Purebred Pigeon Sept/October 2025

GIANT HOMER – Page 32 – Purebred PIGEON Breed of the Issue - AMERICAN GIANT HOMER BreedingGiant Homers By Clifton Padgett R aising pigeons is a rewarding experience to me. I love to show the birds raised in the fall but the real enjoyment comes from banding birds and seeing how the offspring pop in the matings that have been planned. I raised English Short Face Tumblers, Racing Homers and had Utility Kings early on in my pigeon days. These breeds were quite a bit smaller in stature and the Racing Homers raised babies like no tomorrow. Needless to say the Utility Kings were high producers as well. The type of nest boxes needed and the space needed was not a huge priority. It seemed a Racing Homer could hatch an egg on concrete with no nesting material. Of course I give my birds pine needle straw to make their nest and put a little wood pellets in the bottom of the nest for padding. When I saw American Giant Homers with the large stature and power, I wanted to give them a try. In time, they became my sole breed until I added Auto-sex Texan Pioneers which are a totally different breed but another one with size. After a while, I determined that my nest boxes I used for my smaller breeds were too small for a Giant Homers to be successful in production month end and month out. I needed a 12” bowl to give the Giants room to sit tight and to not have broken eggs. A Giant Homer typically is about 35-36 ounces versus a Racing Homer at 18-22 ounces so this only makes sense to adjust loft size, nest boxes and all that you do in relation to the difference in the breed you are working with. Due to this my Giant Homers have more space for breeding as well as developing into a show bird. I decided to experiment on loft size and pairs to see what worked best. I moved this last year and I adjusted the loft size and young bird pen sizes to allow more space than I actually need. The worst thing you can do is over crowd your loft. I have young bird pens with 100 box perches; each sex in a 20 x 20 foot area. As soon as I can see a bird is a cock it goes into that young bird pen but they all start in the young hen pen until I am sure. From trials and tribulations, I found a 20 x 20 loft would accommodate 20-24 breeding pairs easily and they would do well in production. I worked with much smaller spaces in my early years and the results were lower fertility and lower production. I am sure that I do not need as large of an area that I have for my pairs now but I can keep them in top condition giving them plenty of space, good qual- ity feed, Health grit and clean water daily. I’ve found putting concentrated oregano oil in the water a couple of times a week seems to keep them going on a level plain. Other than that, I give apple cider vinegar in the water occasionally as it keeps the gut in the right kind of environment. I worm the birds in the fall and the spring and put them through a 4-in-1 treatment at that time. A few preventative things like this give you an edge to keep the birds healthy and the space allows them to be happy and contented in their environment. I love my Giant Homers; if you like a breed with power and size, please consider American Giant Homers in your future.• Clifton Padgett’s Loft front