# Outdoor Pet Pigeon in a screened in porch



## NicollSmith (Nov 12, 2016)

Hello, This July I found a wounded homing pigeon in my yard and tried unsuccessfully in trying to contact the chapter contact for the pigeon. After multiple emails and phone messages I've given up. My children adore Pidgey and she has been living in our screened in porch which faces the west side of our home. She seems pretty content and her wing is healed although a little lumpy. We are afraid to let her go as she came from a city almost 200 miles away. Winter is coming and while she is protected in a 12'x16' screened in porch area she isn't protected from the wind. We just built her an enclosed ledge with the front wide open and we are going to install that on the brick wall. I'm looking at outdoor cat houses on Amazon are two stories high with ledges with windows made out of wood. I'm not too crafty but I thought I could modify them to make it more pigeon friendly. I have a cat crate on a table right now with a blanket on top and inside and she occasionally goes in there. I would like to make her more comfortable. Should I be thinking thermal blanket or thermal heating panel for the winter. Can anyone advise. I'm learning as I go and I'm reading as much about how to take care of pigeons as I can. Should I be thinking about bringing her inside? We have two cats so I'm concerned about. Thanks.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F74KCYM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1VRP6G24YECRA

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011059M8E/ref=crt_ewc_img_dp_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Our pigeons are in cages in a closed shed with an oil filled heater at night. You might be able to protect Pidgey by putting a tarp or wood panels outside the screened in porch. Our birds are spoiled and would live inside if I didn't have lung allergies to pigeons. Thank you for rescuing and caring for Pidgey.


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## NicollSmith (Nov 12, 2016)

Thank you for the suggestion. I'm going to look for thick plastic sheeting to cover the south and the north side of the screened in porch. That's where the wind comes in. It doesn't seem to blow in from the west side. I want to make sure that the pigeon has good ventilation and I think with the south light coming in it should warm it during the day. Should I be concerned about "gassing off" of plastic? I also looked at a storage shed and I'm wondering if I could convert it with another opening and ledge on the side of the shed and a ledge placed in the front opening. What do you think? It would be better than the cat carrier that is sitting on a table. She does get into it and sits on the blankets inside. In Virginia we are starting to get cold weather so I'm anxious to protect her. 

https://www.amazon.com/Medium-Outdo...1479560452&sr=1-13&keywords=tall+storage+shed


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Horizontal would be better than vertical. Not sure if gassing us a problem with plastic...depends on the type. Have used blue tarps in the past to cover Guinea pig cages outside...could cover them at night and pull a rope around the tarps then uncover them during the day. Would look for a used shed on Craigslist in your area.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You don't want to use tarps. That would make it too dark. The plastic will be fine. But he should have an enclosed area to go into. You don't want to put him in a shed outside without an aviary added to it, as he does need to be able to get outside into the fresh air and sunshine. Not in a dark shed. Even on the porch, he may not get sunlight, I don't know, but the rays of the sun that they need do not pass through screen. They love to lay in the sunshine. Would be nice if you could close off one end of the porch. And maybe get him a companion. A small shed that would fit on one end of the porch would be okay.


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## NicollSmith (Nov 12, 2016)

Jay, thank you for the advice. I'm not quite ready to get a second homing pigeon but I'm realizing the responsibility of being her "person". This why we liked having her in the screened in porch area. It's big, lots of sunlight on one side, we have a bird feeder outside and she seems to really enjoy watching them. We spend a lot of time on the porch with her and she seems to really like my kids 3 and 4 who are supervised around her. She tolerates them gently petting her and seems to like me. She watches me and talks to me all the time. I think we are going to bring her inside during the winter months. I need to get her a larger cage as what she has is a 20x20 tall cage. I'm going to order her pigeon diapers. She experienced TV upstairs with the kids and walked around while they watched and seemed very content. I've been holding her and she relaxes into me and will close her eyes. It's really nice. I've never been around birds and I'm trying to read as much as I can on the web to learn. I'm going to get a roosting box and put it on the brick side of the screened in porch and possibly buffer the north and south side with thick gage plastic to keep the wind but I'd leave the west exposed and that's about 16feet. The screened in porch is 12x16. I'm wondering if she would be okay during the day on the sunny winter porch with a little nest roost that would protect her from the wind. The wind tends to blow on the south side of the house. The wind usually doesn't blow in on the west. Do you think this sounds okay? I don't want to buy a shed and put outside. I didn't plan on being a pigeon owner but our family has gotten attached and I think she needs a home and needs to be incorporated safely into our family.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Sounds good except that most pigeons don't use a small nest box, unless they are on eggs or babies. They usually will sit out on a perch, even at night. That's why something larger than a nest box on one end of the porch would be nice. She may or may not go in the box. Let us know, as I would be interested to know. Even if you did cover the West side, or most of it, but still allowing for fresh air and ventilation, she would still get lots of brightness and the warmth from the sun. I cover my aviary for the winter months, allowing for ventilation, and they still get plenty of light. The aviary also stays warmer on the sunny days, as the plastic keeps a lot of the warm in. Also keeps the cold winds from blowing through the aviary and into the loft.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Am very glad you have adopted her. Lucky bird!


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for taking in this needy stranger, sorry to hear the owner cannot be located.


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## NicollSmith (Nov 12, 2016)

I found the bird in July when when we were having the 115 degree heat wave. She was in my yard with a bloody wing. I didn't know what to make of her and looked up birds with bands. I gave her water and some birdseed and watched her for a couple hours but decided to bring her in as we have an active neighborhood fox who spends a lot of time around our home. I brought her in and looked up the band numbers. I contacted the American Homing Pigeon Association and the person there helped me figure out the band. She is registered with IF. I contacted them and got the chapter contact information from the city/area she is from. I called a couple times a day for about a month and sent emails. I felt like a stalker. I never got a response from the emails or messages. I stopped contacting efforts in October. I reached out to the IF lost and found pigeon contact and they tried on my behalf to contact the chapter contact but no luck. I was never able to contact the personal owner directly. I feel back about that but I'm not sure what else to do. I live in the Washington DC suburbs so posting notices is challenging. The bird came from another state/city. I have a question. The band says 2016 is that the date the bird was registered or is that when she was born?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

At this point I think you have the right to keep the bird. You tried to get him back to his owner. I hope you will just enjoy Pidgey. He is a very lucky bird.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

The date on the band is the hatch year. So your bird was born this year. The solid bands have to be put on at around 5 to 7 days old depending, or you can't get them on the bird.


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