# Sticky  Basic Needs for a Pet Pigeon



## maryco

Pigeons make wonderful pets and are pretty easy to care for, here are some basic things that pigeons need: 

*Water:*
1. Fresh water (change it twice a day if it gets dirty quickly) 

*Feed:*
2. A good pigeon mix either from a feed supply or pigeon supply store is best. Bulk stores often carry some grains which can be mixed to make a pigeon mix, make sure they are good quality and not infested with bugs (Wheat weevils are a common problem in the wheat that I have bought from a bulk store) 
A good mix with quality grain should contain most of these seeds: Wheat, barley, whole corn/unpopped pop corn, white/green peas, maple peas, buckwheat, flax, milo, millet, safflower, vetch and others..

There are many mixes out there, here is a good site:
http://purgrain.com/ingredients.htm
http://purgrain.com/products.htm

*Grit:*
Grit (Not gravel from a pet shop) aids in the digestion of seed and pigeons enjoy picking at it for minerals and other benefits. Red cross grit is most often found at a feed supply store, it contains crushed oyster shells and is a good source of calcium.
Also offering chopped cuttle bone to your pigeon is another good calcium source, this is especially good for hens who are about to lay.

*Supplements:*
4. Pigeons kept indoors will need a vitamin supplement because they are not exposed to direct sunlight to produce their own vitamin D3. A good Avian Supplement can be found at a pet shop or from a pigeon supply store. Make sure it contains vitamin D3 (Prime, by Hagens is a good product that I recommend)

*Snacks:*
Some snacks that pigeons enjoy occassionally are, Raw unsalted peanuts (NOT roasted), safflower, sunflower hearts, hemp, sesame seeds (raw) and others..

*Fruits and Veggies:*
5. Some pigeons enjoy eating veggies and some fruits.
Vegetables to try are fresh spinach leaves, garlic greens, kale, lettuce (Romaine is best and not iceberg) grated carrots, thawed peas and corn from the freezer bags. Sprouts are also very nutritious, you can grow your own as that's safer. Lentil sprouts and mung bean sprouts grow very quickly and pigeons LOVE them!
**Avoid Veggies like Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.

Fruits: So far I've only tried fresh papaya fruit with my own pigeons, papaya contains enzymes which aid in the digestion. Only small amounts should be given though.
**Avoid Avocado as it's toxic to all birds.

*Additional benefits:*
- Adding ACV (Apple cider vinegar) to the water once a week, this helps keeps add some acidity to the system which keeps diseases like coccidiosis, canker and crop candida away.
The dose is 1 tbsp per gallon of fresh water. 
- Probiotic powder mixed into the seed (moistened with afew drops of sunflower oil, garlic oil, or corn oil) or adding the probiotics to the water once a week as well will help replace the good gut bacteria. If this is not convenient then an alternative is giving a probiotic capsule every 2 weeks or month down the pij's throat.
Probiotic capsules can be bought from a health food store, the same kind that humans can take.
Probiotic powder can also be found at a health food store. 
The product in the following link is designed for pigeons specifically and is available at Jedds and Siegel:
http://www.siegelpigeons.com/catalog-dia.html

- A clove of garlic can be put in a gallon of water or a tiny bit of grated garlic in the water bowls, garlic is healthy and keeps the feathers looking nice and keeps internal parasites away.
- A brewer's yeast tablet (avaiable at pet shops, mostly for dogs) and cod liver oil capsule (for vitamin A and Omega 3 which keeps the feathers shiny) can be given once every 2 months or so.. 
**Be careful not to overdose on the Cod liver oil as Vitamin A can be toxic if given too much.


*Housing: * 

A nice cage will do for overnight roosting, the pigeon should be able to stretch out both wings and still have some room. Pigeons don't really like round perches so you can get a flat perch.
The droppings should be cleaned once a day to keep the cage clean and the pigeon healthy. 
If the pet pigeon is to be kept in the cage most of the day then he needs a big indoor cage (Of course still needs some flying time outside the cage as well, building a cage is much more convenient as many of our members have. Cages that big are hard to find and expensive)
If the pigeon can be kept free in a seperate room even just in the day time then that's much better.

*Bathing:*
Once or twice a week putting out a tub with water will help keep the pigeons clean, pigeons LOVE baths but will splash around quite a bit so an old shower curtain on the floor will make it easier to clean up.


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## KIPPY

How about some links for pigeons products?

http://www.jedds.com

http://www.siegelpigeons.com

http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com

http://www.globalpigeon.com

Not sure if one is better then the other when it comes down to poduct, price and shipping and handling.

I like Jedds because they also go through USPS. They also seem to give more of a detailed description of product. That's just my opinion.


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## Jay3

Katydidtoo42 said:


> Haven't posted here for a long time but do check back once in a while. Our lone pigeon loves to bathe all on his own. Probably twice a week. Now he is about to get a companion. I don't even know the breed but my husband's friend says it is black and brown with a little white. We'll soon see and it is supposed to be a female so we will have some babies of our own eventually I suppose. This one is just fledged and eating on it's own we're told. We'll get her this week and keep her in the house for a couple of weeks so that she too will bond with us as Prince has. He is deeply bonded!


