# who here has a tame pigeon?



## Pigeon-girl1988 (Mar 20, 2005)

I do. She is a doll when she sees me coming she runs up to me and stands on my feet waiting to be picked up (can't fly) I didn't do anything to make her tame she came that way maybe she was handraised or something before I got her.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi there,

Isn't it wonderful to have a tame pigeon?... they are so special. How lucky you are to have her. I bet you spoil her too!

My hand raised pigeon is Skye, he is named that way because he is the color of the sky and I thought he was a she, because he was smaller then the nest mate. It turned out he was the boy, the other one is a girl named Sonic.
They had to be hand raised at 4 days old because their mom abandoned them. They almost died and looked like they had just hatched, even though they were 4 days old.

Skye sits on my shoulder when I walk around in the coop and he watches what I'm doing, he roo-koos on my shoulder, and tells me when I need to give him peanuts and other treats. Today he was really mad because he said he is sick and tired of all the barley I have been adding to the seed. He loves to take baths and is always the first one in. Sometimes I think he thinks he is human, my other pigeons think he is strange, and ignore him.

Skye is the first and only pigeon to be on the Animal Planets show "Pet Psychic" where he told his story to Sonia about how I rescued him, that he and his sister almost died. He was very well behaved and loved all the different animals in the studio.

Treesa


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

*About tamed pigeons*

Hi Pigeon-girl 1988 and all, 

I too have a tame pigeon.You may have read about him. His name is Tooter.He has been a member of my family for a year and a half and just a joy to have around. 

He was rescued by my wife Bev actually on the front steps of our front door. He had been shot in two places, and bleeding. We kept him isolated and warm and decided to take him to the corner vet. Lucky for all of us, they had an avian vet and he was treated and gave us medication and some advice.The staff originally named him "Shooter" for their records, but Bev did not like the name, so then his current name was bestowed upon him. 

He can fly pretty well now, but will not leave us. He loves to follow me when I am out feeding the wildlife every morning and taking care of my outdoor tasks. Often times, he will perch on my shoulder and keep me company as I am watering my plants. 

He has recently learned to "ride a bike" with me, and we do go for a trip around the yard at least every other day. 

Spoiled? *yes* he is!(Very much so!)
Jelous? *yes* he is!
Sometimes a brat? *Yes* he is!
Conceited? *Yes* he is!
Overbearing? *Yes* he is
Demanding? *Yes* he is

But we love him and we wouldn't trade him in for a flock of purebred racers!


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

vdog505 said:


> Hi Pigeon-girl 1988 and all,
> 
> I too have a tame pigeon.You may have read about him. His name is Tooter.He has been a member of my family for a year and a half and just a joy to have around.
> 
> ...


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## upcd (Mar 12, 2005)

*Sweetie*

A tame yellow roller. She flys to my shoulder and asks for kisses. Her parents raised her and I raised her.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

*More on a bike built for Tooter...*

Hi fp,
Well, "how did I train Tooter?" I didn't really train him.It just happened!

Tooter is very attached to me (or maybe it's the otherway around?) and quite often he will fly towards me when I step outside or come near his outdoor living area.He sometimes lands on my head or shoulder if I do not extend my arm out for him to make a smooth landing. 

I was out in the back yard one day getting reintroduced to bike riding after a 3 year absence and I noticed he had been keeping an eye on me. 

Well when I returned, I got a bit closer to his cage extention, and I simply said,"arm Tooter" which is a command he understands, and off I go. I fully expected him to fly off me and the contraption, but he stayed with me. 

After making my circle, he sometimes looses his grip, and I loose him, but he catches up with me and claws on to my back and makes his way up near my shoulder area .He seems to enjoys the wind against his feathers it seems.   Just trust I guess?


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## Snow White (Jul 27, 2005)

*Tame?*

I don't know if I would call my girl tame, but she sures loves our household. I found her last October. She fell from my gutter into my Juniper tree, where I could reach her. Once treated with an antibiotic, she fully recovered and lived in her cage in our home until this April. I thought she was well enough to go back out and she did, but didn't leave my yard. She would stand by the backdoor and try to fly in the upper level bathroom window (where she spent alot of time when I would be cleaning her cage. Recently, she had a close encounter with our garage door which left her having to have her middle toe amputated. I was very lucky to have a great avian vet to take care of her. She has fully recovered but is back in the house. My husband made alot of great changes to her cage with a shelf, new wood branch perches which are wide so she can stand and not slip (because she is missing her middle toe). She gets very excited when I come home from work cuz she knows I'll take her out for awhile. She hates it when I leave the room. She fusses by climbing up the side of her cage and starts flapping her wings and cooing loudly. The minute I come back in the room, she quiets down. In the morning she hears the coffee machine grind the beans etc. and knows I'm coming downstairs. I can see her peek out of the bottom of her cover just waiting for me to lift it up.

