Any advice for Shy and Scared Birds?

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Hamza & Moonswirl,

I agree totally with what everyone else has said. Pigeons are all different, unique like any animal. SO, patience, love and understanding will win the day 90% of the time.

Some things to remember are routine - birds are creatures of habit and love organization in their lives. Keep things scheduled as much as possible with feeding, cleaning, fun time etc. Patience - one has to be very patient with animals like birds, they don't often respond right away, it takes time to establish trust and a bond. Treats - these play a vital role in solidifying a relationship with your pigeon/bird or any animal. Once you find a treat that your pigeon likes, then this will be a "weapon" in your arsenal and useful with taming

I have 3 pet pigeons; 2 are handraised, spoiled little devils and their father is a more 'wild" barnyard pigeon He has never really become tame and is definitely afraid of me. That said though, he's 20 times better than when I first brought him home

[Hamza]

If there is anyone from Pak./Ind. or know the hindi/urdu language, can they tell me what safflower and sunflower seeds are called in hindi/urdu?

Local stores dont know English names...!!!

[Larry_Cologne]

Hello Hamza,

I typed "safflower in hindi" in the Google search bar, and this was the first website listed:

Bawarchi: Glossary of English to Hindi Terms

http://www.bawarchi.com/glossary.html

Safflower seeds = Carthamus tinctorius = Kardai, kusumbha

(or another website lists kusam. Phonetically, both English alphabet spellings sound the same in Hindi, I believe. Someone once told me Buddha is pronounce more or less with one syllable, Budd (or "bood," with a certain inflection at the end). And Rama, "Ram." And so on. However, I am not a linguist, don't need to learn or use Hindi yet, so don't quote me.

Sunflower seeds = Sunflower = Helianthus annus = Surajmukhi

Other links:

http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Cart_tin.html

This link shows safflower in different languages, with their original symbols or fonts (or alphabets). If your computer fonts do not include fonts for Hindi, Urdu, et cetera, or if you have disabled the fonts in order to save hard drive disk space, you may be able to see the fonts only in .pdf format. I am not too informed on this, just something i picked up when reading about Apple Mac computers.

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Urdu

References to Urdu.

Safflower in Urdu: Kusumba, Zafran kadhab
Sunflower in Urdu: sūrya-mukhī


Wiktionary: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sunflower
(sūrya-mukhī)

India is so rich in foods and spices, and its cuisines are so old and have had so much time to be developed since people had much time to do this, that you can probably find many alternatives to the more limited European and North American seeds and plants available. After all, most of our spices originate from from the subcontinent, and European health and lifespan increased greatly in the 15th-16th centuries when the Portuguese opened sea routes for the spice trade. There are probably Ayurveda recipes for animals. I should probably inform myself further on this. I like pickles and chutneys.

Larry

[Trees Gray]

Here are pics, perhaps this will also help.

http://purgrain.com/ingredients.htm


Here is a link to sunflowers in general. Pigeons can only eat the very small black oil sunflower seed, not the big seed with white stripes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_seed

[Hamza]

Thank you....it realy helped...

But to my surprise, my pigeons are unable to swallow wheat, barley, peas and legumes or lentils...They eat rice and a local seed "bajra" without problem...Whats wrong? Are they toooo young?

[Larry_Cologne]

Hamza,

I am not a nutritionist, but speaking in general terms, we develop enzymes to digest what is necessary and good for us. And we will develop them in the proportion necessary for efficient digestion. Eating too much of a strange diet often makes "vacations" "interesting" for tourists.

Birds are not mammals, they don't have mammary glands, they don't produce milk for the young to digest and therefore milk will make them sick (unless it has been processed further by microorganaisms into cheese or joghurt). (Pigeon "crop milk" is not the same as the milk produced by mammals; the same word is usd for goat milk, cow milk, human milk, and other similar or dissimilar things, for convenience). Humans produce and use the enyyme lactase to digest the milk sugar lactose. No lactase, and you cannot digest lactose. Years ago americansshipped powdered milk in food relief shipments to starving Africans, who didn't kow what to do with it since they couldn't digest it, so they white-washed their mud huts with it. And stayed hungry, I suppose.

When I came to Germany over twenty years ago it was hard to find peanut butter here, or if I did find some "peanut butter" it was not at reasonable prices. Hamburgers? Well, maybe a hamburger made from pork. Or a sort of hambuger at McDonald's. Now peanut butter is found in most stores, even some American brands. My wife thought American candies and cakes "too sweet."

In a recent National Geographic article I read that the cold countries (northern European) grow wheat, and therefore produce and drink lots of beer. In the really cold countries of Russia, and in Siberia, they turn the wheat into vodka. France produces lots of grapes, so they drink lots of wine. And so on.

We tend to eat what satisfies and fills us, what we have been raised on nd have therefore developed a taste for. If you stop drinking milk after your mother stops nursing you in many countries, your body will stop producing lactase and you will be lactose-intolerant or unable to digest milk. The same thing may happen to other foods.

