# The story of the pigeon garage



## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

I have an issue on my hands and I want to see if anyone can help me sorry if this is too long. So long ago in my town in floral park New York there was a flock of probably about 3 or 400 pigeons that used to roost underneath the Long Island railroad overpass/train station. That was long before I knew much about pigeons but I used to be fascinated by how many pigeons I would see when my family drone under the overpass. Eventually ignorant people began to complain about the droppings and the town hired a private company to put up spikes and nets everywhere. If I had known about pigeons back then I imagine it would have been a terrible time I can't imagine how many lost thier lives tangled in or trapped behind netting or tossed from the nest too young to fly or fend for themselves. But anyway after that I guess they lingered around for a while trying to find somewhere to sleep after bieng evicted, I can tell because you can see where there are pigeon spikes on store windows and other places close to the train station, that are so low to the ground I couldn't ever imagine them roosting there naturally. Across the street from the train station there was a building with very small parking garage. The entrance to the garage is very low and seems very low for pigeons to roost there but I guess they were desperate. This isn't like most comercial parking garages at big shopping centers it has only one way in and out for the birds Which is a door similar to a garage door on a residential home. However the door no longer worked and the pigeons could come and go as they pleased. They roosted and nested on top of the open door and even into the ceiling of the garage thanks to a few missing ceiling panels. 
When I discovered the place the flock was down to only about 100-200 birds. Some of the netting at the train station had torn and spikes fallen off allowing pigeons to begin roosting and nesting there again but not on as big of a scale as before and so I guess they don't really mind to do anything about it. But they have prob been roosting in the garage for 3 or 4 years judging on the amount of droppings there. I had been going back there for almost a year and had grown quite fond of the place. Every night I would skateboard up to the trainstation and the garage making sure there were no injured pigeons on the ground which was a common occurrence. The owner of the garage was a nice man and left them alone for a long time but eventually there was just too much poop. He got a new door and had the old one removed. I was out walking with Noah and was horrified when I saw a new door blocking pigeons entrance from outside. There is another door there for me to go in and when I went in it was difficult to keep Noah under control the entire time because he is terrified of his own kind for some reason, but there were about 30 birds still locked in the garage with no way out. When I opend the garage door they didn't want to go either. This was thier home. There had been three babies currently bieng raised on the top of the door and they had been set on the ground. They were too young to fly but sure old enough to run. Having to round them up with a terrified pet pigeon flying around and trying to land on me wasn't easy. In fact one on the babies was dead on the road before I got there. It was a terrible day. I walked home that day past dumbfounded spectators with a milk crate full of squeakers and an angry Noah expressing his discontent loudly on my shoulder. I took care of those babies for about two weeks before giving them to a rehaber. As for the pigeon garage, for about a week, every night the pigeons would line up on the ground at the base of door desperatly wanting to go back home. And they would stay there all night on the ground waiting for the door to open. I would usually let them in but during the day they would get hungry and fly out when some one opened the door to park thier car. And some pigeons stayed there the entire time never coming out because they had babies in the ceiling. I would leave food for these birds but I never had enough to feed all of them. Many skinny hungry squeakers and fledglings would jump down out of the cieling because there parents were locked out and unable to feed them. Then when someone opened the door again thier legs and wings would get stuck as the door folded out. I took home 9 starving fledglings with broken wings and legs. I talked to the owner and he said he had hired someone to remove all the birds from the ceiling and bring the babies to a rescue center, but this never happened. Eventually there was only one mother who still had babies in the cieling. They were only eggs at the time. I was waiting for her eggs to hatch and was worried she would leave and get locked out and the eggs would freeze but if that happened I was willing to take them. I checked on them three times a day but school wastes most of my day. Sure enough they hatched and she abandoned them at 5 days old. She didn't have enough food to feed her and them and her mate was nowhere to be found so I think she abandoned them. This was mid November and the babies froze to death. I remember walking home with them huddled under my sweater hoping to god they would live but they didn't. After that the nesting slowed down. Most of the pigeons had left the garage and taken up residence on the window ledges on the buildings outside the garage. They weren't desperate to get back in anymore. There were still about 20 pigeons that still slept in the garage. They would come in and out with the cars and I would usually leave them food when I came by at night. But then they started nesting again. On a small ledge above the door. I didn't want the parents to leave so I started leaving a lot of food every morning, no more school to worry about Becuase of the Holliday break and they get water from a leaky faucet at the back of the garage. At this same time they blocked up the cieling again. There is still a small hole they could get in and out but only one pigeon was still going up there. Thankfully they left the nest and it's two eggs alone. And then the people from the small pub across the street began to start screwing with the birds. Somehow they had managed to catch one, I think I flew in one of thier windows, but they had tapped up its tail feathers in duck tape for whatever reason. I let him into the garage and caught him with a fishing net and untapped him. Then they apparently entered the garage yesterday with an air horn and scared all the pigeons out, including the parents of the eggs. I quickly let them back in but the eggs were cold! They could have been hours without heat and it's early January! The parents are still sitting on the eggs but do you think they died or will they still hatch? Also tonight when I went there the door was open again and it was broken. I couldn't get it to close. And there was a lot of pigeons there probably thinking thier home is back. This really scares me because the owner might think it was the pigeons and thier droppings that broke the door again. And they might try to get rid of those eggs or chase the parents out again. I am really worried and I hope they can fix it so they can leave it alone. I will keep you guys updated on what happens. Would anyone else handle the situation differently? And do you think they eggs died when thier parents were gone or might they hatch?


