Pigeon keeping: Difference between revisions
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| format =Web Article| accessdate =2008-01-05 }}</ref> This alergy has caused many fanciers to give up their pigeons.<ref>{{cite web| title =Pigeon Lung| publisher =British Pigeon Fanciers Medical Research| url =http://www.pigeon-lung.co.uk/main.html#| format =Web Article| accessdate =2008-01-05 }}</ref> |
| format =Web Article| accessdate =2008-01-05 }}</ref> This alergy has caused many fanciers to give up their pigeons.<ref>{{cite web| title =Pigeon Lung| publisher =British Pigeon Fanciers Medical Research| url =http://www.pigeon-lung.co.uk/main.html#| format =Web Article| accessdate =2008-01-05 }}</ref> |
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Pigeon keepers have been know to help each other out in times of need as shown in October 2007 when a pigeon fanciers loft and birds were destroyed in a fire. Fellow enthusiasts from all over the county united to help him rise from the ashes in time for the start of the racing season. The West Cumberland Racing Pigeon Federation put up £2,000 for a new loft while other pigeon fanciers helped stock it up by donating 32 birds.<ref>{{cite web| title =Bird-lovers rally round to help blaze victim John, 72 | publisher =Whitehaven News | url =http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/leisure/viewarticle.aspx?id=592482 | format =Web article |
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The artist [[Zina Saunders]] has painted portraits of New York pigeon keepers as part of her ''Overlooked New York'' project.<ref>{{cite web |
The artist [[Zina Saunders]] has painted portraits of New York pigeon keepers as part of her ''Overlooked New York'' project.<ref>{{cite web |
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| last =Saunders| first = Zina| title =Rooftop Pigeon Coop Guys |
| last =Saunders| first = Zina| title =Rooftop Pigeon Coop Guys |
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Revision as of 06:53, 13 February 2008
Pigeon keeping is the art and science of looking after domestic pigeons. Pigeons were domesticated around ten thousand years ago.[1] People who are breeders of pigeons are commonly referred to as pigeon fanciers.[2] The keeping of pigeons has been described as one of the most fascinating hobbies in the world.[3] Pigeons can be kept in a dovecote or in a pigeon coop or a pigeon loft. While they were once a valuable source of meat, in the United Kingdom this use faded away in the early 19th Century, and they increasingly were kept for pigeon racing or for the breeding of Fancy pigeons.[4] This breeding of pigeons to develop and perpetuate features, which can be interesting or decorative as well as practical, particularly interested Charles Darwin, and he took up pigeon breeding while developing his theory of natural selection to explain the process of evolution.[5] Keeping pigeons has been found to cause a condition called pigeon fanciers lung in some susceptible fanciers.[6] This alergy has caused many fanciers to give up their pigeons.[7] Pigeon keepers have been know to help each other out in times of need as shown in October 2007 when a pigeon fanciers loft and birds were destroyed in a fire. Fellow enthusiasts from all over the county united to help him rise from the ashes in time for the start of the racing season. The West Cumberland Racing Pigeon Federation put up £2,000 for a new loft while other pigeon fanciers helped stock it up by donating 32 birds.[8] The artist Zina Saunders has painted portraits of New York pigeon keepers as part of her Overlooked New York project.[9]
Types of pigeons kept
- Homing pigeons are trained to participate in pigeon racing and were used to carry messages during war.
- Fancy pigeons are pigeons which are specially bred to perpetuate particular features. Their owners compete them against each other at exhibitions or pigeon shows and judges decide who has the best by comparing them to each other and their respective breed standard. There are many breeds of fancy pigeons of all sizes, colors and types.[3]
- Other pigeons are bred for unique flying characteristics other than homing, such as rolling, high-flying, and diving. These birds, which may be flown in competitions, include but are not limited to Rollers, Tumblers, and Tipplers.
All of the above pigeon breeds may also be exhibited in pigeon shows.
Urban pigeon lofts
Pigeon keepers often have their pigeon lofts in suitably modified garden sheds. In Glasgow and other areas of Scotland there has been a tradition of pigeon keepers building their own freestanding urban pigeon lofts, or doocots, standing about 4m high in areas of waste ground close to housing estates.
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Pigeon loft in a garden. -
Glasgow doocot. -
Entrance door.
References
- ^ Blechman, Andrew (2007). Pigeons-The fascinating saga of the world's most revered and reviled bird. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702236419.
- ^ Levi, Wendell (1977). The Pigeon. Sumter, S.C.: Levi Publishing Co, Inc. ISBN 0853900132.
- ^ a b McClary, Douglas (1999). Pigeons for Everyone. Great Britain: Winckley Press. ISBN 0907769284.
- ^ Brown, Nick. "Foo's yer doos – aye pickin?" (Web article). Leopard - The Magazine for North East Scotland. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
- ^ Darwin, Charles (2004). The Origin of Species. London: CRW Publishing Limited. ISBN 1904633781.
- ^ Bourke, Stephen. "Pigeon fancier's lung" (Web Article). BMJ. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "Pigeon Lung" (Web Article). British Pigeon Fanciers Medical Research. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ^ "Bird-lovers rally round to help blaze victim John, 72" (Web article). Whitehaven News. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
- ^ Saunders, Zina. "Rooftop Pigeon Coop Guys" (Web article). Overlooked New York. Retrieved 2008-01-05.