# Unsure of my pigeons



## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

I have 2 rescue pigeons, which happened to be a pair. They have laid eggs 2 weeks ago and have been nesting since, even if I replaced them with plastic ones. Because of the nesting, they basically spend most of their time alone, since one is on the nest and the other up and about. 

The male, which has been the first pigeon we had, has reverted to a lot of his behaviour before we got him a mate. He spends a lot of time with us and is generally very bound to us. Sleeps with us too, and stays up late until we go to sleep (he had stopped doing that when he got a mate and went to sleep with her rather early). The female - she's called Honey - has never been very tame, even if she was hand fed. We never insisted on making her tamer either, since right after the quarantine time, we let her spend time with Coil - our male, and they just went and did their own thing. She was a lot tamer when she was spending time with him though.

The problem is she's spending a lot of time on the window sill with the ferals from outside and frets along it as if she wants to get out. When they fly, she tries to do same, and she bumped herself on the window. It has been a particularly harsh and long winter, and I fed the ferals, so they are used to come and ask for food. I noticed one of them courting Honey through the window. She's also became even less friendly to us than she already was. I fear I'm just making her life miserable, basically keeping her caged. She obviously wants to go with the other pigeons from outside. 

Problem is Coil has no interest in other pigeons or the outside. He is also very tame, easy to pick up. He goes happily to sit on people's heads. 

So what do I do? It breaks my heart to see her bumping on the window or just fretting alongside it, trying to be with the others.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

How old was she when you got her? Are they releasable now?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Sounds like Coil is dependent now on people. The female however isnt quite domesticated yet. Not sure releasing them is a good idea. Am surprised since the female has laid eggs that she isnt mostly interested in Coil and not the ferals.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

I got Coil last year, sometimes in september. He was eating on his own, or so we thought, but we didn't know what they eat, and we fed him millet for a couple of weeks, until we tried to release him - which didn't work, we picked him up with a bad leg. He healed, but he also had a chest infection of some sorts, and he needed shots. All in all, he's been a slow developer, probably because we didn't know much about pigeons. He looked about 3 weeks old when we got him. He wasn't flying. He started being very attached to me @December, and I wanted to get him a mate.

Honey we got in December from somebody that found her one evening on the sidewalk. She looked younger than Coil looked when we got him, barely had any feathers, maybe @2 weeks old? She was pretty lucky, she wouldn't have survived the night, it was well under -10 Celsius those days. She had a wound on the back and did not eat on her own. We fed her a mush made of seed and bound with vitamin water and a bit of walnut oil. After about a week she was also eating alone frozen peas. We kept her into quarantine about 2-3 weeks, she had been for a week at the person that brought her to me. She was also kept caged during this time, because I was afraid Coil would attack her (also because quarantine). She was friendly to us when she was small, usually taking cover on one of us if she was getting scared by Coil - but they warmed up to each other pretty fast, and they have been spending most of their time together ever since. She was a far faster development than Coil - started flying almost off the bat - whereas Coil didn't fly much before she started doing it. 

They are both adults now, but I don't think Coil is releasable, he is way too friendly with people. She sometimes has bouts of friendliness, but mostly she keeps the distance. She is more friendly when he is around too. I hand feed them both a few hemp seeds - which they are crazy about (literally, wing twitching and all). Thing is Coil still coos at me occasionally - and tries to mate with my hand or feet - maybe she got jealous/lost interest in him? Maybe she finds him too weird and "human like"?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Saphira said:


