Last month we looked at ways to house pigeons, from humble dove-cotes to purpose-built lofts for particular pigeon needs. This month we will investigate the nutritional needs of pigeons.

Whereas chickens generally require food with plenty of fibre, pigeons have a largely low or non-fibre diet. Grains and seeds feature highly in the food taken by wild pigeons, with certain quantities of greenstuffs and grits being eaten also. Birds in the wild have a wide choice of different foods, whereas our pet birds must be content with eating what is given to them. A full-grown pigeon will eat about 500 grams of grain each week.

Ideally, the pigeon keeper will try to emulate the wild birds' diet as best he/she can, but obviously there are restrictions as to how effectively this can be achieved. Domestic birds do not have access to all of Mother Nature's gifts, so we must improvise somewhat to give our pets the best possible diet.

Grains make up the bulk of a pigeon's diet. In fact, pigeons simply like their grain better than anything else, and will take a wide variety of most things on offer. However, some grains are better than others and some should be avoided altogether. Dried field peas make an excellent staple food and pigeons will do nearly anything to get them. They will usually pick all the peas out of a mix before eating anything else, and they sure do well on them too. Peas are high in protein and promote strong muscles, bones and plumage. Probably the second favourite grain to a pigeon is corn. Corn is an excellent winter feed as it is readily stored in the pigeon's body as fat. For this reason however, corn should be fed wisely and never more than thirty per cent of the diet, particularly if your pigeons have limited access to flying areas. Pigeons will happily eat sorghum (sometimes called kafir) and this is another good staple grain. Pigeons like sorghum because it is a small round grain, which is easy to eat. Wheat is a common grain found in pigeon mixes, but the birds tend to not like the soft white kinds of wheat, but prefer the darker red wheats which are much harder. If barley is available, this can be added to the mix also, but the four grains, peas, corn, sorghum and wheat will keep pigeons happy forever. A good all-round mix would be 30% peas, 30% corn, 30% sorghum and 10% hard wheat.

Of course, an alternative to a grain mix is to feed your birds on pigeon pellets. These are milled from crushed grains, greenstuffs and meat by-products and usually have vitamin and mineral additives to make a balanced feed. Given a choice however, pigeons tend to prefer more natural grains over this type of food.

Pigeons like all birds, do not have teeth. Their food is swallowed whole and is stored initially in a sac at the base of the throat called the crop. The food is then passed through the digestive tract to the gizzard where it is broken down into more basic nutritional elements. For this to happen, your birds will need to have access to a supply of grit. Put simply, pigeons need to eat stones in order to thrive. The best grit is hard granite or quartz which is broken down to about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch in diameter, though pigeons are happy to eat grit of varying size. A different kind of grit which tends to break down more quickly in the gizzard, is shell grit. This can be given in addition to the harder grit and has the added benefit of providing a good supply of calcium to the birds. Pigeons that have free access to the outside world will find their own grit. Those which remain confined to the loft, will need it supplied. Pigeons also like salt and will readily attack salt blocks such as those made for horses and sheep.

There are other bits and pieces that some fanciers like to feed their birds. A little cod liver oil mixed into the feed is a good tonic for birds that are a little jaded and for those coming out of a moult. Linseed meal can be mixed in small quantities to the feed to give added gloss and lustre to the birds' plumage, particularly before shows. And in those countries where it is legally available... ahem... hempseed (marijuana) can be given as a special treat. Pigeons seem to love them, even though they hold no particularly useful nutritional value.

Now we come to the single most important nutritional item required by a pigeon. Water! Pigeons love the stuff too... none of your prissy, chicken-like drinking habits for a pigeon... no siree! Pigeons will just stick their whole head into the water right up to the eyes and suck the stuff down like there is no tomorrow. And pigeons that are breeding will need lots of fresh, clean, cool water in order to make a good supply of rich milk for their babies. Fresh water should always be readily available for your birds. Besides, pigeons love to bath in it too, even on the coldest days.

So there you have it. Pigeon cuisine in a nutshell! Before we go however, let's take a quick look at what baby pigeons eat. Pigeons are unique in the bird world, in that they make milk for their young... not only does the mother supply milk, but the father does too! Whereas most birds feed their young on regurgitated food, pigeons create a true milk in their crops which is fed to the young up to about 10 days of age. Pigeon milk is so rich in protein that a baby pigeon (or squab) will double its size and weight everyday for the first 7 days of its life. After about a week, the milk is thickened with partly digested grain and over time, replaced altogether.