# Pet pigeon that left...



## mcrowding (Oct 14, 2005)

I found a pigeon at the airport that had fallen out of its nest. He (I decided it was a boy!) wasn't injured, but he was walking outside the terminal so I figured he'd get hurt or the mother would abandon him and not feed him. 

So I took him home. He was eating right away. He stayed on my shoulder all the time. He followed me around the house. He was just as friendly with my girlfriend.

We figure he was about 20 days old when we found him. He couldn't fly and he still had the yellow feathers on the back of his neck. He was black with white at the wingtips. 

Now we get to the point where he is about a month and a half old, maybe two months old. He could fly like a champ. We took him on walks to the park with us and he'd do his own thing until we got too far away and then he'd fly back to us. We even gave him our bathroom and left the window open so he'd have a place to stay, but could come and go as he wished. In the morning he'd fly somewhere (we just knew it was across the street) and come back under the deck stairs around 9am. 

So a month and a half to two months old and my girlfriend has to leave for work. She's taken him before, but couldn't this one morning. She puts him in the bathroom and he keeps jumping on her shoulder. Finally she gets him to stay and walks outside to the car. He flew down onto the top of the jeep (NOT the car she took to work!) and was there when she left. That's the last time we saw him  For those of you that have had experience with birds as pets...I figure there are two options. One is that he flew back to the airport to be with the other thousand pigeons and find a mate. The second option is that another animal was hungry and I don't want to think about it. 

The airport is less than 5 miles away. I always hear about pigeons going back home. Would he consider my house his home or the airport because he was born there? Is 2 months old too young for him to be leaving "home" and looking for a mate? 

Sorry this was so long, but I just try to look at everything that happened and really hope we weren't bad parents by leaving him open to the dangers of nature. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to keep a wild bird trapped in a cage. Thanks for reading and providing any information or experiences you may have!

Matt
[email protected]


----------



## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Matt, 

Sorry to hear that your pigeon never came home and I doubt he's gone back to the airport where you found him. Sadly, I would assume he was attacked and killed by a predator You have to remember that this was basically a hand reared bird from a fairly early age. He had no street smarts, no true instinct or skill to evade predators because he never had an opportunity to learn this. Even at 2.5 months old, this bird would have still be inexperienced and learning about dangers in the wild.

On the off chance that he's lost, you should perhaps leave the window open where he enters and seed around outside.

Good luck,


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Did he have a band on?

A lot of our members have fbeen approached by tame pigeons that could not be identified and kept them as pets. I hope that is what happened in this case.

Cynthia


----------



## phyll (Mar 15, 2004)

Matt,
I'm sorry about your pigeon.
Check the feral flocks in your area, he just may be there.
There's no harm in checking the area where you found him.
As Brad suggested, leave the window open ~ at least during daylight hours.
I hope he is okay. 
Please let us know if he returns, or if you spot him somewhere.

Phyll


----------



## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Matt, 

Sorry I didn't mean to sound so negative about your poor lost pigeon. By all means, and as Phyll suggested, check around your neighbourhood flocks of pigeons and keep an eye out for him. Inquire and ask around in your neighbourhood if anyone has seen him. He might be close by on a roof somewhere just being stubborn. 

I just wanted to prepare you for the worst case scenario because this is something that happens to many inexperienced birds, wild or not. I do hope he turns up in the coming days unharmed.

I know I would be going crazy if this happened to me and very distraught


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Matt,


I know how this feels, believe me...

He's probably just fine...and has joined friends made in his previous flying forays.

It is the normal, natural thing for them to leave once they feel ready and familiar enough and confident. Some arrive at these self-posessions sooner than others.

They soon find feral pals with whom to learn the ropes and particulars of the wild Life.

Usually, I let mine mingle and associate with the feral flock here before they can fly very well, and in successive social events they assimilate gracefullto into membership with the flock.

Sometimes I have not been so together, and Babys raised indoors here, who become good indoor fliers, while still young certainly, I let them out, carry them out, and "Vrooooom!" they fly off likke a rocket, straight in the direction of the place they came from when little wandering, ill or injured Babys...

So...

He might come back and say 'Hello!' sometime...

Some of mine do...


Don't worry...

Our job is to raise them as best we can so they can make their way in the World.

Sounds like you did fine...


Phil
Las Vegas


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Matt,

I'm sorry to hear about your pet pigeon. I have several pets and the bond is deep, and I know how you must be feeling.