> I got Coil last year, sometimes in september. He was eating on his own, or so we thought, but we didn't know what they eat, and we fed him millet for a couple of weeks, until we tried to release him - which didn't work, we picked him up with a bad leg. He healed, but he also had a chest infection of some sorts, and he needed shots. All in all, he's been a slow developer, probably because we didn't know much about pigeons. He looked about 3 weeks old when we got him. He wasn't flying. He started being very attached to me @December, and I wanted to get him a mate.
> 
> Honey we got in December from somebody that found her one evening on the sidewalk. She looked younger than Coil looked when we got him, barely had any feathers, maybe @2 weeks old? She was pretty lucky, she wouldn't have survived the night, it was well under -10 Celsius those days. She had a wound on the back and did not eat on her own. We fed her a mush made of seed and bound with vitamin water and a bit of walnut oil. After about a week she was also eating alone frozen peas. We kept her into quarantine about 2-3 weeks, she had been for a week at the person that brought her to me. She was also kept caged during this time, because I was afraid Coil would attack her (also because quarantine). She was friendly to us when she was small, usually taking cover on one of us if she was getting scared by Coil - but they warmed up to each other pretty fast, and they have been spending most of their time together ever since. She was a far faster development than Coil - started flying almost off the bat - whereas Coil didn't fly much before she started doing it.
> 
> They are both adults now, but I don't think Coil is releasable, he is way too friendly with people. She sometimes has bouts of friendliness, but mostly she keeps the distance. She is more friendly when he is around too. I hand feed them both a few hemp seeds - which they are crazy about (literally, wing twitching and all).* Thing is Coil still coos at me occasionally - and tries to mate with my hand or feet - maybe she got jealous/lost interest in him? Maybe she finds him too weird and "human like"?*


*
*

They don't think that way I don't think. I think it is natural for her to see other pigeons and want to go out with them. They are flock birds after all.
If released into this flock she may do alright, but if she just flew away and didn't join into the flock, she wouldn't survive on her own out there. I think she is acting normally when seeing the other pigeons outside.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

That has been my thought too - they are flock birds, and she is most of the time alone now. Am I making her miserable?
If it was just about her, I would attempt releasing her - maybe hoping she will come back to eat. She has the right instincts of fleeing with the others. I don't think I would manage to catch her, if I tried (never did, but sometimes I coax her to hop on my arm when I want to move her).

But what would happen with him? He is the exact opposite in what proper pigeon instincts are. He's actually excited and curious about new people. My parents in law are visiting and he's fussing all over them since he got off his nest. 

Do they at least take a break from laying eggs when they realize they won't hatch? So she gets to spend some time not alone?
I was so happy when I got her just as I needed a mate for Coil - once lucky I saw that person that had her looking for somebody to give her and twice she was a girl. It's not hard or expensive to buy a common pigeon, but they would be adult birds, used to flying out and probably bonded to another bird. She was just a perfect match for him.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

They will probably keep trying to lay eggs that will hatch. Unless she seems like she is really unhappy all the time, I would just ignore it. If she was acting as though she did not want to be with him, then I would have to rethink it. Can't force her to be with a bird she does not want. So would go by that.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

Jay3 said:


> They will probably keep trying to lay eggs that will hatch. Unless she seems like she is really unhappy all the time, I would just ignore it. If she was acting as though she did not want to be with him, then I would have to rethink it. Can't force her to be with a bird she does not want. So would go by that.


It's hard to tell whether she wants or not, if they only spend a few minutes together daily. 

The surprise is that this morning Coil started the same fretting at the window when the other pigeons came. He's only once before seemed to notice them, and definitely was never this interested in them. I'm sure him and Honey are communicating, because last week she found a bag of hemp seed (I found her stuffing her face) and he went bee-line for the bag when he got off the nest. I had to hide the bag, but I'm handfeeding them some, because they love the stuff.

Don't they take any breaks in the egg laying/nesting business? I know that outside they would lay new eggs when the previous babies haven't taken flight yet, but in case they don't get any, will they do it constantly? I'm not sure what I think about them spending their life like they have for the past 2 weeks, feels cruel.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Often they will start another nest when the first babies are just 10 to 14 days old.
You aren't sure what you think about them spending their life like they have for the past 2 weeks? What choice do you have? You must remember that pairing up and raising babies is what they live for. How they are programmed. That is what they do. Not much can be done about it. Yes, it does seem cruel, but unless you can give them larger accommodations outside, with a loft and aviary, then what choice do you have? Even then, they could not keep breeding or you would soon be over run with pigeons. Unless they are flown, and suffer mishaps, like hawks and such, which tends to keep the numbers down. This is one reason why pigeons aren't really made to be inside pets.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

Well, by "like in the past 2 weeks" I mean them spending their time alone - since I only have two, and no way to keep more in an apartment. Also, they will never actually have babies. Don't they get depressed by never managing? 