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*garage*

You are trying to help pigeons which is good but you have to be careful. To avoid problems with the owners or town officals, i wouldnt feed near the garage. instead feed further away, going a little further each day, so you wouldnt be blamed, as a reason for the pigeons coming back. Also, you want to discourage the pigeons from going in to the garage. Dont open the door for them. Let them find other nesting sites where they wont get trapped in. Continue to save babies and injured pigeons but dont make yourself too obvious to avoid getting in trouble. Not everyone will understand your good intentions.


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## whytwings (Feb 12, 2011)

It's hard to say if the embreos had survived or perished and how far along they were developed. ...my guess is any longer than 4 hrs and it could be hard for them to have survived , weather conditions can either prolong or decline the chances of hatching .


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

We'll the door has been fixed and the eggs are ok. I try to stay out of sight but when the door they sometimes can't go out for food on their own. Although most of them have got the hang of going in and out of the doors with the cars. The eggs were 8 days old when the parents got locked out and I don't know how long they were away from the eggs for but the longest time it could have been was prob 3 hours


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## hong kong pigeons (Sep 30, 2013)

totally agree with lg5555

most of the people dont accommodate pigeons. so avoid pissing off them. They at the end create trouble to pigeons.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I wouldn't at this point worry about the eggs. They probably won't hatch. It would be better for the birds to go elsewhere. Roosting there is only going to cause them problems.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

The parents have abandoned the eggs so I decided to take them in even if there's only a slight chance they will survive. I built them a little incubator and heated them to 100 F. They're due to hatch tomorrow anyway. Now that there's no more eggs there I'm going to stop feeding them again but I'm worried they might start nesting again.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

What will you do if they hatch? Very difficult to raise babies from day one. And the babies end up suffering for it. It would be kinder to just let them go.


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*babies*

Good luck! Parrots have been hand raised from day one, on hatching formula so its possible. Also, make sure there is humidity cause if too dry babies will get stuck to shell.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Ok, do your best with the eggs. I have raised both parrots and finches from eggs from day one and a finch on day one is about 1/2 inch long so pigeons are easy peasy if you just google some videos of how to do it, there are lots on there. Now Noah bird, is this a pet pigeon you own, if so DONT let him out to fly beside you on skateboard, this is a great invitation for hawk to get him especially if he is flying erratically following you. any odd behaviour will stand out like a sore thumb. Keep that bird safe in home or in loft. 

