Allen Small was 9 years old when he bought his first pigeon for 25 cents. That was 70 years ago. Now, after spending tens of thousands of dollars and nearly a lifetime breeding and racing the birds, he is giving up his beloved hobby.

With aging bones and a bad back, the 79-year-old Durango man said caring for his 50 remaining pigeons has become too much. Pigeons can live 15 to 20 years in captivity, he said.

Small bought his first pigeon from Foy’s Pet Supplies in 1955 and has been a loyal customer ever since. He said he’s likely one of Foy’s oldest customers and is on a first-name basis with the owner and the owner’s daughter.

He’s kept up to 250 pigeons at a time at the peak of his hobby, he said. He has pitted his pigeons in races from locations such as Albuquerque to Durango and watched thousands of competitive birds blot out the skies.

Now he is retiring from pigeon connoisseurship, having found a trusted owner – Cindy Cole – in the Animas Valley for his homing pigeons, which are named for their ability to find their way back to their roost over vast distances.

Efforts to reach Cole on Thursday for comment were unsuccessful.

Small purchased a classified ad that ran in Wednesday’s edition of The Durango Herald seeking someone willing to adopt his kit of pigeons. He also offered accommodations, including his pigeon coop, and provided his phone number for interested parties.

Homing pigeons are smart, reliable and pretty birds, he said. They were used in World War II by both Allied and Axis forces to covertly deliver messages.

According to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, 32 pigeons belonging to Allied forces were decorated with the Dickin Medal, which was “granted to any animal displaying gallantry under fire.”

G.I. Joe, the U.S. Army Pigeon Service’s homing pigeon, received the Dickin Medal for delivering a lifesaving message during combat in Italy in October 1943.

One communication method using homing pigeons was to strap a small capsule to a pigeon’s leg. A message would be inscribed on a rolled piece of paper within the capsule.

“The nature of the homing pigeon is such that when it is removed from its home loft and released, it will try to return thereto,” according to page 1 of the Aug. 1, 1943, U.S. Army Air Forces technical manual, “Handling and Releasing Homing Pigeons from Aircraft in Flight,” courtesy of the Smithsonian.

Section 2 of the manual says homing pigeons were dispatched from airplanes equipped with containers holding up to four or more birds. The containers also featured a top section that held a message book, map overlays, message holders, pencils and several days’ worth of bird food.

The birds can fly about 90 mph, but the record is 110 mph with a tail wind.

Small’s current kit of homing pigeons includes varieties such as Black Knights and a silver homer, which has two squabs – baby pigeons – at least one of which he expects to grow up to be silver, too.

He said he purchased the hens and breeding cocks for $600 and $1,000, respectively, per pigeon. He buys 2,500 pounds of feed for about $1,500 every four months and hauls it from Farmington back to Durango. But he has never sold a bird.

“I don’t sell any of my birds for profit. I give them to people who are raising birds,” he said.

Small is giving away his kit of pigeons for free, along with free medicine; food, feeders and waterers; and the pigeon coop many of them have considered their home since birth.

When born, or relocated, it’s best to keep pigeons in their coop for at least six months so they associate their shelter and food source with their nesting ground, he said. After that period, it’s safe to let them fly wherever they want – and they want to fly – with a fair guarantee they will return.

“They love to fly,” he said. “Boy, as soon as I open that (hatch), off they go.”

The pigeons’ first stop is usually the roof of Small’s house or the higher, shaded branches of a tall weeping willow next door. But after a short look around, they take to the open sky, he said.

Most of Small’s neighbors don’t mind the pigeons. They enjoy watching the birds fly as much as the birds love flying. But one of Small’s next-door neighbors has consistently been “pretty pissed about it,” and he is happy to know the pigeons will soon depart from the neighborhood, Small said.

Small said he shot and killed two cats hunting his pigeons with a pellet gun and was investigated for cruelty to animals in the 1970s. He was also sued for $10,000 – or $5,000 per cat.

“I pay $1,000 each (for pigeons) and these cats are coming by and killing my birds,” he said. “And I said, ‘These cats are running around the neighborhood – and they say they’re worth $5,000 each – and neither one has a tag on them.”

The investigation and the lawsuit were dropped.

On Thursday, he opened a hatch in the coop and the pigeons, feathers rustled, hopped from perch to perch, eager to taste the open air. They flocked to the hatch and took off in a hurry.

Small said they tend to circle the neighborhood and fly to Durango High School along Camino del Rio several blocks to the east, and from there, where they go is up to them.

The pigeons almost always find their way home, an exception being when a hawk decides to claim one for a meal.

Small said he intends to keep a small coop in his backyard even after delivering the pigeons to their new owner, knowing it very well could take time for them to adjust to their new home in the Animas Valley.

cburney@durangoherald.com