# Anxious Hypochondriac Adopts Pigeon for the First Time



## ChavaSara613 (Nov 19, 2017)

Hi! I'm new here and I just adopted (well bought really) a young white pigeon. I had a cage and food and had read lots of things on Google and thought about it for months, but it's been approximately one hour since I brought him home and I'm already worried sick (which might be a record).

The pet shop owner said that he (the pigeon) had bugs and would need to be sprayed, but that I should probably wait until he was a bit older for that. Carried him home in a cardboard box and put him in his cage. He immediately 'went to the bathroom', thus giving me the opportunity to begin worrying about whether his stool was too watery. I gave him a cereal bowl lined with a towel for a nest, but he's lying on the floor of the cage instead and he hasn't eaten or drunk anything and he's blinking a lot (sometimes at me). Sometimes it seems like he's dozing off or sleeping sometimes with one eye open and his head cocked funny. I don't know if that means he's relaxed or sick or what. It has taken me less than one hundred minutes to become overprotective. Way to go.

I've been talking to him quietly and I did just try rubbing his chest a little. He didn't seem alarmed, just kind of sat and watched me.

I'd like the believe that the watery stool is nothing, that the blinking/one-eye dozing means he's relaxed, and that he'll eat when he's hungry. Can somebody advise me?? I'm sure that after a little while of this I'll feel less hysterically nervous...


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## ChavaSara613 (Nov 19, 2017)

Oh and also hello! Very happy to be here and looking forward to long years with a pet pigeon! I'm sure I'll stop panicking after the first week lol


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## bootface (Jun 29, 2017)

How old is he? Can you post a picture? If the pet store sold you an animal with mites, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was also sick. Watery droppings could be from stress, but you’ll want to deworm him soon anyway.


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## ChavaSara613 (Nov 19, 2017)

The pet store owner referred to him as a "baby," but he's got all his adult feathers and everything. He's eating and drinking a little now, so I feel reassured.

Edit: added pic, sorry I don't know how to make it smaller and right side up


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Lovely bird! Congrats and welcome to PT. Over time the anxiety decreases and the fun increases as you learn all about these wonderful creatures.


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

Aww what a lovely bird. Just let him settle for a few days and get used to you, obviously you'll have to stress him a bit just by sparing and worming him but he'll get over it. If you want to be sure he's a male you can have him DNA tested - you have to send half a dozen freshly plucked feathers for that, nip out singular ones from the chest area with a finger and thumb and post them off. I've just done this with one of mine and the bird hardly flinched, if you do it quickly.
I get mine done with this same company in the UK
http://www.animalgenetics.us/Avian/Avian-Index.asp


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Hi, and calm down. I would wit to worm him as they should be 4 months old before worming, unless really necessary. You will need to spray him right away though, with a spray that you probably could have gotten at the shop. He doesn't look sick, so don't worry about that unless given reason to believe that he is. As far as the watery droppings, that would be very normal as he would be nervous from being moved to a new place in a box. Just go slow with him and give him time to get used to you. 
Get him a good pigeon/dove mix, to which you can add other things to make it better for a pigeon, like some lentils and split peas that you find in the market with the dry things to make soup with. And he will need some good pigeon grit, and something for calcium/D3. Vitamins would be good. He probably won't use a nest, as most don't unless they are laying eggs and trying to nest. They do like a shelf a bit higher than the cage floor to roost on. The cage should be large enough for him to be able to flap his wings in, and wider than higher. Freda has some nice cages for her birds and will probably post pictures of them. They are also nice because of the sides so that feed doesn't fly so much Pigeons love to toss seed as they search for their favorite ones, so can be messy. Also keep the cage up on a table or something. Not on the floor. They instinctively feel more secure up higher. He will feel safer and more relaxed. They also like to have a couple of sides of the cage covered for a bit of privacy. A place to go to when he wants to feel more by himself, instead of just all open to the room. He's adorable. We will be interested in knowing how you both are doing. 

What are you feeding him now? He may not eat for a couple of days if nervous about a new home. I would keep him in the cage for a couple of days just to settle down and feel more comfortable in his new home. Then he will need a couple of hours out of cage time daily, at least for exercise and companionship.


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

I use indoor rabbit cages, they're very roomy and the tray is deep and easy to clean - no seeds thrown outside the cage either. Plenty of room for a pair of pigeons and at the moment I have a chick in with parents too, he's heavier than mum and dad and almost as big. Ferals are quite big but there's plenty of room for wing flapping.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Thanks for the pics Freda.


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## ChavaSara613 (Nov 19, 2017)

Thanks!! I actually have no idea if he's male or female (pet shop owner, who specializes in pigeons, said it was too soon to tell), but I'm defaulting to 'he' out of habit. I have grit with calcium in it and seed for pet doves, and luckily I read ahead of time about putting his cage in a corner. It's on a table and has two shelves above the bottom .

I'm feeding him Vita Sunscription Dove & Pigeon diet, and he is eating, so false alarm. Sorry! I think I freaked over nothing . The cage I have is on the small side, so when I'm awake and at home I'm covering the dining table with newspaper and letting him sit on it. It's only a couple of feet from his cage, and I give him food and water. He seems pretty chill, preening and napping a little.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement!


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

As he’s an indoor bird he will still need added calcium and D3 supplement even though calcium is in the grit. He needs D3 in order to absorb the calcium because he isn’t exposed to unfiltered sunlight. I use a good quality grit for mine but I still add ZolcalD3 to their water a couple of times a week, one hen I give direct dosage to because she still doesn’t get enough even with it in her water and the grit - I can tell by her soft eggs that she doesn’t get what’s required through the other channels. Here we have ZolcalD3 or Calcivet and where you are I believe it’s called Calciboost.


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## ChavaSara613 (Nov 19, 2017)

The feed I have says it has added D3 (880 IU/kg). Do you think that's enough? I'm planning to take him to the vet tomorrow, so I'll probably ask him about it. I'm very lucky, there's a nearby avian vet who actually owns a ringneck dove himself, so he must know. Thanks for pointing that out!


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