# Need to find a home for our pigeon in or near Vermont usa



## WaltSki (Feb 8, 2016)

Long story short.. Back in January 2016 (around the 15th) we were leaving the grocery store around 7pm. My daughter noticed a baby pigeon in the snow near our car. It was alive but really cold and mostly unable to move. We looked around and didn't see any other pigeons so we decided that we couldn't leave it there to die and brought it home. Searching through posts on this site we were able to nurse him back to health. He's (it's definitely a he... his love dance is and the song that go along with it are very manly) since grown into quite a hansom and smart young man over the last 5 months. The issue... We rent and our landlord has ordered us to get rid of him. We would really prefer to keep him and have been looking to move, but we have been unable to find a place that will allow it. I offered our landlord an additional deposit like we did with our cat before moving in but no go so I'm trying to find a new home for him. We live in Vermont USA. Any help any of you can provide would be greatly appreciated.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Thank you for rescuing the little one.

I am so sorry to hear you need to find a home for the bird. He sounds like a happy little fellow. In time you should be able to find him a home, but it may not happen overnight. *


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## WaltSki (Feb 8, 2016)

Thank you for the kind words. We're quite attached to him so we can wait as long as necessary to find the right home. 

Here's a pic of him sitting on my leg taking in some sun.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Beautiful bird! Hope he gets a wonderful home.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes, he's cute. Looks like a little character. I would take him if he were a female. Sorry. I have enough birds in our loft, and I don't like to overcrowd. As it is, I need a few more females for my males. Wish I could help, but that would mean 2 more birds, him and a mate. He is awfully cute though. Be careful in taking him outside, as he may fly off, and he would have no idea of how to survive outside on his own. I know you think he wouldn't do that, but they do it all the time, and are lost.


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## WaltSki (Feb 8, 2016)

Thank you cwebster.. 

Jay3 it sounds like you have your hands (or loft) full. Our rear porch is screened in so he can't fly away. We live in an area with a few hawks so we only take him out when one of us can sit out there with him just to be safe. We suspect he knows how cute he is. He loves to look at himself in the front-facing camera of our phones


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Screened in porch is great. He can get exercise. He's a lucky little guy that you found him.


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## aworldforgetting (Jul 26, 2016)

Hi there,

I am curious if you are still looking for a home for your bird?

Our own long story short, my husband and I live near the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts on about 4 acres. This past weekend, a banded homing pigeon showed up on our property trying to get into our chicken coop, looking for food and water. Turns out, she (we are pretty sure its a female) was almost 300 miles off course and was lost during a recent race.

We were able to track down the club many states away, but due to being a failed homer and being so far away, the owners were uninterested in coming to get the bird, so we have decided to keep her. My husband is currently building a large aviary outside near our chicken coop, and we are looking to try and find a male mate to rescue since we have learned they are much happier with a companion. The club was able to tell us that this bird was born around February of this year, so it seems like the two would be about the same age.

Seems like it could be a good potential fit if you're still looking for a place!


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

This seems to be a really nice offer if he isn't rehome yet. 
They could get along well.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

aworldforgetting said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I am curious if you are still looking for a home for your bird?
> 
> ...



Did the owner tell you it was a female? If not, and you get another male, they will likely fight. Two females will usually get along, or one of each. 
Will he also build an enclosure for them to live in, with an aviary built off of it, as an aviary isn't really sufficient for the winter time. And the wire should be 1/2 inch hardware cloth. Not chicken wire, as that doesn't keep other things out. Really nice of you to keep the homer and care for him. Just wanting to cover all those bases.


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## aworldforgetting (Jul 26, 2016)

The club owner did not specify the gender, unfortunately, just the age based on the band year and we haven't been able to get back in touch with the individual owner at all, who seems to have washed his hands of it. 

My husband tried to determine the sex based on some info online, but we know that can be somewhat unreliable. Any recommendations on how to perhaps be more sure? We certainly wouldn't want to accidentally get a companion that may not get along with the one we've rescued. It seemed very interested in hanging around our chickens (they are bantams, all female), especially our one quail antwerp belgian, for whatever that may be worth.

Thanks for the advice & feedback re: the aviary setup. He was planning for it to have a good sized enclosure section on one side, and he is currently using 1/2" hardware cloth for the wire section materials already actually.  He used this same material on on our chicken coop for the outside areas and we haven't had any issues with any local critters getting in at all. I believe the current plan is for the aviary/enclosure total area to be 12' long x 8' tall x 4' wide.


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## aworldforgetting (Jul 26, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> Did the owner tell you it was a female? If not, and you get another male, they will likely fight. Two females will usually get along, or one of each.
> Will he also build an enclosure for them to live in, with an aviary built off of it, as an aviary isn't really sufficient for the winter time. And the wire should be 1/2 inch hardware cloth. Not chicken wire, as that doesn't keep other things out. Really nice of you to keep the homer and care for him. Just wanting to cover all those bases.


Also, in the event this particular bird may no longer be available or may not be the best fit -- I see that you are also from Massachusetts.

