dyed pigeons

I just read on another thread that some pijies are dyed on the tops of there heads for a religious ceremony. They are marked on the head while a prayer is said and then released to carry the prayer to heaven......

... I have also heard that sometimes they are marked for easy identification in the loft... eaiser to spot, I guess.....???? idk???

txmommyto3girls said:

just heard about people dying pigeons different colors does anyone know how this is done and if it is a safe humane thing to do to an animal??

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There are several threads on this subject.
To find them, click on the search option (top of the page, right side) and enter 'dyed pigeons'.

Cindy

it is done in spain,for flying competitions,it is veg dye thats used and is ok for the birds

It's also done in the States (probably done all over the world). I have a pink Roller who was, at one time (before living with me), the "Red Bird" in a "Rainbow Release". They used food coloring and the red has now faded to pink. I'm just glad she wasn't the Green Bird....

I wiped some veg dye on my doves chest..partially as an experiment in marking them...it left a small pastel patch, not too visible but when I released the dove back into the aviary it was "idenitifiable"...I get rescues and they are too old to band and some of the snap on or spiral bands look a little dangerous like they could get caugth on stuff so I have been trying to think of easier ways to mark them for identification purposes.

Researchers in Africa marked antelope with dye. They were the first to be taken by predators (lions), since they stood out from the herd. Can happen also to flock animals such as birds.

Something to consider.

(Also read about this in Michael Crighton's book Prey. (Author of Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain, etc.).

Larry

I think they use color hair spray to dye pigeon's feathers.

Here are some ideas:
http://www.roller-pigeon.com/board/board_topic/859782/328818.htm

Just ignore the recipe on how to cook pigeon squabs.

There's a guy in Hawaii who uses dyed white homers in his bird release business (weddings, etc). I saw a flock of them fly over once when I was visiting Oahu. I thought I was hallucinating. Later I found a story about the owner of these birds in the Honolulu newspaper, online. He calls them "Rainbow Pigeons."

Using food coloring would probably be the safest way, although I don't know how exactly to do it. I've dyed moulted feathers with pokeweed berries before out of boredom Had to let it soak for about a week, and the feathers were a pretty purple pink color. But I haven't tried anything else like that. I'm pretty sure when you use dye, you have to dip the birds several times to get a good bright, solid color.
Some people have actually painted the birds and sprayed certain things on them that harms their flying ability. So as long as what you do doesn't hurt the bird or make it unable to fly, it'll be okay.