Rescued Homing Pigeon (lost!)

Box_Of_Frogs

Box_Of_Frogs

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Not horsey but I don't know anywhere else I might get the information. Robbie (don't ask!) the lost, exhausted and soaked homing pigeon now considers my yard is his home. Now he's stronger, I can't get near him to read the identification numbers on his leg bands. He will let me get to within about 3 feet (so you can see he's used to people) then he flies off. Looks like he's a permanent fixture at the yard but I worry as he's sort of semi-tame. He insists on "roosting" in the grass!!! I guess he's used to an aviary and all mod cons. The door of the old chicken shed is left open for him so I've put 2 old shoe boxes filled with Box a) shredded newspaper and Box b) hay. Anyone know what he would be used to sleeping in in a commercial aviary? Up high or low down? Also, I know he needs grit for his crop function but how do I feed it? Does it get mixed in with his normal pigeon food or should it be separate? If anyone has any tips on helping him to adjust to being a feral bird, I'd be really grateful. With winter round the corner I'm not sure how he will cope........
 
We have the occasional racing pigeon who drops in and stays a while. I feed the birds round my stable with wild bird seed, which the local pigeons and doves seem to love. I know nothing about pigeons per se but all ours seem to survive on it (and your bird hopefully will copy other pigeons). It's a worry about his roosting habits though. Ours tend to take up residence in the stable, as it has slip rails at the front rather than half doors, so is more inviting. My feeling is that he should be more usued to roosting at a height. Hopefully there will be someone knowledgable on this forum to help you.
 
Like many yards we get the occasional racing pidgeon dropping in. We do keep wild bird seed at the yard for this purpose & we just put some down for them & they help themselves. As for grit, they will find it themselves, it's natural for them to do that.

Regarding nest boxes etc, we don't bother, they normally roost in the barn or some other building. Some have actually met up with wild pidgeons & live with them, returning to the yard occasionally with their new mates for the free feed. :)
 
I keep a few pigeons and have rescued a fair few waifs and strays; they do tend to prefer to roost up a height, a shelf or flat area will be fine for them.

Ideally it's best to catch them ( I usually manage by sneaking up behind them when they are feeding and slowly getting close enough to grab them, or throw a blanket over them) and put them in the new roost, keeping them there for a few days so that they 'home' They then come and go as they please. As for grit, if they are pecking about outside they will probably get enough, or you can buy mineral peckers from pet suppliers that supply them with grit and minerals that they need.

I just use a garden shed with a pigeon hole and 'launch pad' for them which has shelving inside that they roost on quite happily. I've had one rescued dove for over twelve years now, so they can last a long time!
 
can you take a picture of its leg ring? we did this before then zoomed in on the picture enough to see its letters and numbers then googled the number and it bought up owners name.

x
 
guido16 said:
Shoot it. Then you would have no problem getting up close to have a look at the rings......

Cant stand the things. Rats with wings.

Lol!!! They aren't all bad - in fact they have been trained by psychologists and given us a greater understanding of behaviour; they were responsible for saving lives during the war and can be trained to spot persons missing at sea. They can also be worth vast amounts of money and even the Queen has a loft at Sandringham. http://www.deterapigeon.com/21-amazing-facts-about-pigeons.htm
Click to expand...
 
i found one as a child, diligently found out the owner's address, rang him, he sent a box for me to post the poor thing back (in the general post... wtf?!) and then, years later, I was told that if you do that, when they get them back the first thing they do is ring the pigeon's neck, because it's obviously a rubbish racing pigeon if it stopped for a rest...
so, either feed it wild bird feed, if you can put up with pigeon poo everywhere, or shoot it!
 
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