"Found" might be pushing it...

[Kubilay]

First of all, hello all! This is my first post. I came home and did a pigeon search on Google and was surprised to find such an active forum.

Anyway - the story is this. I work the opening shift at a not-that-busy (at least not at 6am) coffee place. This morning one of my regulars started chatting with me about his job raising homing pigeons for sport (I think he is employed by someone else). It was all very interesting, but then he started telling me about how he disposes of the pigeons who aren't "worth their feed". Horrors!

Long story short - I think he's going to bring me one or two of the "worthless" ones.

Next part of the story: I live in a pretty small space. I also don't have much of a budget for cage stuff, so I was wondering what the minimum requirements might be? The "Dove" brochure that I picked up from PetSmart says 18"w x 22"l x 18"h. That's pretty doable but I don't want to save this bird from starvation and/or having its head ripped off only to make the rest of its life miserable.

I have more questions, but I'll have to write them later!

Thanks,
Kubilay

[TheSnipes]

Hi there. How nice of you to offer salvation to some 'undesirables!' Isn't it sad that they are disposed of so indifferently.

Do you have any other pets? If not and you are going to let your pigies roam about your house, they might only sleep in their cage and it could mean you can get away with small size enclosures. I know they should have enough room inside a cage to spread their wings out comfortably.

I'm sure you're going to be happy with your new feathered roommates

[cyro51]

Hello and welcome! Thank you so much for offering these poor pigeons a life.

The minimum that pigeons need is roo, to stretch their wings in all directions, but ideally they need as much room as you can give them.

It would be best if you could make them a cage that meets their needs. There are some simple designs and some that need carpentry skills, I will try to track them down.

Do you have any other animals to be taken into account?

Cynthia

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by Kubilay

First of all, hello all! This is my first post. I came home and did a pigeon search on Google and was surprised to find such an active forum.

Anyway - the story is this. I work the opening shift at a not-that-busy (at least not at 6am) coffee place. This morning one of my regulars started chatting with me about his job raising homing pigeons for sport (I think he is employed by someone else). It was all very interesting, but then he started telling me about how he disposes of the pigeons who aren't "worth their feed". Horrors!

Long story short - I think he's going to bring me one or two of the "worthless" ones.

Next part of the story: I live in a pretty small space. I also don't have much of a budget for cage stuff, so I was wondering what the minimum requirements might be? The "Dove" brochure that I picked up from PetSmart says 18"w x 22"l x 18"h. That's pretty doable but I don't want to save this bird from starvation and/or having its head ripped off only to make the rest of its life miserable.

I have more questions, but I'll have to write them later!

Thanks,
Kubilay

First of all, I too want to thank you for being willing to take in a "worthless" pigeon. How silly some folks are. (I'm trying to be nice here)
My first question would be, where are you and how many "worthless" birds are "done away with" on a regular basis? I realize you can't take them all in, and although it's wonderful that you are able to save a couple, what about the others? Wonder if there's any possibility that you could find out when there are pigeons that are going to "meet their maker" in a very unkind way and maybe they could be adopted by someone here. You just never know. I have racing pigeons myself, so I'm well aware that things like this go on, but they surely don't go on HERE. And there are many many people who would be willing to take in a bird or two once in a while. Of course, this may be bigger than we can handle on a regular basis, but I figured it didn't hurt to ask.

[Kubilay]

Thanks for all the responses!

I don't know how many birds are being "discarded"... he said something about "having 20" but I don't know if he meant birds total or birds to get rid of. I'm located in Spokane, Washington. I'll have to ask him some more questions when I see him next (probably bright and early tomorrow morning).

I have no other pets, but I really only have one room (my bedroom). I do have the option of taking the bird to other larger rooms to fly around in, though.

I've read a lot about how pigeons are "great pets"... but what does that mean? Are they tame and handleable (generally)?

Also, how long does a homing pigeon need to live in a new "home" before it will lose the desire to fly back to it's old one?

Thank you for all the help!
Kubilay

P.S. Cynthia, I would love to see instructions for building a cage from scratch!

