Do Homing pigeons attract rock doves?

Question

Just curious to all the pigeon people. If I set up a flock of pigeons, would they mate and bring home feral pigeons?

Answer 1

Rock doves and homing pigeons are very alike, rock doves are smaller and not as good a flyer compared to a homing pigeon bred for it's speed. In the four years I've kept pigeons we've had-
3 race birds not my own turn up and have had to be picked up by their owner.
2 fantail pigeons turn up, they stayed no way of tracing their owner.
1 of my own birds I sold get home again
and only one rock dove visited everyday for about a month, it was ill but could still fly so I assume it died once it stopped visiting.

I think having birds does attract more birds I do get alot of sparrows in the garden, the odd crow and occasionally a sparrow hawk looking for his next meal.

Answer 2

I've had racers for close to 40 years. Only occasionally will the ferals join the flock in any manner. One reason is that they're usually too busy looking for food, etc., to just swing by the flock. Also, about the only ones that will swing in and try to stay are young just weaned birds that automatically look for a flock to join so that they can find food and water and shelter.

Because there should be no feed outside the loft, there usually isn't much incentive for ferals to stick around - and no racing breeder wants ferals in the loft because they can bring in something that you might not want, eg., lice or pigeon flies. (Ain't the ferals fault, all wild animals carry parasites).

Will they breed? Sure if you let them, but why would you? As for a homer going out and bringing back a feral mate, I've only seen that happen once in all my years of breeding and that was a young male that had a bad habit of sitting out on wires no matter what i did to try to break him of that. I finally wound up selling him to a kid who just wanted a pretty pet.

BTW - yes, ALL domestic and feral pigeons ARE the same species, Columba livia, and can interbreed to produce fertile young if allowed to.

Answer 3

As far as I know, homing pigeons are rock doves, and rock doves are homing pigeons. "Rock dove" or "rock pigeon" is what they are called in the wild condition. But they are the same species. Sometimes they will bring home a feral pigeon, and sometimes they will move out with a feral pigeon.

Answer 4

Homing pigeon is another name for Rock Dove or you might say the Domesticated Rock Dove.
It is not uncommon to see new faces among your free flying pigeons from time to time.
If you plan to raise pigeons I would be leery of wild strangers. Some carry lethal parasites that can destroy hole breed projects if not caught in time.

Answer 5

yes all the time