# Toys for a pigeon



## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

Hi all - long time no see.

A few days ago, I brought home a little Pokemon stuffed toy (Google 'pidove' if you want to see it) that looks like a little pigeon. It's barely taller than my boy pigeon's leg. It doesn't matter if he's being held or if he's in his cage, Nibbler will spend hours pecking the toy, throwing it around, and banging/pinning it against things.

Now, this is all incredibly cute to watch, mind you. He doesn't coo at it or anything. He just pecks, throws it around, and runs after it. Though it amuses me, I wonder if this is stressing for him or if this is a good toy for him to get exercise and busy himself with.

Thoughts?


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## babysmom (Apr 11, 2012)

I'm not an expert on these things, but it sounds like he's trying to get it to leave or kill it? If you don't think he's having a good time with it, I would remove it for a day or so and see how he does. Just my idea on this.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

See, that's the thing... I can't tell if he's having fun with it or if he's angry at it. My girl pigeon gets bells to play with and she does similar with them - peck, peck, throw around, forget about.


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## Print Tippler (May 18, 2011)

You need to take that out. He sees you or someone else as the mate that pidove as a intruder. No different Thwn of in the wild a cock bird stayed right next to a pairs next. It is very stressful he not having fun. Pigeons do not destroy things for fun.


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## kamz (Jan 23, 2010)

I don't think this is a black and white area. My pigeon bong bong exhibits the same behavior - but then will pull the toy into a bowl for snuggle time with his ratty (grey stuffed rat). I think as he doesnt have any other 'competition' and isn't mated with his companion, he enjoys the love/hate relationship - and likes dominating ratty  he also has two squeaky toys which he loves waay too much

Maybe keep the toys outside so he can choose to seek them out - or not - during out of cage time?

Suz


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

draykie said:


> Hi all - long time no see.
> 
> A few days ago, I brought home a little Pokemon stuffed toy (Google 'pidove' if you want to see it) that looks like a little pigeon. It's barely taller than my boy pigeon's leg. It doesn't matter if he's being held or if he's in his cage, Nibbler will spend hours pecking the toy, throwing it around, and banging/pinning it against things.
> 
> ...


If you are worried about it stressing him, just leave the toys utside of his cage and let him decide play time.

sounds like great Utube material.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

Thanks for the advice, folks.

Nibbler's not an about-the-house bird, exactly. His wings aren't clipped and his out-of-cage time is spent under close supervision, in a blanket or held loosely in someone's hands. I'm thinking of training him to wander about the house safely, but he'll need pidgie diapers since he has leftover diarrhea symptoms from a bout with PMV a year back and would make a big mess of the carpets if let loose. I'm not sure where to start with the training, though, and my main concern is that he'll fly about into a window or out an open door or something.

His 'play time' with the pidove consists of the tossing and pecking - never cooing at it, which is what made me think he was playing more than fighting - and after a while, he just lets it sit around in a food dish or something. He doesn't cuddle with it and he'll eventually go back to playing with it again, but yeah.


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## nycpigeonlady (Jan 22, 2012)

So when does he get to exercise his wings? Do you never let him fly about? 

I'm not familiar with the history of your pigeon - how old he is now, how old he was when you got him; where you got him from - is he hand-raised, a rescued feral...... How long have you had him and where has he spent the majority of his life? Because if he is a rescued feral, he may bump into the windows once you let him out of the cage. Even so, they learn extremely quickly. If there are no people or animals who scare or startle him, he'll simply go around exploring at his own pace. Don't take him out of his cage to do that - just leave the door open for him to get out when he's comfortable. Only if he's panicked will he fly into things to the point of injuring himself. Naturally, use common sense - no working fans, no hotplates, and no open doors or windows you don't want him flying out of.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

nycpigeonlady said:


> So when does he get to exercise his wings? Do you never let him fly about?
> 
> I'm not familiar with the history of your pigeon - how old he is now, how old he was when you got him; where you got him from - is he hand-raised, a rescued feral...... How long have you had him and where has he spent the majority of his life? Because if he is a rescued feral, he may bump into the windows once you let him out of the cage. Even so, they learn extremely quickly. If there are no people or animals who scare or startle him, he'll simply go around exploring at his own pace. Don't take him out of his cage to do that - just leave the door open for him to get out when he's comfortable. Only if he's panicked will he fly into things to the point of injuring himself. Naturally, use common sense - no working fans, no hotplates, and no open doors or windows you don't want him flying out of.


