# When and how to release young pigeon?



## reblin (Jun 16, 2008)

About 10 days ago I found a young pigeon outside my classroom and since it was close to the parking lot I was afraid it would wander out into the dismissal traffic. I managed to get it into a box and have been caring for it since. Matching to the pictures it appeard to be about 18-20 days old. Now the pigeon is close to 30 days old and I want to know if, when and how I go about releasing it back to the wild. I havn't seen him fly yet and he/she has been eating Kaytee Exact (down to 1 time a day) and some seed I think and water. What should I do now. Lately he makes a lot os noise when I come near him and flaps one wing at me. Please ...some advice!!!


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

*This from Little Bird*

Soft Release Information

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The first is from Nona on Pigeon Talk (Little bird) who releases her rehabbed birds in parks in NYC:

Every release will be a little different and you are the only one who will know if it is right. Practice makes perfect....experience is the best teacher.


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How to soft release a wild bird to a flock of similar birds.

This procedure is obviously for those baby birds that you rehab that have not been with their parents long enough to learn the ways of survival from their parents. This includes young birds on their first venture from the nest that have a mishap like a broken wing or leg, a soaking wet fledgling from a rain storm with respitory problems, etc. The most important thing is that you know for certain that the bird is strong, healthy, knows how to eat and what to eat and knows how to fly. These things you learn about the bird while it is still indoors. You must also train the bird to eat the kinds of food it will find outside.....that means you must train it to eat bread, chunks of hotdog buns, wild bird seed, cooked pasta, cooked rice, etc. By no means am I suggesting that you feed ONLY those kinds of food.......I only mean that the bird should know that it can eat such things so if that is ALL he can find, at least it won't starve. Of course, if you release to a flock that you KNOW is being fed by some kind person, then you can forego the ''garbage'' food training.

So now you are certain the bird is ready for release.......

You MUST have a wire cage and the bottom must also be wire. If the bottom isn't wire....use half inch hardware cloth to form the bottom and secure it to the cage.

Now comes the hard part....you need time...lots of time and good weather.

Put the bird in the wire cage and take it to the area you wish to release it. Set the cage in an area you know the birds will gather to feed. Scatter a bit of food to attract the wild ones and let them eat all around the wire cage. Startle the flock so they will take flight.....then after a few minutes...scatter more seed around the cage and repeat the ''eat and startle'' bit once or twice each time you take the bird out. You may need to repeat the daily outings for many days, even a couple of weeks maybe. Try to select an area that has grass so the bird can get the feel of the grass and it can watch while the flock graze and learn to eat what it finds in the dirt and it will find grit to fill it's gizzard. When the bird ''jumps'' to take flight when the flock is startled.....it is ready to flee when the flock is in danger and has learned to follow. When the bird eats grain along with the flock and the other birds ignor it in the cage as they are eating all around the cage....it is probably safe to clip the cage door open and let him choose to leave on his own. Hopefully it will follow others to find water or you could provide water at the feeding site. Make sure you do the release preparations on sunny, warm days and always get outside early......at least before 10AM and be sure to return in the evening to see if he is hanging around and in danger....if you think he is, take him home and start again tomorrow.


The bird must be eating well on it's own and flying well before you release it. You said you are feeding it one time a day...that may not be often enough as it takes single birds a longer time to figure out the eating thing.
Also, the bird needs to be able to practice flying. Do you think it can or was it injured and maybe that is why you found it?
As far as the wing slapping...that is a really good sign. That means the bird is becoming a teenager and emotionally separating from you.


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## goulian (May 15, 2007)

Hello Reblin,

I recently successfully released two young pigeons after having hand raised them in my house since they were 12 days old. There are a few things you should consider.

