# Why do you keep pigeons?



## Prizm (Jun 28, 2006)

I'm just curious.


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## stephie (May 17, 2006)

Well I only have Robbie... he came to my house because he was a tiny baby with no one to take care of him, he stayed because he was the cutest thing ever and I fell in love with him and now we are best buddies. I wouldn't say I "keep" a pigeon, though... I think he's the one who keeps me lol


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## pgm860 (Oct 24, 2003)

*Why I keep a pigeon*

Pretty much the same reason as Stephie. I found Natasha walking under a bridge when she was just a tiny little thing. Here is a picture of her the day I found her.









I brought her home, fed her and when she grew up she had gotten imprinted on us and our dogs so if I had let her go she would surely have died. So she stays with us. Here is what she looks like now.










Thanks
Praveen.


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

HI PRIZM, Let me start by asking you why you keep pigeons? If you check thru the various post and forums you will see that there people that keep pigeons as pets,there are also those that keep pigeon to race or show but most of all we love birds and the pigeon is the bird that we love the most. I keep them to race and show and I enjoy just having them. GEORGE


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Here is a great thread that talks about how everyone here got started in pigeons started by Maggie.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=12437


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

I _think_ this question has been asked before, but I don't think anyone will mind updating their "why." I'm sure you will get lots of responses!

I found Mr. Squeaks with a badly broken wing. He had to have flight feathers amputated on one side. Since he can't fly, we are bound for life, along with my four cats.

His story (Part I & II) is posted in the STORY section. 

OF COURSE, I have NEVER regretted my decision to keep him! He and my cats furnish all the love and humor I could wish for! Rarely a dull moment around here! Besides, if it hadn't been for Squeaks, I never would have found this site and Cindy (azwhitefeather)! My life has been soooo enriched!


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## jacobsshygrl (May 3, 2006)

pgm60, Stephie is absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the pictures. 

As for why I keep a pigeon is much like the past few answers. I kind of got "stuck" with her after a friend of mine did a horrible deed and stole an egg from a nest (though he told me it was abbandoned) and put it in my incubator. He didn't know how much work it was going to be, and when it came time for a feeding every few hours he handed her over to me, and shes been mine since she was a hatchling. I keep her because, like pgm said, she is too used to people and my dog and would not survive in the wild. She is part of the family now, and this is her home.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

I had never owned or even paid much attention to pigeons (I'm ashamed to say lol) before I found a baby floating down the river in November several years ago. "Pidge" came home with me, made her place in the corner until she learned to fly, and at the end of the month, took off out the door. Two days later I found Gonzo in the same river (with the biggest baby beak ever, he looked just like Gonzo on the Muppets lol). He took over the house, even as a baby, and would have no talk of leaving. He was a tough guy from the beginning, always looking for the pigeon behind the mirror (he could always see the other pigeon in _front_ of the mirror, and so expected said pigeon to be behind the mirror in flesh and blood; he never could figure that out and it annoyed him to no end! Now he's in a mirror-free aviary where he has some peace finally  ) 

He was followed by a ringneck dove, Beaker (in keeping with the Muppets theme  ), then they had two hybrids and had to be separated as Gonzo was too big for her. Benny, (short for Benito Santiago, the old SF Giant's catcher), Gonzo's new wife, was found in a very low-built nest where her unfortunate brother had fallen prey to a raccoon or other animal the night before. I took her home and it was off to the races. I soon found out that most animal shelters around here at the time had no bird rescue groups that pulled pigeons, doves, and other "game" birds (there are now, I'm happy to say, other bird rescues who are doing the same thing for pigeons around here, taking some pressure off of me!) So I built an aviary and did a lot of rescue-and-rehoming. But mostly I took in pigeons.

As for why, I think everyone who owns one has a sure answer for that; they definitely grow on you! My pijies are all out in my tent aviary now, and the most peaceful times of my day are spent out there observing the going-ons in their little world. None of them are free-fliers so I don't have to worry all day about who's coming home that night. They have plenty of nesting spots and some room to fly in the aviary, and as most of them were rescued as babies, or had owners who had kept them in a small cage, they don't seem to want to be out flying. And there are a LOT of hawks around here, since we're on the edge of town and into the trees of the country. I have a few pigeons, including Gonzo and Mrs. Bird (whose story is in here somewhere), who still fly to me and want to "talk" when I go in to see them. They are the most special little creatures, each with an amazing personality of their own, and capable of so much love towards their humans and towards each other (when they feel like it lol). I'll always have some pigeons (or they'll always have me! as Stephie said); it wouldn't be half as fun without them in my life.