He regularly exercises his wings within the cage (it's a huge cage) and I also let him exercise them within a closed room once or twice a week.

Not sure how old he is or how old he was. He was found outside my apartment freezing to death in the middle of a Canadian January. After a few nights of warmth, water, and food, he's become a little devil of a bird, and that's how he likes it.

I have no animals roaming the house, so there's no danger of him being frightened this way. I'm currently trying to confirm with city officials whether or not it's even legal to have a pigeon as a pet... I live in a very backwards community that doesn't even allow goldfish in apartments. If it is indeed legal, I'm going to be bringing both Nibbler and our girl pidge in to the vet for wing clips, pedicures, and poop tests. Once wings are clipped and diapers are ordered (any recommendations for a good pidgie diaper dealer?), I want him to have roaming time around the house.


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## nycpigeonlady (Jan 22, 2012)

Oh, I see - I was under the impression he's always being held when he's out of his cage. Well, if he's doing fine in a closed room - not bumping into windows and stuff, no reason he'll be doing anything different in a closed apartment, he'll just have more room to wander about in. I'm not sure why the wing clipping would be necessary in this case.

I have no experience with pigeon pants and such, but I believe a member called Michy uses them. You might want to PM her for advice.

I've found out that if you ask whether it's ok to keep pigeons the answer is usually "no", so I don't ask anymore, but I don't know your situation is. Do people have a way of finding out what you have in your apartment?


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

nycpigeonlady said:


> Oh, I see - I was under the impression he's always being held when he's out of his cage. Well, if he's doing fine in a closed room - not bumping into windows and stuff, no reason he'll be doing anything different in a closed apartment, he'll just have more room to wander about in. I'm not sure why the wing clipping would be necessary in this case.
> 
> I have no experience with pigeon pants and such, but I believe a member called Michy uses them. You might want to PM her for advice.
> 
> I've found out that if you ask whether it's ok to keep pigeons the answer is usually "no", so I don't ask anymore, but I don't know your situation is. Do people have a way of finding out what you have in your apartment?


There's only a small window in the bedroom and nothing he could really fly into... it's about a 90% empty room. I think I'd still feel safer if he was clipped.

I also don't live in the apartment anymore, thankfully. I've since moved into a house, so I don't care if people know what I have as a pet, because I doubt there's much they could or would do. I'm just concerned that bringing a banned pet in to the vet could have consequences if I'm not careful.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I think clipping his wings is unfair to the bird. That takes away what he is. If he was let out to fly, you'll find that he will pick a couple of places where he likes to perch. You can just protect these couple of places by putting something down for poop. It isn't hard to keep doors and windows shut when he is out for exercise. If you don't allow him fly time, and you clip his wings, he won't be able to exercise and will become fat. That isn't healthy. You also take much of what he enjoys in life away.
I cannot imagine that keeping a pigeon in ones house would be illegal. They are not a protected species, and no one is going to care. I wouldn't ask about it.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

Jay3 said:


> I cannot imagine that keeping a pigeon in ones house would be illegal. They are not a protected species, and no one is going to care. I wouldn't ask about it.


The point in the by-law we are specifically questioning is the point about keeping 'poultry' as pets. I questioned my city information centre and they couldn't tell me whether or not pigeons are considered poultry in my city, so I've submitted an inquiry specifically to the by-law office and await response. Believe me, I don't particularly care whether or not the city wants me keeping my birds, but I would care if I brought them in and a vet euthanized or released the bird because of a by-law I wasn't clear on.