Sadly, I don't really have the conditions for an aviary, I don't have a garden.
My only other choice is to decide to trust a breeder to not cook them  .


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Well I'm sure it doesn't make them happy, but what can you do about it? It is what it is.
If unreleasable, you have no choice. This is part of why people who want to go out and get a perfectly healthy pigeon for a pet, it isn't a very good idea. Let them live as they should. If the bird is somehow not able to do that, then it's different. You try to do the best you can to meet their needs.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

My birds are perfectly healthy, they just had the bad luck of falling out of their nests in a bad season and not be found by a breeder, but by friends of mine. I couldn't have released them last winter.

I did a little research and found that it's not recommended to get pigeons older than 1-2 months if you want them to come back to your own loft, instead of flying where they grew up. Does that mean that even if I take mine to a breeder, chances are they will fly back if they are set free?

If the answer is yes, is it possible for me to train them to go outside and come back? Is there any guide on how to do it best? Take into consideration that I live on the 8th floor, so a garden release isn't possible. I do have a balcony that I can transform in a loft for them. 

They are still nesting, though it's been close to 3 weeks. They are still not spending much time together. On one hand it's pleasant to have Coil more friendly to us, as he used to be, though he's a lot more manageable, less "needy". I'm kinda anxious for them to stop nesting, so I can see if they still like each other. 

Honey likes hemp seed so much, that she comes to eat from my hand, and asks for more after they are gone. Coil enjoys them too, but not as much as her. She's twitching her wings when she eats them. She also has a curious habit of flying on my head whenever I'm angry and arguing louder - curious because the only other reason she would come to me is hemp seed. She's been less interested in the feral pigeons and the outside last few days, instead spending a lot of time on my desk. She chases Coil away from the nest though, when she is there. She doesn't have a problem letting him nest during the 12-6 pm period. Is that normal?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Saphira said:


> My birds are perfectly healthy, they just had the bad luck of falling out of their nests in a bad season and not be found by a breeder, but by friends of mine. I couldn't have released them last winter.
> 
> I did a little research and found that it's not recommended to get pigeons older than 1-2 months if you want them to come back to your own loft, instead of flying where they grew up. Does that mean that even if I take mine to a breeder, chances are they will fly back if they are set free?
> 
> ...


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

My pigeons are babies of feral pigeons. They look like: https://scontent.fomr1-1.fna.fbcdn....=34af9a251e27326e708bf533841b20f3&oe=5B520770
I was under the (possibly mistaken) impression that feral pigeons are descendants of rock (homing) pigeons. 

Breeders here keep common pigeons too - maybe the word "breeder" wasn't well chosen, was thinking about people that keep pigeons as a hobby. I see a lot of pigeons similar to mine for sale in the animal market - but that is in itself one of the reasons I never felt enough trust to give them away. However, my mother in law knows a vet in her town that keeps pigeons and told me I can trust him - but she lives in another town, some 150 km away. Is it possible they will just fly back here, given they are @7-8 months old for Coil and @5-6 for Honey?

Don't get me wrong, I would miss them dearly, but I heard they can live up to 15 years and that's a terribly long time to live locked and never having babies. Maybe I'm projecting or something, but sometimes I feel they are sad that nothing is coming out of those eggs they tend to so dutifully.

As for the nesting duty, Coil still takes straw to the nest if he finds any, and sometimes she lets him bring them, but I've also seen her chasing him away viciously. She literally gets off the nest and stays on top of the wardrobe like a gargoyle, looking down menacingly. I've seen pictures of pigeons together in the nest, but I don't think mine do that. I admit I very much want to see them getting along again, I love seeing them kiss.
And I wish Coil would stop courting me, it's not nice of him!


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Would just swap out their eggs. Let them be as they are. Coil is very tame it sounds like. Honey his mate can be ok without more offspring. If they are a pair would keep them together and not release them. Pigeons are very dependent on each other.


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## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

Sounds like Honey is about 5 mouths old, from the time you said you got her. She's really too young to be laying eggs if that's the case... At any rate, I don't think that they would be able to develop properly.

