# My pigeons are going to be released - take two!



## Pawbla (Jan 6, 2009)

So, the guy who cuts my hair has a backyard in the shop (I don't know the name of that profession in english :B) and his mom feeds the birds in the backyard. I asked him if I could do the release things there, and he told me it'd be okay. He also told me that many people (customers) release pigeons there as there is food, there aren't cats there, and nobody bothers them. He has many pigeons there, I saw three yesterday, a dark check (like mine, so it wouldn't look so off there), a blue bar, and I don't remember the other one. I've found the ideal place .
Unluckily, I've been thinking that these two are two cocks. Do you think it'd be a problem to release them there? Normally two males are a bigger problem in mammals at least.
Also, I think they are moulting. I've been finding feathers in the floor, and when they fly, they lose a couple. I'm on summer here. Should I wait for them to end moulting? They do look like moulting. The dirty blue bar is getting lighter "stains" in his plumage. He'll be gorgeous =D.
Should I wait for them to weigh a bit more (they are 250 gr)? What can I get for them, to make this faster, to eat?
Any special way I should treat the birds prior this? Should I shoo them when they stand near/on me?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

just follow what it says here, 
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=264425&postcount=2


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

you can get them sum sunflower hearts very fattening, will he let you have a pre release cage there??? then they could live there for a couple of weeks and see the flock coming and going and choose to come back into the cage at night once released.
mine usually come back to the cage for a little while then move to the eaves of the house at night then sleep wherever the flock is sleeping and just visit for a bite to eat during the day.
how old are they now??


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## Pawbla (Jan 6, 2009)

I don't have a prerelease cage yet... But I'm guessing he will. Does it need to have any kind of special things? Besides the wiring floor.
They are (estimate) two months and a half one, and two months, if I recall correctly. I found one in mid November I think when it was around 20-something days but underdeveloped... Sibling was fully feathered and I remember seeing them when they were more or less the same age, they looked quite similar in size and general looks. The other one was found at twenty-something days too (early), in... mid-december or beginning of december.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

you just have to make sure that nothing can get in and get them or pull them thru the wires, it would be nice if they can fly in it, but i know that's not realistic, when does your summer end???


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

i go more by behavior on when to release, if they are eating well on their own and steadily gaining and maintaining weight for at least 2 weeks i put them in the outdoor aviary for at least 2 weeks, then i watch to see how they act when i go in there, they should run away and not want to be touched and will not land on me or beg
if all is good i open the door and let em go


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi Pawbla

So far as the weight goes, unless they are very small in overall size I would aim for pigeons to be 300 grams as an acceptable weight (consistently, not just with a crop full of food). Most of those I find here are adults, but I had three in who were probably between 2 - 3 months and who eventually reached 300 with a diet of varied pigeon mixes. 

John


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## Pawbla (Jan 6, 2009)

They are on a pigeon mix now. Maybe I'll add more sunflower and the vitamins will help.
My summer ends on... March 21st.
So I put them out during two weeks. Should I leave them at night or take them home?
And when they stop begging (actually just one of them does) it's time to let them go? None of them like to be touched. But one is a bit more docile than the other one, she can be caught with lights on. This one is the one that is a bit too small for a pigeon, maybe 250gr is fine. And his head is actually way too big, lol.


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## Pawbla (Jan 6, 2009)

Actually, yes, he is undersized. They are both small, but I was just comparing him to another feral... a big difference. They were outside when one of the "babies" from "my" pigeon pair on the roof decided to go out... The blue bar bird is quite aggressive. My guess of his sex was totally wrong, I think, now I believe it's a cock. He pecked the other bird through the bars of his cage.
On the other side, the checked pigeon just watched at the other one. The other one is a checked too, but not so dark. A gorgeous bird. They seem to get along . Well, they just watch at each other without much interaction (I prefer that, since the canker suspicion).
Maybe if I throw some safflower around he'll stay. My blue bar likes it a lot. But I'm afraid I'll scare him off.


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