P.P.S. Oh, and another question - at what age does a hen stop laying? He told me that those accounted for most of the birds that he got rid of.

[Jazicat]

Hi! How wonderful of you to save those pigeons! I know the size cage you are talking about and would suggest getting something a little bigger if possible. Look at rabbit or guinea pig cages and you may be able to find something affordable. That's what we did. Ours have their own room shared with our starlings. They free fly days only. The birds we had from fledglings are tame and let us pet them. The youngest hatched here and he will hang out with us and all but Papa Rob will land on us. Papa Rob isn't really tame but we're growing on him as he now lets us pet him when he's in his house. He also puts himself in his cage every night which is really cool and self taught.

Also if the are going to be indoor pigeons you may want to invest in some PigeonWear made by Boni on this site. They are worth the investment

[TAWhatley]

You might try posting on your local Freecycle list for a cage.

Terry

[Kubilay]

PigeonWear looks AMAZING. Ha ha! Hilarious and amazing. If I do in fact receive these birds I will definitely have to invest in some of those. How practical!

...I've been checking Craigslist today but no one seems to be getting rid of anything particularly pigeon friendly.

Thanks again for all the advice.

-Kubilay

[TerriB]

Originally Posted by Kubilay

...I've read a lot about how pigeons are "great pets"... but what does that mean? Are they tame and handleable (generally)?

A young bird will tame down quicker. With an older bird, it depends how it has been treated. It may take a while to learn to trust you. Food bribes can speed up the process but you will need to be patient and let them take the time they need. I adopted a 5 year old home who was initially totally wild. Now, she flies to my hand or shoulder just in case there might be treats available.

Originally Posted by Kubilay

...Also, how long does a homing pigeon need to live in a new "home" before it will lose the desire to fly back to it's old one? ...

If a bird has flown from it's old home (as opposed to never being let out to fly) there is a good probability that it would always return to that home. It would be safer to limit their flying to indoors or to an enclosed flight pen.

Originally Posted by Kubilay

...at what age does a hen stop laying? He told me that those accounted for most of the birds that he got rid of.

Depends on the breed, the health of the bird, and individual genetics. I have a homer hen who is 10 and lays two eggs every month.

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by Kubilay

I've been checking Craigslist today but no one seems to be getting rid of anything particularly pigeon friendly.

Thanks again for all the advice.

-Kubilay

It's fine to check or post a wanted ad on Craigslist, but try Freecycle and post a wanted (or needed or whatever they call it on Freecycle .. you DO need to read and adhere to the rules) there. http://www.freecycle.org/

Terry

[Kubilay]

Terry -

Ah ha! I checked it out - there is a Spokane group and I "joined" but I have to wait to be confirmed by the admin. I didn't know such a thing existed. It looks like something I'll be using in the future for other things, too.

Terri -

Thanks so much for the information. That's very helpful. I know it must be irritating to have to tell noobs like me that sort of information over and over again, but I couldn't seem to find that stuff in any of the other threads.

[TAWhatley]

Hope you find something on Freecycle .. it's really a pretty amazing thing .. sort of like Craigslist in some ways .. but FREE!

Please keep us posted.

Terry

[TerriB]

Originally Posted by Kubilay

Terri -
Thanks so much for the information. That's very helpful. I know it must be irritating to have to tell noobs like me that sort of information over and over again, but I couldn't seem to find that stuff in any of the other threads.

Happy to help - all of us are noobs in different areas. That said, you might browse around the site a bit - lots of great information out there. I started by searching on various subjects and learned a lot!

[TheSnipes]

Originally Posted by TAWhatley

.. sort of like Craigslist in some ways .. but FREE!
Terry

Wasn't that Craig's list's claim to fame? That's not free? Call me a 'duh'

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by TheSnipes

Wasn't that Craig's list's claim to fame? That's not free? Call me a 'duh'

It's free to post things on Craigslist but not necessarily free to obtain any items posted there. On Freecycle, free is free .. free to post there and all items are free to the people obtaining them. If you want money for something, you can't post it on Freecycle.

Terry