# Found a tame pigeon



## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

My wife returned from the convenience store with a new feathered friend 2 days ago. She saw a pigeon walking around on the ground and flying up to a young girl sitting outside the store, trying to land on her. The girl was screaming and running as if the pigeon was going to eat her. A cat was stalking the pigeon waiting for the girl to leave when my wife stepped in. We are bird people and my wife quickly got the pigeon to fly up to her and brought it home for me to check out. We have 2 parrots, raise and rehab ducks and have a couple chickens so we are familiar with bird injuries in general. I checked out the pigeon which was weak and wobbly, she had no leg band. Her feet were roasting hot and she was obviously overheated as she tried to shed the florida heat from the pavement she was on, she was only able to fly a few feet. I could see she was dehydrated but didnt know what her other conditions might be. She was extremely docile and allowed herself to be handled with no fuss and almost seemed relieved someone understood her intentions. At first I thought she was a wild pigeon and this might be out of weakness or sickness. I broke out a spare parrot cage we had and set up and gave her water and wild bird seed, which she quickly began preening, eating and drinking and put her in a quiet area to rest. The following morning she was much stronger and was flying around the cage and when I opened it she flew to my shoulder and began cooing and lightly pecking and pulling at my beard. It was quickly obvious she was a companion bird and she decided that I was to be her new friend. She allows me to check under her wings and even turn her upside down like my parrots. I have checked for mites and wounds, finding neither. This is the third day and she is now flying around seeking me out wherever I am and has regained her strength. I have read as much as I can and cannot determine what kind of pigeon she might be, though I believe she is young and a her (mostly a gut feeling which has been pretty accurate in the past with my other birds. We have decided she is a new member of the family and want to learn more about her. I am including a picture of her to try and learn what I can from this amazing group.

I would like to know whatever you might be able to tell me to better help integrate my new buddy into the family.

Thank you in advance.

Scott


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Looking at her, I honestly don't know what to tell you. She's certainly not too young by the white of her "ceres" (upper nose). The behavior says she's probably been raised by someone but even that you can't be completely certain. Most domestic pigeons don't even act like that. The slope of the nose suggests that there might be something other than feral in there but it's not completely out of the range of ferals, either.

Could be your Guardian Angel, you know.

Anyhow, keep her off the kitchen counter if there's a possibility of a hot stove top and you don't want to burn any scented oil candles or forget to put something to cook in a teflon pan around her (or your other birds, for that matter).

Pidgey


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Scott, not sure on the breed. It could be a Roller pigeon. Others will be along that know for sure.
Just wanted to welcome you to our forum and tell you that this little birdie is very pretty and very very lucky to have happened upon your wife.


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

Thank you for the great advice, our house is birdproofed, no scented anything except boiling cinnamon sticks, cast iron cookware, toilet seats always closed, ceiling fans off when birds are out etc.. 

As for the behaviour, LOL my wife calls me the bird whisperer, as I am usually the one the meanest nastiest man eating parrots at the rescue fall in love with and act like lovesick puppy dogs. Even the feral ducks in our neighborhood allow me to pet them under their wings and hold them as well as tend any injuries they have. The mommy ducks bring their babies to my house to be fed and allow me to handle their babies as they crawl on me as I sit and feed them. I am accustomed to my animals having weird behaviour and wouldn't have it any other way. As long as they are all happy and healthy I am a happy man.



Pidgey said:


> Looking at her, I honestly don't know what to tell you. She's certainly not too young by the white of her "ceres" (upper nose). The behavior says she's probably been raised by someone but even that you can't be completely certain. Most domestic pigeons don't even act like that. The slope of the nose suggests that there might be something other than feral in there but it's not completely out of the range of ferals, either.
> 
> Could be your Guardian Angel, you know.
> 
> ...


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Pheromones. You've got the right set, I guess.

It doesn't happen very often that a young wild pigeon takes to people so easily but it does happen. This is a different kind of rescue story, but you'll probably enjoy it immensely:

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/pigeons/BerniePijStory.html

Pidgey


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

What a wonderful rescue story. Your wife was at the right place at the right time. Lucky birdie and lucky you.

