# update on the pigeon thats now mine



## Missina (Mar 4, 2003)

Thinsg are going very well for my x racing pigeon. He/she almost always holds his wing correctly now and I have even gotten him to sit on my hand a few times







Right now as I type this he is out on top of one of my dessers watching me type. But I need a name! I was thinking possibly Bandit but that does not really seem to work well with him. Oh yes I also need a cage for him. keeping him in a dog crate will not work forever and I loned one of my cages that would work just fine for him, to a friend. and I have no clue when i will get it back. Well one thing at a time I guess. 

Missina http://missina.cjb.net/


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Missina,

I'm glad you and your new feathered friend are doing well together.

If you go to the general section and search on cage building, you should find several good threads with great pictures of cages that some of our members have made.

If the bird is only going to be caged at night or when unattended, a cheap light weight cage about 2' x 3' x 2 should do just fine.

Terry Whatley


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## Missina (Mar 4, 2003)

well I was sitting here watching the pigeon walk around on the top of my dresser and a name came to me. The pigeons name is now Willow. Don't ask me why, its just what came into my head as I watched the bird. A friend of mine who lives in Canada and who also has pigeons said it is most likely a hen..this is what I had kind of been thinking to. Well maybe I will have to get a male now becouse I normly keep my animals in pairs lol. plus it might be kind of cool to raise a few baby pigeons. I love hand raising my baby cockatiels and loved getting to hand raise a conure and a quacker last and this year. There is a bird mart coming up, I know i have seen pigones and doves for sale at them so I might go have a look









Missina


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## turkey (May 19, 2002)

Great news. Willow is a beautiful name. I don't know if you are planning on making a cage or buying one, but here's some photos of the cage I made. 
http://community.webshots.com/user/jujubear29 

I guess the size and style of cage you will want will depend on whether you are going to get more pigeons, huh?

Julie


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## Missina (Mar 4, 2003)

That cage looks wonderful turkey







But space is a real problem for me. The birds are thus far all stuck in here with me in my bed room, which is the master bedroom. becouse of this I clean the cages and my room on a daily bases! But I am about to begin the work on my outside slight cage for the cockatiels. So once their flight cage is all set up out side that will free up 2 cages in side. One is farly large being 4 feet high and 2 feet wide, this will become the new home of my sun conure and the sun conure's converted ferret/rabbit cage will become the pigeon's night cage and cage while Im at school. when im home I will just let him run around lose in my room. Although she has to learn that the bed is off limits! no animals allowed on the bed unlessed they are stuffed animals lol. this one will become the pigeons: http://missina.cjb.net/birds/cages/dsc00001.jpg 
and this one will go to the sun conure http://missina.cjb.net/birds/cages/tielland2.jpg 
Acutly I have more cages but those will be used for bring in the cockatiels when weither is ba or to house chicks when I hand fed them and they need to learn how to pearch. 
See both these cages are very easy to clean. every day I change the newspaper and scrub out the food and water dishes. then once a week I take them outside and hose them off and bleach them out. If I do not change the paper in the cages every day and vacum my room then my allergies get the better or me. Right now i have 5 cockatiels(a pair on eggs), 1 conure, 1 quacker and now the pigeon who proved to be very clean as far as mites or other problems went. Although who knows I culd change more of the plans around. I talked to someone about letting the pigeon live in the flight with the cockatiels and they told me it was a bad idea. Although the area the birds will have is going to be 7 feet long, 4 feet wide and 6 feet high and be home to only 4 or 5 cockatiels, 2 are breeding pairs but only 1 pair acutly ever produces. its being designed so that I can open my bedroom window up to the flight cage so I do not have to walk all the way around the house outside to give them fresh water and food in the morning and at night or if it's raining, this way I can also let them come in my room threw that way. should be very intresting.

Missina


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Missina,

It sounds like you have a workable situation for the housing of the birds figured out. Definitely DO NOT put the pigeon in with the hookbills.

Terry Whatley


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## turkey (May 19, 2002)

Sounds like a great plan!









