Cabbage and Pigeons

9228 Views 32 Replies 12 Participants Last post by LokotaLoft, Mar 18, 2009

AZfiddler_1996

Discussion Starter · Mar 15, 2009

It seems like I read somewhere that cabbage is poisonous to pigeons. Is this so?

Licha

1 - 20 of 33 Posts

george simon

· #2 · Mar 15, 2009

Vegetables

Here is a list of Vegetables that can be fed to pigeons and green cabbage is one of them. Endive,Curly Kale,Green Cabbage,Chicory,Leek,Savoy, Lettuce, Onions,Carrots,Beets. I have used Red leaf Lettuce, Kale, Carrots, Beets. Carrots,beets need to be diced, which can be time consuming.One to keep in mind is not to over do it,once every 2 or 3 weeks and keep in mind that they still are fed their regular feed GEORGE

John_D

· #3 · Mar 15, 2009

I've read somewhere of fanciers who hang up a cabbage leaf for the birds to get their greens. I've also read that it's not good for them. Guess it's a case of researching.

This is from Matthew Vriends "Pigeons":

If pigeons cannot be allowed free flight you must supply them with greens (lettuce, spinach, chicory, celery, turnip greens, etc.) ... curly kale is probably the best green food for pigeons ... brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and all kinds of cabbage are bad for pigeons and are to be avoided

Couldn't say either way - our pigeons get romaine lettuce, which they utterly destroy in double quick time

John

LUCKYT

· #4 · Mar 16, 2009

Sorry, but Mr. "v" is soooo out dated! JMHO Dave

mr squeaks

· #5 · Mar 16, 2009

Squeaks is the only one who actually gets "greens." I do have Ecotrition's Grains n Greens that I give to all.

Have never given Squeaks cabbage. Only found out by accident that he liked greens! One day he was in the kitchen with me while I was making a salad. I accidently dropped a piece of Romaine and he gobbled it up! I tore another piece into small bits and dropped them down to him. Talk about FAST...he nailed them almost as fast as I could drop them.

Fun and laughter for me...fun, exercise and greens for Squeaks!!

Love and Hugs

Shi

LUCKYT

· #6 · Mar 16, 2009

I have no problem with cabbage, unless i eat it! LOL! M. Vriends was a writer that wrote some many books on so many creatures, back in the 70's + there is nothing in cabbage that there is not in other greens.
I have found the best green food for pigeons, is NON fertilized grass, with NO weed killer, or pesticides applied. JMHO Dave

MaryOfExeter

· #7 · Mar 16, 2009

Greens are fine for pigeons, it just might make their droppings a little messy at first. If you give it to them on a schedule, they'll adjust to it and it shouldn't bother them as much. Part of it comes from the fact of what food it is, and the other part comes from the sudden change in diet (any change in food can change their droppings/give them diarrhea). So getting them used to it will help

I think probably the only reason people suspected it was bad in the first place, was after the birds gorging themselves on greenstuff, they see all the birds suddenly got green messy droppings. And you know that's typically associated with sickness...therefore scaring the fancier into not feeding it anymore.
When you first introduce pellets, they'll also go through about a day of unnormal droppings because of the greens in it. Within a few days of feeding it, they'll be back to normal

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MaryOfExeter

· #8 · Mar 16, 2009

LUCKYT said:
I have no problem with cabbage, unless i eat it! LOL! M. Vriends was a writer that wrote some many books on so many creatures, back in the 70's + there is nothing in cabbage that there is not in other greens.
I have found the best green food for pigeons, is NON fertilized grass, with NO weed killer, or pesticides applied. JMHO Dave

Good point. My birds love to get down in the grass and eat the little bits of grass and weed seeds. I normally let them do that on the days I give them a bath. Seems to really make them happy and healthier looking. Sometimes even the best supplements and food we can give them, just doesn't match what they can find in your backyard. And it's free!

g0ldenb0y55

· #9 · Mar 16, 2009

MaryOfExeter said:
Good point. My birds love to get down in the grass and eat the little bits of grass and weed seeds. I normally let them do that on the days I give them a bath. Seems to really make them happy and healthier looking. Sometimes even the best supplements and food we can give them, just doesn't match what they can find in your backyard. And it's free!

