# Feeding feral pigeons



## JennyM (Sep 21, 2015)

Hi everyone,
So I have a problem, for a little over a year I started feeding a feral flock near my building, I would bring water and food daily. The problem is that the flock got too big, and some people started to complain. It was still good until this one really bad man noticed it, and every single day he comes to break my water containers. He of course does it when Im not there, the only reason I discovered it was him it's because I hid inside my car. 

Anyway, because I am already very upset and stressed about this whole deal, I am wondering if you guys have any ideas what can I do? I was thinking trying OvoControl, but I was told it is very expensive and it takes some time to work. So I was suggested to maybe feed less. 

Feeding less just breaks my heart! I love these bird! some of them already know me, and I have names for some too. I have released some rescued birds in this flock too, and I see them coming for food and water every day. So it is very hard for me to stop feeding them or feed them less. 

I have already gone from putting 2 kitty litters filled with water to 1 small container just for drinking  but the the man I mentioned about still dumps out the water and breaks the tiny bowl, so the birds are left with nothing to drink for hours since I cannot keep checking all day long. All of this is making me very upset and extremely sad, all I want is to help the birds but people are just so freaking mean. 

Any suggestions are welcomed, and if the suggestion is feeding less, how much would you recommend feeding?

Thanks in advance!


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## bootface (Jun 29, 2017)

They are capable of finding food and water elsewhere. You don't want to make them completely reliant on you, because if you stop feeding them for whatever reason they'll be in trouble. If you feed them less they'll just disperse more and reproduce less, it's unlikely they will starve.


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

I really feel for you Jenny because when I go into town the ferals there literally walk just in front of you and if you stop they gather around your feet. We are not allowed to feed pigeons at all, there are bylaws that make it a criminal offence and it's awful to see the little loves needing food and not being able to help them. 
I will say this though, they all look pretty healthy and I don't see any poorly ones so they obviously feed somehow and I expect yours would eventually too. 

The only thing I can think of is moving the flock somewhere else, it takes time but will be worth it. Each day you feed them move slightly away for the original spot and do this every day until you've got them somewhere safe, preferably a park or somewhere away from human habitat. They will move with you and eventually they'll just congregate to the new area. They won't stray far from you and will follow you daily, so move 20-30 feet away each time - they're clever little loves and very food orientated, as we all know, lol.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Moving them is not all that easy. I moved my feeding stationabout 15 feet in my same back yard, and each day they would fly down to the old spot, and get confused and leave. They even saw me putting it down! Took a long time. 

Really, all you can do is to stop feeding so much, and cut it down slowly until they have found other places to go to. Don't worry about the water containers. They drink other places. People feed them all the time, and they know where to go for a drink. If you are feeding more, they will breed more. Feed less and they will not breed so much. You are going to have to stop feeding this flock, unless you know where else they go. If you continue, the man could even poison them. You don't want that to happen because you fed them. This is what happens all the time. people and businesses poison them. All of a sudden there is a huge decline. You can usually figure out what happened to them. You don't want to be the cause of that.

Retail price of OvoControl is $7.45/lb. The cost to treat a flock of 100 pigeons during the first year averages $6.63/day 
Can you really afford $2419.95 for the first year?


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## JennyM (Sep 21, 2015)

Thank you all for your replies, I really appreciate it!! 

It breaks my heart to feed them less  I know they are very smart little creatures so Im sure they will find food somewhere else, but it kills me when I see them from my window and I see them there looking for food!! but I guess I have to be strong and just do it, for their own sake. I would die if someone poisoned them because of me. 

How long do you guys think it would take for them to realize there is no more food coming and go look somewhere else? I have tried feeding less before, and they just stand there waiting for the food to come. I don't like them hanging around like that because they annoy people, so the sooner they realize the better.




bootface said:


> They are capable of finding food and water elsewhere. You don't want to make them completely reliant on you, because if you stop feeding them for whatever reason they'll be in trouble. If you feed them less they'll just disperse more and reproduce less, it's unlikely they will starve.


thank you! you are right that they cannot be reliant on me. There was a lady that used to feed a HUGE flock a few blocks away, there were around 500 birds in that flock. Suddenly she disappeared and I would see all the birds desperately looking for the food and water she provided. I guess feeding them like that causes more harm than good.



