# My first Pigeon! Rescued



## Blackcatkro (Feb 11, 2019)

Hi all! 
I found a free King Pigeon on craigslist and I could see that he/she was living in very poor conditions in a tiny, incredibly dirty cage... I knew they would have a difficult time re-homing her, they lived far out of town and where I live there aren't many people that have even heard of a pet pigeon! Haha. 

Anyway, they believed that this beautiful baby was a male however through my further investigation I'm led to believe "he" is actually a "she"! I'm quite certain pidgie is female but I would love any input or help with determining for sure. 

I've done the test while holding her under the wings and the tail feathers pointed up. Her toes look to be that of a hen as well as her size... her beak is overgrown so it's been difficult to determine sex via beak. I've tried feeling the vents but I'm not entirely sure what it should actually feel like...

Pidgie has a strange growth on the very top of the wing close to his/her neck and one underneath the tail feathers... I haven't found much on it anywhere online.

They've also been feeding her canary and parakeet food due to her "beak deformation". They told me she can only eat small seed? She had never eaten any fruit or greens until today and she was crazy for spinach! She gets very defensive of her food dish or any food at all. 

She got her first bath in the bath tub today (I think it was her first real bath and she was IN HEAVEN!)... she is snow white now and she noticeably feels better! I just wanted to share that, lol. 😄

Anyway, now that you've got some background here are my questions:

Do you have any input or other ideas to help me sex said pidgie? 

Food recommendations for overgrown beak?

Reccomendations for how to help wear pidgie's beak down naturally? As well as claws?

Has anyone seen similar growths on their bird(s)?

How often should pidge get a bath?

What do you clean your dove/pidgie's cage and perches with? Bleach worries me, wondering if it's safe or another alternative.

Food/general aggression tips?


Sorry for the extra long post! I haven't been able to find a ton of info online to help answer any of my questions so I would eternally grateful for any help or suggestions! 🙂

- Kelsey


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Really pretty bird! Lucky to have been adopted by you. What is tge pink spot in the last photo?


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## Blackcatkro (Feb 11, 2019)

Thank you!!! The orange spot is one of the growths I mentioned above.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Hi Kelsey! Beautiful bird 😃 !

Have you ever heard about picking blocks for pigeons (see the pic)? Some of my birds love pecking at them (others just eat the crumbled ones that I always leave available in a bowl). If your bird will peck at it, It could help to wear the beak down in a natural way. In add, they are healthy products, good sources of calcium and minerals. If you buy one, just leave it available and see if she pecks at it (give her some time, birds eat it just when they feel they need it). In the negative case, you can cut/crumble it and leave it available in a bowl. Anyway, if you need any advice (about ingredients, etc) feel free to ask 😊.

If the nails grows too much you can trim them with a nail clipper, as they are white it's not complicated. We can explain you how to do it. 

I have an overgrown beak pigeon (hooked upper beak, I have to trim and to file it every 2/3 weeks because it grows fast), I don't feed him something different from my other pigeons. You could try to leave her available (in add to the bowl with the small seeds) a bowl containing a large mix of seed: dove/pigeon mixtures of different brands, dry legumes (the ones for humans) like mung beans, small lentils and peas. Leave it available and see if she learns to eat them. 

Regularly give her a complete vitamin supplement (vitamins + trace elements + amino acids): a pigeon needs vitamin D3 to absorb the calcium he gets (in the wild birds get it from sunlight). Leave always available a source of calcium (as I said, the pickstone is a good source of calcium and minerals, in add it could also contain anise, clay, etc); you could find even calcium supplements for drinking water. Probiotics are also useful. 

Pigeons love bathing! My birds decide on their own when take a bath (it means every day 😉. ..). Here I don't have a lot of space so they bath in dog bowls. When I'm in Italy I put for them a cat litter box: I think it's like a swimming pool for them! When they take a bath they usually splash water everywhere, I suggest you to put something (like paper towel or a puppy pad trainer) under the box/bowl. 

The only sure way to know his/her sex is see if she lays an egg or a DNA test.


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