# Best place to release young wood pigeon?



## LM2020 (Aug 9, 2020)

I've been looking after a young pigeon caught by someone's cat. He/she was taken to the vets and fortunately was ok but could not fly. There were no obvious injuries. The pigeon is a fledgling but not that young so I'm not sure why he couldn't fly other than perhaps not having built up his flight muscles yet. Once strong enough I wanted to release him back where he was found so its familiar but there are quite a lot of cats on that road and a couple of busy roads nearby so its not the safest place. I already have a pair of wood pigeons in my garden that are very territorial so would probably attack this one. There is a nice area just less than a mile away with open grass, ponds and a stream for water, and large trees for shelter but this would be unfamiliar. Any suggestions?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Rather release him in your garden. He was young when you found him, he won't know where to find food out there. Wait till he is a bit older before releasing. He will need to be able to defend himself against the older pigeons.

To do a soft release you will need to keep him outside in an aviary for him to get used to the area. That way the other pigeons will also get used to him. After 2 weeks you can open up and let him come out by himself. You will need to supply him with a backup food supply after releasing. 

Are you in the UK? There are quite a lot of rescue centres you can take him to.


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## LM2020 (Aug 9, 2020)

Marina B said:


> Rather release him in your garden. He was young when you found him, he won't know where to find food out there. Wait till he is a bit older before releasing. He will need to be able to defend himself against the older pigeons.
> 
> To do a soft release you will need to keep him outside in an aviary for him to get used to the area. That way the other pigeons will also get used to him. After 2 weeks you can open up and let him come out by himself. You will need to supply him with a backup food supply after releasing.
> 
> Are you in the UK? There are quite a lot of rescue centres you can take him to.


Thank you for your help. I've had him for a week and the vets had him for a few days before that. He looks almost like an adult just with juvenile plumage. How long would be good to wait before release? He has the garden shed to himself at the moment with different 'perches' (a hutch, table and step ladder) to fly between. I don't have an aviary big enough for him to be outside - the only things I have are a bird cage I used to have for my budgie, a small hutch, guinea pig cage and small run.

Yes - I'm in the UK. When I looked on google there was a pigeon rescue centre in my city but looks like they had to shut down with lack of funding.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

If you are on FB, you can post on Pigeon and Dove rescue. I think they have a lot of members in the UK. Has he got a view of the outside in thd shed?


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## LM2020 (Aug 9, 2020)

Marina B said:


> If you are on FB, you can post on Pigeon and Dove rescue. I think they have a lot of members in the UK. Has he got a view of the outside in thd shed?


Thank you. I'll have a look on facebook. There are windows down one side of the shed. He should be able to see a tiny bit of the garden through the windows from his favourite perch (the top step of the ladder). I could try putting another perch closer to the windows.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You can also try another site: Pigeon rescue and rehabilitation.


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## LM2020 (Aug 9, 2020)

Thank you again for your help. Tried the FB page but didn't get a reply on my post. Tried a similar page and was referred to nearby rescue centres but one didn't have facilities for soft release and didn't hear back from the other. Would a dog crate/play pen work (under supervision) to get him more familiar with my garden and local wood pigeons or will he be getting familiar with the area by being in the shed and seeing out the windows? Also trying to vary his diet and add more veg so he is more used to foraging. I've often read peas are good but I only have canned peas (in water not brine) - would this be good for him?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Canned peas have too much salt, so rather avoid that. Do you feed the local pigeons in your garden? If so, then you can put him outside in the dogcrate. Sprinkle some seed next to it and see how he reacts to the local pigeons. That way they will also get used to him.


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## LM2020 (Aug 9, 2020)

I was concerned about that with canned peas. The cans I have are "peas in water" and ingredients say <0.01g salt per 100g same as the frozen peas I looked at online so was hoping they might be ok. I'll have a look at getting some frozen ones. I have bird feeders so the pigeons regularly come for the left overs and to forage and for a drink from my pond. I've started sprinkling more seed to encourage them. I had 3 wood pigeons together in the garden the other day tolerating each other so hopefully they won't be too territorial and get used to this one. Thank you.


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## LM2020 (Aug 9, 2020)

I've had the dog crate in the shed with the pigeon for a few days now and been putting his favourite food (sunflower seeds) inside so he is used to going in it. I don't want to leave him in the crate in the garden unsupervised in case a neighbour's cat comes so will have to keep moving it between the garden and shed. But not sure how to do this without stressing the pigeon. Usually I would cover a bird cage with a towel to keep them calm while moving but even with this I could see he was getting very stressed?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Surely you can try and release him now. Just do it in such a way that he can come out of the shed by himself with the minimum stress. Put some seeds outside just in front of the shed and let him wander out. Watch from a distance. I hope he sticks around, let us know.


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## LM2020 (Aug 9, 2020)

Marina B said:


> Surely you can try and release him now. Just do it in such a way that he can come out of the shed by himself with the minimum stress. Put some seeds outside just in front of the shed and let him wander out. Watch from a distance. I hope he sticks around, let us know.


I left the shed door open on Monday morning and watched from the house so he could come out in his own time. Didn't take him long to explore - he stopped for some seeds at the entrance, was very carefully looking around and then flew into a nearby tree. He hasn't been back in the garden yet but I think I've spotted him around the neighbourhood and on the roof of a house opposite us. There aren't any other juvenile wood pigeons around at the moment, only adults, so I'm pretty sure it is him. I have food, water and shelter in my garden available at all times if he needs it.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I'm sure he wil stick around. Glad things worked out fine for him.


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## LM2020 (Aug 9, 2020)

Marina B said:


> I'm sure he wil stick around. Glad things worked out fine for him.


 Thank you for your help.


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