# Very large pigeon droppings?



## MellissaG

It didnt take me long after Aisha and Ali were born to realize I shouldn't feed any of them on my balcony unless I wanted to scrape off the poo -- 

But in the past 2 or 3 weeks, ive started noticing HUGE droppings... like, egg sized -BALLS- of poo. What gives? I actually know which one it is.. it's the daddy pigeon. Last week while I was checking on the eggs to see if they hatched yet, I noticed on his leg he had a string tangled and knotted around his toes and foot, so I brought him inside..wrapped in a towel, I cut the knots and untangled it. But during the process, he pood in the towel... foulest smelling thing I have ever smelled. (It was a chicken egg sized ball)

I put him back out, he seems fine. But are large droppings a sign of anything? The shapes (and sizes) are random, but can often be compared to: A pigeon egg itself, even as large as a chicken egg, thick lipstick sticks, and random shapes of large square/rectangular patches. 

Is this normal? 

I do not feed them on the balcony, but I do keep a dish of water out so I don't think it's dehydration.


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## MellissaG

Oh, another gross comment. I'm starting to wonder if this is an appropriate question to ask lol, but I just hope he isnt sick, so anyway, -- a friend recently this weekend actually was on my balcony with me and compared them to cat droppings.  That's how big they are... so yep. Any ideas?


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## Feefo

Hi Melissa,

Hens (and I suppose cocks) that have been sitting on the nest will produce a huge dropping when they come off it. Hoever, very smelly poo like you describe is not normal and by the sound of it the size of the dropping is large even when compared to nesting poops.

Do you put probiotics in their water? That could help.

Glad you were able to deal with the foot promptly!

Cynthia


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## MellissaG

Oooo that makes sense.  I will try and take some pictures of the little situations today to give a better idea.


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## Maggie-NC

Melissa, try putting ACV in their drinking water about 2 x week - we use 2 tbsp per gallon of water. It really is good for them.


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## B. Sommm

When I was feeding the birds in my backyard I was finding "cat turd" sized poops all over the place...and that's exactly what I compared them too! My roof & the roofs of my neighbors also have huge poops & poop 'splats' on them. I personally find it disgusting & unsightly.

I recently have been getting 'bites' on me from something invisible to the naked eye from INSIDE of my house, so I stopped feeding the birds. I read that large gatherings of poop deposits can cause mites & stuff. Since it doesn't rain much out here, the poop build up has been getting out of hand and I really don't need bird poop mites breeding on my roof and getting into the house through various cracks & crevices! Eeeeuuuwwww!!

Anyway, I too have been wondering why the poops were so huge and now I know! I do miss some of the birds tho. Mostly the pigeons (I'm assuming they were the "cat turd" sized poop producers!) and the quail that had just started coming around. However, I was innundated with doves, which I wasn't too happy about as I wanted the pigeons and other birds to feed instead! (I had about 8 pijies, including 2 brown ("red") ones that would visit.)

Oh well. I still put water out for those that still come around tho.

B.


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## MellissaG

Here is a pic of one of the larger situations... cat poo sized droppings! What the heck are these guys eating. 

Tarheel what is ACV? where do I find it? How much is it? What does it do? etc... 
The dish I have their water in is about half a cup sized dish. It used to be the food bowl for my hamster. How much should I put in that? 

I also have a tray out that's about an inch and a half deep I fill with water on really hot days incase they want to take a bath, though I havnt seen them use it...


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## Maggie-NC

Melissa, IMO, the poop looks fine. ACV is apple cider vinegar. Here is one link that talks about it. You can go to "search" and find loads of info on ACV.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=19918


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## Larry_Cologne

*More photos of large poops*

Melissa

The poops look fine to me, also. 

Check out these photos I made today with a web-cam, of female pigeon *Osk-gurr*'s large poop made when she got off the nest today around noon, after being on the nest since 17:30 (5:30 P.M.) yesterday.

She's not a big eater, laid the second egg two days ago on Saturday, June 16ht, 2007 between 16:00 and 19:30 (4 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.) Next to the large poop is a more normal size poop (dried), and a U.S. 25 cent piece (quarter dollar) coin and a German one-Euro coin. 

She has laid slightly larger poops. After nesting yesterday, before eating, she weighed 277 grams (285 grams = 10 ounces), and her mate *Wieteke* weighed 327 grams. Both have been molting a lot last week.

My wife says that when the pigeons have eggs, the nests really smell bad, even before the eggs hatch. The pigeons have not pooped near the nest site, either.

I wanted to weigh the poop, but didn't locate my postal scale (weighs zero to fifty grams, in 1-gram increments, has a little alligator clip, or spring clamp with toothed jaws for grabbing onto a suspended letter). 

