Best 5 Pigeon Breeding Cages: Breeding Pet Birds With A Bad Reputation

Is your dream to be like Mike Tyson with the pigeons he saves and breeds in Brooklyn?

Is owning pigeons a hobby you truly enjoy and you feel it’s time to step it up by starting to breed your own?

You certainly can do so but it’s going to take some research just to make sure you do it properly. You don’t have to keep hundreds of tabs open to do it since we made sure to keep all relevant information in this article.

The Summary

Do Pigeons Make Good Pets?

Pigeons get a bad reputation since you mostly see them on the streets in big cities but contrary to popular belief, they make excellent pets. They’re loving, social, bond with their owners easily, and are very clean animals.

Domesticated Pigeon Breeds

Among pigeon breeds, there are some that simply can’t live in the streets but do excellent as pets. All of them have been bred selectively and tamed to bring a spark of joy into your home if you so choose to get one. They are:

• King’s
• Fantails
• Tumblers
• Homers

Choosing A Breeding Cage

There’s a lot of knowledge involved in breeding birds so detailed research is essential. Pigeons are easier to breed, but it’s not a hobby for people that are not willing to put in the time, work, and resources. Something as simple as choosing a cage can be a lot of work in terms of choosing the design, size, features, materials, and more.

What Should A Pigeon Breeding Cage Have?

Many factors go into making sure that breeding pigeons is successful and it’s smart to start with the cage, its size, and some features that are specifically important for pigeons.

How Big Should A Pigeon Breeding Cage Be?

Since we recommended housing a pair, you should opt for a cage size of 42” x 27” x 30”. These are guidelines to try and follow and you should focus more on width and length since they won’t climb cage walls.

Nesting Boxes

For one mating pair, it’s suggested that the box is at least 24-in long and 30-in wide. Since you want to imitate the wild as much as you can, it’s suggested that the box is made out of materials like wood.

Shelves Instead Of Perches

Pigeons don’t have much use for perches since all they can do on them is stand. Shelves are a better option and they are to pigeons what perches are too exotic birds. Most cages won’t come with shelves so you will have to install them on your own accord.

Cage Flooring

Pigeons have sensitive feet and should never walk on wire grid floors. Since most cages will come that way, you should cover the floor with something like bedding, newspaper, or perhaps a harder material like wood that you can clean or dispose of easily.

Cage Dividers

If you ever want to separate your pigeons fast, a cage divider is a good option. Each pigeon can have its separate housing area and the dividers are easy to place and remove from the cages that have one.

Design Options For Pigeon Breeding Cages

Indoor Cages – If housing a pigeon indoors, you won’t have to worry about wire spacing(unless you have a cat or dog), or perhaps even size if you plan on letting them free flight around the house daily. To make your life easier, focus on getting cages with feeding doors and breeding box doors.

Outdoor Cages – Outdoor options have tighter wire spacings, predator-proof locks and are generally focused on keeping them safe from predators. They typically feature a loft area where the pigeons can fly and a nest area and they usually allow you to house more than one pair.

Best 5 Pigeon Breeding Cages

We made sure to review cages with extras included to make your life breeding pigeons a lot easier. For ones that want to have their pigeons housed outdoors, we have an option and for those who want a smaller indoor cage for breeding one pair, we got it. We even made sure to include a bundle of multiple cages for breeding more divided pigeon pairs.

Homey Pet Pigeon Breeding Bird Cage

Initially, this is thought of like a dog crate but it works well as a pigeon cage if you want to keep your pigeons indoors. The bar spacing goes above 1-in but pigeons will still be safe in it. In fact, if you ever want to separate your pigeons you can do so with the divider it comes with.

You won’t just get one cage, you’ll get 3 and to save space, you can stack them on top of each other. It’s recommended that you only house 2 pigeons in a cage so that leaves you with housing a total of 6 for the three cages you’ll get.

Each divided cage has its own entrance door. The floor is a wire grid floor so you’re going to have to cover it with something. Each cage features its own feeding entrance, a bowl, and there’s a smaller side entrance that you can use to place a breeding box inside.

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A&E Cage Co Pigeon Breeding Bird Cage

You’ll get a total of 2 cages that you can stack together. The wire grid and metal cleaning tray of the top cage can be removed to create a much taller cage if you’d like but there is no need for it with pigeons. This way, you can house 2 pairs of pigeons in total.

The wrought iron construction makes it highly durable while the 8 gauge wire double proves it. The wire spacing is perfect for pigeons and households with other pets like cats. In the front, each cage features a front entrance and a hidden feeding entrance that fits 3 bowls.

The side doors can be made into nesting box doors although they usually serve the purpose of feeding entrances. That means that in total, you’ll get 10 stainless steel feeding bowls and as an addition, you’ll get a wooden perch for each cage.

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Aivituvin Pigeon Breeding Bird Cage

The reason you can place this cage indoors is that it’s way too big. Another reason is that it doesn’t feature flooring so you’d have to cover it with durable material to make it work. Besides, it’s a waste to not use its weather-resistant properties like asphalt roof and weather-resistant finish.

