# Need Ideas for Cage Environment



## DonnaMae (Mar 24, 2012)

Hi,
I need some help in furnishing my cage for Auggie. I rescued Auggie from my back yard. He was extremely malnourished and thin but has recovered. But he is blind in one eye so I decided to keep him. 

Im trying to enrich his environment. I have put a brick in for a perch, which I read about on this site. Im not sure if he is using it. I never see him on it. Hes always on a thin wire that is the side of a wooden perch. ometimes hes on his dowel perch. But I read here that pigeons prefer flat perches. 

Ive also seen a reference to a basket lined with a towel, even if its for a single bird.

The perches I have seen in supply catalogs seem to all be to attach to a wall, not the side of a cage.

Ive been putting food and water in ceramic bowls on the floor of t he cage. The food bowl stays pretty clean but the water bowl ranges from clean to "must be changed twice a day." I cant seem to find anything that would attach to the side of the cage that looks like it would be ergonomically suitable.

Ive been lining the cage bottom with newspaper but I have seen several mentions here of putting paper towels on top of the newspapaer. Is that the best thing to do?

SHould I put the bath pan on the cage floor somewhere?

What else can I put to enrich his environment?

Ive seen mention about covering the cage on two sides. Does that mean at night? On a few occasions, I attempted to cover the cage at night and he became very upset so I didnt pursue it.

Any other suggestions? 

I was feeding him a wild bird food mix (mostly sunflower/safflower/nuts) that we use in our backyard feeders but I am adding some of my cockatiel pellets to try to convert him over. It seems to have alot of the grains/legumes that I see in pigeon mixes.

From what I understand, sunflower seed are not the best for them. And he doesnt eat the nuts in the mix anyway.

THanks,
DonnaMae


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Ive seen mention about covering the cage on two sides. Does that mean at night? On a few occasions, I attempted to cover the cage at night and he became very upset so I didnt pursue it.

Any other suggestions? 

"I was feeding him a wild bird food mix (mostly sunflower/safflower/nuts) that we use in our backyard feeders but I am adding some of my cockatiel pellets to try to convert him over. It seems to have alot of the grains/legumes that I see in pigeon mixes.

From what I understand, sunflower seed are not the best for them. And he doesnt eat the nuts in the mix anyway."

Pellets alone are not good for the bird, can have a high salt content, he needs the oils from the seeds he eats. Try to get a proper pigeon mix as the wild bird seed has cracked corn that is abrasive. You can add some pellets to his seed mix like ten % would be ok.

Sunflower seeds are fine for him as well just not as a sole source of food.

You can cover him in the night. Just wait till its dark out and dark where he sleeps then drop the cover over. He will get used to that in time.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Also add items you can get from the grocery store such as yellow pop corn seeds, lentils, brown rice, slit green peas. All are seeds in bags. Safflower and sunflower seeds should only be an occasional food.I have 9 pigeons are 3 of them ignore the lentils. Pigeons are much like us. What I enjoy, you may not.


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## DonnaMae (Mar 24, 2012)

Hi and THanks All,

I see the references to the different legumes and grains - ,buckwheat, millet, whiter/green peas, flax, barley - in alot of places. DOes this mean uncooked, right?
I was going to buy some small quantities in bulk at Whole Foods. But definiately uncooked and all of the above?

What about the perches? All the ones I see in the catalogs look like they are for mounting on a wall. I would like something mounted on the side of the cage.

I hAve one of those flight cages for him - its higher rather than wider. I know the suggestion was wider rather than higher but I just got desperate and this was what I could find. I think we have to tighten it or something becasue the bottom dropped down today and that worries me.

Maybe some day Ill get the hang of this......
Donna


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

Can you take a picture of the cage?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

We have two rescued caged pigeons who are not releasable. Each has lots of parakeet toys with bright colors and bells, hidey toys for foraging, wooden boxes to sit on, mineral blocks to chew, etc. the vet said newspapers are ok but rolled towels on the cage floor are better than bricks. We take them out for exercise to be with us twice per day to run around, sit on us, and peck hanging toys on the printer. We feed Zupreem cockatiel pellets to one bird and are trying to switch the second bird from pigeon mix to pellets also. By the way, they live in different parts of the house because one has reproductive problems. So we are their flock.


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## DonnaMae (Mar 24, 2012)

HI and Thanks,
Its a plain cage - 31 in wide, 30 deep and 40 high. its way too barren.

I have a thick perch running the width. He hardly uses that. Then there is one of those short perches that extend and hand. He perches on the wire part, not the perch part. Go figure. But then, the pigeons in our yard perch on the telephone wires. 

I had put a brick in the bottom of the cage becasue I read that is good. But as I said, I didnt like that the bottom fell down and thought maybe the weight of the brick contributed to that. 

I put in a shoe box lined with newspaper and paper towels just in case he wants to go in there.

His food/water bowls are on the floor of the cage. THere is a feeder that came with the cage (which is really designed for multiple small birds, fiches, cockatiels, etc) . I have food in it but I dont think its designed for a larger body. 

Donnamae


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

we put pieces of two by four at various points in the cage as perches (but Phoebe no longer uses them as she is over 8 years old and has cardiac problems so doesn't fly up anymore). The one she still does use is about two inches wide and two inches deep and extends across the width of the cage in the center. We covered it with carpet and she likes that as she likes to land very securely. You can purchase purchases that are of various thicknesses online and at places like Petco and Petsmart which screw onto one side of the cage too. Foster and Smith has birdie toys called hide and go enrichment pods that require opening a small door to get food; we use a few of those on the side of the cage and Phoebe loves getting the hidey treats out of them. Be careful putting in a cardboard box with nesting materials as the bird may try to nest in it (if it is female). We discourage our bird from reproduction due to her internal problems (and have had to get hormone implants to stop reproduction in the past because laying eggs will kill her). We feed pellets because our vet recommended them as healthier for her (given her health history and need for very low fat food) than seed. Covering the bird is a good idea; we do that too with an old dark curtain around three fourths of the cage (we don't cover the part near the window). We try to get her out as much as we can and have a toy hanging from the curtain rod above the printer and right now Phoebe is beating the poop out of the hanging toy which is made of wood and has a bell on it. She loves it! We have a small crock for her water as pigeons like having it a few inches deep, and put her food on a paper towel on the floor of the cage and then remove it after 15 or 20 minutes (two daily feedings) so she won't think there is a surplus and want to reproduce. Glad your bird has you, as trying to enrich his/her environment is really important, as is exercise. Remember, you are his most important toy and environmental enrichment! Thank you for taking in your pigeon! They are wonderful creatures and great pets.


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