# help in care of adolescent pigeon



## kathyb (May 24, 2005)

An adolescent pigeon that can't quite fly followed my boyfriend into work last Wednesday. We brought her home and put her in a dog cage. We put a basket with some cloth in it for her "nest" and give her wild bird food and water. She seems healthy and adores my boyfriend. She walks around on picnic table when we're home. He brings her in house in evening and she sits on back of recliner and puffs up and settles in for a nap. She sits on one leg a lot and just looks around. She's starting to fly a little but looks insecure. She's pulled out all her down feathers and her beak is partially pink and partially gray and she has dark brownish eyes. My questions are:
When will we know she can take care of herself and be let go?
Will she come back here for food if she leaves and can't take care of herself?
Is it normal that they make no noise at all?
Should we consider finding a home for her rather than letting her go?
Any advice is really appreciated. It's been real enjoyable having her in our lives but we want her to be able to live on her own.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Kathy,

Thank you for caring for this baby. Last year I came across a few youngsters that had left the nest but couldn't fly, or couldn't feed themselves

Now for your questions, I am certain that you will get several different views, but this is what I think! 

If you are going to relaese a young pigeon it is best that you don't let it get too trusting of humans as not all of them are trustworthy.

Pigeons that are under 8 weeks will squeak with alarm, after 8 weeks their squeak becomes a quack...it is not unusual for them to be silent. They start to coo when they reach sexual maturity. 

If you are not going to keep her then let her go as soon as she is able to feed herself and able to fly well. Release her into an established flock of pigeons at a spot where you know there is food provided and no lethal control of pigeons.

A nest is nice, but they prefer to perch. A brick is a good perch.

If it is apparent that she is not going to be releasable then it would be best to find her a home.

I don't know if she would come back to you for food after release. I released one that I had found as a juvenile into my own garden and never saw him again, but other members have been more lucky. If you have been allowing her to be free in the garden then I think it is likely that she would not fly off and get lost.

Cynthia


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hello and welcome to pigeons.com

Thank you for helping this baby out. She sounds very comfortable around you. The bird sounds like it is between 20 to 30 days old. Eating seeds well and drinking well on her own?

Does it peep at all? You must be meeting all this birds needs if it is not making any noise, it has nothing to complain about. LOL! I have a peeper that is trying to Roo-koo like adult males! If you have a quiet baby it maybe a female. 

Give the bird time and a place to fly and you will see it getting its flying skills together. You will know when she gets good at flying because she will fly from one place to another and make great landings.

Once a bird is raised around people there is always the question of can they take care of themselves, if I let it go will it come back to eat? Feral pigeons may or may not have homing skills. Give it some time to get good at its flying skills, and make the decision then. Meanwhile, allow the bird to bath every few days, they love it, and it helps to build up the powder they need. Then when it rains it won't look like a drown rat. Give it a bird multi-vitamin like Prime, easy to use, be strict on the measurement. Also, give it a good pigeon grit. If you decide to keep the baby think about getting a good pigeon seed mix.

You can ask these questions later to help you determine whether to let it go:

1. Does the bird have the powder build up in wings to keep it dry in rain?

2. Is the bird not too tame that it will go to anyone when it is back in the wild. (some humans are their worst enemy)

3. Is their a flock of pigeons around that the bird can "hang-out" with, pigeons are social creatures and they are safer in numbers, and is the flock in a predator safe environment where there is plenty to eat?

4. Has the bird imprinted and become dependent on you?

Pigeons do make great pets!

Treesa


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Hi Kathy,

I, too, found such a pigeon at about the same time of life. That was our first pigeon (about a year before 9/11, have 45 now, including her) and we struggled with the same problems. I intended to return her to the wild. She definitely imprinted on us and sometimes simply had to perch on us to sleep--wouldn't have it any other way.

Eventually, when her flying skills had begun to develop, we took her to the park daily for flying practice. It was easily within walking distance and there were no major roads to cross. This was only possible because she A) wanted to be physically on us a lot of the time; and B) was imprinted enough to want to fly to us even when outside the home. We did this by taking her outside the door where she could still see in to her "box" from successively further distances. Lin would literally "cheer" outside the door when the distance got too far for Pidgey (that's actually her name) to see straight into the house.

After flight training in the park, we finally took her to an old warehouse where there was an established flock. She would fly up to them and "play" for awhile until she'd had enough (we did this in the evening so it wouldn't take long). She'd rejoin us and we'd walk home together. After a lot of this, we'd let her off in the morning, go to work, come back in the evening and she'd come right to us. After some weeks, she'd stay out for one night, then back to us. Then two, then three.

We went on vacation to Peru for two weeks and came back and got her for the last time. After that, we decided to start our own loft. In the end, we imprinted to her more than she imprinted to us. Of course, we have all lived happily ever after...


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

What a lovely story, Pidgey--thank you so much for sharing. What you said at the end is the key. You imprinted on her as much as she imprinted on you. That's what happened to many of us who love pigeons. 

Kathy, I have to wonder if your pigeon friend was actually raised by humans and then released since she is obviously imprinted on people. I think it might be best to either keep her or find her a good home. You shouldn't feel guilty about keeping a pigeon in captivity, either. They are feral and have a long history of living close to humans.


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## kathyb (May 24, 2005)

*update on adolescent pigeon "Charley"*

Thanks for the advice. We are getting used to having her here. We named her Charley. She's been hanging out on the table but yesterday she took off and flew onto the roof. When Rex climbed up to get her she flew into a nearby tree and just sat there all day. I was concerned that she hadn't eaten and around 9 p.m. around dusk I went and just sat out and watched her. She ended up flying right back to the table and started to eat. When I went into the house to get more food and water for her, she flew into the house and ended up staying in the house on the back of his recliner all night.
Now today we're hesitant to let her out because we're afraid she might fly away and might not be able to fend for herself yet but might not know to come back here. I know it's inevitable that she needs to go but we feel she's still too young to be by herself so we're going to try to keep her inside today. We took some pictures of her and I tried to attach a couple of them but I'm not sure I did it right. 
Does anyone know about how old a pigeon has to be to take off and take care of itself?
Thanks for responses and help. I'm starting to get hooked on pigeons now.
Kathy B.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Domestic pigeons are usually around between 6 to 8 weeks old when they are ready for release and they do hang around on the coop at first, getting familiar with it until they feel comfortable enough to fly. They do this for 2 to 5 days, and then go off with the flock. With ferals it may be different.

Charley, what a great name, sounds like is starting to take notice of her surroundings. She may actually be getting familiar and memorizing your house and surroundings, eventually she will fly, but she may come home and fly inside as you have allowed her to do.

If she has a flock to join, that would be okay, but if she is a loner, she is vulnerable to predators. Pigeons are social creatures and fly together and warn each other when there is danger.

Sounds like you are both getting attached, I hope you will keep her. She seems like a smart little pijjie, deciding already to "home" at your place!

Treesa


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