Reti


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

It is a wonderful rescue story and she is a very pretty gal. Thanks for 
taking the time to understand her needs.

fp


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

What a lucky pigeon she is to have found you. She is lovely. Looks like a little Birmingham roller to me.

Margaret


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Welcome to Pigeon-Talk, Scott! What a wonderful story and beautiful little bird. Many thanks to you and your wife for taking this little one in. She sounds like a delightful pigeon! She looks like a Roller to me also.

Terry


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hello and Welcome to our forum.

Thank you and your wife for rescuing this bird out of the horrible Florida heat.

I'm glad she is doing so well, and happy in her new surroundings. I appreciate you giving her a forever home.


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

*Gracie Update*

I wanted to post an update after all of the encouraging replies I have gotten. My buddy is now named Gracie. She has regained her strength and is now flying all over the house following me around and exploring our home. Her droppings are returning to a normal bird type dropping (mostly solid with a small amount of liquid) instead of the nearly dry solid rabbit pellet she was having before as she recovers from her dehydration and adapts to a new food. 

She flies so gracefully I had to name her Gracie. She flies in sort of a hummingbird way which I have never witnessed a bird do before. She hovers, rotates around until she sees where she wants to go and then moves forward. I have to sadly admit I had never paid attention to pigeons before except to feed some bread scraps here and there to them. She is quite beautiful in her own sort of ugly duckling way and I could not wish for a more friendly and companionship seeking bird. If I am walking around the house she will fly to my shoulder and preen my beard and ears as well as push up against the side of my face. 

I have introduced her to my parrots and she has now moved in with one of my most docile parrots and they are getting along fine. Her roomate is Arwen, a double yellow headed amazon parrot and her neighbor is Pablo, a yellow collared macaw. Arwen has shared her cages with other rescues over the years and never has had issues with roomates. We used to keep some Quaker Parrots in with her before finding them homes. I am attaching a picture of the two of them relaxing at the top of their cage together. I have had to modify the parrot cage a bit to accomodate Gracie, she appears to like the lower sections of the cage. Parrots prefer the higher areas to perch so it works out well. I added a few perches lower in the cage so she can hop-fly to the water and food bowls. Gracie seems to like parrot food but I have mixed in some wild bird seed. I use a combination of kaytee seed mix and kaytee parrot pellets for my parrots, it is very colorful and Gracie seems to enjoy the new experience. 

Any ideas or things I am missing to adapt her makeshift home into a more comfortable place for her?

Thanks for the replies.

Scott


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

*Roomie advise*

Gracie is beautiful as is Arwen. However, Arwen has a much more powerful beak and should they squabble, Gracie can get some mean bites from Arwen.

Pigeons do not shell their seeds so make sure that there is lots of pea-sized and smaller seeds (sunflower, dried peas, milo, millet, etc) for her to eat along with pigeon grit.

You might place a flat brick or something else like that for Grace to perch and rest on. Although they like the branches, they like to spend more time with their toes flat. You might think of adding a platform higher in the cage as pigeons like to roost high at night although they are ground feeders for the most part. Make sure food and water isn't near the "bombing range" so it won't get too messy. 

Enjoy, you have a wonderful little pet there.


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## pigeonpoo (Sep 16, 2005)

What a lovely story. Gracie was indeed lucky to have found you via your wife.

The only thing I think she might need is some pigeon grit which provides calcium and is also needed to digest her seed.

Do keep us posted, we love happy endings!!


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

I understand the concern over Arwen's beak and the power of Parrot bites. However, I have never in all my days with birds, found a more gentle spirited parrot. This is why I feel safe rooming them together. Arwen was rescued by us after her previous owner spiralled downhill from cocaine addiction and as I have gotten to know her, I think she was caged with other birds all her previous life. She has not a single territorial bone in her body and has bonded with her "mate", a bundle of hemp rope allowed to untwine and puff up to a parrot size and shaped puffball. Arwen is actually enjoying the company and is talking to Gracie, calling her a "pretty bird" and saying her "Heeelooooo" in her best female sexy voice to her. Arwen misses being caged with a partner, which is why I think/hope they will live together fine.

I have avoided placing Gracie's perches in the preferred "bombing" spots LOL. Arwen has two places she does her business and both should be free and clear. Thank you for the advice on flat perches. I am not accustomed to that preferance in a perch and will find something to accomodate a flat footed perch for Gracie.

