Crazy young pigeon

[PigeonFosterMom]

Hi everyone,

The baby pigeon that I found a few weeks ago is doing well. He's lost almost all of his baby fuzz and he's flying more and more. He's also a little bit nuts, and I was wondering if this was normal young pigeon behavior. I keep him in a cage when I'm at work, and when I get home and let him out, he's so excited that he squeaks/squeals like a little pig. The squealing is NON-STOP until I go to bed, several hours later (I was told on this list that pigeons are supposed to be quiet. This one isn't! ). When I let him out, he also flaps his wings NON-STOP until it's time to go to bed. Even if he's not flying, the wings are still going. When he's eating, pecking seed off whatever surface, his wings are flapping. When he walks, the wings flap. When he stands still, the wings flap. Is this just a case of a little bird having A LOT of pent up energy? Will he "mellow out" as time goes on?

Since I'm 99.99% sure that we're going to keep him, what kind of enclosure is good for a pet pigeon living in an apartment? Just a regular old bird cage, or something else?

Gretchen

[Nancy]

Ahhhhhhh!!!! He thinks you're his Ma Ma. He wants you to feed him. It seems he would settle at night if he were not hungry/ perhaps had a ticking clock in his box (lonely), or could burrow his head under a rag or something for some contentment (security)? Anyway this is what my children are happy with.
Aren't they precious?
Sincerely,
Nancy

[fred2344]

Gretchen,
You have a healthy, happy bird there. He is begging for food even if he isn't hungry. That is what they do. Flapping? He is excercising his wings. I love birds like that.

[aloft]

Dear Gretchen,
As you may know, right now I have in my care an injured pigeon, whose broken wing nobody knows (even the vet)if he will be able or not to use again. My family and I, we all love him so much. In case he will never make it into the skies, he'll be fine with us. He's only two or three months old, but he's so good, so quiet. He seems to be healthy and okay, in general. If, by any chance, his wing will be fine in the end, then we will let him decide. It's exactly what I did with another injured chick, last summer, whom I found in the city with a droopy wing and just a few shaky feathers on him. I had him on my balcony, in a huge cage (6 feet/5 feet/4 feet) made of window screens, where fresh seeds, water and grass were abundant all the time. He had to be protected from the other pigeons, squirels or any other animal who would have attacked him, essentially for the food he had around him. By October we had a beautiful and healthy male pigeon, who was exercising flapping his wings and was obviously looking to... get out. Well, we offered him the choice, as everybody would agree, I think, that healthy pigeons belong in the middle of the nature, where they are meant to be. Freedom to fly is the greatest gift they have been given and they should fully enjoy it. But don't you think he left us. No way! He is free, but he visits us several times a day, where he finds the best seeds and fresh water. He is and he will always be ours and free at the same time. He's having a woderful time and life out there. Two months ago he found the pair of his life (you know how loyal they are)and they are coming together to us to serve their good and delicious meals and to sip from the bowls always full of fresh water.
To keep a fully healthy wild pigeon in a cage would be so cruel. I would never think nor do something like this. Never, ever in my life. I saw chicks like yours on my balcony, doing the same flapping and squealing, etc. Don't worry! This is how this one is. They have different personalities like we, people do. I don't see anything wrong with him. If by any chance you have a balcony, when the weather becomes good enough, move him there, the same way I described above about mine. But this one is healthy and after he puts some meat and feathers on him (tail included), just let him choose and I can bet anything that you will enjoy the same happy and fortunate experience like I had last summer.
Well, I just felt like sharing with you some of my experience. You will make the decision and I hope it will be the right one.

Sincerely,
Ely

[Nancy]

My question Fred is why the squab is peeping all night? In the few pigeon babies I've raised (maybe 6-8), if they were fed and had what they needed they were mostly quiet at night. Ours were noisy until I could figure out what need was not met. And not that it's an important issue but I would like to learn some more about peeping babies. Perhaps only the truly healthy ones peep all night?
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Nancy

[Nancy]

My question Fred is why the squab is peeping all night? In the few pigeon babies I've raised (maybe 6-8), if they were fed and had what they needed they were mostly quiet at night. Ours were noisy until I could figure out what need was not met. And not that it's an important issue but I would like to learn some more about peeping babies. Perhaps only the truly healthy ones peep all night?
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Nancy

[fred2344]

Hi Nancy,
I'm stumped about the peeping at night. It should not normally happen but you may have a bird that is crying for you. This is personality and they all have different ones.
If that is what is happening, this bird has created some tight bond with you and does not want to be left alone at night. Mom is not in the nest.