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## Prizm (Jun 28, 2006)

> stephie
> Well I only have Robbie... he came to my house because he was a tiny baby with no one to take care of him, he stayed because he was the cutest thing ever and I fell in love with him and now we are best buddies. I wouldn't say I "keep" a pigeon, though... I think he's the one who keeps me lol


*Nods* I know what you mean!


> pgm860
> Pretty much the same reason as Stephie. I found Natasha walking under a bridge when she was just a tiny little thing. Here is a picture of her the day I found her.


Wow, she's BEAUTIFUL!



> george simon
> HI PRIZM, Let me start by asking you why you keep pigeons? If you check thru the various post and forums you will see that there people that keep pigeons as pets,there are also those that keep pigeon to race or show but most of all we love birds and the pigeon is the bird that we love the most. I keep them to race and show and I enjoy just having them. GEORGE


Well, I found my single and first pigeon fallen out of his nest under a Target sign next to the Petsmart I work for. I took him home, hand fed him (thanks to the guidance of message boards like pigeontalk) and now I have an adult, cooing and dancing bird on my head  I'm away from home now, to attend a grooming academy offered by Petsmart as part of a promotion to being a dog groomer. I get a feeling..a calling if you will when it comes to birds and I just wondered why people are drawn to pigeons specifically. (Why do you love a pigeon more than a parakeet, for instance?) I met a girl on a neighboring message board called starlingtalk.net who volunteers at a bird rehabillitation center. I have some rehab bird volunteering experience and I was happy to accompany her yesterday after grooming school. I have Target here with me in my hotel, and the rehabbers think he may be too imprinted to release and since he's still flying after me, coo'ing, and doing his little mating dance, my heart is somewhat stolen by him  I love looking at him and I love letting him roam free throughout the house, but I have a problem where a flight suit is concerned. If I keep him, he'll be a member of the familly with full run of the house, but I need to find a way to make it work where the pooping is concerned. Anyway, I may go back to the rehab center today where I might even bring Target with me just so he can get some exposure to other birds! You know, just to see how he reacts. Maybe he'll be like "What's uuup my feathered friends?"............but if he wants to fly to mom, I'll be right there, lol. 



> Trees Gray


Thanks for the link. I hadn't read it!



> Mr Squeaks


Poor little Squeaks! You're giving him a great home :>
I need to read his story!



> Maryjane


Heehee, love the story about the mirror! Target finds it perplexing too. I think he understands the concept of the TV, but the mirror has this gorgeous bird in it  It sounds like you have a great caging setup for your birds!


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## tim16 (Aug 16, 2005)

I'm a bit different, and very much a novice. I made a conscious decision to get them. By that I mean they didn't find me.  Although I would have tried my very best to save one if I had. I have a long list of animals that I have tried to help, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

My Great Grandfather had Homers and Rollers. I remember as a very small child how fascinating it was to watch them. 

At the tender age of 40 I was told by doctors that I needed to relieve some stress (primarily due to my job). The pigeons came to mind almost immediately. They do relieve my job related stress, but at times bring on a different kind. I don't compete, it's simply a wonderful hobby to me. 

Anyway, that's my story. As boring as it is.

Tim


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## Prizm (Jun 28, 2006)

tim16 said:


> I'm a bit different, and very much a novice. I made a conscious decision to get them. By that I mean they didn't find me.  Although I would have tried my very best to save one if I had. I have a long list of animals that I have tried to help, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
> 
> My Great Grandfather had Homers and Rollers. I remember as a very small child how fascinating it was to watch them.
> 
> ...



That's not boring at all! I find birds VERY theraputic. They are like fish in the sense they are fascinating to watch, but unlike fish, they are interactive and have a range of human-like behaviors. Yet, birds are not as demanding as, say, a dog. Could I ask, what kind of job do you work at & how is it stressful?


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