# Slapped by Wisdom



## Gille (Sep 8, 2006)

I had written up a good ten minute read on how I got involved with pigeons and how one of my pigeons slaps at me when I try to touch him and even more about how I'm hand traing them but being as it was a rather long post the messagebaord timed me out and I lost the whole thing. Grrr
Our two Roller Pigeons
Dove is in the foreground Wisdom the slap happy guy is hiding in the back.








The coop in our garage. Bottom 2 feet is all windows.








My coop entrance








The avery has an old door which allows me to open the window. It has windows on the sides and is on the same wall as the coop which is inside.








As rough as this might be compared to some settups I'm very proud of it and the birds have ample room to stretch their wings. Outside the avery to the right you can see the launching pad. The upright birch posts are to protect the entering bird from hawk attacks. They can't grab them if they can't reach them.
Inside my garage we have a couch and two large chairs where my wife, children and I often sit and watch the birds. The birds seem to like the attention.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Your birds are lovely, Gille, and I think their setup is very nice. It's great that you can spend time with them and have all the comforts of home while you're at it!

Terry


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## Feather (Dec 8, 2005)

I wish I would be slapped by wisdom.



Gil...your loft is super nice, and so are your birds. 

Feather


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Gille, welcome to the forum. Your rollers are lovely little birds and it is so nice your entire family enjoys being around them. We have outside aviaries and I often sit with our pigeons. Some of my happiest times are when they walk all over me, pull the shoelaces on my shoes, nuzzle me and coo at me.

Please let us know if we can help you in any way. We're very glad to have you as a member.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hello Gille,

Welcome to Pigeon Talk

Thank you for sharing pictures of your birds and coop.

Dove and Wisdom are lovely pigeons.

We are one big HAPPY  and helpful group, who would be happy to share any information you might need.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Gille, your loft looks very cool. Don't you hate when you post and the message disappears? I've learned when I do a long post, to copy it to a clipboard before I hit send/post. Of course I don't always remember to do that but occasionally it comes in handy.  Thanks for the great pictures.


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## Gille (Sep 8, 2006)

*Wisdom Speaks*


Thanks for all the kind replies, I've been reading over some of the topics on the messageboards here as a guest for almost a year and have found the advice very helpful.
I guess another good thing that happened when Wisdom decided to become agressive is he got his voice. Before that all he ever did was peep. Now he warbels loudly..haha. I just tried to get him on my hand again. He slapped, nipped but refused to fly to my hand. I had to give in an put the hand back on the shelf for him to pick from. I tried Dove and suprisingly she tried to nip me too, but only once. She won't stay on my hand long either but I'm hoping persistance pays off. 
I'm wondering if handeling them as chicks makes much of a difference? These guys were just ready to eat solids when we got them. But they were not handled until the had to be taken to our house.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Gille and welcome to the forum

You have some beautiful pigeons and you'll find lots of support and comradery here regarding pigeons

Hope you find our forum helpful and enjoyable, and feel free to browse and/or inquire about anything

A fellow Canadian too


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Gille, the more you handle them the tamer they will get.


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## christina11 (Jan 20, 2006)

What pretty birds you got there.

Also good work on the loft just what I need when we move...  

Even tho I have had Whiteriver for about 4 years now he still bites and slaps me lol I just have to get a picture of when he raises both wings up its too cute and funny.  Whiteriver does stay on my shoulder tho and will coo for water and he actualy like's biting me he'll keep cooing till I start to play bite my hand with him its like he has teeth.  

Good luck on tamming.


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## Hillybean (Oct 30, 2005)

Hey Gille,
welcome to pigeon talk .

They're BEAUTIFUL! They're also very healthy and the loft looks great. Thank you so much for the pictures. 

I think handling from an early age with most animals can make a difference. They're pretty young still, so there's still time to tame them.
Best of luck! -hilly


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## Gille (Sep 8, 2006)

*Do pigeons like toys? If so what kind?*

Do pigeons like toys? My wife picked up a cat toy. A plasic ball with a bell in it. I didn't think they'd do too much with it but Wisdom pecked it and got excited when the bell rang! He pecked and pecked until he'd rolled it out of the avery and onto the floor. The both birds stood looking down at it as it bounced on the coop floor and rang out..lol. The got so excited and looked very much as if they would have played with it alot more if it hadn't rolled off on them. 
Does anyone have a peticular toy their birds like?


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Hi Gille! Mr. Squeaks and Shi say welcome to you and your beautiful birds too!

I call the wing slapping "Wing Fu"...Squeaks will do that to me occasionally. Before his broken wing healed, he not only used his wing but his beak to warn me away! Took him a loooong time to accept me as his mate but now, he will follow me wherever I go. He can't fly so he lives and rules me, my apartment and my 3 cats with an iron beak!  

He finally rang the hanging bell in his home - only took him 2 years! When he's in "daddy" mode, he SITS in his basket on his wooden egg and beaks the heck out of that bell!  

Pete Jasinksi, another member, has a pij named Dudley who LOVES those plastic balls with the bell in them! That bird is spoiled to no end and has a ROOM full of stuffed and other toys!


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## Hillybean (Oct 30, 2005)

Hey Gille,
some do like toys (unlike what some websites say) and some don't. 

My pigeon plays with cat balls (the ones with the little bells in them), willow/whicker balls, scraps of news apper, and some fuzzy stuff toys.

Mine also snuzzles my hand, fingers, and face, with her beak. It's really cute . -hilly


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## Gille (Sep 8, 2006)

*"Wing Fu" ha ha ha*

That's funny!
This after noon I spent some more time trying to get them to feed from my hand. They both refused 
So I set up a new perch (spoiling them again) where they could look outside together through a window screen I had installed in the coop to let in fresh air. They were nrevous but I tok them one at a time and aimed them at it and sure enough they seemed to realy enjoy the new view. Their avery is all glass and they use it all day long so I know they've seen outside before..lol But once they were on the new perch I took a very small container and filled it with seed. I offered it up and Dove took to it. I moved it a bit father away and placed my hand in front of it between she and it an sure enough she stepped onto my hand and began to eat. That was her first time eating from my hand. So it was a good day for me but Wisdom got upset and attacked Dove who is very gentle. She'd had enough and put him in the corner and pecked the daylights out of him. I don't think he'll be bullying her any time soon..lol I figure since this worked with such ease and very little stress on them (other than the fight) I'll try it again tomorrow. I'm sure Wisdom will decide it's better to eat than fight by then


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