# Found a lost trained pigeon and he's not eating enough.



## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

Yesterday I was working in my garden and noticed a pigeon. It's unusual for my area, because where I live, feral pigeons stays in the corn fields, not in small residential areas.
This pigeon was also of an unusual color and he was doing his mating dance... at me.
Then he flew right on the top of my head and I decided to bring him indoor.
He looks very healty and active, he does his mating ritual evary time he sees a human and he bites A LOT. Like normal pigeons.
The problem is that he's eating nearly nothing. I see him drinking from time to time, but he drops every bit of food and I can't understand what he was used to eat before. I tried dove mix (it includes broken corn, various seeds and small pellets), whole corn flour, bird biscuits, cat food, vegetables, but he's not interested. He just pick up the food and drops it.
He also hates hands so he doesn't even try to feed from a hand.
His droppings looks normal but they are small and not as frequent as they should.
I asked around, placed a few "found a bird" announcements in my area but so far nobody contacted me.
He might have been abandoned because he bites a lot.
What can I do to get him to eat? I'm not sure if force feeding is an option, he bites and fight a lot.


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## Purdy (Nov 2, 2015)

They love shredded almonds. If you don't want to shred them, hold the almond horizontally and use scissors to cut it into 4 smaller pieces. 

They also love nyjer seeds and black lentils. 

Mine is super picky and won't even eat defrosted peas but loves those 3 things I mentioned above.


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

Thanks for the advice! I've got almonds and a vast assortment of nuts so I'll try them straight away.
Anyway it appears that he needed to stay one day without food to boot his brain, because 5 minutes ago he figured out the food was in the bowl and not in the cage floor. He's very picky and it looks like he's just eating the peas, but still better than nothing!
Anyway I've got another question: did I do the right thing taking him indoor? Shouldn't pigeons be able to find their home by themselves? Maybe he wasn't actually lost and I basically "stole" him from a neighbor or something?


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## Purdy (Nov 2, 2015)

Great! I'm glad to hear that. As for what is right for the pigeon, only he can answer that. Since he flew to your head, it means he's not feral and has had human interaction before. It could be a number of cases (abandoned by owner, flew away to find a better home, was out playing and got lost). I'm guessing he doesn't have a band on his leg so not a racer. If you want to let him decide, you can give him the choice to go out while provide food in an accessible place in your backyard? I think it's better to do this sooner than later because the longer you wait, the more attached you can get if he prefers the freedom outside and eventually leaves. Even if he does fly away, he knows he can always find your place to hang out and grab a bite to eat. That might be better than taking care of a pigeon indoors cause then you'll either have to potty train him or get him to wear flightsuits and change them like diapers every day. It can be unexpected work so it all depends on the committment level. 

Let us know how it goes.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

He must have been someones bird. In that case, he wouldn't last long outside, so I wouldn't put him out. He probably got lost. Please don't give him too many nuts. They do like them, but should only be a treat, as they are very high in fat. They all pick out their favorite seeds, but he should eat the others if he is still hungry. Unless he is sick or something and doesn't want to eat. Keep an eye on him, keep him inside, and see how he does. If you have a room where you can let him out for a couple of hours daily for exercise, that would be good. Just cover things with towels or something.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Thank you for taking him in! You have a friend for life so,I hope you adopt him and keep him safe indoors in a flight cage.


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

Thanks for the advices.
I talked with my neighbours and they said that this bird has been roaming around the neighborhood for a couple of weeks, following and trying to land on rando people's head. It seems that nobody knows where he's from.
Since he's around for so long, I think he knows how to survive on his own, because cats and dogs are everywhere here. Though I'm mostly concerned about humans since not many people likes pigeons grabbing their head, and he does that all the time, with everyone.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If you believe that he will survive on his own then you don't know much about pigeons, or at least pigeons that have been owned or raised by people. He may have lasted for a bit on the outside, but he won't last long. Why do you think he has been going to people? He does that because he has no idea how to survive out there, where to get feed and water, or where to roost, and how to avoid predators. Pigeons that are not part of a flock do not survive for long. He is going to people because that is what he knows, and he needs them. Putting him out will greatly reduce his chances of survival. He will have a short life.


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

Actually I know nothing about pigeons, I didn't even know they could be pets until now! I've always farmed finches and canaries, or chickens, and most pigeon farms around here raise utility pigeon or rarely, exibition pigeons.
In my country, keeping a pigeon as pet would raise many eyebrows because they're seen as pests.
I know, we are way behind.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

He looks like an exotic tame pigeon. Agree with others that he will not survive long outside. Hope you will consider keeping him or try to,find someone who will adopt him. If you lived near me I'd love to adopt him. There is an adoption forum here. Perhaps someone near you will want this lovely tame bird.


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

I'll keep him until I find him a better home. In the meantime I'll spend a few bucks on a flightsuit even though I'm very concerned about making him wear the thing. He's sweet and all but when handled he's worse than a wild one. Do you know any trick to condition him to the flightsuit?


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## Purdy (Nov 2, 2015)

There is a "break-in" period for the bird to be accustomed to the flightsuit. I can't remember the exact instructions but they come with the flightsuit. If I remember correctly, you would hang the flightsuit in the cage for 3 days so the bird gets used to see it. During play time, use the flightsuit to pet the bird to show that the suit is harmless (3 days as well).

