# planning to leave for a vacation?



## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

for a 7 to 14 day span, what do you usually do to keep your birds fed and healthy?


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

I have a family member or friend come everyday to care for them while I'm away.

Dawn


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

what if you got no friends or family :'(


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## Michy (Jul 29, 2011)

I would check to see if there are any 4H groups and/or boy/girl scouts near you and contact the leader(s). They are always searching for volunteer work and what a great way to introduce them to the wonderful world of pigeons! Who knows. Maybe them helping you will inspire future pigeon enthusiasts


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

I don't know about that, from my experiences kids can be devils  they always teased my cats and dogs.


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## Michy (Jul 29, 2011)

The kids are always supervised by adult leaders and parents. Not all kids are devils and the ones who choose to be a part of community groups such as the ones I mentioned are the ones eager to make our world a better one. I did it with "my" kids as a 4H leader in the past. Only other option you have is to pay someone to care for them. Personally, I would rather have volunteers who are willing to help out, take care of my precious pets rather than someone who's only in it for the cash. Just a thought to chew on. Best of luck to you!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Pigeonfriends said:


> what if you got no friends or family :'(




I hired someone to feed and water.. not clean as I put down deep litter to last and it worked out fine. you will have to ask around..some vets have employees who do this on the side.


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## TylerBro (Mar 14, 2011)

i would hang a paper in your local store/post-office/ gas station .. then you can hold interviews and pick someone u like and maybe make a friend ....


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## Crazy Pete (Nov 13, 2008)

Your going to have to get an automatic water, they sell them at most pet stores. Then you should make some sort of bin that will hold 50 lbs of feed, and find a neibor that will look in on them every few days. Put a lid over the water or they will just stand on it and poo in it.
Dave


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Sometimes the automatic feeders malfunction. It happened to one of our members last Spring and half of her birds died while she was gone.
Who will be watching your dogs and cats?


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

TylerBro said:


> i would hang a paper in your local store/post-office/ gas station .. then you can hold interviews and pick someone u like and maybe make a friend ....


Yes...that is a good idea. Also maybe ask a local vet or SPCA/Humane society if you can post a flyer in their office, too. 

I dunno where you are in CA, exactly...but perhaps contact a local Pigeon Club and ask them if they know of anyone who would do it for pay.

The auto-feeders/waterers are cool ideas, but as Charis mentions...if there's a malfunction it would be a disaster.

You really need to get someone to pay a daily visit. It is certainly important enough a job to pay well for....


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

There are several people where I work who do house sitting work on the side, as I said earlier try to call some vet hosipitals to see if any of them know of someone who does this as a side job. It seems to be pretty common for vet techs and othere to do this to make some extra money., and then they are affiliated with a vet hospital so you know they know how to take care of animals.


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## AZCorbin (Feb 28, 2011)

This is what my business does. Well not pigeons specifically but animals in general.
Call a pet sitter to come over.
Should cost you around $15-$20 a day for a quick 15 minute stop to feed/water.


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## Crazy Pete (Nov 13, 2008)

I agree you should have some one to check up on them. My feeder was 12in x 12in x 3ft no moving parts to malfunction, they waist a bit of feed but they were fat and happy when I got home.
Dave


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

Charis said:


> Sometimes the automatic feeders malfunction. It happened to one of our members last Spring and half of her birds died while she was gone.
> Who will be watching your dogs and cats?


My cat and dog died way back, and i never had one since because my allergies are bad, having them inside my house has cost me a lot of sleep.

I don't really trust people on my property, but i think ill just get tons of feed and put it everywhere, i mean it's not like the seeds would go bad in a week or two.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Pigeonfriends said:


> My cat and dog died way back, and i never had one since because my allergies are bad, having them inside my house has cost me a lot of sleep.
> 
> I don't really trust people on my property, but i think ill just get tons of feed and put it everywhere, i mean *it's not like the seeds would go bad in a week or two.*



Well it can if it gets wet, is soiled by their droppings or is soiled by rodent feces [rodents are attracted to the seed.]
What about fresh water?


