# Need caging suggestions for indoor pet pigeon!



## missmadison (Jun 19, 2009)

Hello everyone...its been ages since I've posted on here (or any forums). I've spent the summer rehabilitating many injured and orphaned wild birds - including lots of pigeons! At one point this summer, we had over 300 baby birds. Anyway, the season is finally winding down and I am rethinking my own pigeon's caging arrangement. It's just *not* working!

So I have a 1 year old female pigeon who lives in a large rectangular cage. It's only 18x36, but she spends most of her time out of it. She is an egg layer and her droppings are usually _extremely_ messy. The problem is that she only poops when she comes out of her cage (so I have to be ready with a huge piece of newspaper, or spend forever cleaning up the carpet.) She also sometimes poops outside through the cage bars...needless to say, it's a pretty messy situation. 


Does anyone have any great ways to keep a pet pigeon in a carpeted room without having a huge mess? Flight suits? I was even thinking of building a cage with a hole in the floor (where there would be a tray underneath) so she might poop into the hole. Any ideas? What do you all do?

Although space is pretty limited, I would like to both get her a bigger 'home' and let her spend more time out.Pictures of indoor pigeon accommodations would be especially helpful!! Thanks!


----------



## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

Do you have perch points inside the cage. A couple of horizontal wooden planks/bars (1.5" - 2" wide) along the length or width of the bottom at a height from the cage floor might cause her to poop in the nest itself. If it works out then its the simplest way 

300 baby birds !!! you might have been very busy, very satisfied also


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Get rid of the Carpet ( for lots of reasons). Just have a bare Concrete or Linoleum or some kind of easy to clean floor.

Make a poop-boarder around her Cage, lined with Paper Towel, so when she is in the Cage, she can have a place for her poops to go, which are easy for you to clean up.


----------



## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Thank you for all your efforts on behalf of the birds!

Most hens have a strong instinct to move far away from the nest to drop their large poops. Try to arrange a suitable perch for her to go to and make the space underneath easy to clean. Things go a lot easier if you can cooperate with their natural tendencies.


----------



## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

18x36x???? I cannot tell if your cage is tall or short.....

I would agree with PDP....you have 2 choices if her tendency is to poop away from her cage (i.e. roost):

Change the flooring material (maybe you don't have the luxury)...or, as you said, get a poop suit.....


----------



## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to have a hen wearing a "diaper" while she's egg sitting.

Since you do have carpeting, have you tried "Nature's Miracle?" Available at pet stores and possibly other stores. Really *great* for cleaning stains and getting rid of odors!

Hope this helps, missmadison!

Love and Hugs

Shi/MR. Squeaks/Dom/Gimie/WoeBeGone/Rae Charles


----------



## jenfer (Jan 7, 2008)

I'm not a fan of flight suits either. Can you line the areas she's most likely to poop in (near/around her cage?) with butcher paper or similar?


----------



## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

jenfer said:


> I'm not a fan of flight suits either. Can you line the areas she's most likely to poop in (near/around her cage?) with butcher paper or similar?


Actually, Jenfer, I agree with you about "flight suits." Took me THREE times to find one big enough for Squeaks. The size for pigeons was too small.

*However,* I am a very enthusiastic fan of Boni's PGWear!! Boni is one of our members, who developed a *better* "diaper." She takes the guess work out of the size because you take certain measurements of your bird(s) and they are custom-made for them. You also have a wide variety of designs from which to choose! They are easy to put on and use less material than the Flight Suits. She also makes hers out of cotton.

For those who have "house" pijies, they can be a godsend!

Squeaks was one of her original "testers" and Squeaks and I gave a BEAK and TWO THUMBS up for her work!!

Here is her website to check them out. Squeaks is modeling his Super Power Pigeon (*SPPs*) cape in one of her links!

www.birdwearonline.com

Love and Hugs

Shi and the gang


----------



## Billy-jake (Jan 17, 2010)

Hi
I find baby wipes to be fantastic for picking up poops, even if you accidentally squish them into your carpet, you can just 'rub out' the stain.
I can always keep the packet nearby as well, so it's much more convenient than running for the spray bottle and sponge.
Also, for an idea, cling film around the bottom part of the cage could help with any splatters at least.


----------



## Jeannine (Sep 10, 2010)

You can make a cage out of grids...I use them for my guinea pigs - we call them C&C = Cubes & Coroplast...
http://lucentreflection.com/content/theGarden/guineaPig/GPB-cc.htm


----------

