# What To Feed Pigeons



## teebo (Jul 7, 2006)

my pigeon now stays with the chickens we have,since i dont think its humane to keep the poor thing in a bird cage,instead of buying a #50 bag of pigeon feed which is quite expensive,can they live on chicken food,flock raiser/or chicken scratch,i have my chickens on layer pellets,which i know is not good for pigeons,i read in this message board once that someone feeds theres chicken food,i need to know what kind.


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## A_Smith (Aug 8, 2006)

I asked this question here myself about a pigeons diet. Here was my post and replys http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=17063 I hope this is helpful. I don't have chickens so I can't directly answer your question. There is also great information on this site under resources.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

teebo said:


> my pigeon now stays with the chickens we have,since i dont think its humane to keep the poor thing in a bird cage,instead of buying a #50 bag of pigeon feed which is quite expensive,can they live on chicken food,flock raiser/or chicken scratch,i have my chickens on layer pellets,which i know is not good for pigeons,i read in this message board once that someone feeds theres chicken food,i need to know what kind.


I had a few chickens for a while, and if your chicken feed looks like my chicken feed, then I would say no, don't feed it to your pigeons. It may be ok in a pinch but not for long term. If you can't find "pigeon" feed, go get you a bag of wild bird seed, some whole corn and some safflower seed, mix it together and feed them that.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Hi Teebo, I would go with what Renee said about feed. I also wanted to mention to watch them carefully, as usually chickens will peck and even kill pigeons. My chicken is an exception as she has lived with the pigeons her whole life. As long as they are being nice, it should be okay. So no luck finding a home for the new one huh? Yours here are doing so great, Silver Bells was in with her little boyfriend when I cleaned this morning, and they were kissing, it was so cute.


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## teebo (Jul 7, 2006)

im pretty sure after awhile they will get along once they get used to her,like all chickens do when you add another.someone did contact me ,but i havent heard from her again,so thats my only option for now,she loves it flying around in the pen,i put up a big perch for her,so she can get off the ground.i will see how it goes for now.thanks all.more options on feeding,would be great.i feed my chickens blue seal layer pellets,which is very good feed,my chickens are spoiled rotten.corn/peas/bread/milk/yogurt/spaghetti/watermelon/tomatoes/broccoli/any other veggies you can think of.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

If you have access to a Petco store, or maybe a PetsMart, Teebo, and can buy Paloma/Dove mix, that will do just fine.

Good Luck!


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

I go to the feed store to buy safflower seeds, which is really quite cheap.... a medium bag for 3 dollars and some change, which lasts quite a while.

I prefer the _Kaytee Paloma dove _mix too because of the balanced variety of pigeon food and the nutrients and vitamins they add to the mix. I also get mine at Pet-CO.

The last time I got pigeon feed from the feed store, their mix had large corn kernels and just too many Canada peas.This ended up being my feral mix. 

My pet pigeons did like the dove mix that I bought them last time I visited the feed store.I mixed it up with the Kaytee mix.

I also add on various days:

uncooked lentils, split green peas,brown rice,corn kernels and raw unsalted sunflower seeds. The only pricey additive is the sunflower seeds, (which is about a dollar for a small bag ) and I like to use them as a reward or treat, but occasionally do add it to their mix if they are good!


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

If you have only one pigeon it would be too much to buy the 50 lb. pigeon mix.

You can go to your local grocery store and purchase peas, legumes and organic brown rice, oats, wheat. You can go to a health food store and also buy different grains, like barley, flax, etc by the pound. Mix that with a good wild bird mix, and you pretty much have a pigeon mix. You can buy whole corn cheaply and add change the percentage of it in the mix, according to the weather. 

Make sure the safflower, and brown rice is only 2 to 5 percent of the mix, depending on breeding/resting period the birds are in. If you look at the ingredients on a pigeon mix, it will help figure out what percentages of each grain/or seed should be.

