# Stressed Pigeon



## Fido (Aug 6, 2016)

Hello, 

Recently I've been weaning my pigeon into living inside, as the winters can be very rough where I am, and I fear that when it snows I won't be able to get to her. I bought an indoor aviary, where she can fly around, perch and nest in a similar structure to that as when she was outside. I started by putting her into it for only a few hours, and then letting her stay in her outdoor enclosure. Now, as it is getting very cold, I've been letting her stay in for a day, then out for a day. 

She has been getting accustomed to the cage, but is showing signs of stress. She is especially pecky (sometimes viciously so) and her poop is not entirely normal. Though she has some normal poops, she also has very watery, diarrhea esq stools that leave a clear puddle around the more solid bits. 

I'm worried, because I know the transition is stressing her out, but I feel like her living inside until spring is the best option I have. Is there anything I can do to make this less stressful for her? I'm hoping the diarrhea is stress related, and that she's not sick. I've been keeping a close eye on her and she eats and drinks well, but she sometimes fluffs her feathers and keeps them there which is concerning.

Due to unfortunate timing, my local supply store stopped selling the food I used, so I've also been introducing a new food, which probably isn't helping the situation. 

Long story short, and I'm in a bit of a pickle. As of now I'm most concerned about the poop and feather fluffing. Any advise? 

Thank you :')


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

She will adjust soon. Would keep her indoors and just let her out a little each day rather than alternating days which may confuse her. What are you feeding? It is normal for a pigeon to peck as he or she becomes more used to and territorial of the aviary or cage. How warm us it inside where she lives? Fluffing up may just be an indication of being cold.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If you keep bringing her inside and outside, you are stressing her more. And she adjusts to the inside temps, then you put her back out in the cold. That'll get her sick. 
How large is the inside space? Can you fix it so that it has a private area, like covering a corner or something where she likes to rest. She needs to be able to retreat to a place she feels safe. Also, stress will bring on Cocci and canker. So just move her inside and don't keep changing her around. She can't adjust that way. Possible to post a picture of her setup?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Agree with Jay3. Would just bring her inside and let her get adjusted.


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## Fido (Aug 6, 2016)

Of course. Here is a the setup. It's boring as of now because any enrichment things I put in she would destroy... She is perches on the natural wood with her food and water. Her nesting box is really impromptu, I'm working on something better.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Lovely bird! Cage is taller than wide so hope she gets time out inside your home. It's hard to find wide strong cages. Our pigeon flight cages are five feet long and four feet high but they are inside a shed for protection from predators. They are ones we assembled from mail order kits. For a pigeon toy, you have to give her a lot of attention or get another pigeon for company. What is her name? Ours love to look out the window. The wider perch is better for her feet. You also can attach a flat landing strip in the cage corners for perches. Phoebe used to love bells to ring and enrichment toys that required opening a little door to get food.


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## Fido (Aug 6, 2016)

Her name is Fido (lol, thus my username). I would really love to get her a friend, but house rules wont let me :') I try to give her a lot of attention, but she has been getting really mean lately and pecks at my hands pretty brutally. I have to wear gloves now. Im trying to regain her trust- when I first got her she never pecked at all but after a medical emergency when I had to manhandle her a lot, she came to despise my hands.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Okay, as was mentioned a pigeon needs a wide cage, not so much a high cage. But you use what you have. The wide branch is okay for a perch, but she really does need flat perches, like shelves. It is natural for pigeons to roost on a flat shelf, not a perch that they need to grab onto all night. Her food and water dish should be on the floor or on a shelf, but not where she needs to balance on a branch to get at. Some sort of heavy little crock or such that she can't tip over. Part of her discomfort is that the cage is on the floor. Pigeons don't feel safe on the ground or floor. In nature, they will perch up as high as possible to be safe from predators. So being so close to the floor or ground, the bird doesn't feel safe. A cage on a table is better for that reason. You can take the thin perches out, as they really serve no purpose. A good perch would be to get a couple of bricks, put them on one end of the cage, and run a 4 inch board from one to the other.
You said the enclosure outside was like this one. Is it low to the ground also? Is it an open cage? If so, she must be horrified all the time. She would never feel safe from predators. Also, if she is kept in something like this cage, rather than an enclosure where she could be let out, then she would become more wild, as you aren't really able to interact with her. She shouldn't be let out loose outside, but she does need handling and companionship from you, and she needs to be let out maybe in your room or something where she can exercise. If you leave them alone and don't handle them, all birds will get more wild and less tame.Where is she kept when outdoors?
The cage can be okay with those few fixes I think.