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

Hi. DeeDee, our ringneck dove, plays with just about anything the same way. Sometimes he takes offense at something and obviously attacks it, other times it's obviously more that he just likes pecking and pushing it around. For example, he likes to play with my granddaughter's little Polly Pocket dolls (not the tiny tiny ones, but the ones that are about 3" tall). He will grab hold of them and pull them around, push them off the table, etc. Once, he very obviously hated a toy horse she had that was on my desk, and he attacked it, knocked it over, grabbed the tail and literally tossed it off the desk, THEN he flew down and attacked it on the ground! Really hated that horse! He plays with paper clips, taking them out of the holder and tossing them around...anything he can physically pick up and move. I haven't tried him with a little stuffed toy, although he does bow/coo to a ceramic dove that's about half as big as he is.

I guess what I'm saying is, letting him have the option of playing with it someplace that's not "his", like his cage, is probably a good idea. If he still seems to like it, then maybe you can put it back in his cage.

I may try a little stuffed animal with DeeDee and see what he thinks.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

draykie said:


> The point in the by-law we are specifically questioning is the point about keeping 'poultry' as pets. I questioned my city information centre and they couldn't tell me whether or not pigeons are considered poultry in my city, so I've submitted an inquiry specifically to the by-law office and await response. Believe me, I don't particularly care whether or not the city wants me keeping my birds, but I would care if I brought them in and a vet euthanized or released the bird because of a by-law I wasn't clear on.



A vet isn't going to just take the bird from you. They treat it and give it back. What city do you live in? Don't think anyone is going to question keeping a couple of birds. Not like you have a whole flock or anything.


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

I think Draykie is more concerned with the vet turning her in to the authorities for keeping a protected species as a pet.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

Jay3 said:


> A vet isn't going to just take the bird from you. They treat it and give it back. What city do you live in? Don't think anyone is going to question keeping a couple of birds. Not like you have a whole flock or anything.


I live in Winnipeg. Trust me, if you lived here... weird stuff like that wouldn't seem so farfetched to you. There was a petition nearly a year back to allow pets in apartments. This was met with uninterested politicians arguing that some people have allergies so severe that even entering an apartment that has had a cat in it in the last ten years sends them into shock. 

I will be contacting my vet's office in the next day or so. I hope there won't be any issue with these two not being banded.


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## pirab buk (Sep 8, 2011)

Pigeon toys? I was wondering if pigeons did play with things. Apparantly according to this post they do! My pigeon favors one particular kleenex box. He sits on it and pecks it. I've experimented with other boxes but this one aqua box with polka dots he fancies. He sits on it, scratches it with his feet and pecks it!Maybe he thinks he is arranging the dots on it (?)


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

As I said, DeeDee plays with just about anything, including my pill bottles. When my granddaughter is painting, DeeDee "helps" by grabbing the brush in her bill and tracking paint all over the painting. He loves any kind of paper that will crinkle and crackle, and he has a foot fetish...people feet, that is. He will chase your feet all over the house, especially if the shoes have anything like a bow on it. This tickles my four-year-old granddaughter, and it's hilarious to watch her running through the house with this manically laughing, wing flapping dove chasing her. I guess, really WE are his favorite toys. 

Oh...and he is also a music critic. My husband plays the fiddle, and DeeDee loves to listen. When he doesn't like a song, he will jump up onto the bow and laugh at hubby. When the DOG tries to join in singing, DeeDee will dive-bomb him to keep the poor dog from interrupting the song.

So, yeah. I think we humans are his best and most favorite toys.