Thank you for your kind words and information, it is very much appreciated.

Scott 



flitsnowzoom said:


> Gracie is beautiful as is Arwen. However, Arwen has a much more powerful beak and should they squabble, Gracie can get some mean bites from Arwen.
> 
> Pigeons do not shell their seeds so make sure that there is lots of pea-sized and smaller seeds (sunflower, dried peas, milo, millet, etc) for her to eat along with pigeon grit.
> 
> ...


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

Thank you. I will try and find some pigeon grit. Would ground up egg shells work for grit or is there actual "pigeon grit" which can be bought?

Thank you for your reply!

Scott 



pigeonpoo said:


> What a lovely story. Gracie was indeed lucky to have found you via your wife.
> 
> The only thing I think she might need is some pigeon grit which provides calcium and is also needed to digest her seed.
> 
> Do keep us posted, we love happy endings!!


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

What a heart-warming story, Scott. Sounds like Gracie was meant to come to you. I'm sure she must have been someone's pet that got out or even perhaps was hand-raised and released, and had no idea where to find food and water. As Pidgey pointed out, even most domestic pigeons aren't _that _tame.

As to pigeon grit, is there a feed store in your area? They should have it. If there aren't any feed stores where you live, you can buy grit from one of the pigeon supply houses. Pigeon mix, too. Here are links to a a couple:

Foy’s Pigeon Supply: http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/

Global Pigeon Supply: http://globalpigeon.com/


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

*Update*

Well Gracie is growing stronger by the day. Today she has begun doing flight acrobatics in the house during flytime. Wow! I have never seen such acrobatics in such limited space. She seems to judge things perfect as she never comes close to walls, floors, ceilings or furniture. She is doing high speed 360 degree spins so fast she is nearly stationary in the air. Then she takes a leisurely exploration flight through the living room kitchen and hallways before landing on my shoulder. I took her outside today on my shoulder to give her a choice in returning from where she came from or staying with us. She was obviously very loved by someone and if she knows her way home, who am I to stop her from going. I would hope someone would do the same for me. To my relief she chose to remain with me, so it is a mutual choice now, we own each other and I am happy with that. 

I am now having to give specific fly times as she is enjoying her flights so much I dont want to leave her free to explore without supervision. Pigeon poo and new furniture dont mix....my wife is a bird person, but new furniture comes first LOL. Without knowing any other pigeons to compare her to, I dont know how much stronger she will become, but it is more and more obvious how rough a shape she was in when we got her by seeing the difference day by day.

I want to thank everyone for their support, well wishes and great information.

Scott


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

*PGWear for those indoor flight times*

Great update!!

We have a member here, Boni Birds, who makes and sells "containment" devices for indoor pidgies that get "free range" priviledges. 

I think it's called PGWear. the url is http://www.birdwearonline.com

The choices, the choices!! Your hookbills will be most jealous and now Gracie can be as colorful as they are.

These have been tested by Pigeon-Talk members and got glowing reviews (both the product and Boni!!). 

Check it out and see if there is something that strikes Gracie and your fancies.


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

*Bird Diapers*

As funny as it sounds I have an imprinted Pekin duck who used to live indoors and wore a "containment device" aka duck diaper. We wound up putting him in the coop and run we built for our chickens after he matured and began being becoming aggressive to my youngest son. He still insists on sleeping next to me so we have setup a dog crate next to the bed. We had to put him outside because he had a fondness for loose change and screws and anything shiny on the floor he could find and wound up with hardware disease (metal poisoning from metals stuck in crop) I had raised him from an egg and the vet took pity on me and did an emergency surgery on Sonny and allowed me to make payments on the care. They removed 37 cents and 2 screws from his crop. 

He is a riot and has fully recovered, he enjoys swimming in the pool with me and dives underwater with me and swims next to me, or even sometimes plays a little game I call "honk the toes". He swims under and honks your feet from behind before you can react. As clumsy as they are on land, you would be amazed how gracefull they are underwater!

Thanks for the reply!

Scott


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

That must be the funniest duck. What a sweetheart. Sorry that he loves to get in trouble, but some babies do.
Thanks for sharing the story.