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

Charis said:


> Well it can if it gets wet, is soiled by their droppings or is soiled by rodent feces [rodents are attracted to the seed.]
> What about fresh water?


gold fish aquarium with a filter.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Okay...so do you expect the pigeons to perch on the edge to drink? What if one were to fall in or try to bathe?


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

Charis said:


> Okay...so do you expect the pigeons to perch on the edge to drink? What if one were to fall in or try to bathe?


they can fly and a filter clears out of of it, a powerful protein skimmer, and a heavy duty salt water fish filter.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

What size is the aquarium and I've got to ask...are there fish in it?

have they drank from the aquarium before?


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

Charis said:


> What size is the aquarium and I've got to ask...are there fish in it?
> 
> have they drank from the aquarium before?


the Aquarium are the size of a coffin, and i had plenty of Aquariums and filters, my local pet shop in the city part of my town closed down because they were caught with animal abuse. 

everything were like 50 to 60 percent off so i bought a ton of products.

nope never drank from it before, pretty cool though, i just got a huge tank sitting around, I'm 5 foot 11 and i can bathe in it.


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## Jaysen (Jun 21, 2010)

There's no nice way to say this so I will just put it out there. Either you hire/find someone to take care of your bird properly or don't go on vacation. What you are talking about is terrible. Your birds may survive, but they do need someone to make sure they are safe, have food and water, and that nothing has happened to your loft. 

A better solution that really shouldn't take much thinking: If you don't belong to a club already, consider joining one now. I don't know of a single club where folks won't watch each other's birds for things like this.


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

Jaysen said:


> There's no nice way to say this so I will just put it out there. Either you hire/find someone to take care of your bird properly or don't go on vacation. What you are talking about is terrible. Your birds may survive, but they do need someone to make sure they are safe, have food and water, and that nothing has happened to your loft.
> 
> A better solution that really shouldn't take much thinking: If you don't belong to a club already, consider joining one now. I don't know of a single club where folks won't watch each other's birds for things like this.


i was just wondering, because pigeons seem like their very durable creatures. i mean out of all the other animals, pigeons and crows seems to have survived mankind and adapted.

well i guess ill have to get my girlfriend to stay behind to look after them while i go to Florida  good times.


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## Jaysen (Jun 21, 2010)

All animals are durable until domesticated. You keep domesticated pigeons. This means that they are not really comparable to their wild counterparts. Whenever you think about your pigeons just replace the word "pigeon" with "dog" or "cat". If what you are thinking would be bad for a dog or cat it is bad for a pigeon. 

That said, with the proper devices you might be able to reduce the need for direct intervention by a human to once every two days. Even that is a bad idea though. A lot can happen in 48 hours. Consider the following:
1. Large capacity feeders: go to a local store that sells chicken supplies and get a large hopper feeder. Shouldn't be more than $US25. Will hold about 5 lbs food. That should be enough feed for several days. 
2. Large capacity water: Same store as above should have a multi-gallon waterer. You will want to buy two. Swap them every other day allowing one to completely dry before reusing. this helps control mold growth. I recommend the 2 gallon versions as they are manageable. 

As I said before, you can not just leave your birds unmanaged. Find someone to help you.


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

Jaysen said:


> All animals are durable until domesticated. You keep domesticated pigeons. This means that they are not really comparable to their wild counterparts. Whenever you think about your pigeons just replace the word "pigeon" with "dog" or "cat". If what you are thinking would be bad for a dog or cat it is bad for a pigeon.
> 
> That said, with the proper devices you might be able to reduce the need for direct intervention by a human to once every two days. Even that is a bad idea though. A lot can happen in 48 hours. Consider the following:
> 1. Large capacity feeders: go to a local store that sells chicken supplies and get a large hopper feeder. Shouldn't be more than $US25. Will hold about 5 lbs food. That should be enough feed for several days.
> ...


haahahahha i don't think that works for me, i use to own a Tibetan Mastiff which we let roam free on our farm before we moved, it's natural instinct is to roam the land. When it gets hungry it will come home to feed. Our cat was fed fish and he ate rats, fairly big for a cat, remember city rats is different then rats far away from the city, their actually pretty clean.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Hello again.