She loves when I wrap her in a small towel (she actually runs to it in her cage cuz she knows this is how I remove her) and then we take walks or have a bath. She loves her head and tummy petted. My boys (teenagers) are very attached to her also and love to hold her. The only time she is aggressive is when you want to put your hand in her house. She'll peck at you and try to punch with her wing. I never thought pigeons were agressive. Seems like it must be a territorial thing. What does every one else think?


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Snow White said:


> The only time she is aggressive is when you want to put your hand in her house. She'll peck at you and try to punch with her wing. I never thought pigeons were agressive. Seems like it must be a territorial thing. What does every one else think?


Welcome Snow White! Sounds like you have a most lovely pet pigeon! The pecking and wing slapping are quite normal and usual reactions to you (your hand) intruding on the bird's personal and private space. Best put up a little No Trespassing sign and play by the rules <LOL>!

Terry


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## Snow White (Jul 27, 2005)

*Edie-Bird*

Hi Terry,

You are sure right about that. I used to think my 12 pound cat Emily ran the household, but Edie puts her to shame. At only 400 grams, she scares Emily out of the room. (Edie flew once from upstairs back to her cage, but decided to detour on the kitchen floor. Emily thought this was interesting and thought she'd investiage. So while I'm having a heartattach watching these two, I see Edie bat at Emily with her wing. Whoa, Emily whooshed to the Living Room and didn't return for awhile.) She also continued to scare my 40-45 lb. cattledogs, who then followed Emily into the Living Room. What a circus. 

Does anyone else having their pidge living inside with other creatures? How do they get along?


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

All six of the pigeons that live here will step up or fly to your hand for treats and will tolerate being handled. Only Piper is confident and outgoing enough to solicit attention for its own sake. He has a mate and nest box which he actively defends from the other two males. If I am near the flight pen when he is not otherwise occupied, he will follow me around and keep talking, looking for pets.


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## upcd (Mar 12, 2005)

*Welcome*

All. All this love and bonding is so great that I am getting the warm fuzzies. Who knew pigeons had so much love?


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## sharon_46 (Feb 17, 2005)

Ledgie is a feral I rescued last December. He was an unweaned fledgling, hurt and starving. With a lot of help, love and luck, he has grown into a beautiful adult male. He loves to use my head as a landing pad, and rides around on my shoulder all the time. He is a "house" pigeon, and has a large cage, a mate named Lollipop and a brand new baby, just 8 days old today. Having a mate hasn't changed his personality a bit...his favorite game is still kill the evil spidey hand. I think next favorite is knock the cereal boxes down off the top of the 'fridge. Ledgie shares flight time with Lollipop, TP, a starling, and BJ, a Blue Jay rescue. (No rehabbers within 4 hours driving time to take him) We have dogs, 17 of them, but when the birds are free in the house, the dogs are all either outside, or in another room behind a closed door.

It is just magical to be able to interact with Ledgie, and know that he accepts and feels the love that is showered upon him.

Soft Feathers, Sharon, TP, Ledgie, Lollipop, BJ and the Hatchling


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Hello Snow White and a warm welcome to our wonderful forum!

We have two dogs, a 15 year old terrior-poddle named Huggy, a year old mixed Dauchand-terrior we just adopted named Sabastian,a 7 year old cat named Li'l Kitty we took in as a young stray, a squirrel we rescued several months ago named Zipper who probably will not regain the use of her left leg, and of course .our beloved Tooter. The only one I keep an eye on is our cat of course. He doesn't bother the squirrel in her ferret two level cage or Tooter when he is inside in his sleeping cage, but he is a cat afterall, so we are careful. The old dog is ok wtih all wild animals, after some training in his younger days.A few weeks ago, Tooter landed on Huggy's back and he just looked puzzeled.The squirrel is comfortable with the pigeon and Huggy, but the rest of us, including our squirrel and pigeon still don't take chances with Sabastian. When we first got him he would chase our outdoor woods squirrels. This habit we are breaking him of. 

