My injured pigeon's

[Eric26toronto]

I found two injured pigeon's they are healing well, I have had them both for less then a month, and I'am planning to release them next summer when, assuming they are fully healed. My question is how long can I keep them in my home before they become domesticated, and unable to take care of themselfs, after release?

[plamenh]

It depends on their age and type of injury. If you took them in your care too young, it will be fairly difficult for them to learn to survive outside.
On the other hand if injuries are too serious, even if recovered, they may be slow flyers and will quickly become prey to the predators. You can estimate best their condition.
I will be careful when releasing them and use so called "soft release " method.
It consists of letting bird go out, and leaving food and option (open window, door) to come back. Pigeons are intelligent birds and usually they can make decision to return if hungry or endangered.
P.S. If you have any doubt in their abilities to survive outside, do not release.

[Jaye]

Hi. actually, Plamenh is the dude when it comes to pigeon knowledge, I have learned tons from you, Plamenh, since you have been here.

But the above abbreviated explanation of "soft release"... was a bit too abbreviated.

Soft release process takes about a week to pull off.....and most of that time is keeping the pigeons in their cage but luring a feral flock around them to feed so they can acclimate to/observe the way they are supposed to act, and pick up on the vibes of the flock regarding when to stay/when to flee.

Do a search for "soft release". As I said, it takes a week and it is done in stages before you actually let the bird go free. Here is a decent breakdown of things, although I do not agree with everything noted in the list:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f23/to...ase-10874.html

In answer to your Q's, as noted above....how young were these pigeons ? Were they still in the next ? If they were 14+ days old, in my experience, soft release to the feral life has a great chance of succeeding. If they were younger, however...as Plamenh said, they are probably gonna be human bonded so will actually need to find a loft, aviary, or pet situation.

I dunno if you have to wait until summer...probably just until the thaw....sometime in Spring (?)

You folks who live where there are actually seasons (we have none of that here.... just sorta grey.... foggy.... and 50-60 degrees 350 days/year) have a tougher call to make if dealing with harsh winters...

Thanks for saving them ! I am sure others will chime in shortly....