Becky you are a wealth of knowledge for someone so young. I'm sure your parents are very proud! I hope that this pigeon stuff rubs off on my daughters and they take to it like you do!

george simon

· #10 · Mar 16, 2009

Intermediate Host

MaryOfExeter said:
Good point. My birds love to get down in the grass and eat the little bits of grass and weed seeds. I normally let them do that on the days I give them a bath. Seems to really make them happy and healthier looking. Sometimes even the best supplements and food we can give them, just doesn't match what they can find in your backyard. And it's free!

One needs to be careful when letting birds down in the grass ,yes they do eat weed seeds ,but they also eat insects. These insects can be and are the intermediate host for many of the worms that our birds come down with.There is one other thing that one must consider if the grass has be fed some type of fertilizer in a pellet form the birds will pickup and eat thus getting poisoned. One must keep these things in mined when giving birds free range . When I was racing I never let my birds go down in the grass they had only 3 places that they could be, in the loft,on the landing board, or in the air. THINK ABOUT ITGEORGE

UncleBuck

· #11 · Mar 16, 2009

I do not know how easy it is to get a couple of pounds of wheat seeds, or heck, use the seeds that you have in the bird feed you are using.
I take wheat seed and plant it in a pot and once it starts to come up, when it is about 3 - 4 inches tall, I break it apart and give it to the pigeons, ducks, chickens, geese and even the cats.
A little 4 x 4 pot of wheat grass sells for $6.00 at some pet stores. People buy it for their critters. If you are worried about cabbage, give them some grass to munch on.

g0ldenb0y55

· #12 · Mar 16, 2009 (Edited)

george simon said:
One needs to be careful when letting birds down in the grass ,yes they do eat weed seeds ,but they also eat insects. These insects can be and are the intermediate host for many of the worms that our birds come down with.There is one other thing that one must consider if the grass has be fed some type of fertilizer in a pellet form the birds will pickup and eat thus getting poisoned. One must keep these things in mined when giving birds free range . When I was racing I never let my birds go down in the grass they had only 3 places that they could be, in the loft,on the landing board, or in the air. THINK ABOUT ITGEORGE

The wise sage has brought light to this matter! Thanks george, what you said totally make sense.

Back to the cabbage....I don't know if I missed it but what does cabbage do for the birds or any vegetables for that matter? Please excuse my ignorance...

LUCKYT

· #13 · Mar 16, 2009

Well here is the deal, from what I see here everyone worms so often, and i wormed twice a year when i was racing... I think the nutritional value of FRESH greens outweighs the worry about Worms, if you buy greens in the store they are so old you might as well feed them cardboard. YES, there are intermediate hosts your birds can get from snails, slugs ect.
BUT unless you cut the greens out of your OWN garden, you are doing it more for yourself than the Birds.... I have NO grass in my backyard, GOD, lawns are the BIGGEST cause of fert. run off, and wasted water.(I have wood chips put down) I would only have it again for my Birds. My lot is 50x200 and it takes me 5 Mins. to mow the little i have left in the Front. Even the toughest old Widow hood flyer i ever knew, let his birds on his lawn. AND i am sure he used fert. ect. AND He was one of the most best flyers i have known.JMHO, Dave

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Charis

· #14 · Mar 17, 2009

AZfiddler_1996 said:
It seems like I read somewhere that cabbage is poisonous to pigeons. Is this so?