Here is the thing, Pigeonfriend. *Your Pigeons rely on you.* 

They are used to you taking care of them. Thus, they have become acclimated to the way they are fed, and watered, and how their loft is cleaned and how they are cared for.

So...although they are 'durable'...Pigeons cannot just 'switch' to a completely different routine or way of living in a matter of a day, a week, or a month. Because they are unfamiliar with this. 

Here is where your current idea will go very badly:

1) Leaving massive amounts of food before you go: _they will gorge themselves initially_. Over-eating in the first few days will cause some to become very ill. And nobody will be there to help them.
THEN...because they overate initially...the last several days...maybe the last WEEK, even...they will have NO food. So the ones which did not become sick in the first few days..._will now starve to death_ in the last several days if not sooner.

2) Aquarium drinking: You do not use one now. They don't know what an aquarium is. It will take them some time to figure out. Once they do, as Charis says...*some will fall in.*
When a Pigeon falls into a regular drinking trough...they can get out; because they can walk in it. When a Pigeon falls into a deep tank....they cannot get out. Because they have never been in that experience before.
So..they will NOT just 'jump' out or 'fly' out. They will probably drown.

So, currently...your plan will leave you with a lot of dead Pigeons when you return....perhaps even all of them. And their deaths would be very high-suffering deaths.

*Hey, we know you LOVE your Pigeons. We know you are a good guy.

So you do not want to do this to them, right ? *You want to go on your trip, and know that they are being cared for and looked after.

You would never want to put one of your loved Pigeons, who rely upon you...in a position of suffering and fear and confusion and death, right ? Of course not. You are a good guy and you love them. And they love you and trust you, too !

This is why you need to find someone and have them look after your loft. Where in Canada are you ?


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Without meaning to sound critical, look at it from an unemotional point of view. These are the questions I have asked of myself when I wanted to go on vacation, issues I have faced.

Start with the basics, then take it from there:

The pigeons are prisoners, right?

They are in an artificial situation, right? That is, it is not natural for them to live inside a house with a human. Rats can do so, but often to the detriment of the human. Detrimental to the rats if the human decides to get rid of the rats. Any animal species other than our own has its own needs when living with humans. Situation can work if we can and do make the effort.

I had someone come to check on my two free-flying pigeons (one male rescued-as-a-baby-and-hand-raised, the female feral, with a nest inside) daily. Was assured "no problem." Later, after I left, the person decided they didn't want to do any basic cleaning. Felt imposed on, I suppose. Landlord came in for repairs, raised cain. Unnecessary problems because I hadn't stayed home. Had gone for parents' 50th anniversary. 

If you leave a window open: what if it rains? Can someone break in? What if there's a fire? They're prisoners, in an artificial situation, in an environment developed by and mainly for humans, and are therefore dependent on you. In some situations they will be worse off than human infants, because many people will not go to the effort for them that you would in an emergency.

There's always something we haven't thought of. That's the nature of life. We do the best we can.

Larry


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## TylerBro (Mar 14, 2011)

hear is your solution .. go to a hunting store and buy a Deer feeder set it to go off twice a day add your 50lbs of feed and make an tube that goes over the bottom sprayer part so it will all funnel down to a feeder you will have to make .. ..then you go to froys and buy a automatic waterier hook it up to your hose and turn it on while your gone ... that or give your birds away to people who will take care of them and who is not a shut in with no friends or family ..sorry to be so crude .


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

Pigeonfriends said:


> what if you got no friends or family :'(


Then stay home and take care of them yourself...


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

Doves1111 said:


> Then stay home and take care of them yourself...


I agree! When you got pigeons, you also got the responsibility of caring for them. FULL TIME! If you want to leave on vacation, first priority is still your birds. Find some way/somebody to care for them in your absence.


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## TylerBro (Mar 14, 2011)

well unless the milk man comes around .. then maybe she should get pregnant when your gone  just kidding


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Awww, you guys are just joking around...and that's part of what chat Forums are about, of course.

But Pigeonfriends, even though people are joking with you, they also want you to understand that your Pigeons are reliant upon human care...and cannot really be left by themselves.

