# Inside Pigeons as Pets...



## stoufferm (Feb 4, 2015)

Hello, my name is Mike. I am not new to this site despite my account. I raised pigeons as a kid and got alot of guidance from this forum. My user name was Flash_n_Stash (or similar) named after my first two pigeons. Now I'm nearly 30 years old and was planning to adopt a Parrot... instead picked up a Fantail rescue then bought it a mate (turns out I've got a lesbian pair).... perhaps for another thread topic.

The real reason of this post is I've never raised pigeons inside. Always in a loft. But we created an indoor cage for our two pigeons.

I used pelletized bedding which absorbs moisture and helps with smell for the bottom. The cage has perches and shelves as well. Approximately 2 feet wide by 4 feet long but 4 feet high. For two pigeons it's a good size.

The problem being the doors are framed with 1/2-1/4 inch square wire and alot of them end up on the floor. Not a huge problem but it is inconvenient. So we switched to fake grass and velcro so it would be easier to take out and hose off then return it. They have created a nest on the bottom of the cage so it hasnt really been easier to clean. 

The problem we are having now is they sit on the eggs and take turns then have massive turds (no real polite way to describe this). The cage smells and I just cleaned it 2 days ago...

What is the best way to avoid smells indoors. What works best for you and isnt messy. Cleaning the cage daily is not ideal. Prefer opinions once or twice a week. 
My husband is not fond of birds and I dont want to give him a reason to want to rehome these ladies.

We are leaving for a week to Hawaii in 7 days for 7 days we have a house sitter and pet sitter, but dont want to return to a stinky home. Opinions are greatly appreciated.


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## Garye2 (Mar 30, 2019)

I HAVE to clean my pigeon's home twice a day every day. Yes, you are right. They can really put out some especially if they've been on eggs all day. I don't know if you want to try Lysol spray or not but that's the only thing I can come up with. That's why I clean her home every day twice a day. The smell will kill you.

If anyone else has suggestions I'd like to hear them too. The odor is terrible.


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## stoufferm (Feb 4, 2015)

I added a thin layer of Pelletized bedding and made a baking soda and water formula in a spray bottle and sprayed the pellets down to give them a little fluff. I cleaned the cage this morning and now smells today when I got home from work. I think I may have found a solution x). I'll give it a couple days and see what happens. Is your cage similar to mine?


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## Garye2 (Mar 30, 2019)

No, yours is way nicer. I use a dog crate. I like to have it cleaned twice daily for two reasons: odor and hygiene. It's a lot of work but to me it's worth it.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Is there no way you can move the cage in front of a window? If you open the window and let some fresh air get in, this might help. They will also benefit from direct sunlight. I would remove the artificial grass and cover the floor with building sand. Easy to clean, just sift out the droppings every day. Then you can only replace the sand once a month. Some twigs etc on the bottom will keep them occupied building a nest.

I know not everyone can keep their pigeons outdoors, but I believe in trying to make things as natural as possible for them when being kept indoors.


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## beachwood45789 (Jul 15, 2014)

Hi, you can use bounce dryer sheets to keep the smell down just put them around your cage, use close pins to put them on the bars of the cage.


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## stoufferm (Feb 4, 2015)

The cage is built into the middle of our home. Not really moveable. I will definitely try the building sand. I honestly dont think we would have a problem if they werent laying on eggs... 

Building sand.... when they fly does it kick up a lot of sand. I dont want an even bigger mess on our hard wood than the pellets we already have... I'm down to try it though. Many people hate the grass saying they can get stuck and tangled in lose strands. But we literally walk by them 100 times a day. If something like that happened we would catch it immediately. Especially since someone is always home. We are working on taming them so we can take them out of the cage more. Once our new chicken coop is built it will be enclosed and large enough for them to have some outside time.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Don't think the sand will spill outside of the cage. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

We wrap cloth around the bottom 6 inches on the outside of our flight cages to deter things from falling out.


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## jonrf (Nov 30, 2017)

Healthy pigeon droppings should be oderless unless there is a bacterial issue, or food type issue. And pigeons themselves don't particularly smell. Probiotics, like Probios or Bene-bac, do help, and can be found at farm feed stores or online. A healthy pigeon should not stink.


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## stoufferm (Feb 4, 2015)

The problem is they are sitting on eggs. So they arent normal sized poops. They are like 4 poops in one. We didnt have this issue before the eggs came. Dryer sheets, baking soda and pelletized bedding has worked wonders.


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## Barbjmark (Dec 23, 2019)

stoufferm said:


> The problem is they are sitting on eggs. So they arent normal sized poops. They are like 4 poops in one. We didnt have this issue before the eggs came. Dryer sheets, baking soda and pelletized bedding has worked wonders.


I doubt you have lesbian pigeons. I heard that Both parents sit on the eggs, and that they won't sit on unfertilized eggs.

I raised a rescue pigeon for 5 years indoors. I left his cage permanently open so he thought of it as his room with food and water and for sleeping.

The golf ball sized poop only seemed to happen after sleeping when he didn't poop for several hours. 

He refused to be friendly toward other pigeons. He strongly abused each of 2 mates I bought him. They each lasted 2 days. He would poke them under their wings whenever he could and he tried to prevent them from eating. One flew away and didn't return when I let them out for a fly. The other I gave back to the pet shop. 

I offered him to a pigeon club owner, Frank's Pigeons, who adored him. The first thing Frank did, after scratching him behind his neck which he loved.
was put him in cage and shut the cage door. I started to tell Frank my Homer was never locked in a cage. I turned around and Homer found true love with a redhead in the cage next door. It was love at fist sight.


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## stoufferm (Feb 4, 2015)

I replaced the real eggs with fake eggs a week ago and they are still sitting on them. I have only 2 pigeons and their are 4 eggs. It's rare a female pigeon lays 3 eggs and even more rare for a pigeon to lay 4. So my guess is I have 2 females. After a week of sitting in the eggs I checked if they were fertilize eggs. And there was no embryos. Instead of letting them continue to sit on the eggs give bad I got them fake eggs. We leave for Hawaii today and didnt want to come home to Rotten eggs. Quite frankly I dont care what they are male or female they are pets at the end of the day and they are happy together.


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## Garye2 (Mar 30, 2019)

> I turned around and Homer found true love with a redhead in the cage next door. It was love at fist sight.


Yeah, those redheads are special.  I very rarely see them in the wild, but when I do it's like seeing this red spot in a sea of grey.


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