The breeder diet should consist of:

30 percent green peas
10 pigeon peas
10 or more, corn
10 barley
10 rolled oats
10 expanded wheat pellets
10 wheat
7 maple peas
5 brown rice
3 vetch
3 white sorghum
2 sunflower
2 safflower 

It can be varied according to the rest period, winter, and molt


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## teebo (Jul 7, 2006)

they are getting along great with her,shes eating and walking around with them,i think she thinks shes a chicken now.


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## stephie (May 17, 2006)

I see you've gotten quite a few helpful responses already, just thought I'd add that in addition to Kaytee Paloma/Dove, there is also a good Pigeon & Dove Mix made by Hagen. I pay about $10 for a 6 lb bag, so it would be even less in US dollars, and that lasts my one pij quite a long time.

One pet store I went to sold "Dove Mix" that was literally just red & white millet and, like, 3 safflower seeds in the whole bag, so just have a look before you spend money to make sure it has some good stuff!

(Forgive me if I've missed them in another thread, but) do you have pictures of your brood? I'd love to see the little girl (btw is she a _chigeon_ or a _picken_?) and her new friends!


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## teebo (Jul 7, 2006)

i will post some pics tomorrow,of her and her friends.thanks


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Teebo, my pigeons like to eat the lay crumbles and scratch that I get for the chicken too. It sounds like you have plenty of good stuff for them, and I'm glad they're getting along! Here are a few pics of my chicken-who-thinks -she's-a-pigeon, Fussy Gussy, for those of you who haven't seen her. Fussy Gussy got into my aviary as a few-day-old chick (my neighbor had free-range chickens) and when I finally caught her to take her out (at about two weeks old), all she wanted was to get back in (actually scared of the chickens lol). So I let her back in and she grew up thinking she's a pigeon.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Those are TWO CUTE PICTURES, Maryjane!

Fussy Gussy (love the name!) looks right at home. She really is a PIGEON...just LOOKS like a chicken!


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Maryjane, 

Those are really cute and endearing pictures of your gang, lol. Fussy Gussy looks right at home amoung your VERY many breeds of pigeons Is that a modena on top of the basket, it's nearly as plump & large as Fussy herself 

You've got an amazing and interesting group of birds


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

That is so sweet and funny about Fussy Gussy.......I had seen your pics and had seen the (chicken.sshh!) and knew it lived in there with you pigeons but didn't know why. Very cute.......


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Thanks everyone, they are quite amusing to me too.  Brad, I'm not sure what kind of bird Sophie is (the little one on the basket). She has quite a turned-up little rump and is almost U-shaped sometimes lol. She came from the feed store but they were unlabeled. She is such a sweet little bird and has a winning personality and loves to be talked to. As for Fussy Gussy, she has gone broody on some eggs.....She took over one of the spinning baskets about a month ago, laid several eggs, and we haven't heard a peep from her since. That is, except when someone gets too close to her basket and they get the chicken growl. She is such a typical chicken, very indignant about everything and bossy as all get out (though she never hurts the pigeons and isn't aggressive). When she's not laying on eggs, she's strutting around and making sure all the (other) pigeons are doing what she wants them to do.  Nobody is allowed in her sun spot, or the food dish when she's eating, or on the perch she's sitting on (unless it's night time and then the line up is pigeon, pigeon, pigeon, chicken, pigeon, pigeon). She enjoys the single life with an occasional affair with some of the bigger males who sometimes mistake her for a really large sexy pigeon.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

maryjane said:


> Brad, I'm not sure what kind of bird Sophie is (the *little one* on the basket). She has quite a turned-up little rump and is almost U-shaped sometimes lol. She came from the feed store but they were unlabeled. She is such a sweet *little bird* and has a winning personality and loves to be talked to.


Hi Maryjane, 

She doesn't seem very "little" to me, lol She looks like a modena to me, and the up-turned rump, size and body shape seem to suggest this. These birds are quite large pigeons and are so cute

I love the name Fussy Gussy though, sounds like a name that belongs in the old kid's stories about Chicken Little There was Turkey-Lurkey, Goosey-Loosey and Henny-Penny. I named my now deceased pigeon, Henny after Henny Penny


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