Help! what can I do to save my pigeons?

[whitetail]

Hi everyone,

I'll try and cut a long story short. My flock have been living in this old abandoned mansion infront of the building where I live. In the past couple of months work has begun to renovate the house. Many times the pigeons have been trapped and I have had to go over and talk to the workmen so that they open the windows to let the pigeons out. They have been OK so far but I'm becoming a bit of a pest as the pigeons continue to move into the house and I have to go again and again and face the workmen with this issue. The work on the house is done sporadically and the pigeons have been trapped for days. My question is if there is something that can be put in the house to keep the pigeons out for good like something visual or something that smells really bad that will keep them away. I'm afraid that the developers might decide to exterminate them all in the end. The workers want to keep the windows closed when not in the house. Please help with any ideas! I have to go out now but I'll be back in a few hours.

Whitetail

[Charis]

It makes sense to put the pigeons out and keep the windows closed all the time so they can't get back inside.
Do they have babies inside the house? How many pigeons?

[lwerden]

If you know where the birds normally enter and exit you can try putting a plastic owl statue there. Piegons by nature and instinct are afraid of owls as they are as much a preditor to them as the hawks.

My neighbor put one up on his roof to keep my flock off his house and it seems to be working well with my birds.

[Charis]

The owl doesn't work here. They figured it out very quickly.

[little bird]

Seems to me construction workers should have the sense to screen the windows after they shoo the birds out and then they could have the windows open while they work and the birds couldn't enter again. Perhaps they would let you investigate if there are any nests with babies and you could take them and raise them.

[whitetail]

Thanks for your replies. The problem is that the windows cant be left permanently closed or open while work is being carried out. The ideal would be to screen them but I doubt this would happen as I cant see developers caring enough for pigeons to do this, usually they just exterminate them. There's 8 or 10 of them in there (I dont think there are any babies as the workers did a clean out last week). It's heartbreaking. I'll go there tomorrow morning and hopefully the foreman will be there and let me get them out. I can tell that their patience is running out. Wish me luck. If I find an owl I'll try that as well.

[whitetail]

Where can I get a plastic owl statue?

[Charis]

Really...the owl won't work.

[jeepsterwannabe]

The Owl does work in my area. Check farm or garden centers. I have seen them in Walmart before. people use them near gardens to keep the veggies from being damaged by hungry birds...

[Jay3]

Sometimes the owl works. Sometimes not. It works better if you move it around. Kinda like a scarecrow. If it just stays in the same place all the time, then they figure it out quickly. The poor pigeons. They have probably been roosting there for a long time, safely. Then people start to work on it. The pigeons think of it as their territory. Too bad.

[feralpigeon]

Yeah, the owl doesn't work here either, the pijies hang out beside the owl as thoughthe owl was protecting them. Jay3, you hit the nail on the head, the birds think of the house as their home. Might be possible to 'lure' them away to another area close by and within sight by using food.

If you (Whitetail), can try and develop a relationship w/the workers and show
them that you are interested in helping them w/the pigeons that are taking away from their 'productivity' time on the job, they might let you in there to
clear the pigeons. Bring a net and a carrier to put the birds in.

fp

[whitetail]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. You are right they think its their home. I'm going over to the house in a few minutes to see if workers will let me call them out or open the windows. Last weekend they were locked up there with no food and water, I was really distressed and I dont want that to happen this weekend. Here in Sydney, Australia its winter and realy cold. The problem is that when the windows are open they fly in and when they are closed more cant go in but the ones that are in are trapped. I just hope that in the end they all survive.

[re lee]

It might be best to trap and relocate these pigeons As they will still be around as the place is remodeled Then after the owners may want somthing done They may very well be safer getting relocated. Nothing but shutting up the house will stop them Unless all windows are screened or they will find there way back in.