# Navigating the responsibility of caring for a rescued pigeon



## Fluffy Pigeon (May 9, 2020)

Hey there,

In advance, I apologize for the long post. I have a bunch of questions in regard to the pigeon I have rescued in the past two weeks. 

Let me paint the picture for all my experienced pigeon owners out there 
HOW WE CROSSED PATHS: my land has over 10 acres and i see plenty of wildlife that has traveled through my land. I also have a bird feeder for wild canaries. About 10 days ago, I noticed a white pigeon (which I originally thought was a dove) outside on my patio. She came right in front of the glass door and sat there. After walking straight up to her and noticing that she hadn't flinch, I began to determine that she was domestic. After 30 minutes of standing by the window, she started to tap on the window. As the sun began to set we decided to bring her into the garage for shelter. So we had her follow us into the garage, where we provided her with water and barley. She stayed over night and in the morning we opened up the garage doors to set her free. She flew out but came straight back and this became a pattern for the rest of her stay (still currently with us). Since she remained with us, I made sure to look through all social media outlets for any lost pigeon posts and called all animal services in a 40km radius. However, not only do the animal services around me do not provide domestic bird help but there were also no lost pigeon claims. I began to direct message pigeon owners on instagram for advice and help to provide this pigeon with all the basic care needed. 

OUR ROUTINE: Thus, we have decided to adopt the pigeon and continue to care for her as a pet. I am assuming her gender is female since she is docile and quiet. She looks like a lahore pigeon, she has feathers on her feet, white all over and a black tail. In our garage, there are high ceiling railings she sit on throughout the day and she flies out 2-4 times a day and returns to the garage every time. We have been feeding her split green peas, millet, barley, safflower, and sesame seeds. However, i've noticed she eats around the safflower and sesame (which im surprised to see since pigeons usually love white safflower). *I still have to buy her grit and minerals. 
We're trying to get her to trust us now. It's hard since she sits so high on the garage railings, that even when we stand underneath her it isn't much help. So, we made her a cage that we'd place her in at night in the house since Canada's weather is still pretty chilly (it snowed today)... 
She doesn't bite at all, holding her is impossible and we can only catch her at night when she has limited vision. Today is the second time we've placed her in a cage. She's calm seating on the nest we made her. At first she walked around the cage frustrated that we placed her in it since she usually flies whenever she feels like it. 
I feel bad but the weather is too cold to leave her in the garage overnight and we cant keep catching her at night since it is also dangerous for her. 
She's in my room today in the cage that is position at over 2 feet above ground. 

MY QUESTIONS: 
1. She hasn't bathed at all, even when i leave a large pan of water, im guessing she doesnt know how to bathe?? How do I go about this?
2. Is it okay that she doesn't like safflower seeds?
3. How can I train her for hand-feeding? She won't eat from my palm given this is the second time I've tried while she's in the cage. But what's the process in order to have her trust me enough to eat from my hand?
4. In the long run, i'd like to let her roam my room without the fear of being unable to catch her when it's time. So, how do I go about this? Is there a way to get her more comfortable with the action of holding her?
5. She used to coo the first 2 days she would see us in the morning when we opened the garage door. But now she never coos, is that okay?
6. What does it mean when she looks at you and winks slowly? She also blinks slowly when we talked to her (what does it mean?)
7. Do I have to cut her nails? If so, how do I do that? Do I need a special tool or can I use an ordinary nail cutter? 
8. How much attention should I be giving her? And when I'm giving her attention what should I be doing lol? (I've been reading harry potter out loud to her)

Any other tips and tricks would honestly mean the world! I appreciate anyone who has read this whole post, and I appreciate all those who end up helping me! I want the best for this bird and want to ensure I'm doing everything possible to improve her living space and environment.

[I have had prior bird experience, but it was lovebirds...so this is so different in my opinion. Pigeons all poop so much!!haha]


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Congrats on being chosen by a pigeon! She will likely get tamer once she knows you. Would feed her pigeon mix and another small bowl for grit. We kept our rescued bird (an injured feral) in a very large flight cage. After a while, she became extremely tame and loved to shoulder surf.
We put parakeet toys in her cage, but we were her main toys. Pigeons love chopped peanuts ( dont give her too much). You can get your bird to step up onto your hand and make friends with her using this as a treat.
Pigeons generally only bathe when it is really hot. You dont have to cut their nails until they grow out, then can use pet nail trimmers ( be careful and have qwik stop on hand). 
Thank you for rescuing the bird! Does she have a name?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I can't answer all your questions, but as cwebster said: pigeons love chopped up raw unsalted peanuts. First sprinkle some on her food, till she starts eating them. Then starts offering them to her from your hand. Peanuts have a very high fat content, so only offer a little bit at a time.

Never chase her, that will even scare her more. Rather let her come to you. If you need to catch her to put her back in the cage, wait till it gets dark and then do it.

Consider getting her a mate later on. No human can replace the company of another pigeon.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Hi, welcome to PT!

