How do I keep pigeons?

When I go downtown I see these beautiful pigeons with iridescent colors pecking along Wabash, or I used to, maybe they killed them all by now, but they were all different and I thought to myself some day I should like to breed pigeons and see all the different kinds that would come out, some even brown. However, they say they are dirty and what about in winter, in Chicago suburb unincorporated, where do they shelter in the vinter cold?
Also where can I get attack birds that would chase off raccoons, which are ruining the garden every year and are a nuisance ruining the garbage and lying dead in the middle of the road?
But specifically, what do you feed pigeons? Or where do I get pigeon feed? Do they lay their eggs naturally in little nests or do they really have to have one of those messy chichen coops.

I also would like to keep colorful chickens not for eggs but for the different kinds that are all various spectacular breeds, but my neighbors once kept chickens and they were always being killed even though they had their own chicken coop at night by raccoons, foxes, dogs, coyotes, and all the other animals that lurk in the woods waiting for and unguarded moment. The neighbors got some geese and they chased away the other animals so as to keep the chickens safe but then they had to move to Connecticut.
So if I got pigeons and chickens would some geese protect them or just fly away with the other geese. We have millions of geese here that crowd the sky every day and never fly south but foul all the real estate lakes 365 days a year and I wouldn’t want that kind of goose but the ones that stay around, protect your property, don’t get killed, and don’t need any care.I better stop before I start asking about buying a border collie to herd the geese that protect the chickens…

I live in NYC and I remember knowing people who kept pigeons. They were always kept on the roof in open coops, free to come and go as they pleased. I guess it was more like setting up a bird feeder - there was no actual attempt at “breeding” involved though the birds would make nests.

I don’t remember what they were fed - I was a child at the time - so that you’d have to do your own research on.

ok probably won’t be any help but…
Here in England (esp. the north) there are many people who keep and breed pigeons, although not so much for their colours as for their performance. (racing pigeons) You would probably need to contact a breeder. As for their home, they are kept in “lofts” which are a bit like hen coops. I am not sure what you feed them, but it may be possible to train them.

A couple of years ago my sister found a baby pigeon downtown when she was visiting me and she brought it back to my place. I raised it to a full grown male pigeon and he lives on my apartment balcony now. For a home I nailed a milk crate on the wall of the balcony and for food I buy a good birdseed from the supermarket. He doesnt eat the white filler seed he only eats the reddish brown round seed that is mixed in with the other seed. He likes to sit on my shoulder, but he can be aggressive he likes to spar with my hand . and he will peck my fingers from time to time. he olso like to eat my pot seeds:)

I have a kit or two that hang out in my yard & on my roof. I don’t “keep” them. They all roost on a nearby church. Sounds like a fun hobby to me.

“My” pigeons know me, and I can whistle to them on my way home, from several blocks away. They make a bee-line to the house & wait not so patiently for me to get there & feed 'em.

Anyhoo: Pigeons

More pigeon links

Americanhoming.org