FredaH said:


> I really feel for you Jenny because when I go into town the ferals there literally walk just in front of you and if you stop they gather around your feet. We are not allowed to feed pigeons at all, there are bylaws that make it a criminal offence and it's awful to see the little loves needing food and not being able to help them.
> I will say this though, they all look pretty healthy and I don't see any poorly ones so they obviously feed somehow and I expect yours would eventually too.
> 
> The only thing I can think of is moving the flock somewhere else, it takes time but will be worth it. Each day you feed them move slightly away for the original spot and do this every day until you've got them somewhere safe, preferably a park or somewhere away from human habitat. They will move with you and eventually they'll just congregate to the new area. They won't stray far from you and will follow you daily, so move 20-30 feet away each time - they're clever little loves and very food orientated, as we all know, lol.


omg it must be heartbreaking to see them so close and not be able to give them anything! - thank you for suggesting to move them somewhere else, the thing is that this flock has been there for years! like 15 or even more!! I used to see them but like many people just ignored them, it wasn't until I found my first pigeon that I paid attention to them. There are also no parks nearby, so there's not much place to move them to. I guess I have to feed them less until I completely stop as I don't want them to get killed because of me 



Jay3 said:


> Moving them is not all that easy. I moved my feeding stationabout 15 feet in my same back yard, and each day they would fly down to the old spot, and get confused and leave. They even saw me putting it down! Took a long time.
> 
> Really, all you can do is to stop feeding so much, and cut it down slowly until they have found other places to go to. Don't worry about the water containers. They drink other places. People feed them all the time, and they know where to go for a drink. If you are feeding more, they will breed more. Feed less and they will not breed so much. You are going to have to stop feeding this flock, unless you know where else they go. If you continue, the man could even poison them. You don't want that to happen because you fed them. This is what happens all the time. people and businesses poison them. All of a sudden there is a huge decline. You can usually figure out what happened to them. You don't want to be the cause of that.
> 
> ...


that is crazy expensive! and that's just for 100 pigeons!! I would probably need a lot more!! too bad it takes too much time to work. I agree that I have to completely stop feeding this flock  it's just sooooo hard to do!! especially since I already know some of the birds and they know me too! but for their own safety, I have to do it. I just don't even know how to start!!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Believe me Jenny, I know it's hard. If you have any heart at all then you hate to see them sitting there waiting for you to come and give them more. You just need to be strong and try not to watch them. Don't know what else to tell you.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Can you turn the man in to anyone like Peta or something?


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## peacefulpigeon (Jul 1, 2016)

You can use the shaming tactics, take a pic of him hiding in your car, very clearly if possible, in action.

Make a small poster with his picture, saying this guy is an animal abuser he walks around and kills cats and birds, wanted by Peta. Please contact if you have any information about him to a dummy email address and post it around in the night in the lamp post, bus stop area.

Share it in facebook as well.

That will scare him off. I have sprinted towards people who tried to tell me not to feed the birds, I am a very large man. If you dont wanna directly confront him thats what I would do, shaming him. Why does he care, does he own a house nearby? it is none of his fn business.

Take a pic of him, i will design the poster for you.





JennyM said:


> Hi everyone,
> So I have a problem, for a little over a year I started feeding a feral flock near my building, I would bring water and food daily. The problem is that the flock got too big, and some people started to complain. It was still good until this one really bad man noticed it, and every single day he comes to break my water containers. He of course does it when Im not there, the only reason I discovered it was him it's because I hid inside my car.
> 
> Anyway, because I am already very upset and stressed about this whole deal, I am wondering if you guys have any ideas what can I do? I was thinking trying OvoControl, but I was told it is very expensive and it takes some time to work. So I was suggested to maybe feed less.
> ...


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