That's great. And keeping them in with you so that they bond to you does help a lot. But once you pair them up, you may find that they are less bonded to you. They become a pair, and although they will probably still remain friendly with you, they will usually lose some of that closeness to you. They want the bond with you, as they don't have another bird to bond to, but when they pair up with another bird, it changes the relationship between you and the bird. As it should.


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## Jay3

You don't introduce them by putting them together. You keep them in 2 separate cages near each other. After a while you can move them closer together. Give them time to get used to each other, and for her to become interested in him. Once she starts showing interest, then you can let them out together to see how it goes. Don't put her in his cage, which he sees as his territory. She needs to be able to get away and retreat if she wants to. The male can really hurt the female if you just put them together like that. Let them take their time. Let her have time to become interested in him. It may take a week or two. Can't say, but much better in the long run than to have him bullying her.


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## Collard Dove

Nice! Lotts of information!


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## OUCloud

This is what i've been looking for, since becoming owned by a pigeon , i want to make sure she or he gets the best I can offer for her. Goes with she, seems fiting i i guess . 

Cloud & Duchess


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## Chicken farmer

If they are inside homing pigeons, can you take them outside to fly? What about when you take them away so they come back, will they just land around since they don't have an outside loft or??


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## Skyeking

Chicken farmer said:


> If they are inside homing pigeons, can you take them outside to fly? What about when you take them away so they come back, will they just land around since they don't have an outside loft or??


*Actually indoor pigeons are usually rescues, and should not fly alone. They would be easy prey for predators. We have confined ours to a large enclosed room to fly in.*


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## Jay3

Chicken farmer said:


> If they are inside homing pigeons, can you take them outside to fly? What about when you take them away so they come back, will they just land around since they don't have an outside loft or??


If they are inside all the time, and haven't been left outside in an aviary or something to learn their surroundings, they would probably get lost. And it isn't very safe flying them alone, as they are safer in a flock. Better to build them a screened in enclosure to enjoy the outdoors and sunshine, the screen being of hardware cloth so that other things can't get in to them. They need a loft and need to be trained to go back into it.


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## cabrown

Glad to see this, I rescued a white pigeon that I believe used to be our neighbor's. Our other neighbor's cats took some feathers off him/her, but the pigeon is doing pretty good. It's been eating sunflower seeds, seeds from a suet cake and plenty of fresh water. We also have chickens, just not sure if I want them mixed in with the pigeon. It's a lot smaller and missing some tail feathers. I have him in our really big fenced in area where he can also get daylight too. And I made him a perch our of a piece of leftover building wood. Hopefully soon his tail feathers will come about and he will do good.


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## Skyeking

cabrown said:


> Glad to see this, I rescued a white pigeon that I believe used to be our neighbor's. Our other neighbor's cats took some feathers off him/her, but the pigeon is doing pretty good. It's been eating sunflower seeds, seeds from a suet cake and plenty of fresh water. We also have chickens, just not sure if I want them mixed in with the pigeon. It's a lot smaller and missing some tail feathers. I have him in our really big fenced in area where he can also get daylight too. And I made him a perch our of a piece of leftover building wood. Hopefully soon his tail feathers will come about and he will do good.


*Thank you for rescuing this bird.

Sunflower seeds with or without shell are not good for pigeons, they contain too much fat, if they are shelled they can cause all kinds of digestive issues. A good pigeon seed mix would be ideal for your bird.*


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## cabrown

Actually he's not eating the sunflower seeds, he's eating everything else. So there's nothing to worry about. If it's too big, he won't touch it.


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## Callum Young

Yeah thats right


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## Spikey

Very Nice posts for newbies like me.


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## Dima

I bought Vitamin PRIME ( from Hagen) powder. I can't figure out how much to dissolve in the water.

It says: 
-for medium birds 1cc/day
-daily dosage 1cc per 3 oz of water.

How much ( in teaspoons) i give in a liter of water?

Thank you.


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## Jay3

You bought something for a caged bird. To mix a whole liter, it would take a lot. 
5 teaspoons=1 cc
33.81 ozs = 1 liter
So if you need 1cc(5 teasp.) in every 3 ozs, then you would need, 11cc, which would be 55 teaspoons.

You probably would be better off with something for a flock treatment with vitamins.


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## Jay3

1 cup = 48 teaspoons, so you would need one cup plus 2 Tablespoons of the vitamin for one liter of water.


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## Dima

Jay3 said:


> You bought something for a caged bird. To mix a whole liter, it would take a lot.
> 5 teaspoons=1 cc
> 33.81 ozs = 1 liter
> So if you need 1cc(5 teasp.) in every 3 ozs, then you would need, 11cc, which would be 55 teaspoons.
> 
> You probably would be better off with something for a flock treatment with vitamins.


Thanks Jay.

I thought i can put once a week in the water for my 20 pigeons. This stuff is expensive. I guess is good for one pet. I will sprinkle it on the chopped spinach, otherwise it will go wasted too quickly in the water.


