Report on found Pigeon

[kcmoscasey2]

Just before Christmas I found a bird (which turned out to be a pigeon) along a country road,the bird was unable to fly and I brought it home, the pigeon is doing fine and does fly from the floor of the pen to a roost but no farther. I couldn't find any places that knew or carried feed for pigeon's believe me I found mostly dislike from most of the people about pigeon's.so I used wild bird seed safflower seed and prime pellet's and grit and mixed it all together,plus cracked corn and add sunflower seed's. Does this seem to be okey? I know the elevator/feed store told me they get rid of pigeon's and other pest bird's with posion feed plus the local police department shoot the ones around the court house, so this is NOT a good area for pigeon's, Also I am keeping the pigeon in a big cage in the garage for right now but would it be better to bring it into the house? My GRAND DAUGHTER call's the pigeon SNOW because it's all white. KC

[Birdmom4ever]

Thank you for taking in this needy pigeon. Where are you located, KC? You don't have any feed stores in your area? If in the U.S. you can buy pigeon food on-line from Foy's Pigeon Supply. http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/

Diet sounds good except for a couple things: give the grit in a separate container, not mixed with the feed. But boosting the protein level of the wild bird seed with safflower and pellets is good. Ideally the pigeon should have grit made especially for pigeons, not the kind sold in pet stores for small cage birds, though that will suffice if you don't have pigeon grit available. I assume if you're having trouble finding pigeon feed you don't have access to pigeon grit, either. You can also get that from Foy's.

Cracked corn is considered a no-no because it can easily become moldy if it becomes at all damp. Unpopped popcorn is a lot better and you can purchase that from the grocery store.

Your garage should be fine. Pigeons can tolerate cold; the main thing is to keep them from drafts and damp. If your garage is dry and you're providing light throughout the day, that should be good enough and the pigeon doesn't need to be in the house.

[Reti]

Thank you so much for caring for this sweet bird.
Birdmom gave you good advice for the grit and the corn. You can find pigeon grit also at Foy's, it comes in big bags, but lasts forever.

The garage is fine, but you can bring the bird in if you want and if you intend to keep him as a pet. Pigeons make great pets and they love the attention they get from us humans. They can be easily tamed and don't make more mess than any other bird kept as a pet.
If you keep him in a cage, I would advice to let him free fly a couple hours a day to get his exercise.

Unfortunately those birds are very misunderstood because of all the bad adds from pest control companies. Many places have become badfor pigeons.

Thank you again for caring for this little guy and giving him a good home.

Reti

[kcmoscasey2]

Thank you for the information, We have a Feed Store/Elevator but they carry feed for chicken's, Rabbit's, and etc, when I asked about Pigeon feed I thought I was going to get laughed out of the place, We do have a Pet Smart in a town close to us would they carry the pigeon food? So I shouldn't give the cracked corn? Everything else okey? The grit seem's to be in awful big pieces, is this sound like the right kind? I think I will go to the Web site you suggested and see what they have oh by the way I live in Illinois,small town USA Ha Ha. KC.

[Reti]

My local PetsMart does carry dove feed, which is fine for pigeons. They also have grit.

Reti

[re lee]

Considering you just have the one bird. You need to buy less at a time. If you do not have avlibilty. You can use chicken pellets. It may take a little for the bird to get used to them. but they will work fine. You can figure about 3 to 4 ounces per day for the bird. about 5 pounds a month. Not much feed at all.