# douglas !!!!!



## seren (Apr 4, 2006)

hi there,
how do i get my pigeon to like me ... picked him up in town ( i say him i havent a clue ) and he had a broken wing and broken foot. took him to the vet ( we have a really nice one ) and his foot has got much better but the vet says that he will probably never fly again ... it looks like i now have a pet pigeon ( which is good i suppose as my mother and daughter have become really fond of him ) 
at the moment he is sitting on my bedroom floor staring at me ..how on earth do i train a pigeon ..i know that if you rear them from birth then feral pigeons can become very attached to you but can you get a fully grown adult one to like you .. he has improved to the fact that he is now fighting back and tryignto nip me and i suppose this means he is getting better ..
am doing everythign people on this site have sugested.. grit, baths etc ( he seems to like a good bath ... good thing too as he is currently sleeping in a box in my bedroom ) .. thanks to all the inforamtion .. now what do i do about making friends
......xxxxx
he's called douglas by the way !!


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

For a pigeon that grew up in the wild and now has to live with humans it takes a lot of time and patience to open up to you.
That doesn't mean he doesn't like you, he is just not used to all the handling and human attention. He doesn't undestand you yet and he doesn't trust you fully.
I have several that came to me as adults and they don't really like me handling them, they are not exactly pets. It took them a lot of time to trust me and let me clean their cages or areas where they live. I respect that, somewhat they do remain wild. Not all of them though, I have a couple that are great pets and love to be around me, but those are usually the disabled ones. 
If you have no other birds around, he will eventulally warm up to you, just give it some time.

Reti


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Actually, any pigeon, whether feral or domestic can become a pet when hand raised.

Reti has much more experience in rehabbing ferals then I do, but I know with my homers, the other very important thing you can do is hand feed. They instantly become more acceptable of you, when they know that you have their meals in your hand. Take the food out of his box or cage when he is completely healed. Offer his morning and afternoon meal out of your hand. He may be skiddish and not react at first, but eventually he will. Allow him to eat a tablespoon worth, and feed him this way each meal. Do this with all meals and eventually he will realize you are an important part of his life.

If he refuses to eat out of your hand, then give him a tablespoon worth in a bowl, and take the bowl out when he is done, and try again next meal. 

I wouldn't suggest stressing him out right now, as he is healing, but once he has healed completely you should start.

I have tamed some of my wildest stand offish homing pigeons this way, I got them flying to my hands now for meals and snacks.


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## seren (Apr 4, 2006)

thanks it must be working .. have been letting him out for a run ! every night and at the moment he has flown as well as he can ( he can only just get off the ground ) and is now sitting next to me as i type this ..
mum has fallen in love with him ...
any advise in what to keep him .. as i have said he is currently sleeping in a cat carrier and i think he is getting a bit annoyed with not having much space. dont know what to keep him in as if he cant fly much then is it worth trying to build a proper aviary for him ...
thanks again, have never cared for a pigeon before and am a bit lost


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

As long as your bird has access to run about the house, a secure screen porch or a protected aviary, a cat carrier is fine, as long as it is for sleeping mostly. I used a large pet carrier for Rosco, he was never in it, just for sleeping and quiet time. 

You can also get a large cage if the bird doesn't have much free time. Give him some more time to see how well he does fly eventually, and make a determination according to that.


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## kittypaws (Sep 18, 2005)

Hi Seren,

I think its really lovely of you to take this pigeon on as a pet. They are adorable and I can understand people falling in love with them, if you let them. 

Hope all the training goes OK and he becomes more tame. 

Douglas is a nice name for a pigeon

Tania x


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## seren (Apr 4, 2006)

thanks, 
i think i may have to get a large cage for him as he cant reallt run about the house .. we never really intended to keep pigeons and unfortunatly we have 4 cats .... not really pigeon freindly. at the moment he can come out of his cage and roam my bedroom as the cats cannot come in and the door is shut but i cant really let him out of the room . 
may get a bigger cage for him and think about an aviary if he really improves. at least it has to be better than he was on the streets 
thanks again


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