can u teach a pigeon to talk?

[pigeonlover2004]

I was wondering...is it possible to teach your pigeon to talk? iF so, HOW!?!?!?!?

[maryco]

I don't think that is possible with a pigeon...

Though some birds like crows and starlings can talk and sing But pigeons are different.

[pigeonlover2004]

I wish it was possible...do u know how to teach a pigeon to send a message? Or even pick up a message to send it?



ps: Do u have a pigeon?

[maryco]

Umm.. I think that is done with homing pigeons. I have no experience with this but from what I know the pigeon is taught to home then is taken far away and a message is attached to the pigeon and let go/sent back home when needed to deliver the message.. correct me if I'm wrong anyone, Because I'm not sure about it, I just saw that in a movie

And yes, I do have pigeons (2 actually, the ones in my avatar and profile pic )
Dotty and Pearl are their names, Dotty is a male feral with one foot and Pearl a lost homer who came to my balcony and I caught her. Check out their wedding pics:
http://community.webshots.com/user/marypigeon

[pigeonlover2004]

Do u know any 1 who could mail me and tell me how to get a pigeon to go to a certain place when i tell him to? Or maybe even a website?

[stella]

My Bob can't talk of course, but he can sort of count...if I say his name once, he opens his beak once, if I say it twice, he opens his beak twice... he can only do it up to three, past that he just does it over and over. He doesn't make a sound when he does this, just moves his beak. At first I thought it was a fluke, but we've done it many times now.

I sing to him a lot, but I substitute his name for the words of the song (so I'm just using the melody but singing his name over and over). If I sing "Twinkle Little Star" he tucks his head down and goes to sleep!

[maryco]

That's adorable!!

Thanks for sharing the cute story about your talented pigeon

[pigeonlover2004]

thats a cute story. lol
Do u let him outside ta fly around?

[stella]

Thank you Maryco - Bob is such a joy!

Pigeonlover, Bob is a feral recently recovered from PMV, and I let him fly around the room, but not outside. I think he is with us for good, and he lives in a cage that is 4'x4'x5'. He's sort of like a little dog - he plays with a ball, comes running when he sees his food coming...in fact, he does the mating dance for my chocolate lab. He enjoys jumping from his perch into a bowl of water - I think he gets a big charge out of the splash, because he makes happy noises when he does it. No matter where I place the bowl, he always jumps straight into the middle!

[pigeonlover2004]

thats cool...did u teach him to come when he sees the food and stuff like that. Did u teach him anything yet? If so...what...and how?

[stella]

I really can take no credit for any of Bob's antics, except to say that my husband and I both work at home, and spend a great deal of time with him. When he was sick we let him be, except for the obvious food/water/medical care he needed, but when he started getting well we made sure to keep him engaged and stimulated with toys and singing and what not.

I have read that pigeons can remember 300 images. When Bob sees his food bowl, he just knows what's coming. You could also try this - if you keep your seed in a container, shake it on your way to his cage, and he will come to know that sound and come running.

[Xandras_Zoo]

Sounds like an adorble pigeon!

I don't think you can "tell" pigeons where to go... they're not like owls in Harry Potter. They are raised in a loft, and then taken with people... say in the war. When the people in the war want to send a message home, they tie the message to the pigeon and he flies home with it. That's what I've gathered, anyhow

[Lee]

Lee here,
Altho pigeons have vocal cords they dont use them after they become adults . They do make noise but it is made with a different part of the throat and not the vocal cords so they cant talk .....

[pigeonlover2004]

U should c what my pigeon does.They say-to NOT have cats around your pigeon.(thats NOT the case here)Are cat is AFRAID of my pigeon-(puffy) because puffy will walk up to our cat-(fuzzy) and start clucking at him. Than puffy will start pecking fuzzy really hard and then hit him really hard many times with his wing. Than fuzzy will run off. Sometimes puffy will fly after him or RUN after him-its really funny.-O...and I have a question-I got puffy when he was about a month old, and I have had him for a year and a half-but the weird thing is...is that he is still REALLY SMALL. Hes hardly grown.And while other pigeons like him that i c at my grandfathers barn-ARE HUGE. At least 4 times the size of him...y is that?

[pigeonlover2004]

ist that cute? lol