Crescent pigeons are birds with an interesting appearance and unique flying qualities. Small pigeons are unpretentious in maintenance. Many farmers note the many benefits of these birds. If you take a responsible approach to the issue of care and nutrition, you will be able to get healthy birds with high rates.
Description and characteristics of the bird
Sickle pigeons predominate in small sizes, but at the same time impress with a muscular, well-developed body. They have a small head and a curved profile. The body is held on short legs, the body is covered with thick plumage. When folded, the wings almost reach the tip of the tail.
A distinctive feature is the convex fourth joint on the wings. With it, the pigeons manage to complete the sickle, and their flight brings a lot of impressions. There are individuals with a different shade of plumage. The definition of belonging to the breed is a light shade of the eyes.
When the young chicks turn 2 months old, they begin to be trained in a unique style of flight. Birds are called “eversion”, due to their stamina and ability to long flights. They prefer to fly alone. It is best to train the birds in the morning and evening.
Origin and distribution
For the first time in the country, then still the Russian Empire, pigeons appeared at the very beginning of the 20th century, where they were settled in the dovecotes of the city of Nikolaev. But this breed itself was bred in ancient times. Until now, Syria and Turkey are arguing about which of them is the birthplace of sickle pigeons. In Sanskrit, the breed of pigeons sounds like a "beautiful creature."
After the birds first came to Nikolaev, many lovers were delighted with these birds, because they really wanted to get them. So the pigeons appeared in Ochakovo, where they were brought by a certain pigeon breeder Kaiser, who made the main contribution to the development of the breed together with his friend Kirichenko. Their breeding work allowed to breed several varieties of sickle pigeons:
- Muzikinsky;
- Garkushinsky;
- Kalachovsky.
Breeders were responsible for the selection of birds, preferred pigeons with excellent flying qualities, which especially distinguished them from other pigeons. Over time, the flap of the wings, drawing a sickle in the air, became the hallmark of the birds of this breed. Further, sickle birds received another name - Ochakov inverted pigeons.
Flight Features
Birds were called “eared sickles”. There is an explanation for this. The fact is that during the flap of the wing, the extreme feathers turn out and touch each other with their tips, creating a circle. This specificity allows for phenomenal flight. Individuals move in the air in a horizontal position to the ground. But if you look at the birds from the bottom up, it seems as if the pigeons are flying in slow motion.
Crescent pigeons have some distinctive features:
- They are well oriented on the ground;
- always fly regardless of the time of year;
- do not respond to the influence of air masses;
- their flight is laid-back, easy and smooth.
This applies exclusively to purebred birds, which as a result of selection are reduced in number. Crescent pigeons return home only after a few days. No one can explain this behavior. Some individuals never fly to the dovecote.
Is it possible to keep a bird in captivity?
Pigeons need a separate room. In the wild, they equip their nests in small caves, rock crevices. Today there are several types of pigeon houses: a free-house, an aviary, a dovecote with feeding.
A freemen is an enclosed space, but with small manholes - they are necessary so that pigeons can fly out. In such a room, narrow windows serve as lighting. Dovecote with feeding - an enclosure attached to the free-house, in which birds will walk. Inside the dovecote should be dry and clean.
Sickle pigeons tolerate cold well and are able to live even in an aviary if it is protected from rain and snow. The door to the room must be equipped with a threshold, so as not to accidentally step on a bird sitting on the floor.
The optimal height of the dovecote is considered to be a room where the ceilings are 15 cm above the pigeon. This contributes to the easy capture of the bird, it will also be much more convenient for the poultry farmer to clean in the pigeon.
Nests are equipped in the room using wooden boxes for them. Be sure to cover the room with a roof, install perches, feeders and drinking bowls. The perch should be smooth, colored. Its width is 2.5-3.5 cm. Pour grain and greens into separate feeders.
Breeding direction
Cirrus pigeons are bred because of the beauty of flight. Breeders represent their pets at shows. During the competition, the qualities of birds are evaluated:
- suit;
- wing setting;
- constitution;
- flight data;
- orientation;
- virtuosity.
Competitions are held for the flight altitude and its duration. According to the results of the competition, birds are assigned categories. So, there are elite pigeons, birds of the first, second and third class. Also, the pigeon can be assigned the category of “marriage”.
Diet
Sickle pigeons prefer to eat plant foods, especially seeds, berries, fruits, grass, nuts. Pigeon farmers often introduce corn, barley, and wheat into the birds ’diet. It is recommended to feed the birds at the same time and in the right quantities.
In the diet of pigeons should also be present wet mixers, the basis of which is greens, bran, grain. Some breeders give pigeons feed.
In a separate feeder, the breeder needs to put gravel, which contributes to better digestion of food.
