Breeder dismayed as fancy pigeons killed in brutal attack

Hastings man Ryan Baukham found seven of his prized fancy pigeons killed in a presumed dog attack on Tuesday morning. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

An avid fancy pigeon breeder was left gutted this week when he found a handful of his prized birds strewn dead across the lawn after what he presumed was a dog attack.

Fancy pigeon breeder Ryan Bauckham got a worrying phone call from his son's mother on Tuesday morning after she found a dead pigeon in the driveway.

"I came home on my work break because I was a little concerned about the bird she described, I thought a cat had got into the backyard, and I saw all the bodies everywhere and the damage."

Seven prized pigeons, of English carrier and fantail breeds, were killed in the attack and five had to be destroyed because they weren't in good shape, he said.

"I wasn't expecting it and when you're breeding animals one is not like the other; you can lose genetics or just an old friend."

The Hastings postman said a corner of the wire netting caging one of his pigeon lofts had been scratched away and he suspected a dog had got into the property.

"I've seen dogs come around here before and they're often intrigued by the birds, especially the little ones. They get a bit on edge and change the way they behave and I think it's just scratched at the wire until it's come away and had a bit of a frenzy,

"What I think happened was that one, maybe two, dogs were out roaming and I didn't close the gate that night and I think they came up to the hutches. There are scratches on the outside so I think it's a terrier or something."

After breeding pigeons for years he said they were award-winning birds and he was sad that generations had been lost in the raid.

"I show my birds and one of the breeds I keep, the fantails, recently won the North Island championships at the shows. I've been breeding them for eight years and every year is a generation of selective breeding."

He said the situation was particularly tough on his 2-year-old son Yahya who was fond of the birds.

"He knows all the names of the breeds and he comes to the shows with me, helps me to feed them. He's never really experienced a dead one so he was just shaking his head saying 'no, no'."

Mr Baukham initially thought there may be someone behind the attack but the evidence didn't indicate any foul play.

"From time to time people play a prank and chuck a cat or dog into the lofts. Why they do it I don't know. At first I thought that but I don't think that so much now because if a human was involved they could have done a lot more destructive job and a lot more easily."

He said he wasn't angry but wanted people to be more careful about their dogs straying.

"I'm not angry at the people with the dogs but I hope that if a dog did come home with blood on its muzzle that they will try and keep them more secure in the future.

"There's only a handful of us in the country that breed these birds and to most people they're not even worth 10 cents but to me they're really special... it's tough."