[Aggie]

Hi;

I happened to see a post by a member who gives his pigeon dried cheddar cheese for a treat, and the bird loves it.

I'm still looking for some kind of training treat - Willie apparently doesn't do the peanut thing.

Does anyone else give cheese? What kind? I asked my vet, and he didn't think it would be harmful as an occasional treat.

I have an Excalibur dehydrator, and I've been thinking of drying cheddar cheese for bread recipes; drying greatly intensifies the flavor, and sort of stabilizes the cheese for baking. I'm wondering if it would be nice for Willie, if he likes it. (Willie is a rescued homing pigeon that I'm greatly hoping will become a pet. But he needs training, and so far peanuts have no effect on him.)

Thanks,
Aggie

 

[Lovebirds]

I know the member you're referring to. I've never given my birds cheese, but I do have about 100......not one...........LOL
I doubt it would "hurt" them in very small amounts, given sparingly. Doesn't seem to bother Rallows babies.
And, by the way, I've been mostly popping in and out the last few days, but have followed the other thread too.

 

[Feefo]

Pigeons don't have the enzymes to digest lactose, so they can only tolerate lactose in very small amounts. This is why they shouldn't be fed milk. However, cheese is low in lactose and is recommended by the RSPB as a good source of calcium for birds.

Cynthia

 

[wolfwood]

Cynthia - you are SUCH a wealth of information!!!!

 

[tuxedobaby]

im sure a wee bit cheese is ok,id cut it into tiny bits 1st

 

[Skyeking]

My dad used to feed the crusty part of Gouda cheese to our pigeons, he would cut it up in small pieces, they loved it.

They only get it once in awhile, I never saw any negative effects.

 

[Aggie]

Thanks to everyone.

I was slightly concerned, because I knew about the lactose issue - I've always fed my wild babies moistened cat chow; and it was important that it was not KITTEN chow, since that contains dairy.

Well, onward and upward. Maybe ornery Willie will now find *something* in his new world that he doesn't turn his nose up at!

-Aggie

 

[tuxedobaby]

some of ours used to be fussy about corn!they would toss it up in the air and leave it till everything else was gone,then it was a case of "needs must"

 

[george simon]

Powered Milk,whey,enzymes

Well I have used powered milk and whey for years. Whey is a by product of cheese making. I also feed my birds digestive emzymes one of which is lipase which brakes down milk sugars.I have not seen any ill effects in my birds.GEORGE

 

[Aggie]

Wow, he's taking things from my hand!

I don't know what did it - the cheese? But suddenly he's taking things from my hand. Not eating them, but picking them up and throwing them down.

The cheese is the only new thing today. I wonder if he's interested in the color?

He picked up three pieces of cheese, and a piece of peanut, and tasted them and threw them down. This is the most progress in over a week of trying to tame him.

Do you think the cheese looks like corn to him? Do you think he'd eat a thawed frozen pea or kernal of corn? I'm trying to think of colorful things. Carrot?

I'm amazed that he'll take something from my hand tonight; but THIS bird could just be encouraging me to let down my guard at cage-cleaning time ;-)

-A.

 

[LUCKYT]

I think it is Like Giving a Dog ice Cream, Does not Hurt Normally, BUT why?
Use Safflower, Thistle, Bread Crumbs...or Something else as Treats. Dave

 

[Lovebirds]

I think it is Like Giving a Dog ice Cream, Does not Hurt Normally, BUT why?
Use Safflower, Thistle, Bread Crumbs...or Something else as Treats. Dave

The same reason we eat a piece of chocolate cake instead of a bowl of veggies.........it's GOOD!! LOL

 

[LUCKYT]

Well, We are not Pigeons...Oh My God! He said that! LOL!
To Keep their Health, Everything they eat must Serve a purpose.
And not take a chance of Messing up the Natural Flora/Fauna in the Gut.
JMHO... Dave P.S. Whey... Ect. is NOT Like A Chunk of Cheese.