Let us know how it goes. They have these screamers that you can buy that sounds God awful but the farmers use it. Its the noise of a hawk call that goes on and on repeatedly to keep pigeons out of the farm buildings. They should get that so the birds relocate to better area an not get stuck in the garage or try to nest somewhere else that is safer. I would recommend that to this guy. He can use it until the birds move then take it down. That way the birds are trapped and babies are killed and all should be happy, too bad they didnt leave well enough alone to begin with.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

CBL said:


> Ok, do your best with the eggs. I have raised both parrots and finches from eggs from day one and a finch on day one is about 1/2 inch long so pigeons are easy peasy if you just google some videos of how to do it, there are lots on there. Now Noah bird, is this a pet pigeon you own, if so DONT let him out to fly beside you on skateboard, this is a great invitation for hawk to get him especially if he is flying erratically following you. any odd behaviour will stand out like a sore thumb. Keep that bird safe in home or in loft.
> 
> Let us know how it goes. They have these screamers that you can buy that sounds God awful but the farmers use it. Its the noise of a hawk call that goes on and on repeatedly to keep pigeons out of the farm buildings. They should get that so the birds relocate to better area an not get stuck in the garage or try to nest somewhere else that is safer. I would recommend that to this guy. He can use it until the birds move then take it down. That way the birds are trapped and babies are killed and all should be happy, too bad they didnt leave well enough alone to begin with.


The eggs didn't hatch today guess they are dead. I don't ever let him fly with me on a skate board I'm afraid he could land in front of me and I wouldn't be able to stop quick enough. I take him for walks during the day and as I went past the garage I spotted the new door and didn't have much time before dark to bring him back home. I could ask about the noise machine thing but I've seen them up before and pigeons were just ignoring them. Maybe after a while they figure out that there is actually no threat just like with the plastic owls but it's worth a try.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Ok whether you are skateboarding or not, the fact that you have a tame pigeon flying around with you is a BIG risk. Hawk can spot him a mile away and even if perched right on your shoulder the hawk will just snatch him right off your body.

Dont assume the eggs are not live, you MUST candle them first before you make that determination. Google candling so you know what is live and what is dead. Also internal pipping and external pip. You may very well have live chicks and miscalculate the hatch date. Nothing it set in stone, could be 17 days or 18 or 22. So have a good look before you decide they are not viable.

Google draw down as well, as usually after 24 - 48 hours after drawdown they hatch.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Yea I haven't really taken him out much and have moved his cage inside since December started. He dosent like to fly in the cold and the winter often brings Cooper's hawks to my block so I've been keeping him inside. But yea I guess I shouldn't really be walking him around in the open like that in plain view of the hawks. There was one time in the summer when he saw some ravens and flew off for the night. It was so scary!! I was out all day and night looking for him but he turned up the next day on my friends doorstep. I guess I should have gotten the message then. Anyway I did more research but the eggs are dead for sure. They started to turn brown around the embryo and began to smell so I buried them. Oh we'll.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

They're better off. Not easy to raise them from day one, and takes a lot of time and effort.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Ya too bad about the eggs but better off as they are work from day one for sure.
Ya I would NEVER let my bird fly free like that, too risky if it is a pet. Just keep in and enjoy it.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Last Sunday I checked on the garage again and there were two more eggs and also at least two pigeons with bad foot injuries from getting thier feet caught in the garage door as I folds close. I managed to catch one but I am still waiting to catch the other. I am giong to bring them to my wildlife rehab center. As for the eggs I don't want to leave them there because I know the parents will be locked out at some point and I was thinking about taking them and incubating them myself, when I noticed Noah had begun building a nest. I moved what he had already made of feathers and pieces of newspaper into a bowl and gave him some paper shreddings. I thought he was going to be expecting eggs from me and I was going to give him the ones from the garage. But today he surprised me by laying his own egg! I had always thought he was a male because he would always coo and bite my hand when I went near his cage or some other spot he had claimed as his own. I am still in shock. Anyway she just let it fall to the ground beneath her feet and hasn't acknowledged it since. I moved it into the nest but she still won't sit on it. Do u think she will lay another one and start sitting on them? If I replace them with the ones from the pigeon garage will she start sitting on them?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

A lone pigeon would have a hard time raising 2 babies by herself. Not fair to her. You would have to take over the feedings, which is not easy from the very beginning. Often the babies end up suffering.


