# Sitting in the Rain?



## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

Hey guys! So I have lots of birds, a huge aviary, lots of poultry, and etc, but sadly no pigeons. I have always wanted some but my parents are not hugely into adding a whole new setup for a new animal since they'll have to look after them all when I go off to uni in a couple of years. Anyway, every year the homers pass over and they land on the deck for a drink, and from watching them I have just fallen in love with pigeons. Yesterday a homer landed on the scaffolding of the house we are building, he seemed to want to stay.

Phoned up his owner with the ring number and he said that he was thankful to know the bird was okay, if we didn't want it he would come by take it back but I think he heard the tone in my voice... And he said that it is an old bird so if the bird wanted to stay and we didn't mind, we could keep it. Needless to say I was ecstatic at the prospect, so I took him up a bowl of water and some corn and he scoffed it right out of my hand... When he had had enough I left him alone, and he slept there on the scaffolding over the night. This morning I got up with the light so I was up to tell the builders about him so they didn't scare him off, and he wasn't there. I was a little disappointed and decided to check the rest of the garden (3 acres) and lo and behold found him sitting on the neighbours' roof. He wouldn't come down for food all day, but changed perches a few times, sitting on the house, then our cabin, then his roost on the scaffolding again, and did a few laps of the grounds... But all in all looking very content and calm. I took up some food to his favourite roost again and he definitely had enough to eat and drink, and I'm hoping maybe he'll stick around now.

My problem is that the spot he's chosen is right out in the open. He has shelter from the wind from all sides, but not the rain at all, and he got soaking wet in a downpour that we had earlier. He just sat there and took it. I was thinking of catching him and moving him into a stable, but I figure if he wants to stay (and it is his choice), he'll find a proper place to roost in good time, plus I didn't want to disturb him/scare him off/lose his trust. Will he be okay in the wet? It's not very cold at the moment but I want him to be comfortable. Is there anything I can do to help him? Make a four sided wooden box for him to shelter in maybe? I'm on study leave atm so I have a few of hours to spare tomorrow. Idk, I don't know much about pigeon keeping so I would love some advice on how to give this guy a lovely new home. If he stays the family have agreed we shall get him some friends but that's a whole new ballgame and if so I'll be buying a dovecote and all that anyway probably and I don't want to do all that if he's just going to stick around a few days for a pit stop and then go back home. Thanks guys!


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Thank you for your concern over this lost bird, and for calling the owner and letting him know.

Please get the bird contained.

This is a domestic pigeon and it is used to being housed and fed and out of bad weather. The bird should not be out in the rain, they do bathe but only when they want to and when healthy, it is not an ideal situation for the bird. 

Most important, the bird is a sitting duck for predator attack out there by itself.

Pigeons are safer in numbers. Do build him a predator/weather proof coop and get the bird some friends.

Caring for a lost bird: http://www.pigeon.org/carelostbird.htm *


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## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

Thank you so much for your reply! I have seen domestic pigeons roosting up on houses but yes I assumed since he's a homing pigeon he will hail from a loft. I'm afraid I won't be able to start any real building until the weekend because I have two GCSE exams this week, but I do have an old wooden chicken coop (mite free) and an open top metal run (about 12ft long, 8ft wide, 7ft high) that I could stretch some netting over. Would this suffice until the weekend? I know well how uneasy birds feel when they are low to the ground, but I really want to get him in out of the weather. If I can't keep him in adequate comfort until I can get a permanent home constructed (which might not take place for a week or so) he might as well carry on his course home... If he's roosting on our scaffolding in the rain as opposed to flying on, am I safe to assume he has decided to stick around? Also, if he does end up living with me, would he be better flying free with access to a safe space or will he feel (and be) too vulnerable until he has a flock? Would he be better confined with a little room to fly? Sorry for all of my questions, I am intent on providing a good home for this bird!


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## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

Oh one more thing that I forgot to ask, should I catch him at night like I would a chicken? I don't think I'll have much luck tempting him down into the run, he doesn't seem to like being on the ground.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

As Skyking has said, he isn't safe out there. A hawk or owl or something is going to kill him. He is probably lost. If he knew his way home, he would probably have gone home.
Can you put a ladder up to where he roosts at night. Don't know how high it is. If you put it up ahead of time, at night when he is roosting, You could go up and grab him. Pigeons don't usually fly off in the dark as they can't see well, so that is a good time to do that.


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## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

Thanks Jay, yeah I'll grab him in the dark, I can get up the scaffolding no problem. I've been revising outside all day watching him, he's moved perches a couple of times and was foraging on the ground for a bit, I'm hoping that means he's decided this is his home now. I set up the run and the coop, it'll make a nice home for him until I can do something permanent. I don't have any specialty pigeon mix but I'll get some at the weekend, will he be alright on plain poultry corn until then? And thanks for all your help guys ~


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I wouldn't leave him on poultry corn for long. Way too much corn. Even wild bird seed with a few things added to it would be okay. Maybe some split peas, lentils, safflower seed, and a small amount of brown rice.