1. They young bird MUST be ably to fly very well. They key words here are MUST and VERY WELL. If it can just flit around, it is not ready for the rigors of feral life. And, if it connot eat seeds without some formula added, it is, once again, not ready for release. I personally think 30 days is a bit too soon, especially as it has not been proven a good flyer, nor eaten just seeds for a period of time to insure it is capable of sustaining itself in the wild. My birds were about two and a half months old when I released them, however, they could have been released at about one and a half months provided they ate and flew properly.

2. Ideally, if possible, it is best to release it into an already established flock. By itself, it would not have a chance to learn all it needs to know to become a successful wild pigeon. In the flock, it would learn quickly by watching and reacting to what the other birds do. To release it by itself would put it in a very precarious situation, as it knows nothing about survival in the wild.

3. The actual release should be made very gradually, using a cage with the bird in it to allow it to become used to being out and about, kinda sorta. If you release into an established flock, the time spent in the cage with the other birds around it will allow the young one time to become familiar with and accepted into the new flock. It was a period of five days from the first trip to the flock to the actual release when I let mine go, but a bit longer is probably better. Probably two weeks is better. If you want to see pictures of how I did it, I have the history of my birds at the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/goulian01/MyPigeonExperiment

4. If you know of no flock into which to release the bird, perhaps you can take some time feeding some local pigeons (if available) until they meet you each day at the same feeding site. Then releasing the baby into that flock would be a great idea. It would be more difficult to release a baby bird into the wild by itself. It would have a very difficult time adjusting to not depending on you for its continued well being. I suppose you could return to the release point to feed the youngster for a while until it is better suited for the wild.

5. Try to pick a place where the local wildlife is not too aggressive towards inexperienced birds, unless a flock is available. To release it near a hawk's nest or bird eating mammal's den would not be a good selection for release. Take a look around and select a reasonable safe place. 

I am relatively new at this pigeon stuff, but there are many others on this forum that have a great deal more experience than I, and will be giving you suggestions as to what to do. Take the advise that suits your desires and good luck with the release. If you do it right, your bird should be fine. But, remember, the wild life is dangerous even for an experienced pigeon, so failure is possible. You should keep this in mind so, in the event of something bad happening to your bird, you must not feel totally responsible. As long as you do your best, you will not be faulted.

Good luck and take care.

Mike


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## goulian (May 15, 2007)

Hi Charis,

You beat me to it. It is just as well, as our advice is pretty much the same. I knew someone would point reblin to the post about releasing birds. I should have known it would be you as you are so quick to respond to posts in this forum. Good job. 

Take care, Charis, and keep them pigeons flyin'.


Mike


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## reblin (Jun 16, 2008)

Thanks Charis,
I was feeding him more than once a day but I think he is eating some of the seeds because he is less interested in my feedings now. The bird seems fine but I havn't seen him fly yet. I just started putting him in an enclosed outdoor area. I don't know of any areas where these birds are feed on a regular basis. I think the flock come to my school because I had a bird feeder on the clasroom window. Now what will they eat when school is out. When I first found him wildrescue told me to put him right back where I found him but I was afraid he wouldn't make it. I wonder now if I did the right thing by keeping him.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

You did the right thing. What a wonderful story about the rescue and soft release process to tell the children. It's good for them to hear about this kind of thing from a teacher. They are watching every thing you do and hear every thing you say whether they act like it or not.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Reblin...you did make the right decision. Wildlife rescue may have assumed that it's nest was nearby...a pigie that young could not have flown to your location by itself. But their advice wasn't great......if you put it back outside and it is a dangerous/busy area...there is no way a bird that young it could have fended for itself.

45 days old is the MINIMUM age when you can release and she will have a great chance at making it.

It's good that she is eating solids and less interested in handfeeding. I would keep up the handfeeding a few more days at least, at least once a day.

Squeakie, who I saved at age 15-19 days and soft-released at day 45-49, was still eating a good 20cc formula a day up until she was about 35+ days old.

Charis and Mike have given good info already.