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## kunju (Mar 14, 2012)

My pigeon also plays with stuff around the house, especially my daughter's toys. His way of playing is also pecking. His latest fancy is this laptop. When I type on it, he comes and pecks away at the screen, which is cute to watch!
We once made a paper doll pigeon for him, which we called his 'wife'. We tried to keep the 'wife' where he would sit, but he always moved away from it, so we stopped doing it!


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

I decided to let Nibbler out of his cage and give him full reign of the house today... he loved it. Except for one little mishap where he ended up on top of the kitchen cabinets and couldn't figure out how to get down, he had a blast - and best of all, he still plays with his pidove relentlessly!

Looksie, the hen, is currently walking around in front of me. She's particularly in love with this lovely little pidgebird that keeps watching her in the window of the china cabinet...

Expect videos!


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

Nibbler's playtime:

http://youtu.be/ehgSJuUESP0

http://youtu.be/2w2unzZg6ko


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

The videos of Nibbler playing are adorable! I love the one where he picks the stuffed bird up and carries it off. He definitely looks like he's having a ball.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

He also has learned quickly how to climb the stairs and put himself to bed... well, almost. He'll sit at the door of the closet where his sleeping cage is and coo at it. Whether it's for his human 'mate' to come join him or a demand to be put inside, I'm not sure. But poor Pidove has to watch out when he's on Nibbler's turf - he can and will be relentlessly shaken and carried around in that bedroom!


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

draykie said:


> He also has learned quickly how to climb the stairs and put himself to bed... well, almost. He'll sit at the door of the closet where his sleeping cage is and coo at it. Whether it's for his human 'mate' to come join him or a demand to be put inside, I'm not sure. But poor Pidove has to watch out when he's on Nibbler's turf - he can and will be relentlessly shaken and carried around in that bedroom!


That's cute. DeeDee actually sleeps in the bathroom because my husband stays up all night and sleeps all day. DeeDee has a nightlight in there so it's not totally dark, and when he gets tired, he flies in there and perches on the shower rod.

I just think Pidove is a great toy for Nibbler.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

Bit of a bump here... Nibbler's getting tired of Pidove unless someone actively 'attacks' him with it. Now, his new hobby is perching on boxes and looking out the window into my backyard. When interrupted, he will stare at you quizzically... like so.


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## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

Are you in an apartment with backyard? Or you are in a house? I am in Ontario and i have pigeons in the house with me as i like the young ones to watch them and get them used with me untill they grow and i take them to the loft. I heard that here you can have as much a 5 pigeons without licence; after that you need licence, which is not really a licence but you have to be part of a pigeon club to band the pigeons..just pay the fee once a year. I know people that have a loft with pigeons (don't release them) and have no club membership.I guess it also depends on neighbourhood.
You can contact a pigeon club and they tell you the laws.

PS I would hate to have the wings clipped to Nibbler. Why you want to clip him? You are worried about the mess? With my house pigeons, i see which are the places the like to sit and i put a towel or something nonslippery. They like to play with sticks, love mirrows and they sit in from of it trying to nibble and kiss themselves. That would be fun for your pigeon.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

Dima said:


> Are you in an apartment with backyard? Or you are in a house? I am in Ontario and i have pigeons in the house with me as i like the young ones to watch them and get them used with me untill they grow and i take them to the loft. I heard that here you can have as much a 5 pigeons without licence; after that you need licence, which is not really a licence but you have to be part of a pigeon club to band the pigeons..just pay the fee once a year. I know people that have a loft with pigeons (don't release them) and have no club membership.I guess it also depends on neighbourhood.
> You can contact a pigeon club and they tell you the laws.


I'm in my own house. I moved primarily so my animals could have a place to live, as I used to live in a no-pets apartment and just sort of snuck them in. I'm in Manitoba, though, where our laws are incredibly archaic... no flying your birds between 9am-4pm, no flying on every other day in May, June, August, etc... it's just weird. The by-law also states that keeping pigeons on your property requires a permit and has a lot of ridiculous restrictions that I would rather not deal with.

I also cannot seem to find a vet's office that is willing to treat pigeons at all.


