# I think I might have wasted my money on tobacco stalks?



## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

I don't understand using tobacco stalks as nesting material, they seem too big. I have cut them in half, but in my opinion they need to be cut down the middle to make them thinner as well. So far I have not seen any of the pigeons using them. The sort of stick they seem to like is about in abundance this time of year. I go out and hunt for the little twigs that hold the leaves to the treee. At this time of year the leaf falls away and you are left with a thin stick. I bring these in in huge bunches and they happily take them away to build their nests. Some even sort of weave these little flexible sticks into quite intricate nests. In comparison the tobacco stalks seem too long, too hard and too thick. Am I missing something? Should they be soaked in water or something?


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## tjc1 (Aug 22, 2012)

Mine didnt use them at first either. I thought the same thing "I just wasted a bunch of money and there not gonna use them". Then when the eggs were laid all of a sudden then started using them with their feathers mixed in. Now they have these nice looking nest. I also gave them small twigs and pine needles. Figure give them a bunch of stuff and let them pick what the want. Plus the tobacco stems are suppose to help in keeping bugs away.


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## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

Thanks for the info. They are still looking at them oddly at the moment, but I think you are right and I should continue to provide a mix of different materials. I am going looking for the little leaf twigs that are only around this time of year. I am going to try to stack some up. They don't really keep because once they dry out they disintegrate. Thanks for the reinforcing view. I may try to split the tobacco stalks down the middle to make them more pliable. I will see what happens.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Put the stalks in first so that they can build a base out of them, then provide long leaf pine needles so they can fill in the holes. Yes, just using tobacco stalks can leave loose nests that seem quite open (unless you have crafty pigeons or a variety of sizes/lengths rather than a bunch of big ones). Anyway, doing it this way will keep the nest fill and together but having a few stalks in there keeps the bugs away


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## tjc1 (Aug 22, 2012)

Mary hit it right on the nose as usual. If you look at Mating before eating post you will see how they use the stalks. I did nothing to the stalks. What the did was use the stalks as a base and the filled it in with twigs and nice soft feathers. You have to look real close to see the tobacco stems as the went and picked up a bunch of feathers.


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