# New to Pigeon Ownership With Questions



## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

Hey Everyone --

I recently adopted a beautiful white homing pigeon (the kind they use in professional white dove release ceremonies) from the local humane society. It was kind of funny how I met my little baby actually.

--Background--

My mom and I had decided on 04/22/2012 to go to the humane society just for the heck of it to see the animals they had; kind of like window shopping. Upon entering the lobby, I saw the poor little guy in his cage, looking around for a way out. Our eyes locked and he cocked his head as if to say, "Mama?"

Mom and I approached the cage and we knelt down so that we didn't look so intimidating to him. As I was admiring the bird (named "Pretty" at the time by the humane hociety staff,) my mom quipped, "Archimedes! No! It's filthy in there!" -- a line from the youtube video "Meet the Medic," one of Valve Software's videos for their Team Fortress 2 game (I won't post the link to the video here due to the cartoon violence; however, I do suggest looking it up because it's hysterically funny.) The bird then cocked head and looked on as if to say, "Yes! I'm Archimedes! Can I come home with you now please mama? PLEASE?!"

The next thing I knew, I found myself signing the adoption agreement and little Pretty, now known as Archimedes, was mine. The only problem was getting him home, as when I had tried to retrieve him from the cage, he got spooked by the staff and flew into the rafters. I had to wait until the next day (which was a good thing, because I was able to go home and get my carrying cage to bring him home rather than a cardboard box), along with giving me time to set up his new cage and get food/water for him.

Upon coming home, the first thing I did was clip the wings to prevent him from going nuts and flying all over the place, especially since he was going to be a house pet exclusively and I didn't want him to get in trouble. I let him back in his cage but he kept looking at me as if expecting something. I finally took him out of his cage, and he snuggled into my chest as if he had been waiting for some quiet time with me after all he had been through.

-- End Background --

Needless to say, a month has passed and he's not happy unless he's on my shoulder, and will sit all day there and especially loves to watch me work (I work from home). He also loves to be scratched behind the ears and under his beak.

And, as much as I love him (and apparently he loves me) I want to ensure the best for my little dear, even though he can get a little fussy sometimes (case in point, I woke up and went downstairs this morning without saying hello, which made him upset. He figured out how to undo his cage door just so he could escape and come looking for me, and when I went back to the room to find out what's going on, he let me scoop him up and buried himself into my chest for a good 15 minutes before jumping onto my shoulder).

That all said, I've had experience with birds before (2 cockatiels, a baby pigeon I raised until he flew away, and a baby sparrow I rescued from an apartment pool and kept for about 4 days until I took him to a wildlife rescue) but never a pigeon in full time. I know how the diet for a cockatiel is but I am not very familiar with the diet of a pigeon.

I read the guidelines on this forum for a pigeon mix, and they mentioned something about a feed store -- unfortunately I'm not sure if I have a feed store in my area. I actually created my own mix using the following two bird foods, and he seems to adore it. This is what I use:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754232&lmdn=Bird
The "Garden Veggie" Nutriberries for Parrots -- But what I do is carefully break 10-12 "berries" up using a mortar and pestle so that they become little chunks for him to eat easier with. He seems to adore the little green vitamin pellets especially, which is odd because I've never known a bird to like pellets before.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11147237
All Living Things Dove and Quail Blend Wild Bird Food -- The staple of his diet that I mix in with the crushed nutriberries, and also what the humane society was feeding him.

My question is, are these foods okay? I cross checked the ingredients with the guides on here and to me they looked comparable, but I'm new to all this so I want to be sure.

As far as grit, this is what I use exclusively:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11147389&lmdn=Bird

As I understand from reading a book on doves, this is the best kind of grit because it's digestable unlike sand or charcoal which could hurt a bird. I keep this readily available in his cage and he'll eat a little from time to time.

As far as the cage? Well, that... I did mess up on: I bought him one meant more for cockatiels and love birds, but he seems to be fine in it. And with the way he is more happy on my shoulder, it's really more or less a place for him to sleep in at night and during the day when my shoulder gets tired.

All in all, am I doing okay by Archimedes?

Oh! I almost forgot! Here's a pic of my little sweetie:









It was taken by my phone camera... I know it's not the most professional shot in the world. -_-

And one last thing: I really don't know if he's male or if it's a female; I plan on getting a DNA test done on him when I can afford it. He seems to exhibit both make and female style behaviors (at least, the behaviors I've seen on the internet) so I really can't tell for sure.