We learn a lot from pigeons by observing them and having patience. If we try to force things because of certain rituals and formulas we have picked up, then we usually don't understand the underlying principles, and may do unnecessary damage.

No one usually needs to teach us to breathe, or to pee. The basics we usually pick up on ourselves. It's when we go to school and learn to read and start to listen to the wrong people that we pick up our bad habits and believe things because they are convenient.

Good luck with your pigeons.

Larry

[Victor]

Originally Posted by Hamza

But to my surprise, my pigeons are unable to swallow wheat, barley, peas and legumes or lentils...They eat rice and a local seed "bajra" without problem...Whats wrong? Are they toooo young?

Pigeons in general Hamza have eating likes and dislikes just as we humans do. I prefer a hamburger instead of a cheesburger. I like to taste the meat.

I have six pet pigeons but only three of them will eat the lentils and green split peas.

I have another one that absolutely ignored shelled unsalted sunflower seeds (it is more of a treat) and now lately he eats the stuff as if it were his last meal.

Sometimes eating habits change. Once they try it (or have to) they realize sometimes that it isn't bad after all.

[Hamza]

Well, my father had 2 pigeons when he was a kid but only for 3 weeks cause they flew away somehow and his father wouldn't let him keep more cause he cried a lot due to them flying away...He knows some stuff about them...

Upon my complaint, that my pigeons were to shy/scared, he told me to cut back on their feed for a day... Nothing in the morning and some in afternoon...

As evening came, i got out their feed, put my hand (with feed) into their cage and spilled some seeds nearby. Slowly but surely, Monu seemed quite brave and after 10 min she pecked nearby and then on my hand. Seeing this, Sonu came and started chowing! (on my hand)!

I was really excited! i could feel their soft necks and their sharp nails!
Well, i was told by a shopkeeper that pigeons just love "Kangini" or Italian Millet. I bought some and when i sprinkled some on the floor, they went wild, fighting each other for it!

Maybe this was the treat i was waiting for!
Thnks every1!
~Hamza

[amoonswirl]

Hamza - so glad to hear that you are having success making friends with your pigeons! Their soft feathers and sharp nails are such a nice feeling : )

Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice and give a little update as well.

I still have not found a treat that Munchkin likes. I've tried safflower, unsalted peanut chunks, black oil sunflower, millet, and even small pieces of carrots, apples, greens, and breadcrumbs but he shows no special interest in any of them.

However, I did find a way that he seems to like for me to pet him. I am very excited about this! If I reach my fingers up under the thick feathers of his neck and scratch the skin very lightly in a circular motion, he relaxes, closes his eyes and he really seems to enjoy it. (Not exactly the TTouch method, but something like that...) Finally he does not seem as frightened of me - maybe we are on to something : )

[Victor]

Hamza, I am happy to see that you are using the ol' get to them through their tummy" technique. It will take some time and on your part, patience. That is great news.

Karen, there is hope! Your Munckin who is older reminds me of the personality my older pigeon Paris has. He has calmed down a lot compared to the wild frenzy he was in last Summer, but I doubt he will ever accept me "grabbing him". I am happy to just accept him the way he is and respect the space he likes. Maybe by next summer, I will be able to up-date his persoanlity? Ya never know!

[mr squeaks]

Just a quick comment about your last post, Karen and your pigeon neck "scratching." I hear what you are saying. I can do that to Squeaks too, HOWEVER, it's the "WHEN" that's the catch!

If he's in protective daddy or molt mode, forget it (for the most part). If, he's in MATE mode, wellllll, we're talkin' a pij who LOVES to scritched, petted and loved!

Just have to watch his behavior!

Right now, he's under my computer chair, cooing every so often for attention!

[Victor]

Originally Posted by amoonswirl

I still have not found a treat that Munchkin likes. I've tried safflower, unsalted peanut chunks, black oil sunflower, millet, and even small pieces of carrots, apples, greens, and breadcrumbs but he shows no special interest in any of them.

: )

If I may offer this...

Unsalted raw shelled sunflower seeds. They might be found at your supermarket in the pecan/nut section. Health food stores I am sure sell it. Of course, it is available via internet,and cheaper that route too.

[amoonswirl]

Originally Posted by Victor

If I may offer this...

Unsalted raw shelled sunflower seeds. They might be found at your supermarket in the pecan/nut section. Health food stores I am sure sell it. Of course, it is available via internet,and cheaper that route too.

Thanks for the tip, Victor! I will look for those. Much appreciated : )

[TerriB]

One comment regarding the shelled sunflower seeds - they are very rich, so don't feed more than a few a day. Walter weighs over 800 gms and any more than 3 a day would give him the runs. Birds love them, but the seeds go stale relatively quickly, so feel free to munch some yourself.

[cowgalsarah]

hey i need help.. i hav a WHOLE flock of pigeons to tame.. please help me.. there are 6 of them and none of them like me,,, oh and is it ok to clip wings (clipping them the right way) or is it bad and cruel.. (they live in an avary outside) plase help