As humans, not all birds love the same food, that's normal. 
A varied and balanced diet is really important so you could mix together pigeon/dove mixtures of different brands and add to them dried small lentils and mung beans. You could also add a mixture for canaries containing dehydrated fruits.
Try to understand what is her favorite food and give it to her everyday at the same time window. For example, I know that my pigeon Caterina is crazy for dried mung beans and dried whole peas. She is a very "private person". Well, as she loves them so much she eats them even from my hand! Be patient, be very still (when you offer her food from your hand) and give her time... Also consider that each bird has his own temperament... 
You could also give her (just sometimes) a small piece of biscuit (something simple like the one in the pic), crumble it with your fingers and put it in a separate bowl from food. My birds love it. Btw, they know that the pink bowl is the biscuit bowl so when they see it they all fly to me! Pigeons are really smart and learn everything. They are great observer. 

Pigeons love soo much bathing. Don't worry, when she will start to bathe... nobody will stop her 😆... 

Just spend time in the same room with her... Some of my birds love sitting next to me or directly on me (legs, etc) when I'm watching tv or reading a book, etc. Also, give her a name and often call her. Birds learn their name.


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## Fluffy Pigeon (May 9, 2020)

cwebster said:


> Congrats on being chosen by a pigeon! She will likely get tamer once she knows you. Would feed her pigeon mix and another small bowl for grit. We kept our rescued bird (an injured feral) in a very large flight cage. After a while, she became extremely tame and loved to shoulder surf.
> We put parakeet toys in her cage, but we were her main toys. Pigeons love chopped peanuts ( dont give her too much). You can get your bird to step up onto your hand and make friends with her using this as a treat.
> Pigeons generally only bathe when it is really hot. You dont have to cut their nails until they grow out, then can use pet nail trimmers ( be careful and have qwik stop on hand).
> Thank you for rescuing the bird! Does she have a name?



Thank you for the advise! I luckily have unsalted raw peanuts so I will definitely try that! I'm wary about cutting her nails so I'll try to avoid until necessary but I will try to find pet nail trimmers at a pet store near me thanks! 
I think I'm going to stick with the name "Noon" in persian it means bread (not spelled as noon but sounds the same in pronunciation), because she looks like a loaf of bread when she sits so I found it appropriate lol


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## Fluffy Pigeon (May 9, 2020)

Colombina said:


> Hi, welcome to PT!
> 
> As humans, not all birds love the same food, that's normal.
> A varied and balanced diet is really important so you could mix together pigeon/dove mixtures of different brands and add to them dried small lentils and mung beans. You could also add a mixture for canaries containing dehydrated fruits.
> ...



Thank you! Today I broke through...I think, I noticed the first thing to go in her food bowl is millet, so this morning I put some in my hand and she ended up eating from my hand for the first time! 
Ouu definitely will try calling her by her name and biscuit with a designated colour bowl. Hopefully she learns to bathe soon, she needs one...her feathers feel sorta oily lol


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## Fluffy Pigeon (May 9, 2020)

Marina B said:


> I can't answer all your questions, but as cwebster said: pigeons love chopped up raw unsalted peanuts. First sprinkle some on her food, till she starts eating them. Then starts offering them to her from your hand. Peanuts have a very high fat content, so only offer a little bit at a time.
> 
> Never chase her, that will even scare her more. Rather let her come to you. If you need to catch her to put her back in the cage, wait till it gets dark and then do it.
> 
> Consider getting her a mate later on. No human can replace the company of another pigeon.


Thank you! And yes i've been catching her at night, which is still scarring for me and I bet the bird. Watching her attempt to fly and possibly hurt herself is hard to stomach. I hope she gets used to the night in cage routine so i don't have to try and catch her like this


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Glad to hear that she ate millet from your hand!

You have to cut her nails only if needed (when too long), we will explain how to do it. If the nails are white in color it's easier than if they are black. I use a common nail clipper and a nail file like the ones in the pic.

If you have time, patience and a bit of spirit of sacrifice you could opt for keeping her free in your room. You can easily organize the room in a cheap way (a cheap shelf storage, etc). Of course, that's my own choice not the best choice 😆. If you are interested, I can share my experience. 

Do you have a cat litter box? A dog bowl? Put some water in them and leave them available for her bath. Lol in my experience, pigeons love bathing... Even tooo much!! Maybe she doesn't like the pan (is it silver?).


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## jonrf (Nov 30, 2017)

One of my best tricks for keeping my birds' claws trimmed is using a few well-placed square concrete pavers where they love to land inside, and it works wonders. I also used a pet-safe resin to glue qiartz grit and sand to the bottom of the food dish for their beak trimming. But frequent sterilization of the food dish is necessary.

Pigeons, and other doves, will "shovel" seeds away using their beak, and the fine grit keeps their beaks nice and normal.

Birds are unique individuals, and will often have different likes and dislikes based on experience or personality. But pigeons will sometimes need a little (or a lot of) convincing when it comes to a new food. One of mine has to watch me eat something before he will try it, haha 😂 others will do a good deal of experimenting with new food.

And on the taming side, be yourself, calm and approachable. Remember these things, always be patient and be consistent. Earn their trust and don't break it. Be loving and let them make the first moves. Know that pigeons have their moods, calls, and body language. If she lays down, gently flicking her wingtip with her forehead feathers all fluffed out, softly cooing with a soft, "wooo woooo", she's loved, and she is happy and content 😊

Someone once said, "if a bird loves to preens itself, it is a good sign of good health and mood". Yes, I agree with everyone else, pigeons love bathing and will figure it out. Perhaps she needs a small ramp with good grip to climb in 😉 All she needs to do is put her beak in it.. and the rest is shear instinct and spashing bliss.


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