# Question damaged wing, and hand raised pigeon's ability to survive



## Charlotte (Oct 30, 2009)

Can a hand raised pigeon, from 10 days old, who is now about 1 1/2 years, be turned out with other pigeons and survive? We did attempt to turn her out when she was about 5 mos. old, but she would not fly away, she kept coming back to our shoulders. She has layed several eggs, and seems that she would be happier with other pigeons. Also I have one whose wing was injured, we taped it, but it still hangs down further than the other, and he doesn't fly very good, we've had him a little over a month, and now the weather is bad, and I'm not even sure he would be able to fly well enough to be turned loose. I don't want to put these two together in a cage and kept in the house, as I think it is a good possiblity that the one which had /has the broken wing could be a male. Ideally I would like to find a home for them where they could fly out and about, but still have some care from people. Is this a possible senairo? Thanks for the help.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

No. Both the Pigeons you told us about are not releasable.
The two may find comfort in each other although you can't just put them together and expect everything to be OK. Acceptance can take months, even. If they should mate, just replace the eggs with wooden ones. The Pigeons won't know the difference and you won't have babies to worry about. It's a win/win for all involved.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Hi Charlotte,
Best solution for these two birds is adoption.
Handraised baby does not know how to forage for food, fend from danger and interact with wild pigeons. These are things they learn from parents.
Bird with damaged wing will not be able to compete with other birds and will become prey quickly.
You can either keep them in cage together, as pigeons can live hapily caged and be wonderful pets, or give them for adoption to someone who will keep them in small aviary.
You can post their pictures and hope that they will find good home.


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