I'd love to see pictures when you are finished.

Julie


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## Missina (Mar 4, 2003)

This is yet another update on Willow







She is doing so well! I took her to a school were she got to meet lots of kids who loved her, although she did freack out some so I will work more with her to get her even more use to people now. I was cleaning cages today and I have photos of her







http://missina.cjb.net/birds/32903/dsc00002.jpg 
she is holding that wing so much better now http://missina.cjb.net/birds/32903/dsc00012.jpg http://missina.cjb.net/birds/32903/dsc00013.jpg http://missina.cjb.net/birds/32903/dsc00014.jpg 
and then this last one is of the crate she is curretnly sleeping inand the cage she will have hopfully soon http://missina.cjb.net/birds/32903/dsc00009.jpg 

Missina http://missina.cjb.net/


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Missina,

Yes, Willow is certainly looking very good! I'm glad she has you to look after her.

Terry Whatley


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## pigeonsnz (Apr 19, 2003)

he is a nice looking bird!!!









pigeonsnz


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## JeannieN (May 24, 2003)

HI Missina! I just found a lost racing pigeon a few days ago, she was very exhausted and had been hanging around the parking lot where I work. I took her home and tracked down the owner, but he is not in a position to come and get her, so has said I may keep her. Actually, she had been missing for a long time already, so he was surprised to hear from me. Who knows where she'd been since then? Probably somebody else found her and tried to race her? Who knows. Anyway, she is resting and recuperating in a makeshift cage in our living room. She's eating well and doesn't appear to be injured or sick, only tired. After reading about what these racing pigeons are capable of in terms of length of time in the air at 50+ miles for hours at a clip without rest, it's not surprising!
Anyway, I just love this little birdie, and I've been talking to wildlife rehabilitators and doing research, etc. and I just found this forum. Maybe since you have a similar situation you could give me some advice? How tired was your little guy/girl when you found him/her? How long before they seemed rested and ready to fly around? My little hen is still very placid most of the time. She's soooo sweet and I'm trying to figure out the very best thing to do for her; i.e., set her free in an area with feral pigeons and hope she hooks up with them? or just set her free and let her go where she pleases? after a few weeks here, which is how long i'm told she'll probably need, she may just lock onto my house as home, in which case I will need to take whatever measures necessary to keep her safe and fed and comfortable. I need ideas! I look forward to anyone's input on this.
Also, I've never "owned" a bird before, but I had been thinking lately that I'd really like to have a pet bird. How interesting that I should find this little girl!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Jeannie,

Thank you so much for looking after this needy racing pigeon. If you are at all interested in keeping her as a pet, please do so. If you release her, she may try to make it home, and if she does, she may not be exactly welcomed with open arms. It appears that the owner is not particularly interested in having her back. Since there is also no guarantee that the bird would become part of a feral flock, I don't think that is a good plan either. You also have to consider that the life span of feral pigeons is significantly shorter than that of pigeons kept in lofts or as pets. Obviously, only you can decide what is best for the bird, but I do hope you will consider keeping her.

Terry Whatley


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## JeannieN (May 24, 2003)

Thanks for your reply Terry! I definitely would love to have the little hen around(I'm starting to think of her name as Destiny) -- I would consider it an honor and a blessing! I'm committed to finding out what's best for her and doing it. I don't want to see her return to the world of racing. It seems so mean to me, like exploiting the bird's natural instints and putting them in perilous situations for the sake of human entertainment. Definitely does NOT sit well with me at all. My first choice, in a perfect world, would be to have her return to the wild and live with a flock of other pigeons and have a wonderful life and never be subjected to human will and whimsy again. But does that sound unrealistic? I don't have any experience with trying to introduce a "strange" bird into an established flock.
Anyway, say she decides my house is her home, what about building her a little loft? How big does it need to be? Also, would we need to provide food for her, or would she get her own? How do we keep the loft safe from other animals, esp. predators?
I know I have alot of questions, and I don't expect you to answer them all, but any input you can give me is very, very much appreciated. I love talking to other animal lovers. This is such a neat experience. To think this beautiful little creature can inspire me so much, without even trying to!