Licha

I think thats rabbits.

george simon

· #15 · Mar 17, 2009

LUCKYT said:
Well here is the deal, from what I see here everyone worms so often, and i wormed twice a year when i was racing... I think the nutritional value of FRESH greens outweighs the worry about Worms, if you buy greens in the store they are so old you might as well feed them cardboard. YES, there are intermediate hosts your birds can get from snails, slugs ect.
BUT unless you cut the greens out of your OWN garden, you are doing it more for yourself than the Birds.... I have NO grass in my backyard, GOD, lawns are the BIGGEST cause of fert. run off, and wasted water.(I have wood chips put down) I would only have it again for my Birds. My lot is 50x200 and it takes me 5 Mins. to mow the little i have left in the Front. Even the toughest old Widow hood flyer i ever knew, let his birds on his lawn. AND i am sure he used fert. ect. AND He was one of the most best flyers i have known.JMHO, Dave

Hi DAVE, When it comes to fert. I also know of a good flyer that let his birds down on his lawn he had 10 or 15 birds die and the rest were so sick that he could not race for two weeks,when he did come back his birds never were any good for the rest of the old bird season. So if you or any one else wants to take the chance go right ahead but don't say that you were not warned. ..GEORGE

LUCKYT

· #16 · Mar 17, 2009

Gee, George you normally on the money, re read my post, i recommend NO fert. on a lawn were pigeons are foraging. I think Fert. on lawns is a BIG FFFING Joke. Just mulch the leaves in the fall with a mulching mower, or have "less" green grass. Your friend, If what you say is true,your friend let his birds out on a lawn that still had the Grains of Fert. on the surface.(your friend screwed up!)
HIS mistake, not letting the birds have the feed available on a SAFE lawn, is SILLY. JMHO, Dave

george simon

· #17 · Mar 17, 2009

LUCKYT said:
Well here is the deal, from what I see here everyone worms so often, and i wormed twice a year when i was racing... I think the nutritional value of FRESH greens outweighs the worry about Worms, if you buy greens in the store they are so old you might as well feed them cardboard. YES, there are intermediate hosts your birds can get from snails, slugs ect.
BUT unless you cut the greens out of your OWN garden, you are doing it more for yourself than the Birds.... I have NO grass in my backyard, GOD, lawns are the BIGGEST cause of fert. run off, and wasted water.(I have wood chips put down) I would only have it again for my Birds. My lot is 50x200 and it takes me 5 Mins. to mow the little i have left in the Front. Even the toughest old Widow hood flyer i ever knew, let his birds on his lawn. AND i am sure he used fert. ect. AND He was one of the most best flyers i have known.JMHO, Dave

Hi DAVE,I have re read your post no where do I see that you said no fert. The only time you used the word NO was in the sentence and I WILL QUOTE YOU "I have NO grass in my backyard" end of quote.Had you said that you use no fert. I would not have made the post that got you upset, so go back and re read your post. In any event I enjoy your posts so please take no offence. .Your friend GEORGE

ceren

· #18 · Mar 17, 2009

... brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and all kinds of cabbage are bad for pigeons and are to be avoided

Interestingly, these are exactly the veggies that we give only in very limited amounts to our house rabbits because it makes them uncomfortably gassy. (When a rabbit's digestive system stops, it doesn't restart, and that's frequently fatal.)

Skyeking

· #19 · Mar 17, 2009

ceren said:
Interestingly, these are exactly the veggies that we give only in very limited amounts to our house rabbits because it makes them uncomfortably gassy. (When a rabbit's digestive system stops, it doesn't restart, and that's frequently fatal.)

I always read that it is not good to give broccoli and all kinds of cabbage, brussel sprouts and cauliflower, it should be avoided...perhaps of the gass factor, the book doesn't say why....but many members here do give broccoli and cabbage to their birds, but they give it in only small amounts and once in awhile.

The ideal vegies to give pigeons are shredded curley kale-one of the best to give them as it is full of nutrients-, endive, turnip greens, celery, carrots, and last spinach-a lastly because it should be given less. All vegies should be washed thoroughly.

Margarret

· #20 · Mar 17, 2009

One of the things that I take into consideration when feeding greens is the oxalic acid content in them. Oxalic acid binds up with calcium, so if you have breeding hens, you should not give greens high in oxalic acid such as spinach. The oxalic acid keeps them from absorbing calcium and it is just excreted.

The two best greens that are high in vitamins and minerals yet low in oxalic acid are kale and swiss chard. Kale is probably the #1 green veggie for nutrition for the birds.

Margaret

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