Q: What can you tell me about feeding in general?

Feed -- the first and foremost mistake that is made by pigeon fanciers is that we quite often want to get the "best". The best in our mind equates to the most expensive. The most expensive pigeon feed is heavy in peas, which translates to protein. The birds only need a heavy protein feed when they are feeding youngsters. The rest of the time you will find the peas to be the last thing the birds want to eat. They will try to reject it. Do not force them onto such a heavy protein diet -- their body is telling them what they need.

I supplement my basic feed with more protein when I have youngsters in the nest. I even go one step further and keep a self-feeding hopper filled with 100% Canadian peas. This way the birds will balance their diet as needed -- in other words, the ones feeding youngsters will go and eat additional peas. It is a game of common sense, not so much of science. You will find that when your birds are without babies, they will prefer the corn and carbohydrate and fat grains over the protein grains. However, when feeding youngsters, they will seek out the peas and vetch and other protein grains first. It is amazing what we can learn by being observant.