Dima said:


> PS I would hate to have the wings clipped to Nibbler. Why you want to clip him? You are worried about the mess? With my house pigeons, i see which are the places the like to sit and i put a towel or something nonslippery. They like to play with sticks, love mirrows and they sit in from of it trying to nibble and kiss themselves. That would be fun for your pigeon.


I've rethunk clipping. I won't be clipping either of them. After being given full reign of the house, they've been incredibly well-behaved. The idea of clipping was only so they wouldn't hurt themselves, by flying into a window or anything of the sort. Nibbler has flown into a window already, but it didn't seem to faze him, and now he knows better. He prefers looking out of them now, rather than smacking into them.  However, he doesn't ascribe to the 'one area, one poop' belief. Nibbler obsessively follows my dad around and will poop anywhere he goes, whether that's on the carpet, on the stairs, on the floor, on the cupboards, or on our heads or shoulders when riding his humans around... but, you take the good with the bad!

The hen, Looksie, on the other hand, has post-PMV symptoms of dizziness and stargazing. When she attempts flight, it isn't orthodox. She flies in circles, crash lands, and generally gets nowhere. But she isn't hurting herself. So I won't have her clipped either. She's the type that loves to sit in front of a giant mirror we have in the house, preening and kissing herself. She will actively run around and seek out every reflective surface on the main floor of the house (she can't seem to fly herself upstairs and we don't allow them downstairs) to look at herself in.

So my issue now is to find somebody who will treat them, in case it's needed, and to give the hen a pedicure. A couple of her talons are growing a bit long. I had hoped letting her walk on the hardwood floors might file them down a bit, but it doesn't seem to be doing much.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You can clip them with fingernail clippers. Just take off a bit as you don't want to cut too far up or you will hit the quick that grows inside, and it will hurt the bird and make them bleed. If nails are very long, just take off a bit at the tip. Give the quick a week to recede back in the nail, and clip a bit more. Just a bit at a time. I keep blood stop on hand in case of any accidents that may happen in a loft and you can pick some up at grain stores usually, or something like it. Maybe pet shops carry it also. Some people leave a brick or two where they like to perch. They say that perching on the bricks helps to keep their nails down.


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## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

My BF uses a water sprayer to keep them away from going to certain areas and when they fight each other. It takes lots of time but they learn eventualy. One of them named Rebela, she's a rebel of course, she seeks attention and she purposley comes back to the place she's not allowed.

But it's great to hear they are part of your family. Are you intending to let them out? Have they been trained? Mines, last year's generation were in the evening out (never trained them properly- my fault) and would spend time only on the roof...lost half of them..when they got scared for different reasons: squirrels, thunder, they took off and never came back or some who decided to take off for the first time, they would fly too high and get lost.I heard that their chances to survive in the wild are slim.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

Jay3 said:


> You can clip them with fingernail clippers. Just take off a bit as you don't want to cut too far up or you will hit the quick that grows inside, and it will hurt the bird and make them bleed. If nails are very long, just take off a bit at the tip. Give the quick a week to recede back in the nail, and clip a bit more. Just a bit at a time. I keep blood stop on hand in case of any accidents that may happen in a loft and you can pick some up at grain stores usually, or something like it. Maybe pet shops carry it also. Some people leave a brick or two where they like to perch. They say that perching on the bricks helps to keep their nails down.


Thanks for the advice. I heard similar from parrot owners I know. When you say a bit, do you mean like a couple millimeters or so at a time? Or just enough to take off the sharp tip? Should I file the tip back into a normal, rounded shape or just leave it flat and dulled after? I also heard that flour acts as a clotting agent in case the quick is cut, if packed tightly around the affected nail. Does this work?



Dima said:


> My BF uses a water sprayer to keep them away from going to certain areas and when they fight each other. It takes lots of time but they learn eventualy. One of them named Rebela, she's a rebel of course, she seeks attention and she purposley comes back to the place she's not allowed.


