years for fanciers to breed larger and larger teams of young birds, and many of them are failing to make the grade and win prizes because of this reliance on numbers rather than on individual quality and individual attention.Only by careful observation and study will you learn the characteristics of the birds in your loft, and when you see these traits, don't rely on memory; write them down, including in your notes any faults you find. It is this learning in detail about each bird that makes pigeon fancying so fascinating.
Having studied your birds and decided on the actual couples you would like to see together, it is necessary actually to mate the pairs. The nest-boxes must now be the pigeons 'homes, and it is preferable to allow the male birds to become accustomed to their nest-boxes first and well before the time of mating. With this in mind, I allow the cocks to occupy the nesting section of the loft during the winter period when the sexes are parted and, ANSI never keep more birds than I have nest accommodation for,there are no perches in this section of the loft at that time.Each cock bird therefore soon sorts out for himself one of the nest-boxes, and will protect it against any other bird who may try to take it from him.
When the cocks have settled to their boxes - and if you adopt the method outlined above they will have had considerable time to do so - each hen should be introduced to its particular nest-box in a quiet manner. The fancier must now watch quietly in the loft to observe whether the couples appear to be taking to each other. Such observation is essential to make sure the hens do not suffer from over-attention on the part of the cock. There is not usually much problem in this respect, but some cocks are so boisterous or even vicious that unless you take steps to stop their over-exuberance, which can approach pugnacity, the hen can suffer severe damage around the head or to the eyes. If the problem does occur, it is usually when an older cock bird which has been mated for several seasons to a particular hen is introduced to a new partner; it can also happen with over-excitable yearling birds mated for the first time. It is then best to remove the hen bird, or alternatively to place a transparent partition in the nest-box so that the birds can see each other but not make direct contact .Usually after a short period they will settle with each other quite well. Sometimes a block of wood or two bricks are needed in the nest-box to give the hen a refuge from the cock's attack. Even if the hen is quite amorous, some cocks will regard a new hen as an intruder to be ejected forthwith; having defended the box all winter it takes them some days to tolerate the presence of a mate.
The next step is to encourage the hen to become accustomed to the position of her nest-box in the loft. To achieve this it is advisable to open one nest-box at a time and allow a pair of birds out into the loft for just a few minutes. You will usually find that the cock bird, after a very short period, will fly back to his nest-box and the hen will follow at his call. During the next few days you will find that you will be able to open two or three boxes together, possibly one in each tier of boxes. You can help prevent birds entering the wrong one by staggering the position of the nesting-bowls in the boxes, having them alternately on the upper and lower sections and on different sides. Once the birds have settled down on their first eggs, you should have no problems.
When the eggs are laid, generally around ten days from the pairing date, and the birds begin the incubation period, do not disturb them unnecessarily but let them carry on their sitting in as quiet an atmosphere as possible. You will be able to obtain a peep at the eggs when the birds leave the nest to feed,or when they change over on the nest, and feel all the satisfaction which comes from a mating successfully completed.
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