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

Archimedes is gorgeous! I say that whether the lovely thing is a he or a she. I don't think they care, as our ringneck dove, DeeDee, turned out to be male, and he doesn't care that his name sounds girly.

Achimedes seems to behave just like DeeDee. It's amazing how sweet and cuddly they can be, isn't it?


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## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

Absolutely. He loves to peck at my hair and groom it too.

That's why I want to make sure I give him only best of the best, well, him and all my pets. I just hope I'm feeding him the right stuff. He seems to love the mix, and has gained quite a bit of weight since I started feeding him the nutriberry/wild bird diet. A little tiny bit overweight actually.


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## nycpigeonlady (Jan 22, 2012)

Your bird is beautiful and sounds like a real sweetheart. 

Since they are descended from cliff rather than tree dwelling inhabitants, pigeons prefer perching on flat surfaces like ledges rather than branches or rods like other birds. So you may want to put a brick or something of that nature in his cage - it will also help keep his nails trim. 

Grit of the right type cannot hurt a pigeon - they need it to help with digestion. The oyster shell is a great source of calcium and you should keep giving it, but precisely because it is digestible you need to get him some that isn't - like red pigeon grit - to store in the gizzard and grind down the seeds.


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## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

Oh... I didn't know that. I read in a dove book that using anything other than oyster shell can cause intestinal blockages.

Where do I find red pigeon grit? Or, would a store brand one with the sand/charcoal/etc be ok for him too?

Also, I forgot to mention this in my last post: should I also get him a cuttlebone? His beak looks like it's overgrowing a slight bit, at least to me.

As far as the brick, I plan on that when I can get him a better cage. I bought a fir perch that's a little wider for him to be more comfortable in the mean while. To compensate further he's out of his cage and on my shoulder a lot so that his feet don't get so tired.


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

DeeDee is enamored of my hair, too. Unfortunately, he also tries to "mate" with me by rubbing himself on my hair, so he and I have this not-so-fun game when he gets on my head and gets excited. I take him off, he gets back on, I take him off, he gets back on....this can go on and on and on. Eventually, I just put him in his cage. My husband thinks it's hysterical, but I do NOT! HE can laugh as he HAS no hair! I don't mind him grooming it, but the other? Nope....

He loves to lay on my chest while I watch tv, and I cradle one hand over him while I scritch his head and neck and rub under his beak. He reciprocates by preening my fingers. He'll be perfectly content to do that for an hour or so at a time.

Does yours like to chase your fingers when you're typing? I've had DeeDee erase e-mails as fast as I type them, the little stink...and I get a LOT of odd undecipherable characters added to messages.

We bought him a 6'x6'x4' aviary to put him in outside sometimes during the day so he can get fresh air and sunshine, but we need to do some alterations to it before we use it. We were using his small travel cage and he broke off all his tail feathers! He looks very odd right now and I'll be glad when they grow back!

I hope you have a long and wonderful relationship with Archimedes. It has certainly been rewarding having DeeDee around. I've never had a bird before, so he has been a constant surprise.


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## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

He doesn't chase my fingers; he loves to watch the screen as I type. Every once in a while he likes to sit in my hand and let me pet him, or sit on my chest. He prefers the shoulder though, and sometimes will crawl all over my back or jump on my head (where my headset is) and do a happy dance. He also likes to peck on my headset when a particularly nasty customer is on the phone. He hasn't tried to mate with me or anything (yet) but I'm sure that will come someday.


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

They're all such individuals. 

DeeDee also loves to chase feet. Any feet, but especially feet that have either only socks or that have shoes with bows or some ornamentation on them. When my granddaughter (who is five) is here, she runs through the house laughing as DeeDee runs after her, wings flapping and laughing HIS little head off. It's hilarious.


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## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

He doesn't do that either, but when he does jump off my shoulder and on the floor he loves to play a chasing game, though I always seem to be the one who chases him around. When he's done he'll let me pick him up.

He's especially cute when he isn't being chased and simply walks around. He struts around and holds his head really high, looking around a little bit before walking along, bobbing his little head like he doesn't have a care in the world, which he doesn't.

In any case, have you taken a look at the foods I've been giving him DeeDee's Mom? Are they good enough for him?