It features a firwood build, a great choice for outdoor use since it goes back to its original form even when exposed to moisture that makes it shrink or expand. It does have galvanized wire sides that protect it from rust and corrosion as well.

It features a flight area and 6 divided nesting areas accessible and cleanable from the back. The nest bottom trays are made out of plastic so you don’t need to cover them with anything extra. You can easily walk inside it using the big front door and it features an additional side door as well.

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Yaheetech Pigeon Breeding Bird Cage

Pigeons can easily fit well into cages made for small birds like budgies and cockatiels and this cage is made for breeding these birds. Due to the stand, it’s 41.5-in tall but without it, it’s 20.5-in tall. It’s separated into two cages with a divider.

Each cage comes with its own 2 wooden perches, 2 feeding doors, plastic feeding cups, birdproof locks, and a breeding box door. You can easily store more pigeon supplies on the wire grid features on the stand with wheels, 2 of which you can lock for stability.

Although you’ll get one divided cage, you can buy more to stack on top of the one you already have, that way you can breed more pigeons if you’d like. It’s fully made out of wrought iron if you don’t include the 2 plastic slide-out cleaning trays.

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Mcage Large Pigeon Breeding Cage

This is an extra-large flight cage meaning that it’s mostly wide although it is pretty tall as well. It’s almost as tall as it is wide due to the fact that it sits on a stand with a total of 6 wheels and 2 wire grids where you’ll get plenty of space to store your pigeon supplies.

It consists of 2 cages split with a metal divider that you can easily remove. Each cage is 32-in long if separated which means that you can comfortably house 2 pigeon pairs separated or non-separated. The best thing would be to house 3 pigeons inside though.

The breeder box doors are located on the sides while the front of each cage features one front entrance. For the inside, you’ll get a total of 4 feeding stations that you can place on the small feeding entrances and 4 perches made out of wood for resting.

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Cage Types Working As A Replacement

Cages specific to pigeons are hard to find and at most, you’ll find outdoor pigeon lofts so you’re going to have to dig through other boxes to find an indoor option

Dog Crates – Specifically made for indoor use since they feature big wire spacings. Large dog crates follow the standard recommended dimension well but you shouldn’t consider them an option if you have other pets like cats and dogs.

Parakeet And Cockatiel Cages – In case you own other pets, these are going to be a great option because they have tight wire spacing ranging from 0.5-in to 0.62-in. The focus should be flight cages since they are more spacious

Small Bird Indoor Aviaries – Aviaries are usually large and meant for outdoor use but there are smaller indoor options whose focus dimensions are aimed at length and width.

DIY Nesting Box – Nesting boxes are difficult to find and you can make a killer one from the comfort of your own home and for an acceptable price. The materials you’ll need involve wooden planks, wood sheets, nails, and screws all purchasable in a hardware store.

Are There Certain Cages I Should Avoid?

Pigeon breeding is hard and it’s easier to understand why some cages simply work when you have the opposite explanation of why some cages don’t work. Since the rules are not the same for indoor and outdoor cages, we separated the two and provided short explanations.

Outdoor Cage Concerns

The main problem of some outdoor cages is the way that they don’t keep pigeons safe from predators and/or certain weather conditions so here are the one’s to avoid:

• Cages with no loft area – Pigeons will need a safe area where they can fly
• The ones without enclosed and separate nesting areas – breeding goes better with separate nests
• Cages with nothing but wire sides – Constant surveillance from predators and no weather protection

Indoor Cages To Avoid

To help you better choose your bird’s indoor cage, there are some you should avoid here as well:

• Cages with not enough floor space
• Cages that are too tall because they’re not beneficial to pigeons
• Hardly accessible cages that make cleaning a nightmare
• Round cages – They’re too small and the lack of corners endangers the bird’s mental and physical health.

Mating Habits Of Pigeons

Pigeons are flock animals and it’s not uncommon for them to adopt their owner as a part of the flock. A single pigeon will lead a lonely life if not paired with a mate though. They are monogamous and will only attempt to find another mate if they’re separated somehow.

Mating Season

Mating season is not clearly defined with pigeons. They can mate all year round as long as the weather conditions allow for it. Peak mating season, however, will occur in autumn and spring. Once pigeons find a suitable partner, they’ll begin building a nest.

Fast Tracking Breeding

Several factors are involved in speeding up the breeding rate in pigeons. You should give pigeons time to pair up with their chosen mate and provide shelter from weather conditions such as the cold, wind, and rain. Another thing to do is provide the cage with good nesting materials like tobacco stalks and to keep their diet in check – seed mix for pigeons is a good option.

Egg Laying And Incubation

After Mating, the female will lay one egg and then another approximately 44 hours later. Incubation will then ensue and will take 18 days. Egg color can vary but with indoor housed pigeons, it’s expected that the eggs will have an off white color

False Eggs As Birth Control

You can prevent breeding from ever happening by purchasing false eggs. The way to make them work is by making sure they’re warm enough before placing them in the nest to trick the birds. This is not an inhumane thing to do.

Pet Pigeons Life Span

Pigeons in the wild typically live for around 3 to 5 years but tamed breeds and pets have an average life span of 15 years. The oldest pigeon recorded ended up living for 24 years.