It is possible that a predator may have gotten him, but also possible that he just left and may come back. I have had several youngsters that took off that returned after several days.

If he is familiar with the outside of your house or building, then he may find his way back or hang out with other pigeons at the airport, as pigeons are social creatures.

Sending positive thoughts your way, and hoping for the best outcome!


----------



## mcrowding (Oct 14, 2005)

Thanks everybody for the feedback. Brad...don't worry. I appreciate bluntness and I've known the whole time that it's possible something got him. Unfortunately, there are more pigeons at the airport than all of us have fingers and toes so it will be tough to find him! I am there twice a week so I just walk very slowly hoping he'll come land on my head like he used to! When he would go off on his tangeants he would usually fly in the direction of the airport. I guess I will just have to hope he made it back there and is happy being with his family and friends. I also keep reminding myself that he was happier being free than caged even if it did mean his life was shortened
 Thanks again everyone. It's been close to three weeks since he left. It's hard, but I still leave a window open and still look in the bathroom and under the stairs every morning when I wake up...maybe one of these days I'll have good news. 

When they do come back is it ever after this long or is it hopeless after a couple days?


----------



## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Hi Matt,

It is unfortunate that you may have lost your young pigeon. Last winter when my pet pigeon took flight after seeing a small flock of pigeons near my home,(which is unusual for my particular area) I went running after him and he was just having too much of a good time trying to keep up.( and probably ejoying watching me trying to keep up with him!) and just ignoring me in my efforts to get him to come back to me.Hours had past, and I still had not gotten him back. It was now after school and I had to go to our elementary school and conduct our cub scout meeting,and it was the *longest* hour and a half I can remember in a long time.

My grandson Alex and I walked the streets later that evening and we were very fortunate to find him on top of a roof, alone, and he flew right down to us.He seemed out of breath, was just as happy to see us as we were to get him back.His flying abilities were better than I had thought, especially since he still had a BB pellet imbeded in him from a previous injury, which is how we originially found him. He can only fly for short peiods before getting "winded."


I have read here on this forum that members have had pigeons leave and come back several weeks later, often times with a mate. I hope this comes true for you too. 

If you get him back, I am sure there are some things that will change especially when he does his flight exercises. Sometimes hard experiences is the best teacher. Good luck to you and hope you a second chance as we did.


----------



## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Matt,

Sending best wishes to you that your bird returns....sorry you are going through such worry and uncertainty....best of luck to you.

Linda


----------



## alaska (Mar 17, 2005)

Fingers crossed you pet pigeon returns to you and is out there searching for a mate, or just hanging around with his family.
I have known a few people that lost birds in similar situations and they eventually did return weeks later, so it still is possible, however your pet pigeon may have taken up permanent residency with a mate somewhere else and may be living a happy life there aswell.
Please keep us informed if he ever shows up around you again 
Regards
Alaska


----------



## Girl (Mar 3, 2005)

mcrowding said:


> For those of you that have had experience with birds as pets...I figure there are two options. One is that he flew back to the airport to be with the other thousand pigeons and find a mate. The second option is that another animal was hungry and I don't want to think about it.


Hi mcrowding, I hope you pj is doing well and that it was the first option that happened. I don't want to think about it either if it was the second.

Don't feel bad, it happened to me too. See my post - "Sweet's little adventure - or my worse fears!" 

You'd be surprised, Sweets chose to stay close by and I mean close by as in on the balcony of the penthhouse apartment next door which is on the 8th floor and our apartment is on the second floor. I was so surprised that he could even go that high up considering that he is hand raised or know well enough to stay close by since we have never let him out of the apartment before that incident. I didn't find him till the next day. 

If you believe that he is around, look around the buildings near your home, pigeons like high places i.e. roof tops, balconies etc. Sweets could not recognise me from the penthhouse balcony, I had to go to him up onto the 8th floor instead before he flew to me. 



mcrowding said:


> We took him on walks to the park with us and he'd do his own thing until we got too far away and then he'd fly back to us. We even gave him our bathroom and left the window open so he'd have a place to stay, but could come and go as he wished. In the morning he'd fly somewhere (we just knew it was across the street) and come back under the deck stairs around 9am.


I don't want to raise your hopes but keep a look out for the place he often flys to, like you said, across the street.

Goodluck!


----------