Also, I found two types of grit near my local pet store: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753601 and http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752073. I looked up Red Pigeon grit online and I really don't need a 50lb bag, so will any of these do?


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

Cougarmint said:


> He doesn't do that either, but when he does jump off my shoulder and on the floor he loves to play a chasing game, though I always seem to be the one who chases him around. When he's done he'll let me pick him up.
> 
> He's especially cute when he isn't being chased and simply walks around. He struts around and holds his head really high, looking around a little bit before walking along, bobbing his little head like he doesn't have a care in the world, which he doesn't.
> 
> ...



They really don't have a care in the world. LOL.

As for the foods, I'm as much in the dark as you, I'm afraid. That's why I was asking for suggestions, too.


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## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

Well, I figure that as long as he's eating it (and gaining good weight), he should be okay. I plan to get other Nutriberries too and mix an entire variety for him as time passes on.

I also have a sample of parrot pellets given to me by my vet (he gave me a foraging pack filled with different nutriberries and stuff; that's how I found out he liked the garden veggie flavor) that have vitamins and minerals that were suggested by others. I may grind those up and give them to him too just to see how they do for him -- I don't want it to go to waste. It couldn't hurt to try.


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

Cougarmint said:


> Well, I figure that as long as he's eating it (and gaining good weight), he should be okay. I plan to get other Nutriberries too and mix an entire variety for him as time passes on.
> 
> I also have a sample of parrot pellets given to me by my vet (he gave me a foraging pack filled with different nutriberries and stuff; that's how I found out he liked the garden veggie flavor) that have vitamins and minerals that were suggested by others. I may grind those up and give them to him too just to see how they do for him -- I don't want it to go to waste. It couldn't hurt to try.


Maybe I should try those, too.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I would change the perching and grit for now..and you may want to get him a bigger cage..or a dog kennels seems to work well.. a shelf for him to sit on would be better.. they are from cliff dwelling areas and a flat surface suits them better, they are different than hookbill birds so the cuttle bone would have to be crushed up.. pigeons and doves are close but pigeons need the different perching and at some point perhaps a nest box so they can play house.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Pigeons love to bathe, give him some sunshine and bath and watch him clean himself.

He needs a rough block to sit on also, to get those nails filed down.

a drop of organic apple cider vinegar in his water will keep his gut PH where it should be and keep bad bacteria away.

Please see our resources forum for threads on pet pigeons.


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## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

Thank you all for your comments. I'll definately look into the shelf idea when I get the chance to and change his grit to something a little better suited for him when I get paid again next. I plan on getting a little nesting cup too eventually.

Actually, I had in mind something like this: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11107663 for the perch since it would fit the cage with how small it is, or perhaps maybe http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753965 since it would be easy to clean and yet act just like a brick without the added weight of one (so long as I don't configure the stones like they have them setup in the picture.)

If I'm wrong on both counts, please let me know.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

The perch should not be edilble...he will only poop on it..so a wood shelf is best..the rocks look ok, but something more stable would be better..a brick in the bottom of the cage would be more stable...or wait and do that when you get a bigger set up.

a little nesting cup is not for pigeons.. their nest bowls are at least 9 inches wide.


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## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

Ah... okay. I will look for a brick that will fit the cage. As far as the nesting stuff I will have to wait on that since the cage is so small.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If you can't find pigeon feed, a dove feed, to which you can add lentils, split peas, a bit of safflower and a bit of brown rice will do. Maybe some unpopped popcorn as well.


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## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

Hmm... most of what you mentioned is what is in the wild dove food I found at my local store. I mix the nutriberries in for the extra vitamins. The only thing it doesn't have is the brown rice, and I can get that at the local grocery store.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Dove mix usually could use more peas or split peas. And lentils are good too, and most pigeons like them. Most dove mixes have a lot more smaller seeds in them, a few of the larger things. These other things added do help a lot.


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## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

May I ask what number is written on the ring?


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## Cougarmint (May 21, 2012)

Jay3 -- Now that you mention it, he doesn't seem to like the tiny seeds all that much. I'll look into the stuff you suggested and see what works best for him. I know he likes the corn, peas, and the little green pellets the most.

Dima -- Good question. It doesn't have anything on it other than "22" printed on both sides, on a plastic green band. Even the vet couldn't tell me where to trace it back. All I know is that when I adopted him from the Kitsap Humane Society they said they found him somewhere in snohomish or squacomish county -- I don't remember which.


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