Found a Dove... it won't leave

[onedayfarm]

We seem to have one that has taken up shelter around our barn (seems very relaxed around our horses) and we don't know what to do with it. It is all white and has a tag on each leg. We followed the lost pigeon instructions and gave it food and water but it keeps coming back. It won't let us near it to see the tags... it keeps it's distance from us and flies off if we get too close. It comes back every evening and sleeps on the ledge of the doors outside the barn. It looks cold and the weather has been bad. Should we build something for it to get shelter in, we are afraid it will get sick from the wind and rain. We bought some millet and cracked corn at the local feed store. Is there anything else we can do for it?

[AZWhitefeather]

Originally Posted by onedayfarm

We seem to have one that has taken up shelter around our barn (seems very relaxed around our horses) and we don't know what to do with it. It is all white and has a tag on each leg. We followed the lost pigeon instructions and gave it food and water but it keeps coming back. It won't let us near it to see the tags... it keeps it's distance from us and flies off if we get too close. It comes back every evening and sleeps on the ledge of the doors outside the barn. It looks cold and the weather has been bad. Should we build something for it to get shelter in, we are afraid it will get sick from the wind and rain. We bought some millet and cracked corn at the local feed store. Is there anything else we can do for it?

Hello & Welcome.
It sounds like what you have is a white homing pigeon rather than a dove. Unless you are able to get close enough to read the bands, there is no way of finding it's owner. It's possible he has become detoured, for whatever reason & has found refuge in your barn.

Where are you located?

If you are able to build some type of shelter for your new found friend, that would be wonderful. Continuing to offer it seed & water is about the best you can do, unless, of course, you are able to catch it, which doesn't seem like the case at this point.

Please do keep us posted.

Cindy

[onedayfarm]

Thanks for replying...

We are located in Mt. Uniacke, Nova Scotia.

[Trees Gray]

Hello and welcome to pigeons.com

Thank you for your care and concern of this bird.

Here is link to building a simple trap to catch the bird and find its home.

http://www.racingbirds.com/ptrap.html

[ernie]

Thanks for feeding this guy.

To catch it, wait till night time.
Wait until it is totally dark out (cloudy with no full moon) Shut off all lights in and around the nearby buildings.
Then make a grab for him.
Moving up to him should be done slowly, but once you reach for him, grab him quickly, since once he feels your hands on him he will try to get away.
Of course it helps to have someone with a flashlight and a cage or box to put him in, standing by, for once you captured him.

[mr squeaks]

IF you are unable to capture this bird, would you be able to use a pair of high-powered binoculars to see the band(s)?

There are links to find who the bird belongs to through any letters/numbers on the band(s).

At least the bird is getting food and water. I'm sure he/she much appreciates the service!

[onedayfarm]

I'll try... there is a blue band and a silver one, which one should I look at?

[mr squeaks]

but I would think that at least ONE should have letters/numbers. Mr. Squeaks had 2 green bands, one had letters & numbers and the other was blank. I still don't know why he had two. Maybe one of the members who deal with racing homers will be able to answer my question AND yours. I'm sure the bands are different colors for a reason...possibly indicating the "club" of the owner or something like that...

[relofts]

Originally Posted by mr squeaks

but I would think that at least ONE should have letters/numbers. Mr. Squeaks had 2 green bands, one had letters & numbers and the other was blank. I still don't know why he had two. Maybe one of the members who deal with racing homers will be able to answer my question AND yours. I'm sure the bands are different colors for a reason...possibly indicating the "club" of the owner or something like that...

Hello all,

One of the bands and possibly even both bands may have information on them, one of the bands will have letters and numbers for the affiliated National Organization the fanciers is associated with, Example - AU 2005 ABC 1234 - and the other band could be a personal band that contains information on the owner/breeder, it could be a color marker for the sex of the bird or for what ever the fancier may need it to be, I use color markers for identifying the sexes at a distance as well as age groups for training purposes, I know it is ok to train my birds with the pinks and blues on them but if it has gold they are later hatches and I want to give them time to mature, also it may be a electronic band and if this is the case it is used for clocking the bird when it returns home, you will notice it is kind of thick, has a seam on it, and they usually have a little notch that points above that the computer chip is housed in, if you get a chance to take a picture and post it that would be the easiest to identify for you.

Ellen

[Trees Gray]

Hi Ellen,

Thank you for the valuable information, I appreciate your input.

We also have the link to the Canadian club site, so that we can track the owner from that.

[onedayfarm]

Well my husband put up a lovely little shelter for it, and it hasn't been back since
We had another terrible rain and wind storm yesterday so he/she may well have taken up shelter somewhere else.

I'll keep you posted if it returns.

[WhiteWingsCa]

hmmm.... I was contacted recently by someone in the Sydney NS area - she had two 'doves' show up at her place on Saturday afternoon - they ate and drank, then left Sunday.

Are you near Syndey?

I had someone contact me about a "dove release" near Mt. Uniacke for a wedding - I told them that I do not know of anyone in NS that has a dove release company (and I couldn't find one on the 'net, or through my many contacts, either).

I hope that there isn't some idjit shipping poor whites for "self release", knowing they can't find their way back home.....

[mr squeaks]

Your info was quite helpful! I check Mr. Squeaks' blank green band and it was thick and had a heavy seam. Maybe he WAS on a training run when he ran into trouble!

I was unable to trace the owner through his other band (led to a "dead end")so he's mine...all mine!

[onedayfarm]

Well he's baaaack, but won't go near the shelter and seems uninterested in eating here... prefers to go somewhere else for that but comes back here to sleep.

Very odd.

Oh and Mount Uniacke is about 5 hours from Sydney.

I also looked for dove release companies and coudn't find anything.

[Victor]

Well, at least he seems to be finding food from elsewhere, and seems comfortable there at your place. It was nice of you two to provide a shelter for it, it's just too bad he won't take atvantage of it, but at least it is available in case he or she changes its mind.Please continue to make food and water available if possible. Thank you for your concern on this lost little one.