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

This is my favorite posting. Very interesting. I saw the pictures of the pigeons in the garage. Great job helping them.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Thank you, For the last week or so the door has been open and they havent made any attempt to close it. Iguess they gave up. I hope they arent waiting for sn exterminator to remove them or kill them. I have been checking on the eggs and, a week ago the mother was no where to be found and the eggs seemed to have been knocked off the ledge and were resting in between the door and ledge. They felt cold but not frozen so i took them home. One of them is slightly dented so i patched it with craft glue. I have been incubating them at 100 degrees and 55 percent humidity and turning them every 8 hours. I showed them to Noah but she wasnt interested in them. (Im still getting used to the fact that Noah is a girl). Ive been candling the eggs each day and i can see them changing each time. They're supposed to hatch in 5 days. Many of the birds there have injured feet and are limping. I always thought it was because the door is closing on thier feet. I had one that i caught and brought to my rehabber. They said they are probably string injuries but im not sure about that. Ive seen string injuries before and they dont usually look like that and ive never seen a single pigeon with a foot injury anywhere in my town none of the other ones have it except the ones that live in the garage.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Lol Noah, I guess you better change her name to Nelly lol. Are the eggs fertile? Do you know how to raise young by hand.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Update: the eggs never hatched it looks like they got a bacteria infection inside the eggs. What i thought was an embrio turned into two big black dots. It seems the people at the pigeon garage gave up on trying to keep the garage door closed. Theyre have since been three more broods at the pigeon garage but the parents are able to get in and out freely now and they have all hatched and are being raised by their parents. I was at the train station at 6 am a couple days ago and from the top platforms i could see the pigeon garage flock circiling around the sky swooping past me and langing on and off the front of some apartments where someone had left out some food. It was great to see that they are getting their own food. I dont feed them anymore. But i still check on them to be ready if the owner tries to kick them out agian


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Thats great that you keep an eye on them.


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## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

mikis343 said:


> I was at the train station at 6 am a couple days ago and from the top platforms i could see the pigeon garage flock circiling around the sky swooping past me and langing on and off the front of some apartments where someone had left out some food. It was great to see that they are getting their own food. I dont feed them anymore. But i still check on them to be ready if the owner tries to kick them out agian


Thank you so much for your story and for caring so much for the flock. No doubt many of them owe you their lives. Also your pet sure sounds very cool! 

I've had a bit of experience with relocating my local flock, which may be a little help. After a few years of taking care of them, hundreds would flock at my house and it caused a lot of problems and stress. Mainly I worried what would happen if I had to move, but I also have hateful neighbor who adds to the stress. 

With a bit of effort I got them to settle in a local park, combination of putting food there at night and harrassing them when they come to my place. For the first couple of weeks I had to lead them (which stressed me out heaps), but they got the message fast. I've got it down to two weekly feedings, which makes them forage and explore the area more.

The park used to be pretty much abandoned, but since the pigeons have been hanging out there, they attract attention. Mothers often take their kids to watch them, families have day trips there to play cricket, and dog owners like to run their dogs to chase them. There's even a guy who goes there in the evenings to play them the guitar while they sit at his feet lol. The whole park came to life because of the pigeons. I think mostly they attract positive attention.

The council trucks drive past there a lot which had me worried, especially when they started some kind of construction in the park. But it turns out they are building covered picnic areas there now, which I feel will only help the birds.

This year I've also found a better soft release area a little further off so the babies I help don't all home back to my place. Its an abandoned industrial area near a park and bridge. So far I have around 20 birds living there now that i only need to feed every two weeks. In the past they would be coming back to my place.

Ferals are a lot to manage but who else do they have but us to help them? I always say to myself, I will do my best for as long as I can.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Bella_F said:


> Thank you so much for your story and for caring so much for the flock. No doubt many of them owe you their lives. Also your pet sure sounds very cool!
> 
> I've had a bit of experience with relocating my local flock, which may be a little help. After a few years of taking care of them, hundreds would flock at my house and it caused a lot of problems and stress. Mainly I worried what would happen if I had to move, but I also have hateful neighbor who adds to the stress.
> 
> ...


Sounds cool. The problem with relocating these guys would be that they roost here not feed. Ive tried to get them out of the garage to feed but they will still go there to roost. I gave up on feeding them outside away from the garage because the feeding attracts attracts negative attention from people but now i have them to where i can stand outside the garage and whistle and most of them will fly out. That will come in handy someday. Thats good that you have found an abandoned place to bring them. Ive tried building some little houses out of old cabinets in a bare lot out of site across from where they used to roost but got evicted but they never used them other than to eat the food i left inside


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