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#1
19th March 2002, 10:16 AM
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Of treats, grit, and sharp nailsHi everyone,
All this talk of sunflower seeds and peanuts leads me to the topic of treats: what other kinds do pigeons like? I know my parrot likes carrots and apples as a change from the ordinary, but do pigeons only like different kinds of seeds/nuts as treats? Or do they like any sort of vegetation, too? Also, the baby pigeon I found, Walter, is growing fast. His nails are VERY sharp (since he likes to fly to my hand to climb up my arm and onto my head, I've got red scratch marks everywhere). Would it be okay to trim the very tippy tops off of his nails with clippers? (I know that you can't cut too far or else you'll draw blood.) My partner suggests getting grit paper to put on the bottom of his enclosure so he'll walk on it to wear his nails down. Which is the better idea? Gretchen |
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#2
19th March 2002, 10:32 AM
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Hi Gretchen,
Those nails are sharp. Can I suggest that instead of clipping them and risking a bleed, why not take a nail file and flatten out the points?
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"Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace." Albert Schweitzer |
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#3
19th March 2002, 10:48 AM
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Quote:
Gretchen |
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#4
19th March 2002, 10:54 AM
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our pigeons like greens --- the tops from carrots and celery, romain lettuce. They don't go nuts over them like they do peanuts, but they do enjoy them.
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#5
20th March 2002, 03:55 AM
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Hi
My pigeons eat all sorts of plants and grass outside they seem to like it very much, when you watch them it looks funny because you wouldn't imagine seeing birds "grazing" Right? but there main favorite aside from peanut shells are sunflowers. Robo Squab  |
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#6
20th March 2002, 04:21 AM
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Hi Robo -
Maybe some of what's happening with your pigeons is hunting for seeds? I've noticed that even pigeons who get the best racing mix, with just about everything in, seem to like to forage for grass and weed seed. My ferals will root around in plant pots - not to eat the plants, but to find seed - even tho' they get fed. Funny creatures they be JOhn
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 Pigeons know more than we think - and think more than we know. |
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#7
20th March 2002, 01:32 PM
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As Judy always points out, 200-million years of evolution is difficult to suppress. They like to forage--and their eyesight allows them to spot tasty treats we would never know are there.
Pigeons have also been known to ingest certain soils, and most will nail a bug if they can--so they're nearly omnivorous little critters! If one accepts evolution, science tells us that the pigeon descends from a therapsid dinosaur, sort of like velociraptor. Through recent research, we think we've found the smoking gun of the last great extinction event--a huge crater in shallow water off the Yucatan Peninsula. This impact dates to 65-million years ago and marks the end of the Cretaceous. Most land animals perished--including (most of) the dinosaurs. 90% of the earth's biomass was destroyed. But the ancestors of the pigeon not only survived, they prevailed. They prevailed over the fire-storm, the acid rains, and the "nuclear winter". You don't do that being "Morris The Cat!" In survival mode, finicky will get you killed! Hard wired into these pigeon-friends of ours are all manner of surprises and survival tactics. Perhaps, winning our hearts is one of them! PIGEONS FOREVER, INDEED!!! --Ray |
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