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## Jay3

If you oil the seed lightly with olive oil, you can then sprinkle some over the seed, and the oil will help make it stick to the seed.


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## Dima

Jay3 said:


> If you oil the seed lightly with olive oil, you can then sprinkle some over the seed, and the oil will help make it stick to the seed.


I thought about that, but mines are picky eaters on the seeds, but the like the spinach. Don't want to waste the vits. I put seeds in the morning and then what is not eaten goes to " Pigeon Mall Flock", then replenish is the evening.


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## nancybird

Pigeons & doves need sunlight.They always look so happy in the sun.


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## John_D

nancybird said:


> Pigeons & doves need sunlight.They always look so happy in the sun.


Yes ... they need it to help their system process calcium, as it provides them vitamin D3.


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## nancybird

Yes John D you are right about.


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## homesvet

Hello to all,
I am new member in this forum and share my information.
Mobile vets to your home .

Thanks!


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## gaga6599

I am new here and I am fond of pigeons. The main problem for me is how to control their tendency to reproduce fast. And how to do it in the most human way.


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## John_D

gaga6599 said:


> I am new here and I am fond of pigeons. The main problem for me is how to control their tendency to reproduce fast. And how to do it in the most human way.


Substitute dummy eggs for the real ones once they have laid the second one. They will sit out the dummies, so avoid laying fresh ones too soon.


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## gaga6599

Thank you. I feel better now. I boil their eggs and let them to heat this boiled eggs.


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## kendracox

hey everyone! I have a 9 week old roller name Marbles, hes now becoming independent and not wanting so much handling, any sugeestions on treats? toys?? and games we can play? I usully bring him everywere even to work but he stayed home today I think hed getting annoyed with me haha


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## candace.lockett

*Correction*

This is backwards! 1 teaspoon = 5 cc's! She needed a fifth of a teaspoon per 3 oz!



Jay3 said:


> You bought something for a caged bird. To mix a whole liter, it would take a lot.
> 5 teaspoons=1 cc
> 33.81 ozs = 1 liter
> So if you need 1cc(5 teasp.) in every 3 ozs, then you would need, 11cc, which would be 55 teaspoons.
> 
> You probably would be better off with something for a flock treatment with vitamins.


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## Jay3

candace.lockett said:


> This is backwards! 1 teaspoon = 5 cc's! She needed a fifth of a teaspoon per 3 oz!


You're right! I put it backwards! Thank you.


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## Chase Coop

*Overrun by birds*



gaga6599 said:


> I am new here and I am fond of pigeons. The main problem for me is how to control their tendency to reproduce fast. And how to do it in the most human way.


 I am also new on Pigeon-Talk!I rescued a white pigeon at 9,000 feet in the High Sierras last year 2014. He found me as I was there getting over a bad death of my last pet. Had said, "No more pets!" I was laying on the ground and this white Rock Dove aka Homing Pigeon lands next to me. I say hi, he stays, I feed him. I saw he had hooks and a lot of fishing line all over him. I worked on him for an hour, me and the wife,removing treble hooks and line. He just let me work on him, with this gentle face. He then would hang with me until 5 PM and left to sleep in a large pine. Back in the morning. The hawks and kids were trying to kill him and some old lady of the forest (bird woman) and a camp manager asked me to take him with me when I left the Bishop area for the Pacific Coast, San Diego. So I prayed and said I would if he shows up on my last day. He did so we took him to Oceanside, California. He would fly in place over my kitchen table for exercise. Really strange, not your normal Pigeon. After few days of that I built him a 8'x4'x8 coop. Bought him a girl friend. She disappeared for 10 weeks, but showed up one day minus her metal band. Hmm! He went crazy happy at her return. He was in the dump the whole time she was gone. They bonded, married, and I think they are half mink as 2 became 10. One may have been taken by a hawk so now we have 9. I really did not want pets but now I have them plus a multitude of wild ring neck and mourning doves and every manner of large and small birds, two squirrels and of course rat buddies. My wife is not happy! She said the rats must go. So 36+ rat murders later they refuse to go near my traps. Now I say, as long as they do not kill a bird they can stay. First bird to die the rifle comes out. Now my wife wants the Pigeons gone. I told her at 10 we will start selling pigeons. I put in fake eggs and Blanca the pure white female laid eggs next to the fakes. If I can't sell them, I will pull the eggs and eat them with chicken eggs. You can sell, give the weaned squeakers away, pull the eggs as soon as laid. Eat them, feed them to the dogs, etc. But destroy them so they do not hatch and starve to death. Anyway, I do not want a monster flock, or rather it is me or them according to wife. Or I toss the wife out front and keep the pigeons out back. If I could train the Pigeons to cook and aaa but no I best keep the wife and send them packing. if it comes to that. I was planning on a long road trip but these birds have other plans for me. What to do, what to do?


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## Jay3

Well, when they have eggs, you exchange them for the fakes. But eventually they will breed and have more eggs, so you have to stay on top of it. Once they get out of hand, it's harder. Yes, 2 can become many in a short time. Only problem with pigeons. LOL. And BTW, given the chance, the rats will kill the birds.


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