[PigeonFosterMom]

A clarification: the young pigeon doesn't peep all night long. He's quiet when the lights go off (and I do lightly cover him), but for the hours from when I get home until I go to bed he peeps and peeps and peeps, whether he's in his cage or not (whether I'm paying attention to him or not). Actually, like I said, it's more like a squealing sound, and boy, is he ever loud! When he perches on my shoulder, it's like something out of Hitchcock's "The Birds"! So much flapping and squealing!

Gretchen

[PigeonFosterMom]

Let me see if this works...



That's him, about two weeks ago, when I first found him.

[Nancy]

You are his most favorite pigeon in all this world. His MOM.
He loves you as only baby pigeon's can love.
Isn't it great!!
Nancy

[This message has been edited by Nancy (edited March 13, 2002).]

[TAWhatley]

Gretchen,

It sure sounds to me like you have a perfectly healthy and happy little pigeon who has definitely figured out that you are Mama Bird.

All the squabs I have hand raised displayed the type of behavior you describe. They go absolutely nuts when they hear or see you and want you to either feed them or just pay some attention to them. When you are not around, they quiet right down.

Terry Whatley

[candra]

Hi:

Although I agree that birds do love to fly free outside, nature does exact a high price for that freedom. That said, your little guy sees you as mom and his flock. Since you raised him from a very young age he doesn't have bird role models to teach him how to survive outside. So although he might like to explore (curiosity), it would be a death sentence to release him.

We raised Cookie from a baby and she likes to look ouside but we would never let her go there. She's not equipped to defend herself and she wouldn't know how to forage for food in the wild.

She flys around the house and she has a large cage that my husband built for her. Inside her habitat she has a nest (pillow on a basket inside a box on its side.) Sometimes she naps during the day and then gets up to play or listen to the radio or bathe. She pretty much does her own thing. We don't leave her out of the cage when we are not here. Of course she also likes her people time too. She likes to sit on my lap and be petted or to sit on my shoulder and look at the pictures of pigeons on the computer.

A word of warning -- if you have a celing fan you need to turn it off when the bird is out. Cookie had a close call when she was an inquisitive baby but she still likes to fly up there to roost every now and again. We keep close tabs on the fans in the summer. If they are on, she is kept in a room where they are not on.

On the plus side, your pigeon will make a nice companion for your parrot. (I used to train parrots and other exotics). Pigeons are the closest avian relatives to parrots. And although it's not a good idea to let them play with one another, they will talk or chrip to one another. This is good for both birds as it is companionship.

As for the chirping and flaaping. Healthy baby bird. He looks to you as mom. He will go through an active stage and a very inquisitive stage, but then he will mellow out. Pigeons do have a "terrible twos" stage where they are very inquisitive and get into everything. YOu have to watch them during that time, but like kids, they do grow out of it.

Cookie actually picked out her own nest. She loved to lay on flannel pillows so thats what we gave her. I also noticed she liked privacy and the dark, so we draped a towel over her nest. When I go to tuck her in at night (pet her in her nest -- a nightly ritual) she still loves to stick her head up the sleeve of my robe.

So watch your little guy, see what his likes and dislikes are and try to create a nest that have his favorites. Then create a cage (larger enclosure) around the nest. Just enough room to get out of the nest, eat, and walk around and stretch a bit. Cookie has a roost (inverted v) in her enclosure and she flits around in there. When we are home most times she has an open door policy and she either stays in the enclosure or perches on top of it or decides to check out what's happening in the rest of the house.

In the nd creating a living space for your bird is pretty much trial and error, but try and be observant and see what he likes and work from there.

Candy

[wildbird]

Howdi,,,, Please make sure that the "squeeky" babie has is getting fed a FULL CROP when feeding, according to his weight. via Syringe feeding.... Fill it completely, and then refeed when crop is empty. Don't refeed till the crop is empty or sometimes they will get "sour crop".
~

[fred2344]

Grethen,
I just saw the picture of that little bundle of joy. Do you have the heart to release this beautiful little bird?

------------------
"Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace."

Albert Schweitzer

[PigeonFosterMom]

Originally posted by fred2344:
I just saw the picture of that little bundle of joy. Do you have the heart to release this beautiful little bird?

No, I kept him. He's almost two months old now. He's still crazy, though now his little squeaky noises have turned into honky noises. I think his voice is changing.

Gretchen