Grain and peas, mixed for pigeons
A pigeon is a grain eater built around a powerful gizzard, and the daily feed should be a proper pigeon mix rather than scraps or generic seed. Look for a blend led by peas and beans in their dried whole form, wheat, and whole or cracked corn, with smaller seeds such as millet and safflower in a supporting role. Peas carry much of the protein a pigeon needs for moulting, breeding condition, and general strength. Bread, cake, and kitchen scraps are not feed: they fill the crop without supplying what a pigeon actually runs on, and they foul a loft quickly.
How much, and when
Most keepers feed a measured ration once or twice a day rather than leaving grain down constantly, because pigeons that can graze all day pick out the peas and corn and leave the rest, unbalancing the mix you paid for. An amount the flock clears within a reasonable feeding period, adjusted for season, breeding, and moult, keeps every bird eating the full blend. Breeding pigeons feeding youngsters need more generous rations and constant access while crop milk and then regurgitated grain are being produced, so watch condition bird by bird rather than feeding every loft section identically.
Grit and calcium are daily essentials
Pigeons swallow grain whole, so insoluble grit in the gizzard does the grinding their beaks never did. Keep grit available in its own hopper or dish at all times, separate from the feed, and add a calcium source such as crushed oyster shell, which laying hens draw on heavily. A mineral supplement designed for pigeons can sit alongside these, but grit and calcium are the non-negotiables. If grit dishes empty or get fouled and are simply forgotten, digestion of the whole ration suffers even though the grain itself never changed.
Greens and water in the loft
Chopped greens, grated carrot, or thawed peas a few times a week add freshness to a dry-grain life and are usually taken readily once pigeons learn them. Water deserves as much attention as grain: pigeons drink by sucking with the beak submerged, bathe enthusiastically, and foul standing water fast, so drinkers need daily emptying, scrubbing, and refilling, positioned where droppings do not rain into them. In freezing weather, check that water has not iced over, because a loft can have full grain hoppers and still have thirsty birds. Store the mix in a sealed bin off the loft floor, check it for mould or musty smells before each feed, and discard any bag that got damp, because spoiled grain can sicken a whole section before the cause is obvious.
Condition checks and loft routine
Pick birds up regularly and feel the breast: a healthy pigeon feels firm and rounded, while a sharp keel on a bird that is eating signals a problem worth investigating with an avian or experienced pigeon veterinarian. Watch for birds hanging back at feeding time, watery droppings spreading through the loft, or youngsters failing to thrive. Those patterns travel through flocks, so act early. For the routine itself, KinsLe's Care Teams lets loft keepers assign the grain ration, grit hopper, and drinker scrub to named people and see each job timestamped as done.