Sickle Care
Sickle pigeons are energetic birds, while unpretentious. They are able to get used to even the most adverse conditions of keeping and climate, pigeon breeders speak of them as viable birds. These qualities make it possible to breed even a beginner pigeon breeder. Sickle pigeons breed well and breed their offspring.
But there is one factor that can negatively affect the life of birds of this breed - restriction of freedom. Birds cannot survive in attics, balconies and other rooms where there is no way to enjoy the vastness. It is equally important to ensure that the room is clean, dry, well lit.
Breeding
Crescent pigeons are monogamous birds, prone to pair once. In the mating season, males look after their chosen ones, coo, dance, feathers fluff. To build a nest in the wild, couples look for places with limited access. They can equip their homes under the roof, in the attic, where no one lives, etc.
In order for the female to feel comfortable in the pigeon, it is required that there is a small window in her nest. So the male will independently carry building material into it, and the dove of twigs, grass blades will equip him with it.
Birds mate year-round, which is why the female produces about 7 egg laying throughout the year. Both parents hatch eggs for 16-19 days, replacing each other. One clutch usually contains 1-2 eggs. Hatched pigeons are blind and not adapted to anything. In the early days of life, chicks feed on pigeon milk - it contains protein-based nutrients. As the chicks grow, plant seeds are introduced into their diet. After 1-1.5 months, the young can completely fly and serve themselves independently.
If the pigeon breeder’s plans include training of a new generation, then when the young growth is 35 days old, the birds are taken from their parents to a new place of residence and begin to train.
Oviposition
Each egg laying of a dove usually results in a pair of eggs. During the first oviposition cycle, the female is able to lay only one egg. Females are known to lay eggs in the morning.
The period of egg production begins on 8-10 days after mating. After laying the first egg, the turn of laying of the second occurs in 40-45 hours. In order to avoid incubation of the first egg before the appearance of the second, the pigeon breeder picks up the laid egg and lays a fake.
Incubation
Sickle doves are good parents. Females hatch eggs on their own. Males replace the dove twice a day so that the female can eat. The distance between the nests must be made maximum, based on the size of the dovecote. If the room is small, between the nests it is recommended to install partitions or use wooden crates.
Chicks are born in 16-19 days. In the warm time of the day, the incubation period is shorter, in the cold - longer. The dove independently flips eggs in the nest several times a day. The bite lasts 8-10 hours. Chicks are born without help. If he had to help to be born, then this baby may not survive.
Nestling content
Pigeons-parents heat the chicks and feed them with milk accumulating in the goiter. Pigeons are taken from their parents when they turn 25-28 days old. After that, they begin to feed with a mixture of small grains. Water for the chicks is put in the public domain, so that the chicks learn to find it on their own. Vitamins are added to the water for drinking - so the chicks get the minerals necessary for life.
It is important to give the chicks water from clean dishes, because at the age of one month they do not have good health. From two months of age, the preparatory phase of raising the chicks begins - they begin their training.
How to feed a pigeon chick is described in detail here.
Diseases and problems with breeding
Keeping birds requires care for their health. It is very important to carry out the prevention of diseases, regularly clean the premises, give the birds clean water, ensure a balanced diet, clean them in drinking bowls and feeders.
Pigeon breeders should know that it is necessary to avoid crowding of birds in the nursery, timely resettle sick individuals. Sickle pigeons are hardy birds, but prone to infectious and non-communicable diseases.
Poultry can become infected with non-communicable diseases in case of improper feeding and keeping pigeons. Diet adjustment will help get rid of vitamin deficiencies and hypervitaminosis. If you use high-quality feed and give them to the birds in full, you can avoid inflammation of the goiter and stomach.
Infectious diseases are dangerous in that one sick bird can affect everyone else - this is fraught with their death. The most dangerous are pyocyanosis, ornithosis, smallpox, salmonellosis, coccidiosis. Such diseases are transmitted through the eggs, which is why the chicks die during the first week of life.
No less dangerous is closely related mating. Such breeding is fraught with the birth of weak offspring.
Interesting Facts
There are some interesting facts about sickle pigeons. Below are some of them:
- Although inverted sickle pigeons are valued among pigeon breeders, the flying performance of birds is significantly impaired. The reason lies in the fact that scouts do not seriously approach regular and competent training. If you do not train the birds, they will not show themselves in all its glory.
- Often, pigeon breeders forget that mating sickle pigeons with other breeds is undesirable, because this can lead to a deterioration in flight, the loss of its features. Birds are not so interesting and unique.
- There is an opinion that far from the winds of Crimea, pigeons cannot show their originality in relation to flight, because this was facilitated by the southern climate for decades.
Crescent pigeons attract attention with their extraordinary abilities in terms of flying in height. In the case of a serious approach to training, birds will delight their owners with incredible skills. With this breed you can take first place in the competition.
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Ukraine. City: Kryvyi Rih
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