Thanks again, look forward to hearing more.

-Jeanne


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hello again Jeanne,

If you kept Destiny then you would need to provide her with food, water, grit, see that she got veterinary care if needed, and generally assume the complete role of her caretaker. Pigeons are wonderful birds as you have discovered, and I don't think you would regret for a minute giving Destiny a wonderful forever home.

I'm going to ask some of our other members to give you information regarding what they have done when adopting pigeons. Some house them in aviary/loft situations and others keep their beloved birds as house pigeons. 

Stand by for some more responses.

Terry Whatley


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## JeannieN (May 24, 2003)

Thank you Terry, I will stand by and continue checking in. I hope to have pictures to post soon....

Jeanne


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## Missina (Mar 4, 2003)

I have been pretty buesy latly with getting the aviea up and its still not done and also with handrasing some cockatiels. and now on to pigeon stuff. 
I have been watching Willow and its become appart to me that she really hates being inside. She hates being in a cage and she hates not being able to fly all the time. Now that she is basically 100% recoverd, Im letting her make a choise. the outside aviea is not done yet, and when it is she will have only a small section of it while the cockatiels get the rest. Or she will be kept in my room still. so right now I have her out in the unfinished aviea. If she wants to, she can fly to the top of it and exit threw were the roof meets the sides. But Im giving her untill tomorrow. she is sitting on my window sill not looking into my room and then out towards were wild birds are flying around in the distance. I took some photos this morning when I fisrt put her lose in there http://missina.cjb.net/birds/53103willow/index.html 
Im kind of nervus, I do not know what she'll do. she is acting pretty calm now, but latly she has been going mad tring to get out and fly. I mean, doing laps around my room is ok but not what she should be resctried to. Although she is becoming more tame. I can get within a foot of her now and she does not care. When I sit at the computer she comes and rests on the corner of my bed which is about a foot from my chair at the computer or she will sit just above my moniter on a wooden duck. if I coo to her she coos back..which makes me wonder if she is not a he. in fact by cooing I can get her to come to me most of the time as well. I have almost masterd the sound of a pigeon







well almost..it just lacks a little depth that could carry the sound further like the pigeons does..um yeah Im an animal impressanist so I can bark like a dog, moew like a cat, crow like a roster and servreal others.
anyways Im starting to rant now becouse I am nurvus as to what she'll do..so I guess we'll see.

Missina http://missina.cjb.net/


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## turkey (May 19, 2002)

She's welcome to come to my aviary. Although it is not finished yet either. 

Strange that we live so close and are doing the same thing. 

Check out my 12' x 16' aviary. http://community.webshots.com/user/jujubear29 
Julie


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## turkey (May 19, 2002)

When my males called to their females, the females come to them. It sounds like Willow is coming to you in the same way.

Julie


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## Missina (Mar 4, 2003)

I just feel really bad seeing how much she wants to fly, out of cages and bars. Although its been all day and she is sleeping on my window sill right now inside the avary still. She has just been hanging out. We were all outside and she came as close to us as she could and sat in the avary and watched us as she preened herself. I think she will stay. But still I know she wants to fly free. and I know that once she gets out she will probably not come back. I watch the cockatiels, the conure, the quacker and none of them seem to have the yerning to get out and fly like Willow has. She just has this look about her that makes you not want to keep her in a cage. she has come a long way. from not really flying well to finly being able to fly normal again. I mean when she first started to heal and then up untill a few weeks ago she had not been flying well. but now she has almost masted even the tricky manoving of objects in my room.well I will have a lot of exstra wire left over from the avary, that I could use to build a larger inside cage and then let her have time in the avary when I can supervise her. She is just a wonderfull bird.
but I still feel bad about keeping her caged.
Missina


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## turkey (May 19, 2002)

Well, I can certainly understand. I went back and forth about the guilt of keeping pigeons in a cage. 

