Note: this is educational content for breeders, not a substitute for a vet — doses and programmes vary by region and product, and diagnosis needs veterinary supervision.

Weeks 1–3: quarantine

Every new bird goes into a separate cage away from the loft for 21 days, even from a trusted source:

  • Watch daily: eating, droppings (watery green = alarm), breathing (noise or open beak), eyes and nostrils (discharge).
  • Open the beak and look at the throat: yellow cheesy patches = canker.
  • Check under the wings and around the head for lice or mites.
  • A wormer and preventive canker treatment under vet supervision in the first week.

One sick bird entering the loft costs you the whole flock.

See how this actually played out in Two weeks that would have saved a loft.

Weeks 4–6: settling in

  • Put the birds into the loft at night — they wake up calmly in their new home.
  • Keep the loft closed on the birds for at least 4–6 weeks before any flying; pigeons return to where they roosted, not where they were bought.
  • Bought adult birds may never come back once flown — fly only the squabs bred in your loft.
  • Get them used to a fixed feeding time and a whistle or a fixed sound — the basis of training later.

Weeks 6–8: the first vaccination programme

The common basic programme in Egypt (to be confirmed with a vet and per product):

  1. Paramyxo (pigeon Newcastle): the most important — required for most races and shows, repeated yearly.
  2. Pox: before the mosquito season (spring/summer).
  3. Salmonella: in lofts with a history of infection or before breeding.

Details, doses and intervals are in the vaccines section of the encyclopedia. Do not vaccinate a sick bird or one in heavy moult. The full programme is written up in The basic vaccination programme for pigeons in Egypt.

Weeks 8–12: pairing and the first egg

  • Put the pairs in their boxes and shut them in for two or three days if the pair is new.
  • The first egg comes 8–10 days after pairing, the second a day and a half later.
  • Candle the eggs after 7 days: a fertile egg shows a network of vessels.
  • The first squab is usually weaker than the next — don't judge a pair by its first round.

The record book

From day one record: arrival date, source, ring number, vaccinations, eggs and hatchings. Ghuzar does all of this in the bird's file: register your birds and link the parents and you will find the pedigree tree and vaccinations built for you.

Congratulations — if you get through the 90 days without a loss, you are a breeder.