keepsakesloft

[keepsakesloft]

This is a warning post to caution about somebody who has been causing problems in the community for a long time.

floof9000 on Tumblr is not trustworthy. They are also on Instagram as birdsofblackgold. They have been caught harassing others in the past. When they went under a different name it was figured out birds were mysteriously getting injured or going missing under their care. The prevailing theory is neglect and intentional abuse.

Most recently they promised a bird to someone and then turned around and started to claim they had made investigative calls into this person (which can't be true, as they did not have a full name and what they would call about is illegal information to share). This is an utterly bizarre thing to claim to someone who was trying to adopt a bird from you.

This person has been known among certain circles of the community for years. Do not trust them. They are a serial liar. Block them and move on. Get your pigeons from somebody who isn't going to use scare tactics on you for no reason.

[keepsakesloft]

These are so beautiful! I can’t stop staring at them 🥰

Pigeons!

Here's a collection of pet portraits I had a pleasure of painting for the great Keepsakesloft and Rey <3 Thank you both so much for this!

[keepsakesloft]

Slice of life loft pics 💕

They are all so peaceful.

[keepsakesloft]

The Chinese Owls have cleared quarantine! Meet Ophelia (grizzle), Atticus (almond), and Sawyer (qualmond).

They’re a little flighty and very wary of us still, but we are sure they’ll come around. 💕

[keepsakesloft]

Day 1 - 27 of Teddy 🧸

At this point, Teddy doesn’t want to stay still for photos and wants to fly! This kid is such a cuddlebug, too! Such a lovely disposition.

They seem pretty chill as well - they are unbothered by the preliminary harness training we have exposed them to. Very exciting prospects for them!

[keepsakesloft]

Day 1 to day 27 for Tinsel. ✨

This kiddo is so cute. They have a knack for getting themself in trouble 😅 they’ve just started flying (badly), and keep ending up in the wrong nest box.

The expression of confusion and alarm when the pidge in the wrong box tries to repel them, it looks like Tinsel would say “oh no! You’re not my mom/dad!”

[keepsakesloft]

Happy New Year from us at Keepsakes Loft! ✨🪩🎉🎊🍾

May your year be full of any necessary change, healing, and much rest.

[keepsakesloft]

Have some loft slice of life! Tumblr and Instagram aren’t playing nice - hopefully I can find a workaround!

[keepsakesloft]

Can you give me an honest opinion on these breeds that I’d love to breed in the future? I wanna get into companion breeding and idk if these are good options or no.

Indian Fantails

New York Flights

Old German owl

Classic old Frill

Lucerne

Lahore

Racing homer

American show racer

Any info or opinion on these breeds will help me in my future dreams(btw I have no plans of doing any crossbreeding outside of a project for a potential new breed)

I would not use Lahore, Racing homers or new york flights for companion breeding. In the case of flights and homers they are performance bred and tend towards being high strung or just very energetic. Lahore are kind of just bad tempered from my experience, mostly towards other pigeons.

Lahore and Indian Fantails tend to have muffs that are, in my opinion, unethical. Not every individual though, and you could definitely correct this by picking breeding stock with grouse/light muffs. They both are also Very Large breeds with big space needs.

American show racers have my utmost admiration and I think they are sorely under-appreciated as companion animals. Why they have not caught on widely, I do not know. I have found them to have better temperaments than even Lucernes. Funny animals. The only drawback is they may need light beak maintenance (easy to do at home) and they are very thick feathered so they make a lot of feathers and a good quantity of dust.

Classic old frills and old german owls are reliably good companion breeds. I dont have personal experience with them but they are good.

Lucernes are my breed so I am always going to recommend them for companionship. Their drawbacks are that they are larger than COFs and OGO, and more energetic (generally, Lucerne's historically were free flown and expected to forage for their own feed. ) They are also Dusty.

Also throwing my two cents in that companion pigeon breeding or pigeon breeding in general isnt for the faint of heart and i wouldnt recommend it for funsies. It's a lot less about the breed you pick, and much more about your ability to socialize young birds, understand pigeon behavior, psychology and social structure, and get good breeding pairs that pass on good temperaments. I would not breed pigeons until you have spent at least a few years just having and getting to know them and their: quirks, anatomy, training needs, flock dynamics, diet and enclosure needs, diseases, and parasites (of which there are many.)

