# Tips please?



## Hiriki (Oct 17, 2013)

Hey, this is just a general thread since this is my first time owning pigeons and I want to make sure I'm doing things well.

My plan is to clean the cage once a day (change out newspaper, etc). There's currently two perches in the cage, one on each side so each pigeon has her own perch... there's two water bowls so I don't have to worry about one claiming the water bowl as her territory... etc.

I'm kind of concerned about feeding, though, so I wanted some advice specifically about that! I feel like I may be overfeeding them. I've only had them for a few days so I'm sure it's no big deal but I want to fix the problem as soon as possible . I have two rats, and for them I just make sure their food bowl is full at all times... but that's because they hide/store food so it's really hard to regulate how much they eat in a day. With birds it's obviously not the same.

Should I feed them at certain "meal times"? How many meals a day, and how much should I feed them? Also, since they're rescue birds and have not been well socialized, how best should I go about it, since I know food is my ticket to gaining trust?

Thanks in advance for your input. I really appreciate how much this site has helped so far uwu.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

Generally, most people leave full food bowls in their pigeon's / dove's cages and let them decide how much to eat. Don't worry - they probably won't overeat. Normally, you don't have to worry about meal times for birds. Do let them out of the cage for exercise sometime though - that's the best way to make sure they stay healthy and "in shape".

If you want to hand tame your pigeons, you might offer them some special food from time to time, from your hands. Finely-mashed hard-boiled egg is something they might like occasionally as a treat. Also hemp seeds (find them for sale on eBay) and thawed frozen green peas. Try offering a little of these foods in a separate bowl. They will probably love them. Once they like them, try offering these foods to them in your open hand and it may help tame your pigeons. By the way, hard-boiled egg, hemp seed, and (to a lesser extent) green peas, are "rich" treat foods - too much of them may fatten your pigeons - so one handful at a time is fine. Also, too many green peas at once could give them loose droppings and too much egg food may encourage breeding. So, just a little bit of these special foods! And once they are eating out of your hands, you can also just offer them regular food and they will probably take it.


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## Hiriki (Oct 17, 2013)

Thank you! I'll definitely try giving them treats. I tried to feed them oatmeal from my hand the other day but neither of them trusted me enough to give it a try, haha. It seems like a really good idea to get them excited about the food by putting it in a dish beforehand.

On the topic of letting them fly about for exercise, that was actually another thing I wanted to ask about... of course I intended to make sure they got the chance to stretch their wings, but I don't know how or when to start. I had a budgie when I was just a little girl and the few times I attempted to let her out for exercise were what ultimately destroyed our relationship--she spent the entire time flying desperately away from me, and when it came time to put her away, the only way I could figure out to do it was to capture her. I was VERY little at the time and am obviously much more gentle and empathetic towards animals now but I'm terrified of making the same mistake ;v;.

I was hoping to let them out to fly for the first time tomorrow... I'll probably cover my bed and my other difficult to clean items and then just lift the top so they can choose to leave the cage or not, on their own terms. I'm hoping that this helps them to feel less nervous around me, as long as I keep movement to a minimum, but how can I encourage them to return? I'll definitely budget a long window of time to do this so that I don't have to rush them back into their cage or anything, but if I choose to wait until they go back, how long might I be waiting? Is there any way I can get them back in without reinforcing their fear of me?


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

If you just got them, I would not rush to let them out. You want them to feel totally settled in their cage and identify it as "home", before you let them out. This way, they will want to go back. So you might want to wait a few weeks before you let them out.

If you can, get them hand-tame first, inside the cage. Do this by offering treats. First hold the treats near them so they can peck at them. Eventually hold your hand farther away, so they have to jump on your hand. If you can, do all this inside the cage for a few weeks before you let them out. As I mentioned, hemp seed is a great treat food - you can find it on eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hemp-Seeds-...876?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d3bf154c). If they only get hemp seeds from your hand, they will probably tame fast. But green peas may work too.

In terms of actually letting them out, I would do it late in the day because they will tend to want to go back in their cage as evening approaches and you want to make the first time out relatively short. If you want to avoid scaring them (as with your earlier parakeet), it would probably be best if you just leave their cage door open and let them come out on their own - then they might find their way back inside, on their own too. But if you have to help them back in, it will help if they are hand-tame by then and if it is getting dark (i.e. they will be more likely to cooperate).

I hope your cage has a big door on it so they can easily go in and out, while perched on your hand. The worst thing is a small door that makes it hard for your birds to go in and out while sitting on your hand. Also, when you let them out (especially at first), you should do something calm in the room like read a book or play on the computer. Maybe have a small dish of their food right in front of you (to encourage them to "visit" with you) - but otherwise, don't feed them outside the cage. You want them to return to their cage when hungry.

If your pigeons are living in your bedroom, I would suggest that you consider buying a HEPA air cleaner. It will make the air healthier for you and them.


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