Link to some delightful photos: 


http://picasaweb.google.com/henson.sels/FemalePigeonOskGurrPigeonPoops1806072216?authkey=KESHA2u2D5o


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## Larry_Cologne

*More links (Wikipedia) on ACV, must, etc.*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar



> *Production
> *
> *Vinegar* is made from the oxidation of ethanol in wine, cider, beer, fermented fruit juice, or nearly any other liquid containing alcohol. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods are generally used with traditional vinegars and fermentation proceeds slowly over the course of weeks or months. The longer fermentation period allows for the accumulation of a nontoxic slime composed of acetic acid bacteria and soluble cellulose, known as the *mother of vinegar*. Fast methods add mother of vinegar (i.e. bacterial culture) to the source liquid and then add air using a venturi pump system or a turbine to promote oxygenisation to give the fastest fermentation. In fast production processes, vinegar may be produced in a period ranging between 20 hours and three days.
> 
> Vinegar eels (Turbatrix aceti), a form of *nematode,* may occur in some forms of vinegar. These feed on the mother and occur in naturally fermenting vinegar.[2] Most manufacturers filter and pasteurize their product before bottling to eliminate any potential adulteration.


Wikipedia Link to *nematodes*:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematode


> The *nematodes* or *roundworms* (Phylum Nematoda from Greek νῆμα (nema): "thread" + -ώδη -ode "like") are one of the most common phyla of animals, with over 20,000 different described species (over 15,000 are parasitic). They are ubiquitous in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments, where they often outnumber other animals in both individual and species counts, and are found in locations as diverse as Antarctica and oceanic trenches. Further, there are a great many parasitic forms, including pathogens in most plants and animals, humans included.


And further down in the same page on nematodes:


> In the 1914 edition of the Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture N.A.Cobb wrote on the abundance of nematodes:
> 
> “	If all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable, and if, as disembodied spirits, we could then investigate it, we should find its mountains, hills, vales, rivers, lakes and oceans represented by a thin film of nematodes. The location of towns would be decipherable, since for every massing of human beings there would be a corresponding massing of certain nematodes. Trees would still stand in ghostly rows representing our streets and highways. The location of the various plants and animals would still be decipherable, and, had we sufficient knowledge, in many cases even their species could be determined by an examination of their erstwhile nematode parasites.	”
> 
> — N.A.Cobb


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar



> *Apple cider*
> Apple cider vinegar, otherwise known simply as cider vinegar, is made from cider or *apple must*, and is often sold unfiltered, with a brownish-yellow color; it often contains *mother of vinegar*. It is currently very popular, partly due to its alleged beneficial health and beauty properties .....




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_of_vinegar


> *
> Mother of vinegar* is a slime composed of a form of cellulose and acetic acid bacteria that develops on fermenting alcoholic liquids, which turns alcohol into acetic acid with the help of oxygen from the air. It is added to wine, cider, or other alcoholic liquids to produce vinegar.
> 
> *Mother of vinegar* can also form in store-bought vinegar if there is some non-fermented sugar and/or alcohol contained in the vinegar. While not appetizing in appearance, mother of vinegar is completely harmless and vinegar does not have to be discarded because of it. It can be filtered out using a coffee filter, or simply left in and ignored.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Must



> *Must* is the juice of freshly pressed grapes, that contains various quantities of pulp, skins, stems, and seeds, called pomace or grape solids, which typically comprise between 7–23 percent of the total weight of the must.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomace 



> *Pomace* is the solid remains of olives, grapes, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It is essentially the pulp, peel, seeds and stalks of the fruit after the oil, water, or other liquid has been pressed out. ...
> 
> *Apple pomace* is often used to produce pectin,


_
[Emphases in *bold* mine]._ 

All content taken from *Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopedia*.

Larry


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## Maggie-NC

Larry, I know I have told you this before but worth repeating - you make some great posts!

I appreciate all the research you do for us.

The nematode bit was especially interesting. I always think of nematodes in garden soil but hadn't thought about them being everywhere.


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## warriec

The poop looks normal. Its normally big when they are sitting on the egg. I guess its because the hold it in so long that when it comes out its big


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## mr squeaks

warriec said:


> The poop looks normal. Its normally big when they are sitting on the egg. I guess its because the hold it in so long that when it comes out its big


I agree. When Squeaks is in "daddy" mode and sits for hours on his egg, he, too, will produce some "whoppers" - just like the above picture posted by Mellissa. _Sometimes_, they will be smelly but not all the time.

When he is in mate mode and running around and about, he has MANY smaller poops, deposited anywhere he goes (unless he's wearing his "suit"). 

Larry, I agree with Maggie...LOVE your information! Members recommend the ACV with mother in it and Bragg's seem to be a popular brand. Some use ACV in the bath water too.

BTW, POOP discussions are quite common on the site and we have had some GREAT threads ALL about POOP!  After all, a heathy poop is a healthy pij, so we are always on the "watch!"  

Shi


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## MellissaG

lol ok. If its normal then wonderful. I was just confused and SHOCKED at the size of these things... 

Plus, it only happened with this nest. When my first two eggs (Aisha and Ali) were being incubated, the parents didnt poo like this... on my balcony at least. So just took me by surprise


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## flitsnowzoom

MellissaG said:


> Plus, it only happened with this nest. When my first two eggs (Aisha and Ali) were being incubated, the parents didnt poo like this... on my balcony at least. So just took me by surprise



Well, you know how it is about getting comfortable and feeling like it's home. 'Til then they were probably depositing somewhere else.

No place like home.


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