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Area man raises racing pigeons, exotic wings
Soft coos and a murmur of constant motion fill Monroe Loewen's workplace. The 300 breeding pairs of pigeons in a specially designed hoop barn outside his home may not be a typical way to make a living. But for Loewen, raising the birds is ideal because it not only speaks to his entrepreneurial spirit, but allows him plenty of time at home with his family.
It's a life that can be a little noisy and slightly messy, but full of accomplishment and a good work ethic for the whole family, he said. "I was already in the bird business, and it looked like something I could do here. My three little boys help me. It's very much a family-oriented business," said Loewen, whose wife is Jocelyn and their sons DeAndrae, Jourdain and Girah.
Loewen's job with the pigeons is to breed them, then he ships them to his buyer at 20 weeks old. His pigeons are called "high fliers," a type of homing pigeon, bred to be able to find their way back home from a place they've never visited before. His birds are ultimately used for pigeon racing, a sport in which the birds are dropped off at a point and the first pigeon to make it back home is the winner. A 300-mile race is not uncommon, Loewen said. "An example is taking the birds to Dallas and letting them go, then monitoring to see who comes home first," he said. "Or taking them to Brownsville, Texas, letting them go in the morning and they will arrive in the evening in Tulsa."
Loewen has 300 male and 300 female pigeons in a large barn, both ends featuring ventilation screens. Inside are nest boxes, essentially wooden drawers that can be pulled out to check on the birds. There are twice as many nest boxes as birds because females will lay eggs in one nest while still feeding babies in another nest, he said. Otherwise, the pigeons are mostly self-sufficient. "They pair up on their own and will stick to one mate," he said. "Both birds will feed and sit on the eggs." In addition to feeding, watering and cleaning the nests, Loewen puts leg bands on each bird to designate age. Each month, according to their age, birds get different-colored bands. So at 20 weeks, he knows to gather the birds with pink bands, for example. He captures them at night while they're roosting, on roosts specifically built within arm's reach.
His pigeons, while all the same breed, are multi-colored. They are quiet, their soft coos never increasing above a murmur. In contrast, parakeets are a noisy bunch, matching their showy colors of green, yellow, blue, white everything except red, Loewen said. Parakeets make up the bulk of the Exotic Wings part of Loewen's bird business because they're relatively inexpensive as pet birds, they bond to people and have been known to talk a little bit. Loewen and his Exotic Wings partners, Randy and Stacie Plett, sell the birds to pet shops and brokers. Parakeets require a little more oversight than pigeons, Loewen said. Putting a male and female together in a cage is required for matchmaking. Parakeets also require more climate control in their habitat, about 70 degrees, whereas pigeons can acclimate to all temperatures.
His Web site for Exotic Wings is www.exoticwingsusa.com. April Wilkerson may be reached at 214-3926 or april.wilkerson@news-star.com.
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