# Sonic was wild



## sonic (Jun 5, 2005)

About 3 months ago my husband saved a baby pigeon. We feed, water and interacted by talking with him...or maybe her. We decided about the 2nd month to allow the pigeon to be free. We opened up the cage and Sonic flew about the neighborhood all day. Returning at dusk to the shed in front of his cage. Since the first flight, he as taken about 7 or 8. Sonic returns each evening only now the pigoen does return to his cage. One day it was getting later than when Sonic usually returns. We sat on our back porch and called for him. I was so amazed when he came and landed on the porch rail. It sounds kinda of weird but there are times when Sonic comunicates with us...the way he looks at you, or holds his feathers. You can read what he wants. 

Sonic will hang out with us, but will not let us touch or hold him. And I certainly do not want to get aggressive and scare him away. I have so many questions, as this is the first time my family has ever experinced an animal like this. 

How can you tell the sex? What about training the pigeon to come to you? What do they eat? We feed Sonic local bought bird seed, crackers, oreo cookies.

If any one could give us info that would be wonderful...Thank you


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Sonic looks beautiful. It is a good thing that he maintains his distance, it is dangerous for free flying birds to trust human beings.

Wild birdseed is fine but there are also pigeons mixes that have the right balance of seeds in them and you might want to try those. I would drop the oreos!  YOu can also provide a separate dish of mineral grit/oyster shell grit.

It is difficult to identify a pigeon's gender until you see it interacting with a another pigeon of the opposite sex.

Cynthia


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Sonic,

I see that you used your bird's name for your online name. So did I.

Pidgey was a rescued bird that had gotten lost from the nest about a week before she could fly. We fed her and kept her in a box. She soon believed that we were her parents and what a happy family! We began to train her to live with the other pigeons by taking her to a place where many of them congregated. She would fly up with them for several minutes or an hour. When we started to leave she would fly back down to us. She got used to that place and that routine, but she'd go home with us every night. 

One Saturday morning, I was taking a bath and she was perching on the windowsill up above me. It was a cottage window that opened right up and there was no screen. She apparently saw a couple of pigeons fly over and she flew up to join them. She got lost. She had never learned to "home" to the house. We went to the place where we always took her and couldn't find her. Searched the whole neighborhood (she has distinctive coloring). It rained that night.

It was the evening of the next day when we finally were reunited at the normal place. When we got home she started squeaking at the top of the stairs and led us into the darkened bathroom. Pidgey NEVER went into a dark room on her own. I turned the light on and followed her in. She kept squeaking as she was walking along and then jumped up on the rail of the bathtub.

It came to me then as clear as day that she was retracing her steps of the day before and trying SO hard to "tell" us the story. She hopped up on the windowsill and I'd swear that she was crying as she was squeaking. She told us, somehow, as to how she'd thought she'd have such a fun time with those other pigeons and then she'd gotten PLUM LOST.

That night, she perched on the closet door and watched us sleeping. In the middle of the night, I got up to go the bathroom and when I got back, Lin said, "Pidgey panicked--she's been looking for you and squeaking terribly." I gave her a reassuring hug and put her back up on the closet door.

She flew back down.

I put her back up.

Back down.

Oh, well...

She slept between us the rest of the night--as close as she could get!

Yes. They're a lot smarter than we think, and more like us than we can comprehend. She's still with us and that's been five years. Of course, she lives out in the loft and leads her own life by now...

But she certainly was "our little girl" back then!

Pidgey


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Hi Pidgey,

Loved reading your touching story...so precious to hear how attached Pidgey was to you. Can just imagine, she was so glad to have found her way home, she was not going to let you out of her sight!

Thanks
Linda


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## photokev (Apr 15, 2005)

*i hear ya!*

Your story mirrors mine and so many others. Over the last months I've had a new house guest too. Like your sonic, homie has become an important part of my life as well as the other animals that share my loft. Attatched is a photo of homie and his pal, a non releasable dove named chicken...


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## sonic (Jun 5, 2005)

Wow! What a great story. Today I was sick with a horrible headache due to my allergies. My husband let Sonic out. Sonic stayed on the front porch just about all day watching me while I lay on the couch. I left the door open hoping maybe he would come in.....But then I was afraid he/she would try to come in when the door was closed. So I closed the big door. Sonic is such a neat bird. Thank you all for your wonderful stories and info. Besides the oreo cookies, I guess I am doing everything correct.


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