Nibbler prefers the top floor (it's where his favourite window is) and Looksie can't do stairs, so she stays on the main and watches herself in the mirror. As long as someone keeps an eye on them, they remain separated and happy in their own worlds.


Dima said:


> But it's great to hear they are part of your family. Are you intending to let them out? Have they been trained? Mines, last year's generation were in the evening out (never trained them properly- my fault) and would spend time only on the roof...lost half of them..when they got scared for different reasons: squirrels, thunder, they took off and never came back or some who decided to take off for the first time, they would fly too high and get lost.I heard that their chances to survive in the wild are slim.


I don't intend to let either outside of the house. Nibbler was going through the final stages of PPMV when we got him. He remains with persistent diarrhea and thirst, so if let out and he got away, he likely wouldn't last very long without as much hydration as we can give him indoors. That, and there are a lot of hawks in the area. Looksie is in even worse shape, having also had PPMV, and having kept the stargazing/dizziness spells. She literally cannot fly without hitting stuff, so she'd be a prime hawk target.

For these reasons, the ones you listed, and because they just seem to be very happy indoors, I don't want them going outdoors freely.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

draykie said:


> Thanks for the advice. I heard similar from parrot owners I know. When you say a bit, do you mean like a couple millimeters or so at a time? Or just enough to take off the sharp tip? Should I file the tip back into a normal, rounded shape or just leave it flat and dulled after? I also heard that flour acts as a clotting agent in case the quick is cut, if packed tightly around the affected nail. Does this work?
> 
> Yes, flour will work in a pinch, but the blood stop works better, or any other product made for that purpose. No, you don't have to file it, it will wear back to how it should be. As far as how much, well that depends on how long they are. Just take a little bit off, til you get accustomed to how much you can take. They don't usually need all that much taken off.


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

I don't know about your community but in mine, a pigeon is considered a domestic bird like a parrot or a finch or any other "pet" bird. If you live in a rental, your landlord might not want to allow it, but if you own your place, it's nobody's business but yours. Now, that's HERE. 

As for the toy, Maggie has a couple of budgie toys in her cage (after much trial and error, those are the ones she decided she likes) and she bangs them around sometimes but doesn't coo at them, either. She likes to tear up paper (especially if I'm reading it, LOL) and sometimes picks up random small objects and throws them, waddles after them, picks them up and throws them again, and she does this entirely on her own, without prompting from me. It sounds to me as if your pidge enjoys playing with the toy.


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## draykie (Dec 14, 2006)

Jay3 said:


> Yes, flour will work in a pinch, but the blood stop works better, or any other product made for that purpose. No, you don't have to file it, it will wear back to how it should be. As far as how much, well that depends on how long they are. Just take a little bit off, til you get accustomed to how much you can take. They don't usually need all that much taken off.


A couple are pretty long. I'll be cautious with her.



Siobhan said:


> I don't know about your community but in mine, a pigeon is considered a domestic bird like a parrot or a finch or any other "pet" bird. If you live in a rental, your landlord might not want to allow it, but if you own your place, it's nobody's business but yours. Now, that's HERE.
> 
> As for the toy, Maggie has a couple of budgie toys in her cage (after much trial and error, those are the ones she decided she likes) and she bangs them around sometimes but doesn't coo at them, either. She likes to tear up paper (especially if I'm reading it, LOL) and sometimes picks up random small objects and throws them, waddles after them, picks them up and throws them again, and she does this entirely on her own, without prompting from me. It sounds to me as if your pidge enjoys playing with the toy.


Sounds like your community is sensible... mine has permits for everything and ridiculous hoops to jump through. I live in my own place, which I thought would be enough, but then was alerted to this by-law in my community.

The small things - my pidges do that too. They pick up all the random stuff on the floor that I fail to vacuum or pick up, throw it around, run after it... etc. Silly birds.


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