Here are illustrations and a link to a video on how it works:
http://www.flightquarters.com/featherwear/how_to
http://www.flightquarters.com/feath...y?phpMyAdmin=6e0e966dfb2db36981214cdb261b4c90

I didn't do the break-in period properly so she got really fussy when wearing it, but overtime she got use to it and has the freedom to fly around the house all day. 

Attached is a pic of her with the flightsuit snoozing in the car.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

If you decide to keep the pigeon, you can get a flight cage and he will learn to sit on your shoulder with or without a flight suit. We just use towels on our shoulders instead.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If you can just let him out in one room for daily exercise, you can just throw towels over things you want to protect. They will usually pick a spot they like to perch on, and will stay on that spot often when resting. Really not all that bad.


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

Actually he's already learnt to sit on the top of his box and spend the day there, on my desk, as long as I'm working on the PC at least.


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## Purdy (Nov 2, 2015)

That's a fantastic pic


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

I think he is a she. Today she started to do the crouching, growling and flapping of females mating. She still coos and dance a lot like males, but she's doing it less today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBnnmqbTj1c&feature=youtu.be


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## Purdy (Nov 2, 2015)

Very nice video 

For the first 8 months, I thought mine was a male. Until she laid an egg.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

What a wonderful bird! Could be a female. You'll know if you get eggs.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Think you have a male there.
He would be much happier in a more open cage, for more light. Those crates are okay for a short while, but not a good place to keep them for long. They need more light than that.
If you didn't play with him with your hands, but instead offered him treats from your hands, he would get used to hands.


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

I know, in fact for now she only spend the night in there and can free range in the house for around 10 hours a day.
I'm trying to get her a decent but cheap cage but I need your advices so I'll open a new thread shortly with a few questions.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Some people use the wire dog crates. You can set up a shelf at one end, which they like.


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

Dog crates can be cheap, but in the shops I can only find plastic ones and they're really dark inside. I'm not trusting ebay too much on this because I prefer to see the cage in person to be sure the size and the space between bars are what I need.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Around here you can get them anywhere.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Do you have Craigslist or another local online ad or local newspaper with ads? People here are always selling used dog crates very cheaply. They also sell used rabbit and bird cages.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Good idea. Hadn't thought of that.


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## Purdy (Nov 2, 2015)

We're you able to find a cage? Another option (if you have the room for it) is to get a roll of chicken wire at the local hardware store. You can make a cylinder type cage with it, put newspaper underneath and cover the top with something like a towel. The cage needs to be wide enough so the he/she can stretch their wings comfortably. If it's tall enough, you can even put spacers wedged between the chicken wire so it acts as ledges. The width of the cage is still most important.


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

no, I don't have the space. Round is a shape that creates a lot of unused space, I need it to be square. It would also be something really ugly-looking to keep in the house.


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## AprilS (Nov 15, 2015)

*Cages....*

I have a new rescue Pidgie too- I too think it is a girl but I could be wrong- she coos when I talk her. We had her in a cage at night for a while. I have had her for 5 weeks now. Well she didn't like the cage. 

I have cockatiels. She wants to be with them. She terrifies them as she is so big. They can fly away so I am letting them all get used to each other - she was a bit boisterous at first....she swings on their ropes and pretty much acts like a tiel! 

She has chosen her night time bed. So I just put paper under her....it is over 20 ft high up on a bar that holds a tapestry. It's not like I can get her down. Other than that she likes mantles where there is a mirror. She loves to look at herself. So I put a paper towel at those places. She likes to eat where the tiels are so I set up a soft bed, and her food and another mirror on the wall. I hung a large boing rope upstairs in front of a window so she can watch us come and go. I am very surprised how easy it is to keep her inside. 

She won't let me touch her yet but she will fly and follow me around the house. She coos upon seeing us When I first brought her in she didn't fly that much but now she can manoever all around the house. I have clear plastic dishes above the chandeliers as the tiels would fly to them . She has taken over those spaces as well. I put a paper towel under them when she goes up there to rest. It's odd that in the beginning she poo'd a lot! She also ate a lot but now that she has settled in she doesn't eat as much nor poop as much! She is very easy! 

She will sit on her cage but won't go in it. 

I really love this pigeon! So quiet compared to my tiels! She is a year old and loves toys---she mimics what we do- from checking out make-up to trying to use the cell phone. Last night she played with the inside roll of a paper towel and would roll it back and forth to me. I had no idea that pigeons could be so fun!

I tried to find her owner and have advertisements in all the racing clubs and I contacted the AU but her band is a personal club and they were not registered. I am pretty sure she was not an inside bird and she hates hands. When she gets used to us I will let her out in the sunshine - I actually have an aviary that I took apart as the tiels refused to use it. 

Your pigeon is beautiful! Congratulations!


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## Altair (Nov 25, 2015)

Just an update about my pigeon. He's doing really well ans he stopped biting for now, probably his tantrums will come and go.
He rarely bathe and he only bathe when I do (or when he thinks I'm having a bath, like when I'm washing things for example) and he only bathe if there is water running out of the tap.
Here is a video of him being a real gentleman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE5uLNZhkKY


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

What a great bird! You have obviously spent time with him and he looks healthy and happy. Thank you for adopting him!


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