So, her temperment has everything to do with her age. She's in puberty right now. She's like a human 13 or 14 year-old, prone to moodiness. If she isn't getting sunlight (not through a window, but from outside) then she needs to be a getting UV lamp. Along with how a lack of sunlight affects their mood, the oil from their oil gland on their back also doesn't get changed into vitamin d. No vitamin d means that the calcium can't get absorbed. Calcium isn't just for bones. It's also one of the 4 primary electrolytes. They are one of the ten nutrients that can combat depression and improve mood: calcium, chromium, folate, iron, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc.

So even if she's getting her calcium but no sunlight, then she's not processing it effectively. Because she's the egg layer, she needs special nutrients that Coil doesn't.

One of the best things you can do is make pea-sized pellets out of Exact formula, water, and a small amount of calcium formula (which isn't just calcium, but all of the supporting minerals as well) and feed her those every two days during her broody week, all the way through the first week after the second egg.

That, and give her lots of love. Girl pigeons are like girl humans. You have to show them that you love them all the time.

I'll make a video on how to make the pellets, and post it on you tube tomorrow. I'll link it here then.

Any typos are thanks to my autoselect on this phone. I'll get back to this later and try to correct it.


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## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

Also, just so you know: your birds are not wild even though they may have started out that way. A domesticated (that's what they are now) pigeon has a big target on its back anytime that it ventures outside by itself. Even if you let it fly around close to you, and you always watch it, you have know way of knowing what will happen to it. It took three very scary close calls where I lost my favorite first pigeon (a little hen named Clover) for hours and almost a year for me to stop tempting fate. The only reason that I ever found her is because I know how she thinks, and I knew what type of an environment she would seek of she was afraid. Now, my pigeons fly all they want - INDOORS!

Here in coastal California there are four predators that make quick snacks of domestics (released pigeons, pet pigeons, and racers): crows, red hawks, peregrins, and seagulls. Unless a domestic is lucky and smart, is toast.

My second pigeon was a release or a racer. When I found him in the tunnel under the Santa Monica Pier, I was on a run and I actually thought that he was dead. But on closer inspection I saw that he was still breathing. Just by the way that he put his feet back when I lifted him up, I knew that he came from a loft. His luck was that he fled to a highly populated area and whatever did that damage to him would not follow. Bird kills are not quick. They are slow and painful. So unless you are ok with that, keep your birds inside or on a leash with harness. They may put up a fight at first, but they are smart and they will get used to it.

Oh, and don't put them into a cage. You are their flock, and hopefully you'll learn how to use your nogging to learn how to communicate with them. You can house-train them. For God's sake, the coast guard had them pushing buttons on helicopters, and I've found that teaching them where to poop isn't that hard!

Learn their favorite foods. They are all different. Some like raw ground beef, and some like it cooked. Some like veggies, some like fruits, and some like specific nuts. One of mine loved Exact formula, and another loves sunflower seeds. Another likes cilantro but hates Italian parsley...

They are amazing birds and all of them are totally individuals with different personalities. Just don't cage them. That always peeves me.


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## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

My wife and I (and little Chancey) just made a practical video on placing a harness on your pet pigeon. Let them fly inside, but keep then close outside, unless you have your own aviary. Hope this helps.: https://youtu.be/xW5R0aNLQDc


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

Thank you a lot for the info!

My pigeons only get sun through a window. I've been thinking to build some kind of window sized cage, with an open side and have them sunbathe on the window sill (Its @30 cm wide) - also socialize a little with the other pigeons (I have lots coming for seed, they are adorable). We don't have many predators here - crows are the only ones I've seen, but I keep thinking that letting them out is the kind of thing you can only go wrong about once. 