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## Fido (Aug 6, 2016)

Fido is a rescue pigeon with an unknown background. She was found living in a horse barn that I ride at, nesting in the resident dogs bed. She was totally tame, landed on shoulders and demanded human attention. She had no tags, and we couldn't find an owner, so I took her in as the barn was getting a new cat that wasn't so inclined to snuggle up with her. She had been living in a tack storage room open to cats, dogs, horses other birds and many humans. She landed on the dogs backs and took little rides around, luckily the dogs didn't care. The running theory is that she was found as a chick, raised by humans with good intentions and let free thinking that she could make it on her own. 

When I took her in I didn't have a proper place to put her. I made her a small coop out of recycled wood (which I did a ton of research on, in order to make it good for her), and rebuilt a wire aviary left over from when I had raised 6 chickens years ago (it goes from the ground to about 7 feet in the air, and is big enough for me to walk around in comfortably). I assembled the wooden coop in the aviary so she could have a closed place to go, but she never went in it, damn her. Instead she nested and laid eggs on the ground, even though I gave her various raised surfaces. She insisted on perching on an overhanging nail (with the soft, blunt edge facing out of course, it wasn't a safety hazard) instead of the perches and platforms I made.

I didn't know what to think of her, she evaded every attempt I made to give her a more comfortable enviroment. So when I went into this endevour I was even more lost. I attempted to drape fabric around the bottom half of the cage to give her some privacy, as my elderly dogs also hang out in this room, but she pulled it down. I tried to put cardboard up around the bottom so my dogs wouldn't bother her but she pulled that down too. It seems like she doesn't mind the dogs, and lands on their backs too when I let her out to fly around the room (my dogs are so arthritic that they couldn't hurt her if they tried- but they wouldn't- they are used to the zoo that is my house. All the same I try to keep them out of the room when she is out of the cage. Unfortunately my house is set up so that I cant just close doors, all the rooms are openly connected.) I do bring her out at least once a day. 

I will make the changes you suggest. As of now I am worried about her poop, as it is a mixture of small, soft, greenish clumps and liquid about half the time. She has some normal stools but also the diarrhea. I've never kept pigeons before, only chickens, cats, dogs and various rodents, so despite all the research I do its one hell of a learning curve. Help? I really do hate to be a bad pigeon caretaker


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Fidos setup will work. Jay3s suggestions for perches are good. Hope the pigeon is an indoor bird now. She will get tamer after a while. Just hang in there. Would get some toys and let her bite at those rather than you. Phoebe bit me savagely at first then after a while would bite the bamboo toys and then became my best friend.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I know you are trying, and we are just trying to help. You can set up card board on a side of the cage, so she will have some privacy, and put a couple of bricks with a board running between them, on the same end of the cage. If you attach the cardboard to the cage she can't pull it down. Or if you put it on the outside and attach with wire or a couple of twist ties, she won't pull it down either. I mean, you can even pin a large towel to one end of the cage to make it a solid wall. Come on, not that hard. The odd droppings are probably because of stress from all the change. Also probiotics will help her gut and maybe change her droppings. Apple cider vinegar, a few drops in her water, will help her good gut bacteria, and could firm up her droppings also.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Thank you for rescuing Fido! Soon she will be adapted and friendly. Pigeons just take time to get tame because they are prey animals. The probiotics are cheap and likely will help her droppings. I just sprinkle a tiny bit on our birds food. Please just be patient with her and she will reward that with love. Our racer, Lucy, was afraid for six months but now is very sweet and friendly. I was afraid she would never be tame or adjust to being with us. Pigeons are wonderful but adults may take a little time to get comfortable. They are worth the wait.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You can even get some sugar free yogurt with the live bacteria in it, and give her some in her beak a couple of times a day for a few days.


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## Fido (Aug 6, 2016)

I added some cloth around the bottom sides to add some security. I also put up a flat board as suggested, which she likes. I tied it up with help from those two too small perches and it's 100% stable. I taped down any loose rope so she couldn't get her feet stuck. Where should I put her food on the ground?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You did good! I would have gone a little higher with the cloth, but it's good just the same. And the flat perch, she will appreciate. Much more comfortable for her feet, and more natural way for a pigeon to perch. It looks cozier to be more relaxing for her. Now for the feed and water bowls. Put them where she won't be perching directly over them, so she doesn't poop in them. Maybe over near where you started the cloth. The cloth should also help to keep the seed inside the cage. Can you find a couple of dishes that she can't tip over? She really shouldn't have to eat and drink from a perch. 
Looks good!


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Agree with Jay3, you did a great job! The pigeon looks happier already. Thank you!


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