The feeding of pigeons depends largely on whether this bird is domestic or thoroughbred or wild, street. The latter are forced to take care of their own food and are able to eat any food, while the thoroughbred representatives require careful selection of the diet. Let's talk in more detail about how to properly feed domestic birds, in order for them to be healthy and stay in good physical shape.
Can I feed pigeons
For the normal development of the bird requires a balanced diet, which should include cereals, carrots, greens. Attention should be paid to such important points:
- the grain must be dry, free from weeds and dirt;
- carrots are added to the main portion of the feed in a fresh, grated form;
- During the summer period, birds can harvest greens on their own, or they can be offered lettuce leaves or spinach, in winter it can be wheat germ.
However, the most common food for pigeons are cereals, so it is worthwhile to dwell on each type of cereal separately.Did you know? Pigeons living in the city, very well oriented on the ground. They are able to memorize the peculiarities of the landscape, the smells that are encountered on the way home: having a special feeling - the “natural compass”, birds can navigate the sun.
Millet
Buying millet on the market or in the store, pay attention to the fact that the grains do not have a shell, which means that they are at risk of infection by parasites. Proceeding from this, millet raw can not be given to the bird. It should sift, rinse under running water and boil.
Rice
This type of cereal is low in fat and high in starch. Such characteristics are optimal in order to use rice as food for domestic pigeons. Rice can be in purified and uncleaned form. It can be mixed with other types of cereals. 
Eating rice has a beneficial effect on the body of pigeons when they observe signs of indigestion. To do this, boil rice until half cooked and add chalk to it. However, you should not get involved in this product, since its excessive use may threaten the pigeon with damage to the nervous system and other diseases.
Buckwheat
Buckwheat is very useful for pigeons in any form. The optimal content of this product in the diet should be 5%. If we are talking about cleaned buckwheat, then the excess of this norm will make food more dietary, and unpeeled is an excellent additional component of the grain mixture.
Learn about the peculiarities of home keeping of such breeds of pigeons, such as: duty, Armavir, Kasan, Nikolaev, Turkish, fighting, Baku fighting, Turkmen fighting, Uzbek, peacock pigeons.
Perovka
Barley can be an excellent option for feeding street pigeons in the yard or in the park, as well as domestic birds. It can be given raw: it is easily soaked in the goiter, swells and in this form already enters the bird's stomach.
When boiled it is recommended to give it to youngsters, because their goiter is not yet fully involved in the digestive process. It is worth saying that adult birds will not refuse from this delicacy either.
Excessive and frequent use of barley can cause blockage of the esophagus. 
Pea
This grass should be in the amount of 10% in the daily feeding of pigeons with a permissible fluctuation of 5-20%. The volume of peas in the grain mash can be increased in the case of:
- transportation of poultry;
- during the molting period;
- in the period of rearing.
Lentils
The amount of this product should not exceed 5% and can be used as an additional component.
For the proper maintenance of pigeons at home, it will be useful for you to learn about the features of breeding and feeding pigeons, as well as how to keep pigeons in the winter and how to make dovecote yourself.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal cereal may be present in the diet of pigeons in the amount of 10% with an acceptable range of 5 to 50%. The maximum increase in portions of oatmeal is recommended to produce in the period of breeding poultry, but it should be borne in mind that the amount of protein food should also be greater.
Black bread
Bread is an undesirable food for pigeons. The thing is that, getting into the gastrointestinal tract, it significantly increases in size, and this threatens to block and turn the intestines. As for black bread, this product has high acidity and starts the process of fermentation in the stomach, which can cause dysbacteriosis. 
The content of salt and starch in black bread is hardly tolerated by birds: there are problems with the digestion of such food. The accumulation of salt leads to poisoning of the whole organism. Based on this, we can conclude that the use of black bread by pigeons can cause irreparable harm to them: they begin to ache and freeze during the cold season.
White bread crackers can be used in small quantities.
Important! Fresh bread is extremely dangerous for the health of pigeons. Yeast triggers the fermentation process, which often ends in dysbacteriosis and bird disease.
Roasted Seeds
Fresh sunflower seeds are very useful for pigeons and can be used both as the main component of the grain mash and as an additional component.
Roasted seeds have a detrimental effect on the digestive system of pigeons. Birds can not digest complex fats and salt, which many use in the process of roasting sunflower seeds. All this leads to their poisoning and death. 
Feeding ration
Experienced golubevody advise to adhere to the feeding regime: for example, food pigeons should be given at the same time every day. In the summer, birds should be fed three times a day, and in the winter, two feedings are enough. Thus, if it is warm in the street, the first meal should take place early in the morning, at 4-5 hours, especially if the birds have offspring.