Do you happen to know of any other rescues/individuals we may be able to contact to see about finding a companion bird to rescue? I have been trying to look online, but mostly only found parrot/exotic bird rescues in this area. We were considering also possibly getting a second bonded pair if the aviary/enclosure space we were building would be large enough to happily support 4 birds and they all got along.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

There are actually DNA tests that you can do on birds. Can probably find that info online. That sounds like a nice size for pigeons. Another pair would be nice as they do normally live in flocks. The size of the loft part actually determines how many birds you can have. How large would the loft be? The aviary floor, should be hardware cloth and lifted off the ground, as if built on the ground, things can dig under.

How many chickens do you have?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Have you tried Craigs list? Sometimes pigeons are being given away there.
But first you need to know the gender of your bird. Unless you want to get a female, which should get along with either. 2 females can be good companions for each other.


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## WaltSki (Feb 8, 2016)

Yes, I am still looking for a home for my pigeon.


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## aworldforgetting (Jul 26, 2016)

WaltSki said:


> Yes, I am still looking for a home for my pigeon.


Okay good to know -- let us try and see if we can get a more definitive answer on our bird's gender so we could be more sure they would get along and I can get back to you if you think it may be an option you would be interested in. My husband is in the process of building the loft/aviary at present.


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## aworldforgetting (Jul 26, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> There are actually DNA tests that you can do on birds. Can probably find that info online. That sounds like a nice size for pigeons. Another pair would be nice as they do normally live in flocks. The size of the loft part actually determines how many birds you can have. How large would the loft be? The aviary floor, should be hardware cloth and lifted off the ground, as if built on the ground, things can dig under.
> 
> How many chickens do you have?


Thanks for the suggestion re: the DNA test -- we will try and look into it. My husband is still currently designing the loft part of the aviary, so he will likely do some research on the best size and layout to support 4 birds if that's the route we decide to take.

We currently have 12 bantam chickens.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Can you hang a large mirror in your birds cage, and let us know how he reacts to it? Just leave it in there.


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## WaltSki (Feb 8, 2016)

aworldforgetting said:


> Okay good to know -- let us try and see if we can get a more definitive answer on our bird's gender so we could be more sure they would get along and I can get back to you if you think it may be an option you would be interested in. My husband is in the process of building the loft/aviary at present.


I'm definitely interested. Velvet is seriously in need of a mate (well besides me lol). Keep me posted, thanks.


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## aworldforgetting (Jul 26, 2016)

WaltSki said:


> I'm definitely interested. Velvet is seriously in need of a mate (well besides me lol). Keep me posted, thanks.


Sure, we are definitely interested and happy to take him and give him a good home if it sounds like a good fit. 

I put a mirror in the crate and ours did not seem to act like a male (no cooing or bowing, just seemed a bit curious and timid and then went back about its business eating and walking around the crate). We will leave it in there and see if we observe anything different.

The loft and aviary my husband is building is quite large (12' long x 6' wide x 8' tall with a sizable loft enclosure encompassing the top half of one side of the total area), and we are planning to try and have about 4-6 birds since we have heard they are happiest in a flock. We are hoping to have it completed by the weekend or early next week.

We actually just found another local rescued racer female that we are going to take as well that we plan to pick up this weekend, so it's possible that having the third may alleviate some of the issues just in case ours was male? I'm not totally sure how it all works when they start to become more of a flock versus just two.


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## WaltSki (Feb 8, 2016)

aworldforgetting said:


> Sure, we are definitely interested and happy to take him and give him a good home if it sounds like a good fit.
> 
> I put a mirror in the crate and ours did not seem to act like a male (no cooing or bowing, just seemed a bit curious and timid and then went back about its business eating and walking around the crate). We will leave it in there and see if we observe anything different.
> 
> ...



The most important thing to me is that he's safe, happy and well cared for and it sounds like you will be able to provide that. Fair warning... our pigeon is a bit spoiled. He's been mostly a house pigeon for his short 7 months on earth and he now thinks he's a person. He seems to adapt to change well though so I'm sure he'll do fine with other pigeons after a proper warming up period.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

aworldforgetting said:


> Sure, we are definitely interested and happy to take him and give him a good home if it sounds like a good fit.
> 
> I put a mirror in the crate and ours did not seem to act like a male (no cooing or bowing, just seemed a bit curious and timid and then went back about its business eating and walking around the crate). We will leave it in there and see if we observe anything different.
> 
> ...



The loft should be an enclosure on one end of the aviary. Not just the nest boxes on top. Not sure where you live, but in the bad weather or cold if you have cold winters, they would mostly be in the loft area, so need enough room to get around in there. And something that the cold winds can't blow into. Hard to picture what you are describing.

The fact that your bird is pretty much ignoring the mirror is a good sign.
If you take in the third bird, then getting it a mate also would be a good idea. They do better when all are paired. Singles can cause problems in a loft.
Do you have pictures of your bird, or the enclosure? We always love pictures on here. Sounds good though.