Do Grandchildren fall under the same catagory as "creatures"?


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

vdog505 said:


> The squirrel is comfortable with the pigeon and Huggy, but the rest of us, including our squirrel and pigeon still don't take chances with Sabastian. When we first got him he would chase our outdoor woods squirrels. This habit we are breaking him of.
> 
> Do Grandchildren fall under the same catagory as "creatures"?  [/COLOR] [/FONT]



Great story about Tooter, Vdog. Tooter obviously trusts you, and is very bonded to you & you to him. The cats can get broken of bad habits, but interestingly, it's my wild thing that trained the best.

And grandchildren, creatures maybe, just not as easy to train, lol.


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## alaska (Mar 17, 2005)

This has been a great thread to read 
It's amazing how intelligent and loving our little friends can be, I just love the pic of Tooter riding on VDogs shoulder.
My Hen Ruby has to be the most tame pigeon I have, the first day I got her she let me walk right up to her and pick her up in my hand (as in she stepped onto it). She never flys away when I come near, even if I get right up next to her. She is extremely trusting and a great little pet. But then my pigeon Ash is Mr Attitude, Bowing his head, cooing and wing slapping me with every chance he gets, and he is just as adorable 
Ruby is expecting her first egg to hatch any day now...I hope the tame traits get passed on in the genes 

Regards
Alaska


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## linn (Jul 17, 2005)

*Tame Pigeon with Cats (and dog and parrot)*

Moby was my tame pigeon who was raised from about a week old after her nest in our boat at work was disturbed. She lived with two large cats (who like to hunt outside) and a dog (elderly, mellow), and later an African Grey parrot. Moby ruled the roost for sure. I had the same experience with Moby -- she taught the cats who was in charge with the famous wing slap!! She and Carly, my grey (a youngster) more or less ignored each other, and since they did not like the same food (and Carly is not free-flight) they did not get in each other's way. When Moby was just learning to get around, I supervised her and the cats VERY closely for a couple of weeks to make sure there would be no incidents. I just kept telling the cats "NO" when they would look at her like a potential dinner. Amazingly they listened to me (even though they will still try to stalk birds outside -- unless it is Moby). But it was really the wing slaps that got them in line permanently I think. That and the noise and wind her wings made when she was flying -- duck and cover time! Her story & photos are at my web site:
http://home.earthlink.net/~razhome/id12.html (see also Head Shots, pictures of her making new friends in the park by sitting on their heads.) My big male cat would even let her sit on his back, for a limited time (just too humiliating!)

I must also take time here in this thread to recommend FLIGHT SUITS ( see http://www.flightquarters.com ) for anyone with a pet pigeon or dove that they like to have out a lot, but are tired of constantly being on poop-patrol. They are wonderful for tame, free-flight, high poop-frequency, un-potty-trainable birds like pigeons. It made my life so much simpler, and I could take Moby anywhere. Their pigeon sized suit was actually a bit on the small size (Moby was about average size for a feral) so I made some of my own that were slightly roomier. HIGHLY recommended. It takes a couple of weeks to get them used to it, but well worth the initial drama. Afterwards she really didn't even know she had it on. She even laid an egg in it once when we were at a party 

Good luck with all your wonderful pidges -- they sound so sweet!

Raz


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Raz, 

I find myself always thinking of poor Moby and how she met her fate with that peregrine falcon.....so very sad Your story of her and her life really touched me in many ways, I just wish that she was still around and in your life. 


Did Terry ever come up with an adoptee for you to take in? I sure hope that one day you'll have another pigeon to look after and share you life with


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Hi Raz,

What a remarkable and touching story. The pictures of Moby are wonderful and give a glimpse of what a genuine character she truly was. Very moving story.

fp


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Pigeonpal2002 said:


> Did Terry ever come up with an adoptee for you to take in? I sure hope that one day you'll have another pigeon to look after and share you life with


Raz and I have been in touch via e-mail. I have a lovely little white/black spotted youngster here with a mangled wing that is a possible, and, of course, there are many to choose from at Bart's. Marian just made a pigeon transport from Central California last week, so there are about three dozen new pijjies at Bart's in need of homes .. all are unreleasable, rehabbed birds.