Also, don't leave him in a run for long. They are extremely uncomfortable on the ground, especially at night. Also things can dig under.


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

I've seen on the Facebook pigeon rescue group they've trapped many ferals using a cage, string and food to lure them under the cage, cage is propped up on a piece of wood and string attached to it pulled once the bird goes for the food - something tempting like hemp seed. I was amazed when I first saw it but it seems to work well. If you don't fancy a moonlight climb that is.


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## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

Thanks FredaH, I was thinking of doing something like that but I figured I should give it a go at night first in case I scared him off. My moonlight climb was rather pleasant, and I caught him with no worries, I used a muslin net but I think he'd probably just have let me pick him up. This morning when I opened the door to his little coop, after a little while of pondering he walked out and just sat on the floor for ten minutes preening. Then he decided to fly up onto the roof again, he didn't notice the net roof of the run and fluttered against it for a second before landing on one of the perches I put up for him. For another five minutes or so he paced around, not anxious, but obviously frustrated. He didn't launch himself at the mesh like I expected him to, but rather carefully looked for points where he thought he could escape and carefully landed vertically on the sides. I'm quite fluent in bird body language and he was not scared at all, just frustrated that he was contained (until I tried to give him a peanut which was so scary he hopped away from my hand and pinned his eyes). After this brief period he settled down completely, and pecked about on the floor for a minute. He ate a handful of corn out of my hand, before reclining to a perch. Jay3, he is close to to the floor for a bird, but he's not in a rabbit hutch type thing. The run is 6.5' high, 8' wide and 12' long. It's not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but he seems comfortable with the height at least at the moment and is not nervous at all. I used to keep quail in it, so it is heavily fortified with tiny gauge and very thick mesh running under a small layer of dirt and grass. The quail were in there for a couple of years and not even the rats could work their way in. I have some wild bird seed with millet, safflower, hemp, sunflower hearts, etc, which I will mix with some lentils and split peas like you say.

Hopefully this will be an adequate home for him for now which I can then work on improving. I would love for him to be able to be let out for exercise but I assume it will be a while before I can allow that, and I need to do the obvious training him to expect food at the rattle of a can to bring him back in, etc. I'll go and snap a couple of pictures of the setup, if you guys could do a critique and tell me what I can improve, I would be very grateful. Thanks again folks ~


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Thank you for rescuing him! Hope you will post a photo. Hopefully more pigeons will come your way so he will have friends.


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

Aww that's such a lovely ending TLK, he sounds adorable (as all pigeons are) and I bet he steals your heart very soon. I work in A&E and envisaged disaster, lol. Glad you caught him safely - sounds like it went nice and smoothly. 
Thanks for caring for him, he'll reward you ten fold I'm sure. x


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## rpalmer (Mar 10, 2011)

Reading through all you have done and knowing your heart is true I was going to offer you some free birds. Then I saw you were in The UK. I hope someone close to you offers up some pigeons to you. You would be (are) a great credit to the fancy. Best wishes to to you and yours.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Gee, rpalmer...............that was very nice of you. Too bad they are in the UK.


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## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

Thank you so much for all your help so far! Rpalmer, I can't tell you how grateful I am that you would make me an offer like that... It is so kind of you. Maybe I shall have to move to the states and take the pidge with me. Oh that reminds me, I should probably name him... I don't know his racing name so I might need some help 

I've been checking up on him all day, and he looked a little glum to be out of the open air, but otherwise fine. Who knows what was going on inside that mind of his. I am genuinely shocked by how intelligent he is. I have heard and broadcast the cleverness of pigeons, but seeing him in action honestly I think he could rival my parrots. He has tried to escape a couple of times today, flapping against the netting once or twice and pecking at the wire, but it was obvious he was just checking for the sake of it and he knew it was no use, he didn't put in much effort. As I came to the door, however, I could see him imagining how I was going to open the door (as he had seen me do many times before) and give him a chance to get past me, neck stretched and wings poised... and he would have tried if he had not seen the food in my hand, which calmed him down.

It absolutely bucketed it down a little while after that, and I rushed outside to help him inside his coop, but he would not have it. I tried leading him with food, shepherding him with my hands, even physically pushing him lol (once again, this did not scare him, he knew somehow I wasn't trying to eat him, only get in his way)... but no. He always returned to exactly the same spot and sat down in the rain. It wasn't enough for him to actually get wet, it was all running off his glossy feathers, so maybe he was enjoying it on some level.

He got a little anxious again when dusk started setting in, trying to get back up to his roost on the scaffolding. I left him to himself for ten minutes while I was giving the aviary birds their dinner, and when I got back he was inside his little coop, which would have involved walking up a ramp and into a dark wooden box, both of which he had only been in contact with once before. I opened the door to check on him and he was sat down in the straw with his head under his wing looking very content. Once again I was amazed at his intelligence... and bravery ngl... Even my most boisterous cockerel would take a day or two to get used to something like that.

