# Alternative suggestions for greens?



## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

I have tried a number for different greens of the pigeons that I look after, and mostly without success. I have occasionally got them to pick at live cress, but other than that the others are left. I have tried lettice, spinach, cucumber, mixed salad leaves and some others I cannot remember. Most are taken away once they start to rot and look like they have hardly been touched.

The thing is, because most of the pigeons I am looking after are recovering from one thing or another, I feel eating greens would help that healing process. I want to try sprouting some different types of seed in the hope that something living will be more attractive to them than cut up leaves. It may be something to do with most of them being city feral pigeon and they do not come across much greenery outside? I sometimes see feral pigeons picking at the grass, I assume for the grass seed but I guess they could actually be eating the grass. If anyone has experience feeding pigeons sprouted seed, I would love to hear your story? Also if anyone has had success persuading feral pigeons to eat greens, I would also love to hear what you did. Thank you,
Brian.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

We got a packet of dried marrowfat peas, soaked them for 24 hours and planted them, just covered by a little earth, in bowls and pots with drainage holes. I put a load of them in each pot. They need regular watering, and grow to pea shoots in about 3 weeks. Then we put a pot or bowl in the aviary, as is. They get demolished in no time. The way they get through them, I'm going to soak some more overnight then plant them.


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## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

Interesting, I have not heard of marrowfat peas being a favorite. I will give it a try today and see how it goes. You let them grow for three weeks before you let them have the shoots? They must be quite big by then. I am willing to try anything to try and get some healthy live food into them rather than all the dried food they eat. Even with the vitamin powder and probiotic powder there are things they just cannot get from dried food. Thanks for the suggestion.


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## tjc1 (Aug 22, 2012)

mine love clover. when they are out they go to the ground and look like a heard of cows grazing


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## wthilgen (Oct 9, 2013)

Old school; a head of lettuce per fifty birds.


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## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

Still having trouble with this. The marrow fat peas are hard to grow because I do not have many places to put them to make sure they get enough sun, in the end they did not look appetising and the pigeons did not eat them. Lettuce is ignored. The only thing I have got them to eat a little of is sprouting cress.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Are you sure that you are cutting the lettuce up small enough? I give mine kale or romaine and other garden mixes, and they all love it. Even my ferals. But I chop them up small so they can swallow it. They always eat it all. They also like finely chopped carrots. Mine don't seem to like spinach very much.


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## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

I think it might be something to do with them having come from a city like London. I doubt they ever saw green food to eat in the wild, except maybe grass, so they do not know that they may like it. I will keep trying different things.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Don't think that would have anything to do with it. I have ferals that have come from cities also. Chop it very small and they will probably eat it.


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## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

I will have another go at chopping up a lettuce, it may change depending on the time of year.
There are two things I have always wondered about the pigeon diet, one of course being what greens they eat in the wild and why, secondly the seed they get in the wild surely would not be dry so why do we feed them dry seed?

I have wondered about soaking their seed before giving it to them, and as an extension of this, allowing a portion of the seed to sprout and let them eat the sprouts.

What do you think?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

All the seeds that wild birds eat are dry. They dry on the plant, then the plant opens and disperses them, and the birds eat them. But they are dry. I wouldn't soak their seed. Good way to get mold growing in them.
Read books on feeding the wild birds. They will all tell you that if the seeds get wet in rainy or snowy weather, to toss them out and clean the feeders and dry well before refilling. They can get sick from wet seeds that have begun to grow mold or other bacteria.


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## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

Thank you for the info. I have looked it up a bit and see the problem. I have until now been sweeping up the excess seed that the inside birds do not eat and feed it to the outside birds, they are always hungry because of the way the council is trying to cut off their food supplies. I will have to be careful doing this in future because sometimes the seed is not completely dry.
It is unfortunate that I cannot continue doing this, as I say the council is doing all they can to starve the local pigeons(I have to take a number of pigeons that are about to die through lack of food!). I have limited funds and cannot afford to feed all the pigeons I would like to feed, so I hate to throw food away. Its a problem, to feed them food that may have mold that will kill them, or throw the food away and they may die of starvation?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

BHenderson said:


> Thank you for the info. I have looked it up a bit and see the problem. I have until now been sweeping up the excess seed that the inside birds do not eat and feed it to the outside birds, they are always hungry because of the way the council is trying to cut off their food supplies.* I will have to be careful doing this in future because sometimes the seed is not completely dry.*
> It is unfortunate that I cannot continue doing this, as I say the council is doing all they can to starve the local pigeons(I have to take a number of pigeons that are about to die through lack of food!). I have limited funds and cannot afford to feed all the pigeons I would like to feed, so I hate to throw food away. Its a problem, to feed them food that may have mold that will kill them, or throw the food away and they may die of starvation?



What do you mean that the seed is not completely dry? Why would it be wet?


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## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

Sometimes the water bowl gets knocked over. Most of the seed probably does not get wet, but some of it does and its impossible to know how much got wet and how long it was wet for.


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