# Pet bird treats and pigeons?



## apache_dj (Jul 22, 2008)

In a few hours im going to go on a nice shopping trip for pidge and buy him some things for his bedroom!

I was looking at our finches/canary/parrot treat or seed sticks and they say suitable for all pet caged birds.....do pigeons count? as i guess techinically they aren't classed as pet caged birds by the manafacturers! Or are there any particular things i should make sure arent in these treats?

Oh also ive looked everywhere for pigeon food, and i can only find pellets, which i dont want as they are very big, im looking for the seeded type to start weaning him, anyone know wherre i can get some in the UK? Also Pidge may actually be a dove - still not sure, is the doves diet the same as a pigeons?


Everyone thinks im mad! 2 days ago pidge ate his first seed (millett) .....i was so so SO proud!


----------



## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Dietary suggestions for pigeons or doves, from research on the internet and personal experience, quoted from the pigeon e-book.

"Brand name seed mixes, which are blended for the doves, can be used, but are at times quite costly. A "pigeon pellet" can be utilized also, but size should be checked to ensure it is not too large for them to swallow. The seed & pellet diets can be combined & supplemental foods such as greens, breads, cheddar cheese, mixed veggies & diced fruits can be given if the birds will eat these items. Remember, begin with a clean seed mix & then add what you want. I use a wild birdseed mix, & add safflower."
and
"Wheat and waste (cracked) corn are important in their diet, but the "natural" food is weed seed. The doves really eat large amounts of weed seed including foxtail, pigweed, etc. They may pick up 20-50 seeds per minute while feeding.
Doves spend a great deal of time in nature walking around looking for seeds. Unlike the hookbills (keets, parrots, etc.), they do not husk their seeds. They swallow them whole. This makes it easier to tell when they need more food. They leave no trays of empty hulls as parakeets will. 

Specific Seed mixes:

Nature's bounty mix:
Wheat, milo or ******, rice, millet,cracked corn, vetch, chopped peanuts, safflower and little black sunflower (high in oil) can be given. 

Commercial box blend: 
Mix 1/3 cup of each: 
Parakeet seed 
Wild bird seed 
Canary seed 

Fortified pellet blend:
Mix 1/3 cup of each:
fortified finch seed
parakeet seed 
Cockatiel pellet

Ringneck dove Safflower mix:
millet, milo, wheat, black sunflower, canary grass, safflower and cracked corn.

Commercial millet mix for ringneck doves:
60% - German & Brown Top Millet
20% - Japanese Millet
10% - Black Sunflower (Peredovik)
10% - Penngrain DR or WGF Sorghum


Feathered Friends millet-wheat mix:
White Millet, 
Red Milo and/or White Milo, 
Wheat
Safflower, 
Canola, 
Oat Groats
Buckwheat

General Feeding Tips: 

A dove's metabolism is very active and can starve to death in as little as 24 hours if it does not eat. Doves only eat off the top of what is offered, so be sure to check the food daily. They are ground-feeders, so are most comfortable with dishes placed near the bottom of the cage. ((edit: I'm not sure I agree with this statement, but I'm not testing it. It's just part of the article.))

Some birds sweep their beaks through the seed looking for choice tidbits, so be prepared to vacuum under the cage often. Change the food and water every day, and keep the cage bottom clean. Soiled feed on the ground may spoil and cause illness. Ringnecks will also eat a wide variety of human table food. Some people say the wider the variety of food provided, the healthier will be the bird. We feed our ringnecks pellets on the advice of a veterinarian who maintained that once he convinced clients to convert their birds to pellets, they never had to bring their bird in for illness again. One of our birds, Brownstone, is now at least 16 years old and as far as we can remember he has always remained in perfect health. But then ringnecks are known to to be hardy bird and are rarely sick if kept inside. However I have noticed that birds fed entirely on pellets often weigh much less than those fed on seed. Recently I was keeping the ringneck in my apartment and weighed it when my daughter first brought him over. He weighed 150 grams which is on the low side of the range of 150 to 200 grams given by Danny Brown. After having been given the opportunity to eat seed for 11 days he reached a weight of 175 grams. 