So yeah, basically fredaH, he has stolen my heart . The amount of trust he has put in me, a huge scary predator in a new scary place... I feel honoured. I can't wait until I can improve his housing and get him a friend (or three), but for now my challenge is helping him settle in. I hate confining him against his will but he really doesnt seem frustrated, just that he would prefer to be sat up on the house. So laid back!!! And yeah cwebster, I reckon instead of running a racer B&B I should convert it into a retirement home lol. I understand the draw of the sport: working with the birds, getting to know them as individuals, being the best at the craft, etc... It's sad that so many domestic birds must end up lost in the wild and/or dead though... Hopefully some more of them will find me first!

It's so nice to meet some people who really care about animals, especially pigeons who don't have an especially good rep and deserve so much more than we humans do for them. This little fellah has really inspired me to branch my rescuing out from exotic birds and chickens... maybe I'll have a big flock of rescued pidges someday. Thanks again for all of your help so far... I might need your input for a while longer, hopefully this is just the beginning of my story with this lil' guy, and if it is I'm gonna need help along the way!


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## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

Sorry for the wonky photos, I wasn't sure how to rotate them lol... Oh btw I was assuming 'he' was a cock because of how I've seen him drinking but he hasn't cooed yet. Shall I wait for that to happen/not happen before I brand him with a gender? If anyone is pro enough to sex him from the pictures please do speak up xx


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## donkey (Apr 10, 2016)

Well done mate,its great to see someone helping a bird out like that


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That enclosure isn't safe unless you lock him in the coop at night. Predators can get into the yard, and if the coop is not closed up, then they can get into it.


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## rpalmer (Mar 10, 2011)

Jay3 said:


> Gee, rpalmer...............that was very nice of you. Too bad they are in the UK.


If I had deep pockets I would still do it. Then he could say he had birds from the Colonies


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## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

No worries Jay3, we don't have many predators around here anyway, but the coop has been and will be shut every night at dusk when we close up the chickens. Is the enclosure big enough for him to be comfortable, at least for now? Idk if I should be letting him out to fly or not once he's learned where his roost is. Thanks for bearing with all my noob questions... And rpalmer, it would be great to say my flock hailed from the new world lol


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Could you ring up the owner again to ask for its sex? That'll clear the air better
She's cute.


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## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

She's a girl! I phoned up the owner and he was glad to hear she was in good shape, said he'd wanted to contact me and ask but didn't want to make me feel pressured to catch and house the bird... Very nice bloke indeed. She's been sat in the entrance to her coop for most of today looking very calm. Happily accepted my new mix of wild bird seed with split peas, brown rice and lentils, and just looks content. I haven't seen her drink from the drinker yet but she looks in tip top shape (such a pretty bird) so I'm assuming she has while I haven't been watching.

I'm gonna work on bonding with her now. Any tips? I was thinking slow movements, lots of time spent around her being still, and treats. What do pigeons love to snack on? Do they like mealworms or is their diet completely confined to grains? I've tried both sweetcorn and uncooked unsalted peanuts, she picked them both up and rattled them around in her beak before dropping them again, seems like she doesn't know how to eat things that are so big lol.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Our rescue pigeons like some greens, so we give them a romaine lettuce to chomp on now and then. They destroy it very quickly. 

Another thing they like is sunflower hearts.

Mealworms wouldn't normally be part of their diet, though we get a couple of wild collared (ringneck) doves who come visiting our wild bird feeders and grab the mealworms.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

All pigeons love chopped unsalted peanuts. Chop them up into bite size pieces, and mix them in with her food, so that she will eventually try them. Right now she doesn't even know what they are. After a while she will try them, and when she does, she will love them. Then you can use them as treats.

Letting her fly out alone isn't safe. She will be grabbed by a hawk or something. They are safer in flocks, As there are more eyes to watch for danger.

And predators are everywhere. You just don't notice them.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Yes please don't let her fly alone!


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## TehLizardKing (Sep 15, 2012)

Hey guys! I think she may be a boy ngl... 'She' has been cooing A LOT and drinking without lifting her head up. But anyway, what I came to ask about was should I really be keeping her locked up? She's alright during the day, seems not to mind sitting around too much... but once it gets to evening time she paces around looking for ways to get out, and flies around every so often looking very frustrated. Should I perhaps find a way to raise her coop off the floor? I did think maybe she wants to roost somewhere up higher. She does have perches up high but not a box for sleeping in. Once I've got her used to the sound of me rattling a can, can I let her out for supervised excercise? If it's too risky she will be fine and dandy in her run, I just don't like seeing a bird confined to a small space and unhappy about it. Thanks for all your help so far guys, especially about the food. She isn't into peanuts yet, but I hope she shall give in to temptation soon.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Females drink the same way. It's just that sometimes males will dip their beaks deeper.
Pigeons like being high. It's instinct.


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