It is important that you find a flock of pigeons somewhere. If there are none at the school....then think of where there is a flock, and go there. Take her/him there daily, if you can...in the box. If you can feed the wild pigeons w/o getting into trouble...feed them near the box so your baby can see how they forage. Then you can make them scatter with a hand-clap or a cough. It is VERY imprtant that the baby see this as well....she/he has to learn that when the flock startles and takes off, she has to go with them. This needs to happen repeatedly, for a week consecutively at least. Of course, you can skip a day here and there, but the birdie needs to experience this for at least 6+ days altogether....When he/ she starts to jump and try to take off (while in the box) when the flock outside does, then she is catching on ! You need to see her/him exhibit this for many days in a row, before release.

Indoor flying practice is a very good idea....I am glad you are able to do that.

Sounds like you are doing a great job...keep us posted.

Any pics ????


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## reblin (Jun 16, 2008)

When I arrived to school today I found that the building was powerwashed over the weekend and one of the nests was gone. I saw 2 pigeons in one of the other two nests left. I have grown very fond of this bird even though the last few days he screams at me and flaps his wing. I was away for a few days and my daughter was feeding him, he wasn't happy to see me when I returned. I think of keeping him but I feel he is lonely and will be unhappy living much of the time in a cage. (I have cats and dogs also) When I think of releasing him I worry about what will happen. Help!!


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Ahhhh...it is very hard, one way or the other.

...when you have him confined, you want him to be free and you can see he wants to get out.

...but as you care for him and watch him grow and get to know his personality...when the time comes to release you will not be sure you are doing the right thing because you care deeply for him and want the best.

At this point, Reblin....you have done the right thing in rescuing him/her. But now you kind of need to see the rescue thru.

You cannot release her now...she is too young, cannot fly, does not know how to feed herself yet...Plus, her nest may be gone, we do not know if her parents will ever reurn for her. So, even though your emotion to let her be free tugs at your heart....she would die if you let her go now.

She needs her feeding maintained, she needs to grow everyday and get older and stronger. She needs to test her wings in an enclosed space and build her strength and stamina. And she needs to observe free adults to learn how they forage (eat) and how they stick together as a flock.

At 45-50 days, she will be ready to be on her own. If you do not feel like you can keep her for the next 20 days or so....that's OK. You should then try to find someone who is willing and able to do it.

But, if you feel up to it and want to keep helping this birdie, you CAN do it and you can give her/him a great gift:

his life back....the chance and experience of being what he was born to be...a free, wild, feral pigeon. A chance which, before you found him, he would never have had, since he would have died.

It sounds like you are doing well, so...you are doing a wonderful and special thing for this little friend.


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## reblin (Jun 16, 2008)

Thanks Jayne,
Your words help a lot!! I will see this through and do what is best for the pigeon. Even if his parents are still at the school I am not sure this is a great place for a pigeon to live. Would his parents know him after so much time or should I look for a safer location when it comes time to release him? I just found out about a local pigeon society and will contact them for some local assistance.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Hi. By the time you release him/her at 45-50 days old, she won't really need her parents anymore. It is possible that, if they are still around, they will meet up again and likely recognize each other....but the parent-baby bond will not really exist any longer. I think it is good that your friend is already 2 weeks old....it is much more likely he will not bond to a human and will retain his 'wildness' and caution of humans when he is released.

So....you can release at the same location you found her....or...you can also release in a different safe location where there is another flock. It IS important you release her where there is a flock, and release her into a flock....she needs to tag along and observe adult ferals if she is to successfully make it in the wild.

That's good that you found a pigeon society ! See if they have someone who concerns themselves with ferals....some societies only focus on racers, breeding, etc.

So, for now, keep the feedings going...keep note of whether he is maintaining his weight and strength....and if you can do it safely, give the birdie some out-of-box/cage time to scuttle around and test his wings (indoors !). Do not attempt it outdoors....there are stories of people who thought their 30-day-old couldn't fly...only to have him fly away enough so he couldn't be caught again. That would be a bad thing.

Do you have a picture ? We would love to see the little guy.


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