 

[Lovebirds]

Well, We are not Pigeons...Oh My God! He said that! LOL!
To Keep their Health, Everything they eat must Serve a purpose.
And not take a chance of Messing up the Natural Flora/Fauna in the Gut.
JMHO... Dave P.S. Whey... Ect. is NOT Like A Chunk of Cheese.

Not a CHUNK of cheese......Lord have mercy.........LOL
A tiny little bit bout half the size of a pea..........AND, this is a pet. Not flying, racing, showing, raising babies, etc......it just wants to live a decent life.
It's owner doesn't want it back or couldn't be "found", so for the rest of it's life, it will never be the life it once knew. It will be a "pet".....what the heck.

 

[Aggie]

Two steps forward, One step back...

Well, after further experimentation tonight, we discovered that it's safflower and sunflower that he craves. A couple of hours ago, he started eating from my hand, and has done it repeatedly over the evening. He eats specifically the safflower and sunflower, and trashes the rest.

I didn't think of these as a "treat" because they're already in his feed. But then I studied his crock, and noticed that all of those bits had been eaten up!

However, the cage-cleaning went very badly tonight - he escaped again. He knows where the window is, and got himself tangled in the closed Venetian blind. My husband untangled him, and he flew to my side of the room, where I caught him.

There doesn't seem to be any injury, though the side that got caught has a little lump in the top of the wing - hopefully just ruffled feathers. It doesn't seem to bother him when I touch it.

This bird is weird - he doesn't seem to mind me stroking his head and back and neck; sometimes he'll almost go into that sleepy-eye stage; and now he'll eat from my hand, if I have interesting treats. But whenever I try to pick him up and swap him into another cage, he does his best to wiggle away, find a free space, whatever - and head for the window and escape. I guess he just wants to fly outside.

Back to the drawing board; but I'm thrilled that he'll eat from my hand now.

Thanks to everyone for your advice and comments.

Best,
Aggie

 

[tuxedobaby]

if hes new to you its case of sussing each other out,keep talking to him and offering him things he likes,hell soon realise whats what,pigeons are smart birds

 

[Aggie]

Yes; and I guess a week isn't very long to expect him to have tamed. I'm impatient, but only because I want him to be happy.

LuckyT mentioned thistle - I didn't know pigeons ate that; so there's another idea.

Now I'm wondering what I'm going to do with 2 pounds of raw Spanish peanuts.
Kung Pao?

-Aggie

 

[LUCKYT]

LOL! Aggie! Squirrels! They seem to need to get used to the Thistle, but once mine did, they loved it. I used it when i was racing also. Dave

 

[Aggie]

Well, I'll try the thistle, then.

I kinda like squirrels; but I like to feed them on the ground.

We live way up in the sky, with a little balcony; and the balcony door opens in; and the squirrels are bold and bad. I'm not going there

These raw Spanish peanuts taste like grass, to me; but if you oil them up and salt them a little, and then roast them in the oven - you can use them in recipes.

I'm going to wait a while, though, to see if Willie develops a taste for them. He surprises me every day.

-Aggie

 

[Brummie]

Hi;

I happened to see a post by a member who gives his pigeon dried cheddar cheese for a treat, and the bird loves it.

I'm still looking for some kind of training treat - Willie apparently doesn't do the peanut thing.

Does anyone else give cheese? What kind? I asked my vet, and he didn't think it would be harmful as an occasional treat.

I have an Excalibur dehydrator, and I've been thinking of drying cheddar cheese for bread recipes; drying greatly intensifies the flavor, and sort of stabilizes the cheese for baking. I'm wondering if it would be nice for Willie, if he likes it. (Willie is a rescued homing pigeon that I'm greatly hoping will become a pet. But he needs training, and so far peanuts have no effect on him.)

Thanks,
Aggie

Why give chesse to a pigeon? Is that like giving pizza to a hamster.The whole discussion is mute.