They sat on the first set of eggs for about 3-4 weeks, and eventually abandoned them. Then they had a week of lovey-dovey time around the house and now they are back nesting. This time, however, there was only one egg and it was very small - so you are probably right about the age and the calcium. I checked a few times in the last week, no 2nd egg happened (first one was replaced). I did give her grit, but I wanted to know how to do this better so thank you for the advise. I won't find Exact formula here, do calcium tablets for humans work? She does act like a teenager - sometimes really skittish, will growl at me from meters away and fly in panic, other times following me around the house to sit on my head or walking on me and pecking on my shirt and hands if I sit on the couch. She's crazy about hemp seed (they both are but she is just crazy about it, flies off the nest in the morning to see if I have any, even if otherwise she won't leave her nest until her shift is done). I handfeed them some everyday, she pecks my hand for it.

Keeping them in a cage was never an option. Worst case scenario, I'd have closed the balcony for them so I can keep my house clean a bit more, but we love having them around us while working. 

Here are some pics of them - one with them eating hemp (she twitches her wing when she eats, and if any seed falls off, she will clean everything off). I'm determined to take this sunday off from work and build that cage thing.

https://imgur.com/r2CwWzs

Do you take your pigeons out on a leash? I would order some and try to give them some fresh air if that is safe. I have some friends with a garden I could take them to for 1-2 hours. And can you really house train them? That would ROCK.
Your pigeon is adorable! Not sure Honey would let me hold her like that, she was never held, and she is suspicious of any try to get close to her.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

They do need direct sunlight, not through a window or a screen, as the rays they need to make the D3 for the calcium absorption is filtered out through window screens or glass. The supplements you can buy online for pigeons are much better for them than human vitamins. They are made for pigeons, and the dosage would be right.

Keeping them out loose in the house all the time is dangerous for them. Many have been either stepped on or otherwise injured or killed that way. People have opened doors and crushed them, and some have escaped to the outdoors. And no, pigeons cannot be totally house broken as far as droppings are concerned. They may spend a good deal of time on a particular perch, so putting papers or something under that spot helps, but they do fly around and go to different places, and there is no avoiding droppings. There is also so much in a house that they can get into and be injured, or ingest something that will harm them. Just not a good idea. People have also had hawks grab them right off their shoulders, even with a leash. The best way to let them outside is in a wired aviary where they are safe from predators.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

I am sorry, I do not have the option of an aviary. I live in an apartment at the 8th floor.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes, that does make it impossible for an aviary, unless you have a balcony that you can screen in. Many people do that.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

I do have a balcony, but it's pretty small - like 2 m long and 1 m wide - and its closed with glass. It's oriented to west, so in the summer afternoon it overheats badly. 

I searched some for some pigeon specific supplements here - there are some things online, but I need to refresh the seed supply anyway (the ferals outside are very appreciative of it) and I'll see if they have anything local. Would it need to be mostly calcium or some kind of mix? Or both? As for the sun issue, I'll install the insect nets at the windows so I can open them properly (I've been only tilting them so far so the pigeons don't get out by accident). Not sure how much it helps, they are rather dense, since they are intended for moskitos.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

A calcium/D3 supplement is good to have. Also regular bird vitamins.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

I got them something I can put in the water - that contains calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D. I'll order more diverse stuff off net, there wasn't much at the local store.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

I've installed the insects net at the window so they can have a bit of sun - trouble is, they seem to be pecking it and I can already stick my fingers through the holes. I'm putting Coil on the window sill with some seed in the morning, when I also feed the ferals, so they can eat together - though he seems either staring at the others wide eyed or flies to me. One day him and another male cooed at each other through the window - was quite a concert. Honey gets occasionally courted by various males from outside, but what seemed most curious to me was that I found her one day touching beaks with another pigeon from outside that didn't seem a male - was small and not fluffing. They just stood on each side of the net, like a mirror of each other, it wasn't just a 2 seconds thing.

I'll have to replace the net with something sturdier, probably metal, since they have quite strong beaks. Sounds a bit funny, considering window bars at 8th floor.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I would have used regular window screen which is stronger than netting. That way they cannot peck at it.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

The insect net wasn't intended for the pigeons, it was just what we already had fit for the window, and it's generally what I could have made by people that make windows too. Not sure what is "regular window screen" - anything else other than bars (which I can't fit on this window due to its size and general shape - it would be impossible to secure properly and I'm not taking the risk of them falling off from the 8th floor) or insect net will have to be custom made somehow. Time is a huge issue for me, as I work 12 hours a day, usually weekends too.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

What do your windows look like? Don't they have screens there to keep insects out? Can you make a frame and put screen on it?