I will share my recent experiences with you. 8 days ago a man cared enough to call me and say that a pigeon was hanging around his place for a few days. I recieved her early enough to save her. Today, she is finally off of her mushy food and eating soaked seeds on her own. Yee haw! She couldn't hold her food down because she was too weak from starvation and dehydration. 

Three nights ago I got a call about another pigeon (from the same loft- owner won't call me). She was in worse shape. Dehydrated and starving. I put all the love and care I could into her. It was not enough. She died two nights later. Very heart breaking for me. 

So, needless to say I would never recommend setting a bird loose that was raised in captivity. Even though there have been cases of loft raised pigeons making it in the wild, I fear they are few and far apart and I care too much to risk it. 

Maybe you would want a companion for Willow.







I know a few people who are looking to find homes for pigeons. You could check them out and see if they are compatible for Willow. I think that would help settle her. 

When Snowball lost his mate, he didn't want to be in his cage anymore. But, when his mate was still alive nothing could stop him from being in his cage. 

I hope I've been helpful. Let me know if you are interested in finding her a companion. I can give you names and numbers. 

Julie


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## JeannieN (May 24, 2003)

Julie, so sorry to hear about the pigeon that didn't make it. I understand your heartbreak. How wonderful you tried your best. Sometimes in spite of our best efforts, the results are not what we would want.
Jeanne


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## JeannieN (May 24, 2003)

Missina, it sounds like you're doing a great job at doing all you can to make a safe haven for Willow, while still respecting that she/he should have a say in what happens. It sounds like Willow feels safe with you. Maybe you'll be surprised and she/he will stay, who can tell? But you're doing a great job and really showing true love for this bird. I'm glad you're there looking out for Willow.
Jeanne


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## Missina (Mar 4, 2003)

Well last night around 3:30am I was woken up by Willow tring to get in my room threw the shut window that also had the blinds down. I looked out my window and saw her frantically tring to get in. So I grabed the dog and a flash light and was ready to go outside and kick some raccoon butt, she was deffetnly frecking out so that was the only thing that I thought would freack her out. I got out there and could not see her. But standing dead center in the avary was Stalker the cat!! evil feline got into the avary threw the opening at the top that was left unsiled for now. I had the dog get the cat and chash her out and I grabed her by the scruff and threw her in the house. I have no clue how she even got outside. I found willow scared to death in between 2 cender blocks. I put her in her cage inside the avary and since then she has refused to leave her cage for anything. I call to her and she just stays there. She does relax, however, when Im sitting int he avary or if i have sie-say my dog tied up just outside the avary. See she and sie-say have an understanding, sie-say understands that if she messes with the pigeon she gets put into her kenal and willow understand that she can "walk all over the dog".
So since willow did not "fly the coop" last night, I guess she wants to stay. So I sat down this morning and thought about what I will do. Now the cockatiels in my room will have the avary and there will only be the quackr and conure as well as any chicks Im handfeeding in here. The cockatiel cages are going somewere just not sure were. So since we have so much left over wire from the avary that we are not going to use, Im going to get some pvc pipes and make Willow a larger cage, one large enough for 2 pigeions to live happly inside my room. I will let her have some "fly time" in the avary everyday when I can supervise her and the other birds. Now I have been giving her supervised time out with the cockatiels and other birds, she is fine with all of them but the quacker, who just hates everybody anyways. 
In the meantime Im keeping an eye on Willow in her cage inside the avary threw my window. tonight the top screen will be put in the avary and nothing will get in or out unless threw the door.

Missina


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## JeannieN (May 24, 2003)

Missina, sounds like there's never a dull moment at your place! See, Willow knows who to go to when the chips are down -- YOU! I think all your animal companions are very lucky to have you, someone who obviously cares very much and will do whatever you can for them. Please keep your posts coming!!!!

Jeannie


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## turkey (May 19, 2002)

Whew! Close call. Don't be mad at kitty. It's only doing what comes natural to it. I'm glad you have figured out a way to keep Willow. 

Julie


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