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## aworldforgetting (Jul 26, 2016)

WaltSki said:


> The most important thing to me is that he's safe, happy and well cared for and it sounds like you will be able to provide that. Fair warning... our pigeon is a bit spoiled. He's been mostly a house pigeon for his short 7 months on earth and he now thinks he's a person. He seems to adapt to change well though so I'm sure he'll do fine with other pigeons after a proper warming up period.


Understandable, especially after raising him from a baby - we will definitely do our very best to provide him with a great home and can definitely send you pictures, etc. to keep you updated! We have several dog crates/cages of various sizes that we can use to help facilitate a controlled introduction period with the other birds.

We considered keeping the birds inside, but I am actually 7 months pregnant with our first child and given my slightly vulnerable state now and the introduction of an infant in a few short months, we decided it was probably best to house them in a nice big outdoor space that was easily cleaned and maintained rather than try and add more things to deal with inside. Also, our bird seemed super interested in our bantam chickens, so it will be nice for the aviary to be out near their coop and free range area -- they will have no shortage of fun things to look at. 

I will send you a private message and we can coordinate the best plan for a potential hand off. I assume since he's happy with you all and you're in no huge rush that it probably makes sense for us to finish up the aviary first, which we are hoping to do sometime next week.


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## aworldforgetting (Jul 26, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> The loft should be an enclosure on one end of the aviary. Not just the nest boxes on top. Not sure where you live, but in the bad weather or cold if you have cold winters, they would mostly be in the loft area, so need enough room to get around in there. And something that the cold winds can't blow into. Hard to picture what you are describing.
> 
> The fact that your bird is pretty much ignoring the mirror is a good sign.
> If you take in the third bird, then getting it a mate also would be a good idea. They do better when all are paired. Singles can cause problems in a loft.
> Do you have pictures of your bird, or the enclosure? We always love pictures on here. Sounds good though.


I am probably just doing a bad job describing what my husband has designed, but the enclosure will be located on one end of the aviary, starting about halfway up the structure and stretch from there to the top. It will probably encompass a good 1/3 of the total structure at least. It will be enclosed fully on the three outer sides and the top via a nice arched and shingled roof, with some insulation inside the walls. He plans to have both nesting boxes and general living/landing areas in that loft space.

He specifically positioned the location of the boarded outer sections of the loft area to block any wind/drafts based on how the weather travels down the valley in our area. In the winter, we will put a heat lamp in that space, and he also plans to cover most of the outside of the hardware cloth sections of the aviary with the same clear plastic material we used on our chicken coop for winterization (with several spaces left open for good ventilation). In our research, we saw this method advocated by several people who had built aviaries/lofts up in Canada, and since we are already using it for our chickens it will be easy to apply to both spaces.

This will allow the birds to continue to use most of the full aviary space even in the winter, and also keeps snow from accumulating inside. We used this method for our chickens' combined coop and outdoor run last year, and it was really nice to not have to keep them so penned up. Even in the coldest months, it was staying around 50 degrees+ in both the indoor and outdoor spaces. They all did great and were not even fully grown yet at the time. We keep thermometers out there year round to monitor the temps, so we will likely do the same thing with the aviary/loft and can always add an additional heat lamp or board up more of the loft space if it seems to not be holding the heat as well as we'd like.

We definitely will be trying to procure a fourth bird so that they can all be paired up -- we have some feelers out to a rescue in Boston that has another rescued racer so hopefully that will pan out and we can get them all acclimated together before the winter months. We really appreciate all the help and advice!

I don't have pictures of the aviary yet, but we will be sure to take some when it's finished. I have attached a few pics of our little bird that we've taken in (name pending) from when she first showed up before we brought her inside.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

She really looks like a "she" by pics. 
They may surprise you some time though. 
Can you pls post a closer side pic with her standing up straight posture.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Gorgeous bird! Thank you for taking care of him/her. Looking forward to,updates.


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## bigpond2 (Sep 3, 2016)

are you still looking for another bird? i have a lost racer here that needs a home asap and live in Feeding hills Mahttp://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=88129


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I could take it if it were a female. Sorry, but I don't have room for any more males. Wish it was easier to tell the gender. My loft is full, except that we have a few males without mates. Maybe if you post a picture of the bird, it would help to find a home.


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## bigpond2 (Sep 3, 2016)

there is a picture posted in the thread found pigeon and i cant seem to post it again in this thread


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's right, I forgot. It looks to me like a female, but you really can't be sure. Does the bird always stand like that? Doesn't look right. Like maybe not feeling well. Cute though.
Here's your picture.


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## bigpond2 (Sep 3, 2016)

Thanks for straightening out my picture lol i am pretty computer challenged! I think she just looks like she was standing awkward because she had one foot on the back of chair and one on the cushion. she seems fine to me and I have been referring to her as a she but there is no way to know?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Unfortunately not, unless she lays an egg. They do DNA tests with a few plucked feathers, but I think that costs about $25.


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