# when/ how to release baby pigeons??



## help with pigeo (Jul 9, 2009)

Hi, about two weeks ago we found ourselves w/ two baby pigeons. neighbors fixed hole in roof and tossed babies. when they appeared in ourback yard they had wing feathers short small tail feathers, but naked under the wings. we found the second one the day after the first under our dog house. actually our dog found it while we were at work, and apparently got a hold of its tail, we found it under the dog house with a naked butt. poor thing. any how since our dog never uses the dog house, this is where we've been keeping the pigeons. we have chicken wire over the door and one side the the roof opens, wich we have covered with chicken wire also, so they can get sun. fir the first couple days we fed them (for lack of a better idea) a mixture of maseca (tortilla flour) and water with an eye dropper. but they started to eat seeds so for the next few days we only fed them once. and now they eat completely on their own. they LOVE peanuts. they look pretty much like real pigeons now only a little smaller. I have no idea how or when to release them. we they can fly up to a branch we hung in the dog house, no problem. and they seem to really want out when they see/hear other pigeons in the yard. the other pigeons show little or no interest in them. we live in the city and have a garage in the back yard that was once a carraige house, I thought about locking them up in there for a few days before releasing them so they could practice flying up and down from the rafters. Is this a good idea? any help on releasing them would be appreciated. the other day I came home from work and there was pigeon feathers all over the yard, from the neighborhood hawk or falcon. this really made me sad, like i was just saving them to become hawk food.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Your idea of givng them practice time to fly, is really important. Is there a possibility of making them an enclosure in the carrage house that latter will give them access to the outside to come and go? That way they would have support of food and shelter.
I understand your concern about giving them up to the Hawks. They may become victoms especially since they don't have the safty of parents and a flock.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Here's a link that you may find helpful.

http://www.wildlifeinternational.org/EN/rehab/care/release/release.html


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## help with pigeo (Jul 9, 2009)

I was thinking of just letting them loose in the garage and then after another week or so just leave the door open, it has large doors that slide sideways like a barn. and they can come and go as they please. we have bird feeders so many pigeons visit our yard everyday, I was hoping they could join up with them. normally we leave the garage doors open pretty much always, and many neighborhood kittys wander through , but while the pigeons were in there we would keep it closed off, of course at some point we have to open the doors and set them free, and they're going to have to learn to look out for cats, hawks and my siberian husky like all the other pigeons in the area. I have no idea when is the right time to do that. or the safest way. I hate to admit this but normally my husband and I would throw flip flops or whatever to keep the bazillion pigeons from hording all the bird seed. but we've grown quite attatched to these two.


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