# my new pigeon is scared of me



## tommyJG (Jan 14, 2016)

i bought a young pigeon (it still squeaks) he's scared of me, my goal is to be able to let him out and for him to return. i know that hunger will make him come back. Iv'e had him for a week, and i'll keep him locked up for a month before i let him out. My problem is that every time i come around the loft, he freaks out and if i try to catch him he goes all over the place. My question is: If i keep him in the loft for 1 month will he come back eaven if he is scared of me? 
He's the only pigeon i have. I'm buying another one sometime this week. Should I tame him before i let him out?


----------



## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

tommyJG said:


> i bought a young pigeon (it still squeaks) he's scared of me, my goal is to be able to let him out and for him to return. i know that hunger will make him come back. Iv'e had him for a week, and i'll keep him locked up for a month before i let him out. My problem is that every time i come around the loft, he freaks out and if i try to catch him he goes all over the place. My question is: If i keep him in the loft for 1 month will he come back eaven if he is scared of me?
> He's the only pigeon i have. I'm buying another one sometime this week. Should I tame him before i let him out?


You need to start at the beginning and just feed and water and clean the pigeon loft for now. Next get a book on pigeon keeping and husbandry, either a real book or an Ebook which ever and read it and get educated about pigeon behavior and why they do what they do. You will soon know one lone pigeon should not be let out as you put it.

First hunger does not always make them come back, it can make them leave to find food as well. Plus no young bird should be hungry while it is just weaned. The love of loft and security of it makes them go back in to eat and roost and nest. They need to feel safe in their loft, that means they should not be chased in it by you or a predator, they won't want to live there. So going after it is not a good idea, just be calm and clean and feed and get out. But it needs other pigeons. 

Trap training using food is a balance they should want to eat but not be starving. But this is for a team of young birds that form a flock. Using food is only to get to trap faster for keepers into racing. The average person just flying pigeons can let the birds go back in as they want. But they do need to be trained on how to use the trap door or what ever door they can come and go out of. 

One lone young pigeon will be none in no time because a bird of prey will pick out a non experienced lone bird right away. 

Pigeons fly in flocks for protection to confuse and have more eyes looking for predators. 

You're bird is afraid of you because Mother Nature tells him too so he is not a meal, it is his protection to be Leary. That is how pigeons are, survivalists. 

There is nothing wrong with having a few pigeons, just do not let them out.

If you want to fly pigeons then you need a loft big enough to house a flock, 10 or more IMO. They also should be homing pigeons as they are athletic and can outfly birds of prey better than say rollers. 


For your lone bird it needs to be kept with other pigeons, protected from predators and given time to adjust . Keeping their needs first will let things go more smoothly when taking care of pigeons. Get a book and get educated first and the rest should make sense.


----------



## TRueLife (Jan 5, 2016)

I have a single pigeon, and I don't plan to have more than 2 ever. For now, I got her a huge cage and do my best to take care of her needs, including letting her out for a few hours to fly around the house as she sees fit. She will actually come back to her cage for food on her own, though it does sometimes take an awful long time. 

Sometimes I have to turn the lights off and gently grab her to put her back in the cage so my wife and I can go to bed. That won't work so well when the days get longer. I have already had to follow her around for 15 minutes until she was so out of breath that she would let me take her to her cage. Now, as soon as I come near her, her feathers go down and her wings look like she's ready to fly at any second. I hope that passes eventually as I've done nothing to hurt her. I want to earn her trust. I hear all these great stories about pigeons that will sit on your shoulder or eat feed out of your hand. That's what I would like to have happen eventually. I'll just have to be patient for now.


----------



## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

TRueLife said:


> I have a single pigeon, and I don't plan to have more than 2 ever. For now, I got her a huge cage and do my best to take care of her needs, including letting her out for a few hours to fly around the house as she sees fit. She will actually come back to her cage for food on her own, though it does sometimes take an awful long time.
> 
> Sometimes I have to turn the lights off and gently grab her to put her back in the cage so my wife and I can go to bed. That won't work so well when the days get longer. I have already had to follow her around for 15 minutes until she was so out of breath that she would let me take her to her cage. Now, as soon as I come near her, her feathers go down and her wings look like she's ready to fly at any second. I hope that passes eventually as I've done nothing to hurt her. I want to earn her trust. I hear all these great stories about pigeons that will sit on your shoulder or eat feed out of your hand. That's what I would like to have happen eventually. I'll just have to be patient for now.


Offering unsalted peanut pieces out of you're hand every time you take him out could lead to it eating it out of you're hand, put some down in a level spot you are sitting and show it to him. He may not want it at first but if it is done every day for months a routine builds and that is how you get noticed and trusted more.


----------



## TRueLife (Jan 5, 2016)

I think she knows I'm not trying to hurt her, but she doesn't trust me because I usually need to put her in her cage at night by turning out the lights and grabbing her in the dark. She vocalizes when I do it, but once I turn the lights back on, she calms down a bit, almost like she sees that it's me now and realizes I'm just putting her in her cage.


----------