Then the second meal will take place at 12-13 hours, and the last feeding - at 19-20. The autumn-winter period is a time when a sunny day is short enough, so the first portion of feed can be brought to birds at 8-9 am, and the second feeding can be carried out at 16 hours. Pigeons can eat in the pigeon and on the street. It is important that the birds are provided with fresh and clean drinking water.
Important! During the breeding season, feeding the chicks and moulting, pigeons need an enhanced balanced diet.
Adult pigeons
The breeding period of breeding birds is very important in their life, therefore, food at this time should be given special attention. The females form eggs, and their body spends a lot of strength and energy on this process. Lack of vitamins, minerals and trace elements may adversely affect the production of healthy offspring, the incubation quality of eggs may be low. 
Pigeons should receive a quality feed mixture consisting of cereals and legumes. We have already written more about the components that make up the mixture. In addition to this type of feed, you must use green fodder and mineral supplements.
During the period of incubation of the offspring, the doves can add vitamin complexes containing such elements as vitamin A, D, B2 to the diet. Their deficiency in the body can manifest itself in such a way that the eggshell can be too thin, and also the appearance of a non-viable embryo is possible.
A symptom of a lack of microelements and nutrients in a bird's body can be its desire to find and peck small stones, pieces of clay or chalk while walking. In this case, the pigeon breeder needs to provide a richer diet, which will include mineral baits.
Understand exactly what nutritional supplements are required for one or another species of pigeons and to solve which problems, you can consult with a consultant in a specialized store.
Read also about the life expectancy of pigeons in the wild and at home.
It is important to note that the nutrition of athletic pigeons should also differ from the usual diet of other relatives, especially during the competition. Such birds spend much more energy on long flights, which means that their body requires replenishing the expended forces and nutrition should contain an increased amount of carbohydrates.
To do this, you can increase the amount of corn, barley, rice and wheat in the grain mixture. During the tedious competitive process, pigeons are often spoiled with sugar. At the end of the competition, the birds must receive oilseeds - for this, sunflower seeds or rapeseed are excellent. 
Adult pigeons can eat on average from 25 to 40 g of feed per day at a weight of 400 g. If an individual weighs more and belongs to heavy breeds, and its weight is about 600-700 g, then it can eat 50-65 g of food, which should include grain mixture, concentrated feed, green dressing.
Did you know? Pigeons very quickly get used to the person who feeds them. They easily recognize him, and an uninvited guest can be attacked. These birds are very loyal and will serve their master for life.
Chicks
The content of the young should be slightly different from the older generation. During the growth period, pigeon chicks should have constant access to feed.
The first feeding of little pigeons should take place in the first day by the female and the male. Their goiter during the incubation of offspring is slightly transformed, and it begins to produce a nourishing fluid - "bird's milk." It contains 82% of water, fats make up to 13%, and proteins - 19%, mineral compounds, vitamins and binding substances, bacteria that are easily absorbed by newborn chicks, make up about 1.6%. The composition of milk gradually changes with the growth of offspring, preparing the young for self-feeding.
Learn how to find out the sex of a pigeon and how the pigeons mate.
These changes are very easy to observe visually, because at first it is a yellowish thick liquid that resembles sour cream, then it becomes thicker and resembles semolina, and by the age of one week the chicks contain insignificant grains. Upon reaching two weeks of age, the birds must be transferred to the usual food and accustomed to the feeders and drinkers. Young pigeons should receive mineral supplements. 
Feeding chicks dove is not always possible. There may be various reasons for this:
- Physiological characteristics of birds. For example, short-bred breeds can not feed their own chicks. In order to ensure the survival of the expected offspring, poultry farmers throw up eggs of such birds just before the brood to other species of pigeons.
- Refusal to feed offspring dove. This often happens with females of the breed Gulls.
- beans;
- lentils;
- sesame seeds;
- rapeseed and flax seeds;
- peeled oats or flakes;
- unpolished rice
Important! Pigeons are very often carriers of infectious diseases. Feeding these birds with your hands is dangerous.
What can not be fed pigeons
It is worth remembering products that are not recommended to give domestic and street pigeons, because they can cause irreparable harm to the health of birds and lead to negative consequences:
- Fresh bread and rolls. They swell and increase in size in the stomach of birds and can cause obesity, blockage, volvulus gut.
- Black bread. It starts the process of fermentation in the stomach, resulting in bloating and diarrhea.
- Meat. This product is very heavy for the poultry's digestive system, and it cannot digest it.
- Milk products. They disrupt the state of the microflora, which leads to dysbiosis. Calcium levels in poultry are also reduced.
- A large number of seeds. They cause liver dysfunction.
- Remnants of human food.
A balanced diet is the key to pigeon health. Using our recommendations and advice from experienced golubovodov, you can ensure the breeding of healthy and complete offspring, which will delight you with its beauty and sporting achievements.
