#dovecotes

[leitharstjarna]

Pigeon mention!

[biglisbonnews]

Culver Hole in Port Eynon, Wales Hidden in the cliffs on the Gower peninsula in South Wales is a cave sealed behind an 18-meter stone wall with no door and ill-matched windows. Believed to have been built in the 13th or 14th century as a shelter for domesticated pigeons, the cave would have held hundreds of pigeons in the day. Pigeons were an important source of food, providing meat and fresh eggs. According to legend, this site was also used as a storehouse by powerful local brigand John Lucas and once had a secret tunnel that was used to move illegal contraband connecting it to the nearby salt house in Port Eynon. The word "culver" derives from the Old English word "culfre," meaning pigeon. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/culver-hole-port-eynon

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I couldn’t believe it when I saw a pigeon castle in the yard of a home for sale in Rhode Island, USA. I thought that medieval pigeon castles were only found in France. So, I had to go to my archives to revisit their story. 

I was fascinated, and people called them mini castles, playhouses, etc., so I did some research & found out what they really were. Actually, they’re called Pigeonniers.

It all started with this one that was Photoshopped and made the rounds of the internet and Pinterest. I was equally smitten by it. Some said it was a studio, a gardener’s cottage, and even a fairy house.

In the Middle Ages, meat was a luxury and served only on rare occasions. For nobility & royalty, a pigeonnier was extra status and power. Having one was a way to indicate to neighbors that you were feasting on pigeons every day.

Pigeonniers, or “dovecotes” in English, are intended to house pigeons or sometimes doves (Actually, doves are just white pigeons). The birds were especially popular in the Middle Ages for their meat, eggs and fertilizer (poop).

The production of “columbine,” or pigeon feces, was highly sought after as a fertilizer for vineyards, vegetable gardens, orchards and various crops. 

And as we neared the dawn of the 20th cent., Parisians alone were consuming some 2,000,000 pigeons a year! 

 After that, pigeon breeding in France went on the decline as European diets changed and the meat industry evolved.

So what’s inside these grand pigeonniers?  One large open space with walls divided into pigeon holes, or boulins, which can lodge a pair of pigeons. Here a pigeon farmer stands on a ladder, which rotates around the central beam, allowing the breeder to collect eggs from each hole.

The earliest ones were crafted from rock, brick, pottery or even just jars lying sideways.

Many of them even had a bath. 

This old pigeonnier used to be inhabited on the 1st 2 floors by humans, while the 3rd floor was reserved for pigeons. (It’s since been turned into a B&B.)

You can find renovated bed and breakfasts by searching with the keywords “pigeonnier” and “dovecote” on Airbnb.

https://www.messynessychic.com/

[myrachidh]

Pigeon Hole Line-up Dovecotes ~ Pigeon Towers ~ Pigeon Holes ~ Colombier ~ Pigeonnier ~ Beheira Province, Egypt #pigeons #Doves #Tourterelle #Colombe #Dovecotes #PigeonTowers #PigeonHoles #Colombier #Pigeonnier #Beheira #Egypt #Birds #Oiseaux #wildlifephotography #Wildlife #oiseauxmigrateurs #oiseauxerrants #Ornithology ~ https://www.flickr.com/photos/rachidh/albums u (at Beheira Governorate) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8UBoaLAw9O/?igshid=1h4rtxbxw16di

[itscolossal]

Historical Adobe Pigeon Towers Located Near Riyadh Captured in Photographs by Rich Hawkins

[davidhop]

The bird houses of #Tinos are dovecotes by any other name. They once bred pigeons for the sweetness of their meat and the superb quality of their droppings, an organic fertiliser. There are estimated to be a > 1,000 of these buildings. #birdhouse #dovecotes #pigeons #birdpoo #guano #organic (at Τήνος - Tinos island, Greece) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzKfYR_hDZC/?igshid=1qrgd4mkij6re

[plews]

Doves, Dovecotes, St David’s Day *Plews Potting Shed* Did you know that white doves prefer living in tunnels rather than nests in trees? http://plews.gd/2lQC7gP

[wapiti3]

A book of dovecotes, 

By Cooke, Arthur O. (Arthur Owens), 1867-1930

Publication info Boston [etc.]T. N. Foulis[1920] Contributing Library: Cornell University Library BioDiv. Library