Reti


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

*Update*

Gracie continues to do well and is integrating well into the family. The only friction is regarding Arwen's food bowl which Gracie has decided is a comfortable perch. Arwen gets frustrated when she cannot get to the food bowl and yells at Gracie to get out. I have rigged up an old nesting box to the side of the cage for Gracie, hoping it would be a more attractive perch for her. I have included pictures of the jury rig. Also attached is a picture I tried to get while Gracie was in an affectionate mood on my shoulder but she was nervous about the camera.

Well thats about all today, I have to go, mommy duck brought some week old ducklings for some dinner.

Scott


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Scott, your Gracie is lovely and I'm really glad your wife rescued her.

Our pigeons get a variety of things to eat. We use Kaytee Bay-mor pigeon food which has different kinds of peas and grains; Kaytee dove mix which has smaller peas; lentils and dry split peas that you can get at the grocery store; popcorn (the kind you pop in a loose bag) from the grocery store and they get more in the winter; safflour seed (which they love); and a small amount of wild bird seed with sunflower seed and milo in it. As an afternoon treat, they get Hartz Universal seed for small birds (it has rape seed in it and they devour those); safflour seed and probably the oddest of all is Zupreem Fruitblend Rainbow pellets for cockatiels. They will fight over the Zupreem. It turns their poop pink  . Once or twice a week they get chopped kale which they love too. They are spoiled rotten.

I think it is pretty neat that Gracie is paired with Arwen. I think Gracie will enjoy the nesting box because that will satisfy her being on a flat surface.

Gracie has a beautiful face and head. You may want to reconsider letting her out though. We've had some real tragedies because of that.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Scott, 
I love your duck story. For a long time I had a duck named Soupy that was quite a character too. He had been raised as an only duck, in a house with humans and thought he was a human too.
Brings back fond memories.


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Gracie should like the box and hopefully it will eliminate the source of conflict between her and Arwen. She sure is a cutie. 

I laughed out loud when I read your duck story.  They are quite the characters. I've a friend who specializes in rehabbing ducklings.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

That is a GREAT duck story, Scott!!

Your duck should talk to Mr. Flapper, quite the character himself. 

Sooner or later, we will be blessed with another Flapper adventure and you can see for yourself. Or, you can type in Mr. Flapper in search and see some of the threads. I am sure Sonny will LOVE to meet Flapper!

Looking forward to more adventures!!  

Shi & Squeaks


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Gracie is certainly a lucky girl. Welcome to pigeons!! I enjoyed your stories and you sound like people we love to have here on Pigeon-Talk. I'm glad they're able to enjoy each other's company, I've had so many odd-couple animal pairings, I gave up long ago trying to understand.  Keep the updates comin'!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

*Mr. Flapper ..*

http://www.mrflapper.com .. you gotta see all the archived Mr. Flapper stories ..

Terry


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

*Mr. Flapper*

Oh yes I know Mr. Flapper quite well! I am also a member of Duck groups Mr. Flapper and his mom frequent. If you like ducks you might like this picture. These are feral muscovy ducks in my neighborhood mind you, they fly to my window and tap when they are hungry. They would move indoors if I let them 

What is even more amazing is they are looking at my dog laying on the floor. The dog has grown up around all these animals is could care less, sometimes my parrots hitch a ride on the dogs back for a dog taxi when they are feeling lazy..

Scott


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

They are so cute. I love Muscovy ducks. What characters they are!


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Charis said:


> They are so cute. I love Muscovy ducks. What characters they are!


Ditto!    

Shi


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

What a lovely pic of the ducks. They are really cute.

Reti


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

*Update*

Gracie and Arwen are getting along great. Gracie's energy level continues to increase and at flight time she now is doing many new tricks. Her favorite activity is to fly through the house at full speed performing an acrobatic manuever which is hard to describe. She sort of does these 90 degree momentary turns with wings pumping at full power. It looks as if she was performing a manuever to throw off pursuit of a predator. She is trying to fly in erratic directions and not a straight line. It is done at full speed and sometimes she incorporate a bounce off the floor landing on her feet for a split second and hopping up to resume this flight. At first I thought something was wrong with her but she flies fine and leisurely when she chooses to. I think maybe she is trying to burn off excess energy as she sure seems to take great joy in this manuever. She is also becoming quite independant the last couple days, she is not seeking me out nearly as often as she was before. She still stops by a couple times during her flight time landing on shoulder for a break, but she is not craving the attention she was earliear. 