Pelleted Foods:

Pigeon pellets or the smaller game-bird pellets (20 percent protein), or "crumbled" poultry feed, if reasonably fresh, are good for supplementing grain. The pellets will supply vitamins A and D3. The D3 is necessary if direct sun is not available.
Purina pigeon chow and commercially prepared pelleted foods designed for parrots are acceptable pelleted diets for pigeons and doves. Since pigeons cannot crack seed they usually cannot break down large pellets either. Pellets must be able to be prehended and swallowed whole by the birds. Most pellets fed to cockatiels fit this size requirement.

Mazuri Small Hookbill, Zupreem Cockatiel Blend, Pretty Bird Pellets, Lafeber’s Small Hookbill Pellets, and Kaytee Exact Cockatiel Pellets are all acceptable. If you can’t find dove food, the best alternative pellet is vitamin-fortified parakeet food. Doves will switch instantly to pelleted foods.


Supplements:

Doves like extra calcium (crushed eggshell, or oyster shell, or "granular F "). Granular livestock salt with trace elements such as iodine, cobalt, manganese, etc. is also useful. This extra mineral supplement is especially necessary if the doves are raising young. Deep green leaves are often desired by the doves, such as dandelion leaves, but they are not necessary if pellets are given. Be sure that the leaves have not had herbicide sprayed on. Powdered vitamins can be lightly sprinkled on the fresh food, but putting it in the water can encourage bacterial growth.

Treats. Of course doves enjoy a change of pace in their diets. Keet foods have quite a bit of variety in them, but doves will appreciate different treats – even a little bite of bread or cracker. Greens, bits of fruit, and other little snacks go down smooth. 
Spray millet and/or Mega millet (sorghum, milo) may be offered as a treat once weekly. 
Grated carrots, zuccini, etc., and dark leafy greens such as kale spinach, endive, chickweed cut into very small pieces should be offered daily. Whole wheat bread can be offered as small fragmented pieces and mixed into the seed mix. Doves appreciate deep green leaves, such as dandelion, but they are not necessary if pellets are given. Welcome treats include crumbled whole wheat bread, millet sprays, crumbled hardboiled egg yolks, fresh greens, small pieces of grapes and watermelon. Some birds are pickier than others, so keep experimenting.

Offer chopped dark green and yellow vegetables and a variety of fresh fruits in addition to a protein source like mature legumes, hard cooked chopped egg, and grated cheese. Remove fresh fruits and vegetables within 2 hours of offering to prevent spoilage. If the bird gets too much liquid from the fresh fruits and vegetables, the droppings could become runny. Stop the fresh food for a day to see if this is the reason. 
"


----------



## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

So, buy or mix your own according to the recipies.


----------



## driph (Jun 14, 2008)

You've also the option of using pelleted food from the pet store, although that will tend to cost a fair bit more than pigeon pellets. Just make sure you get pellets that are small enough for a pigeon to gobble (something intended for softbills is good), as they don't beak em apart like a hookbill would do. Zupreem recently released a new variety of pellets that'd work well:

http://zupreem.com/animal/bird/nourish/avian_entrees.shtml









There are other varieties, but with the Harvest Feast shown above, you get the added bonus of playing the _match the poop color to the favorite pellet_ game. :]

Note that if your pigeon is fed pellets rather than seeds, grit won't be as much of an issue, and is something that you'd actually want to limit (in all cases, make sure your bird isnt overeating grit, as too much can obstruct the digestive system).


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Everyone (doves and pigeons!) like conditioning mix, either TK or Red Band. It has all the nice small seeds that are easy to digest . That is what I use for weaning. Look around for pigeon suppliers or Corn Stores.

Or if you feel like a little drive, go to Gem Supplements in Chichester http://www.gemsupplements.com/start.htm as well as the conditioning mix they have a treat mix which is also much appreciated. The website doesn't do them credit.

Cynthia


----------