The automatic feeders...as Charis mentioned.... a great invention, but lordy...there have been some terrible stories about malfunctions in the middle of someone's vacation...and sadly, they return to quite a horrible scene.

I had asked where in Canada you were because this Forum has a lot of CA members...maybe one of them is near you and can help you find someone who would be able to care for them while you are gone.

My only other thought would be...a relative ? Do you have any relatives who can help you ?


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

Jaye said:


> Awww, you guys are just joking around...and that's part of what chat Forums are about, of course.
> 
> But Pigeonfriends, even though people are joking with you, they also want you to understand that your Pigeons are reliant upon human care...and cannot really be left by themselves.
> 
> ...


ahahahha it's ok, im taking turns, im paying for the vacation for both me and my girlfriend, except one of us is going first. My girlfriend will be going later with her girls, except she might going somewhere else instead, i have a 5k budget for her so she won't be complaining when it comes to the ticket.

she is staying behind while i head out for a week or two, then it be her turn next. My relatives and family are mean spirited and selfish, i can only semi rely on my girlfriend hahaha.


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## TylerBro (Mar 14, 2011)

how many birds do you have? pack the car and head out   see how good they can home from USA


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## TylerBro (Mar 14, 2011)

what i did is there is a kid down the road who wants into pigeons bad and i made a deal that if he helped me for a week and i showed him the ropes then i would hook up his loft once i came home and found my birds okay


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

TylerBro said:


> how many birds do you have? pack the car and head out   see how good they can home from USA


hahahaha their arch angels, i think they would die.


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

It's too bad it had to work out that way. I' sure you'd rather have gone together. Sorry to hear about the family situation also. But if you have that big a budget, couldn't you have paid someone to watch things while you both went? A friend, girlfriend's friend, a neighbor or trusted coworker? This is obviously not always the greatest idea either, but it's better than splitting your vacations.


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

almondman said:


> It's too bad it had to work out that way. I' sure you'd rather have gone together. Sorry to hear about the family situation also. But if you have that big a budget, couldn't you have paid someone to watch things while you both went? A friend, girlfriend's friend, a neighbor or trusted coworker? This is obviously not always the greatest idea either, but it's better than splitting your vacations.


hahahaha, going on a vacation with her is fun but she complains non stop, i rather she goes with her friends and actually things woman like to do. I just don't like the idea of having people i barely know coming over.


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

Can't say as I blame you for that. And as a man who just spent a whole day shopping in "women's" stores with my better half, I know where you're coming from.


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## Crazy Pete (Nov 13, 2008)

http://tsc.tractorsupply.com/search...icUrl=http://www.tractorsupply.com/-240161899

http://tsc.tractorsupply.com/search...icUrl=http://www.tractorsupply.com/-240138399

This auto water would work fine and the food bon would work just prop the door open, it would save your girlfriend a lot of work. All she would have to do is look in on them every other day.
Dave


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

Crazy Pete said:


> http://tsc.tractorsupply.com/search...icUrl=http://www.tractorsupply.com/-240161899


WOW this is amazing thanks! hahahahaa i can use this personally, for someone lazy like me.

so the water stops when it gets full?


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## Crazy Pete (Nov 13, 2008)

Yes all you have to do is build a cover for it so the don't poo in it, and all you have to do is rinse it dump it and it will fill back up.
Dave


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Well, yeah, it is good your GF can be around while you go away. Does she like your birds ? Does she frequent the loft ?

I am still wondering if there are any other Forum members near you...granted, you don't know 'em...but most Pigeon folk gladly lend a hand to each other...


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## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

If not, just drop them off here, and pick them up on your way back home!
By the way, What's an ArchAngle Pigeon?
You Never did say how many you have...


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

ND Cooper said:


> If not, just drop them off here, and pick them up on your way back home!
> By the way, What's an ArchAngle Pigeon?
> You Never did say how many you have...


An Arch angel is just a fancy pigeon, bred for looks instead of performance. i have like 20 or so.


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## BFG (Mar 6, 2012)

Wow! That pigeon reminds me of my raving days.


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## Pigeonfriends (Jan 19, 2012)

BFG said:


> Wow! That pigeon reminds me of my raving days.


must be one good looking lad.


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