Well I must close for now, time for me to study for my final later this afternoon. My last class and last test for my bachelors in biology degree! Woohoo!

Scott


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

*Update on Gracie*

Hello folks,

Sorry for not giving any updates earliear than this. We have been busy preparing for our transition to country living. Our house is now on the market after spending the last 2 months on a do it yourself remodel, painting, reroofing (ugh!) etc..

Gracie is doing great and has finished adapting to her new home. She has bonded with me and I with her. Her relationship with Arwen (our Double Yellow Headed Amazon parrot) has left Gracie the dominant bird in the cage! I have always known Arwen is the most docile parrot I had ever met, but to see Gracie clearly dominate her off her favorite perch is a great suprise. Gracie has begun to posture at everyone walking by the cage except for me. She does this by puffing up her breast feathers and strutting back and forth while cooing and growling like a cat. If you out your hand in the cage she attacks it with great determination and slaps at her enemy with her wing. It is hysterical to watch. I do not get the impression she is really trying to do damage but rather it is a game of domination. I am going to try and post a video from youtube of her going after my wifes hand, if you have any thoughts on her behaviour I would love to hear them. She will play like this with me but does not "challenge" me as I walk by the cage like she does with everyone else in the family. She gets plenty of attention from the family when she begins her posturing and catcalls, even the kids will let her attack their fingers. They are all used to parrot beaks and nips, Gracies little beak is almost comical trying to hurt our hands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEBBQA8mTU0

Thanks for all of your advice and words of encouragement. If you enjoy this little clip I will try and post more short ones.

Scott


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Great to hear from you, Scott! Loved the Gracie video .. I must say that based on the first 10 seconds or so, I would guess Gracie to be a boy .. from the rest of the video, it's hard to say. No matter .. Gracie is what Gracie is! I would be ever vigilant about the pigeon and the parrot being together. It sure seems like they get along just fine .. it's just scary for me to envision what could happen if Arwen decided to rip into Gracie.

Terry


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I'll second the warning about a Parrot's beak. They can do an awful lot of damage quickly. 

Gracie sounds like she's taken over the place for the most part--be careful that you don't spoil 'er!

Pidgey


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## tasschisling (Aug 20, 2007)

*Parrot beaks*

I appreciate the warnings and concerns over Arwen's beak. I agree completely, but she is completely a lover and not a fighter. My other parrot Pablo thinks Gracie must be put in her place and would love nothing more than to get ahold of her. I am watchful just in case. 

It is a very strange flock we have over here and most people would never believe they all get along. My pet pekin duck "Sonny" dominates my medium sized dog (Faithe), he charges her with his head down like a football player and snaps at her feet with his beak. Faithe retreats and runs to my wife for protection. Meanwhile Arwen sits in her cage watching all of this while laughing huge booming laughs in a perfect imitation of my laugh. There is never a dull moment. When I let my chickens free roam in the backyard Faithe helps round them up when I put them in their coop, she will circle them and run them like a herd back. Gracie likes to grab a nap on Faithe when she sleeps on the couch, Gracie will fly down and land on Faithe and settle down for a nap too. She looks like melted ice cream when she fluffs out and relaxes and the two of them go to sleep.

Never a dull moment around here!

Scott


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

TAWhatley said:


> Great to hear from you, Scott! Loved the Gracie video .. I must say that based on the first 10 seconds or so, I would guess Gracie to be a boy .. from the rest of the video, it's hard to say. No matter .. Gracie is what Gracie is! I would be ever vigilant about the pigeon and the parrot being together. It sure seems like they get along just fine .. it's just scary for me to envision what could happen if Arwen decided to rip into Gracie.
> 
> Terry


I agree with Terry. A couple of years ago, my little Senegal nearly killed one of my house pigeons. They had been free flying at the same time for several years with no problems. I never would have thought it possible, so do be careful. I would hate for you to go through the heartbreak of loosing Gracie before her time.


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