Terry


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## linn (Jul 17, 2005)

*Next pigeon friend*

I'm sure I will share my life with a pigeon again -- probably one that is unable to fly well for some reason so I don't have to agonize about whether or not to let iit go outside. Seeing Moby making one of her giant loops around the beach or the park really made my heart soar. I'm really glad she could experience that, if even for a short lifetime. 

I'm just waiting til the time feels right, and will certainly take a trip to go see Teresa and Bart's crew. I'm the sole caretaker of 4 other animals including a geriatric dog and a 7-month old African Grey -- not to mention an ultra-friendly cat -- all of whom require loads of attention. I think I need to recover a bit from Moby before I have the energy to bring in one more. Although I know how quickly that would change once I see a sweet needy bird!

Thanks for all your comments & help.
Raz


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## pigeonmama (Jan 9, 2005)

Tame pigeons? Do I have tame pigeons? If any one is tamed around here, it's me. Those pigeons land on my shoulders, my hands, my head. They play with my shoe strings, eat out of my hand, beg for "yummies" and I do as I'm told ( well, at least when it's for the pigeons) I have pigeons who love to play the " fingers" game, especially Mu-Mu. I have pigeons who will push and shove each other to sit on me. Spoiled brats, that's what they are, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Daryl
P.S. How many pigeons can crowd in to a bird bath at one time/ I use a kitty litter type pan, just for pigeons. Have had as many as eleven birds in there at one time. Oh, the comments from those birds. "Stop pinching me. Stop pushing. And my favorite, Hey, you ain't one of Brad's Giant Runts. Stop hogging da room."


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## ernie (May 3, 2003)

*Daryl,*

Daryl,
Your place sounds like my place.  
The minute I enter the coop, I have pigeons all over me, checking for treats in my shirt/ears/pockets/shoes  
Then we have the ones that live in the house While at work, they have to stay in the sunroom. If I don't let them in the minute I get home, I have pigeons clinging to the window in the door, shooting me pleading looks. Of course everyone has to supervise everything I do in the house from on top of my shoulders or head. I have one (Pijjimoto) who has it in his head, that I'm his mate. He's had plenty of other opportunities, but picked the 'ugly' pigeon (me)  He goes as far as waiting till I'm in the middle of business in the bathroom then comes in begging for scratchies and petting. He knows he has my undevided attention then, especially if he plants himself square on top of the pile of reading materials.


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## linn (Jul 17, 2005)

*Tame Humans*

That's hilarious. Moby had this problem with people-- she couldn't understand why all these feral humans walking around the park were not tame. She'd swoop down to their heads for a friendly visit and many of them would scream, wave their arms, duck, run. I guess humans just have to be raised right to be tame. And not watch too many Hitchcock movies.


raz


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

*To Snow White*

Mr. Squeaks, my racing homing pigeon, lives with FOUR cats and me in a one bdrom apartment. Mr. Squeaks had to have his right flight feathers amputated and can no longer fly but he rules "his roost" with an iron beak. The cats give him a wide berth and LOTS of respect. His story is in the pigeons.com STORY section. Watching the interaction between cats and bird is a never ending source of enjoyment and entertainment!


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## ernie (May 3, 2003)

Oh, yes, we have a dog, too. Duke the German Shepard. At times I feel sorry for him, for getting bossed around so much. Pijjimoto will actually get jealous, if I pet the dog. He will land on top of his back and do his "I'm the big guy, I'm taller than you" dance and coo. At wich point, the dog will come whining up to me: "Do something, get him off!"
Pheap and Peeperle have a nest going in the sunroom now, so whenever poor Duke ventures in there, he gets buzzed around the head by both of them. 
He thinks all birds are his babies. He can't understand why some of them will fly off, when he approaches with his 'let's be friends' grunt/whine. 

Duke and his first bird friends (Felix & Maya) used to cause traffic accidents in front of our house. When we first got Felix & Maya, they lived in our living room till we got the loft built. Within a couple weeks they became friends with the dog. During the day their (dog & birds) favorite pastime was watching the traffic sitting in our large bay window facing the rather bussy street. Shortly after, me and the neighbors commented how the accident rate on this street seems to have increased dramatically (an accident almost every day) Talking to an 'accident victim' one day, he remarked how he did not pay any attention to the taffic stopped in front of him, since he was so intriqued by the dog/bird combination sitting in the window. We finished the loft, moved them in and voila the accident rate decreased again.


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