[keepsakesloft]

Magical Merlin! This kiddo is so sweet and confident! Duke and Duchess have given us some of the most outgoing and inquisitive kids - and Merlin is no exception. They’re going to bring their future adopter so much joy with their antics and companionship.

[keepsakesloft]

Do you have advice for socializing adult pigeons? My friend took in a lost racing pigeon recently the bird has a band and they've attempted to reach out to the previous owner but made no progress on that front and plan to keep the bird how but they don't have experience with specifically pigeons so are unsure the best way to try and get the bird more friendly.

Hello!

I’m grateful to hear that your friend has tried to contact the breeder first - though it’s sad to hear that they haven’t received a response.

Pigeons can make excellent pets! Patience and positive reinforcement are the name of the game when it comes to making friends with a new pidge. One of our friends described bonding with a pigeon as “a little like getting a new room mate/friend”. You might not be immediately be cuddling on the couch, but sharing meals together, watching movies/TV/hanging out, etc are great ways to establish a baseline of trust.

Pigeons tend to be very protective of their “nest” space, so we encourage most interactions to happen outside of their cage (if they have one).

Doing things that other pigeons would do together also helps foster the understanding that “this is my weird new flightless flockmate” - so eating together, chilling in a quiet space, etc can help establish that.

Figuring out which seeds your buddy’s pidge thinks are best can also help - many like safflower seed, hemp seeds, roasted unsalted chipped peanuts, and mung beans to name a few options! When we are trying to socialize with a new bird to our flock, we use a specifically coloured dish (ours is orange), that we establish gets “the good stuff”, and slowly over the course of a month or more work on increasing our proximity to the dish.

Establishing “treats in here” is step 1. Step 2 is just being in the room while they eat from the high value treat dish. When they seem chill about it, you can move to step 3, which is to be closer to the dish. This one can take time! But when they are able to be in arm’s reach, step 4 is trying to hold the dish and let them eat from it.

This can be slow going, because we are big scary predators, and they are tiny prey animals, but with consistency, snacks, and patience, it’s possible! Everything is on the bird’s terms - so if they get too spooked at any step, you can walk it back to a previous stage and try again later.

Some birds will be more inclined to interact than others, so it’s important to remember that not all birds will be snuggly potatoes - and it can sometimes take time!

We also recommend checking out the CPC (Companion Pigeon Club) care document - it’s the most comprehensive guide we have found to keeping pigeons as pets. (Insert link here)

Wishing your friend and their pidge the best of luck!

[keepsakesloft]

Typhoon! Another keep-back from this year! This tiny beeper is so incredibly friendly and outgoing. We are blown away by their personality! And that khaki colour is very easy on the eyes. Such a cute kid 🥰

[keepsakesloft]

Aspen! This baby isn’t yet out of the woods, but he’s feeling so much better. We haven’t posted much about this little booger because he’s been so sick for so long - he had a foreign body (probably a hemp seed) in his sinuses, which caused an infection and abscess that he’s had two surgeries for. He may need a third, but we hope not!

We joke that he’s the most expensive bird in the loft from all of his vet bills, but this kiddo was worth it. Absolutely hilarious personality, and a will to live that would not quit.

He’ll be a keep-back for us, and will be one of our house pigeons when he graduates from the “baby brigade”/youngster flock. He’s such a little goofball, and we love his silly face.

[keepsakesloft]

Some highlights from Typhoon’s first month of life! It’s amazing how quickly they grow. 🐣✨

They hatched on November 2, and we tried to take a picture every day at the same time to catch their stages of growth. Their parents did such a good job raising them!

This kiddo is brave and confident like papa, and sweet and inquisitive like mama. We can’t wait to see how they develop further!

[keepsakesloft]

Duke and Duchess. ✨👑

Our foundation pair! These two were our first pigeons. They are so loved 🥰

[keepsakesloft]

Mother and son. 🟠🖤🟠

Barrow is such a good mama. Garnet is such a goofy, shiny lad!

[keepsakesloft]

Have some birbs!

Fenris (fka Frodo), Coyote, Ginkgo, and Kestrel!