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| Postcard California Pigeon Ranch 1911 |
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Only five men were needed on the farm and their principle labor consisted of catching
squabs, feeding and cleaning out the nest boxes. Fertilizer was also a valuable product of the farm and sold by the carload.
Tanneries, owners of orchards and berry farms being the principle purchasers. This brought in a hundred and twenty five dollars
per carload. The peddlers of the farm started business with just one hundred birds. There many homers at the farm plus a number
variations in color and markings. It was quite a sight to see all these pigeons free flying.
| 1900's California Pigeon Ranch Postcard |
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| California 1907 Pigeon Ranch |
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| 1907 Real Photo Scene |
| 1900's California Pigeon Ranch Postcard |
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| Real Photo Postcard California Pigeon Ranch 1903 |
Above image is a stereopticon slide by the Keystone
View Co., 1903
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| California Pigeon Ranch 1903 |
Squab was sold at the ranch for food to the public and
shipped via rail to western cities. Remember, only ice was available in 1909 to keep the dressed squabs fresh. The pigeon
ranch started it's operation in 1898 from Mr. T.Y. Johnson. It was located alongside the Los Angeles river across from
Elysian Park near the intersection of West Dayton and Avenue 20, later renamed Figueroa and San Fernando Road, respectively.
The farm benefited from its proximity to the railroad tracks, where the free-flying pigeons could scavenge for grain that
dropped from the railroad cars. The farm's principal product was squab which was sold to local restaurants. Fertilizer
was the secondary product.
| 1910 Feeding time |
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| Daily feeding chore on the farm |
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| California Pigeon Ranch 1903 |
The Breeding of pigeons is a picturesque and remunerative
industy of the far west. The bird ranch owned by T.Y Johnson has succeeded beyond all expectation, and profits have
been large enough to arouse great interest. Three years ago, not withstanding the uncertainty of the outcome,
Mr. Johnson selected a pretty spot in the Los Angeles river bed, where, among the sycamores, willows and alters that outlined
the small stream, he erected a number of emmense bird tenements, one being sixty feet long, twenty - four feet wide and eighteen
feet high. Tiny domestic establishments were arranged in tiers all over the exterior walls, while through the
interior ran eight narrow aisles, affording passageway to the inner flats. The squabs are allowed to remain under the
paternal roof for only three weeks, at the end of which time they are prepared for market. When they are old enough to fly
they invariably become thin and tough. At the age of six months, those birds which have escaped the stew kettle select
their mates and nest. During the past three years the 3,000 birds have increased to 15,000. September and October
are molting months, and during that time only forty dozen squabs are produced monthly, but during every other month four hundred
dozen squabs are hatched.
In selecting
birds for the market, Mr. Johnson takes the dark - feathered youngsters, as he hopes eventually to have only white birds.
Two hundred and fifty dozen squabs, on an average, are sent to the market each month, the price of sale ranging from $1.50
to $3.00 per dozen, though in molting seasons when the birds are scarce $10.00 a dozen is often realized. Mr. Johnson
estimates that his revenue from the birds during the past year has amounted to $12.000. At present the lofts are all
occupied, and some of the more recent home-makers are compelled to occupy humble habitations on the ground. Each
week the lofts are disinfected with a solution of carbolic acid, while every nest is sprinkled with insect powder and sulfer,
a process the birds seem to dislike.
At
meal time the scene on the ranch is one of picturesque animation. Responsive to the first note of a musical, long- drawn
whistle from Mr. Johnson, which announces a banquet, the birds flock from every crack and crevice of their tenement.
The air is full of pigeons. To feed this flock of 15,000 birds requires twelve sacks of screenings, eight sacks of grain,
and an immense quantity of boiled meal each day. During the week, three or four barrels of stale bread are soaked in
water and added to the menu.
The cost
of these provisions amounts to $15.00 per day, which is at the rate of $5,475 per year. The birds never stary beyond
the wire boundries of their home, seeming quite content with the narrow confines of eight acres. Convenience
and comfort are carefully considered and every morning straw is strewn on the ground that the birds may build new nests if
they so desire. The life of this interesting bird city is one of un-ending contentment, undisturbed save when a predatory
hawk or rat appears uopn the scene. Fourteen to sixteen wagon - loads of guano are removed from the premises each year,
and the great bulk of feathers taken from the marketable birds is utilized by the upholstery departments of furniture factories.
Edited by Helen Lucas Jones / April 1902 Life In America Magazine
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| California Pigeon Ranch 1903 |
In February 1914, heavy rains caused the Los Angeles
river to flood, and the farm was washed away. The Los Angeles Times reported that the loss was valued at $50,000. When
terrific rains caused the free flowing Los Angeles river to swell and the Los Angeles Pigeon Farm was washed away in the flood,
never to be rebuilt. The estimated 500,000 birds were killed as a result of the damage. It is now occupied
by maintenance yards of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the MTA. I hope you enjoyed the story of this historical ranch.
We have researched information and collected photos, cards, clippings, etc, through various publications and sources.
If you have further information, prints, photos, etc., of this Historic pigeon ranch, please contact us, so we
can edit it to this site for others to view. Thanks for viewing!
| 1914 Newspaper Clipping of the Disaster |
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| Total Loss |
| Early 1900's CA Pigeon Ranch Attraction |
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| Visitors Paid To See The Birds |
| 1900's California Pigeon Ranch Postcard |
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| Postcard 1908 California Pigeon Ranch |
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| Postcard 1903 California Pigeon Ranch |
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