Feeder Selection

The first thing anyone interested in Shortface Pigeons must realize is that you will need good Feeders to raise Your Shortface Babies becuase they can't raise there own. I guess there are some of you saying what is a Feeder. The best definition of this is the most valuble birds in your pigeon coop because these birds will be hatching and rearing your young. I would strongly recommend that you contact a local Shortface breeder if possible, they should be able to help you with feeders or the location of some siutable for your purpose. When I started with shortface birds I failed to listen to these immortal words All Birds Feed But Not All Do It Well. This said there is no right or wrong breed of feeders, it's going to be what ever works for you. My personnal opinion that Racing homers work the best this does not mean there are not some that are not suitable for the job of foster parents. My criteria for feeder selection is as follows
  1. They must sit tight meaning they dont fly off nest when you walk in to coop
  2. They must remain on nest when you check Young or switch eggs
  3. They must be able to feed a minuim of to youngsters to capacity
  4. They must cover youngsters for 2 weeks if they start to nest again sooner you will have youngster getting chilled
  5. They must not forget about youngster when they start to nest again
  6. They must be of good temperment, birds that attack or bother youngster must be removed right away
  7. Cocks that do not take there turn on the nest
  8. Pairs or individual birds that try to claim more then one nest box this will result in broken eggs and dead or missing youngsters
If you try to apply these criteria you will find your experince in Shortface birds much more enjoyable. It can take many years to remove the bad traits from your feeder team but if you always raise youngsters from your best feeders and cull hard those with undesirable traits you will achive a level of confidence in them. I would strongly recommend buying your feeders at least 3 months before you plan on breeding this way the birds will adjust to you and your coop. I would still recommand reading the page on hand feeding just in case.Hand Feeding Tips