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## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

By the way - here's that video I meant to do about supplementing my hen with calcium, and how I've found that works:
https://youtu.be/Z6fB12ciKXU


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

This is my window - it's basically a 3 sided glass wall: https://imgur.com/a/xZdkuK5

I can't get that baby food here, the only brand I could find here had crushed cookies or something of the sorts in it, really didn't look healthy. I fed Honey a mix made by us from ground seed and vitamins water. Maybe if I add some hemp seed they will like it more? I could give it a try. They are not crazy about the calcium water. 

Coil was anxious today. Might be because I missed all day, or he's unhappy about egg not hatching. I've seen this behaviour last time too. I swear he's got sad eyes when he's like this.


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## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

Don't feed them anything with sugar in it, like vitamin water, and especially cookies or any kind of refined flours. Their metabolisms aren't designed for that (for that matter, humans shouldn't be eating it either).

I know that you have internet, so I know that you can order whatever you can't buy locally: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000...ct+formula&dpPl=1&dpID=51pebEsfmlL&ref=plSrch

It will cost you about 8 bucks. With shipping and tax it might come up to 10 bucks.

You can get pigeon feed on Amazon as well: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000...igeon+feed&dpPl=1&dpID=51j4l3ZzE4L&ref=plSrch

The pigeon feed will cost about 6 dollars. Make sure that your birds get a bit of variety with their seeds. They will become unhealthy if they are limited to one seed (hemp). I also have a feeling that you are giving them hemp for humans, which probably has a sugar additive as well.

Everyone has their own opinion here, and that's what this site is for - but my experience tells me that you should not cage your pet bird and you should not let it fly outside. Pigeons (and all birds) are flyers. Pigeons are high-flyers and they can't be in cages if you want them to be healthy. My pigeons usually spend about two hours in the morning flying around the house. It's not as good as flying outside - this is true - but it's better than not flying. If you're worried about poopies, then just clean up after them. For me, having pigeons poop on my house was just like having my bloodhound who slobbered all over the place. You had to have a lot of spare rags, and a lot of love.

But if you love your pigeon, you might actually find yourself picking up the last poopies after they die and putting them into a little box to remember them by. But hopefully your birds can live a long, 20-year life.


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## Saphira (Sep 2, 2017)

@Navamanas - I live in Romania. It's a loooong way from USA and american amazon, but anyway, the product you linked is not sold outside the US .

Vitamin water has only vitamins in it, not sugar. I especially mentioned I did not use the baby bird feed from here because it contained stuff I didn't like. It's called Versele Laga Orlux Handmix Hand-Rearing Complete Bird Food - here is the composition in english: https://www.versele-laga.com/en-NL/orlux/Products/orlux-handmix .

My pigeons are not eating only hemp, that is a treat I give to them and they love it. They eat pigeon mix. 

I never caged my birds, they fly free in my apartment, poops included, all day.


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## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

That's good (about the vitamin water). I thought that it might have been an American brand that I also saw in Italy last fall. That's just a sugary drink with a few low level B vitamins. They call in Vitamin Water, but it's just sugar water, in my opinion. And of course it's made by the Coca-Cola company.


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## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

Hope that your pigeon is happy and healthy. I meant to look it up much earlier, but since you mentioned that you live in Romania, the main seed crops are sunflower, maize (corn), and wheat. These are great for pigeons. The sunflower seeds are a favorite, but they have to be without salt and without shells, because pigeons have difficulty metabolizing salt and they don't have the strength to break the sunflower shell.

But also make sure that your pigeons get pebbles or little rocks too, so that their crop can break down the food that they eat more easily. You can also save your egg shells and when you get enough of them, put them into a microwave for a couple of minutes, let them cool, and then break the egg shells into very dmall pieces and mix them with your pigeons food. That way your pigeon can get the calcium that our needs.

My pigeons also like cooked egg yolks (but don't give them too much because it makes their poop watery for a day or two).


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