[SilviaGTO]

Hi all.

Im Rachael. I live in Jacksonville Florida.

I came to these forums in search of good information (which I am finding).
Im a veterinary technician that works at a hospital that does exotic animals and takes in wildlife.

Ive helped raise numerous (and I mean numerous) baby doves, and we get the occasional racing pigeon through. Most are relocated back to their owners, or theyre too badly injured

We have one now with a healed broken wing, but he cannot fly anymore. The owner said the bird was no good to him now and to dispose of it however we wanted.
However, Ive come to like this bird a lot. He has a great personality and is perfectly healthy other than his inability to fly.

Im trying to convince the husband now to let me adopt him. Otherwise he gets euthanized =(

Im trying to gather what kind of housing I would need for a single pigeon that cannot fly. A lot of good suggestions on this site.

Thats about it. I just wanted to come on and introduce myself.

 

[olayak]

wow, i cant believe that a vet would put to sleep a healthy, although crippled, animal!
I know plenty of 3 legged dogs and cats that would object.

Pigeons are wonderful and a ton of fun. Im glad that you decided to rescue the pij! Does he have a name?

Im trying to find the perfect cage for my pigeons. From what I understand wider is better. And be careful - I bought what I thought was the perfect cage for my pij, but it has these fancy swirly bars, and he got his toe caught in the bars! He cut his toe pretty badly.

So, you want something at least 24" x 24" and prob 30" height is good. wider is more important than tall. Pigeons dont climb much, like parrots do. He, basically, just needs to be able to flap his wings. And then he needs outside of the cage time. Our pigeons spend most of the day in our bathroom - to the dismay of my husband. lol.
at least 2 hours of the day outside the cage. You can get pigeon diapers for your pij so that you dont have to worry about cleaning poop!

Hope that helped! And welcome, and pigeons are wonderful beings! You will have a lot of fun!

 

[lwerden]

Hi Rachele...........Welcome to Pigeon Talk and thank you so very much for saving this bird. I too have a handicapped bird. She has only one eye, and she is the most wonderful little pet. I allow her plenty of free time out of the cage. Actually before she started nesting she would follow me around all day. I do have the pigeon diaper which works real well.

Here is a picture of my cage. I found it on Ebay. It was very reasonable (around $30). It is actually a rabbit cage, but it works real well for a single bird.

Best of luck with your new pet. If you need any help or advice please ask. The people on this forum are wonderful and are always here to help you.

 

[Charis]

Just to add that pigeons really like bricks to stand on.

 

[SilviaGTO]

I called him Chester today and he started cooing loudly. So. Chester it is.

Havent got the ok from husband to bring him home, but even if I cant, Ive already told the doctor I work with that he wont be euthanizing him.

I know its horrible for the doc to consider euthanasia, but if we kept every crippled wildlife (i know the pij doesnt technically count, but hes in the wildlife room), there would be no room or money to rehab the healthy ones that can go back to the wild. I dont agree with it, but I can also see where it would cause issues if we had a hospital full of non releasable animals that no one wanted.

Ill either bring him home, or find him a home.

Looking at the cage idea, I actually have a chinchilla/rabbit cage that I havent used in years that would be good for one pigeon.

and apparently ill be looking for a brick.

 

[g0ldenb0y55]

Hi Rachael welcome to Pigeon Talk! I hope you find your answers here and please don't hesitate to ask with any questions you may have.

...your chinchilla/rabbit cage will work with some minor adjustments.

 

[Lovebirds]

Welcome to the forum Racheal. Have your husband read this.

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/pigeons/BerniePijStory.html

I don't have a "pet" pigeon in my house.......but I do have about 100 pigeons and a few of them ARE pets..........they're great little creatures and if your husband will give this one a chance, he'll fall in love.

Here's a web site of one of our members that makes birdie diapers, individually for each pigeon. Everyone swears by them.
http://www.birdwearonline.com/index.html

 

[maryjane]

Thank you for caring for all the doves, other critters, and especially this pigeon. Please do check into pigeon diapers, they make ALL the difference in the world. . .especially when you have a housemate who doesn't like birds. A cage like that would be great. My favorite indoor cage is an old playpen I found at a thrift store. The fine netting really helps keep the feathers from floating around, and the bottom "mattress" is easy to wash with a wet cloth. It's also plenty roomy. But a chinchilla or rabbit cage would work just fine as well. Please make sure to provide him with some red grit for digesting. Good luck!

 

[SilviaGTO]

Welcome to the forum Racheal. Have your husband read this.

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/pigeons/BerniePijStory.html

I don't have a "pet" pigeon in my house.......but I do have about 100 pigeons and a few of them ARE pets..........they're great little creatures and if your husband will give this one a chance, he'll fall in love.

Here's a web site of one of our members that makes birdie diapers, individually for each pigeon. Everyone swears by them.
http://www.birdwearonline.com/index.html

I linked him to the story. He actually read it.
He was like wow, that makes pigeons sound cute and fun.

ITS WORKING. THANK YOU.

 

[SilviaGTO]

Thank you for caring for all the doves, other critters, and especially this pigeon. Please do check into pigeon diapers, they make ALL the difference in the world. . .especially when you have a housemate who doesn't like birds. A cage like that would be great. My favorite indoor cage is an old playpen I found at a thrift store. The fine netting really helps keep the feathers from floating around, and the bottom "mattress" is easy to wash with a wet cloth. It's also plenty roomy. But a chinchilla or rabbit cage would work just fine as well. Please make sure to provide him with some red grit for digesting. Good luck!

Its a great idea, but I also own several cats, and theyre very efficient at hunting, theyre not lazy. My first priority would be to cat proof anything I keep a pigeon in, just in case. A playpen would not deter my cats for long.

My office (where I usually spend most of my time at home) will probably become the pigeon room as well =D

Also because I work at an animal hospital, ill probably make him a perch at work and take him with me every now and then.

And thank you for the Thank you. At one point I was raising 4 baby doves, and 15 song birds. Im the only tech at my job that is 1) willing to do it and 2) know what Im doing when it comes to raising them.

I started to have nightmares about clients dropping off box loads of baby birds lol

 

[RodSD]

I like that cage. That should work. If you are planning to release it inside the house then do what Renee and MaryJane says about bird diapers.

 

[SilviaGTO]

The name Chester wasnt sitting right with me.

His name is Rupert.

He will be coming home with me!

Ill post pics when I have him home and situated.

 

[Lovebirds]

The name Chester wasnt sitting right with me.

His name is Rupert.

He will be coming home with me!

Ill post pics when I have him home and situated.

I like Rupert.......you're going to love him so much........good luck and keep us posted......

 

[SilviaGTO]

oh and Charis, you were completely right. I went and found a brick for Rupert, he immediately jumped up on it and has been sitting on it ever since

 

[Margarret]

SilviaGTO,

Welcome to PT and thank you for all you do for the birds and animals in your care. I'll be eager to see Rupert. He will be a wonderful pet. Don't be surprised if he gets territorial about his new cage, once he gets used to it. They really love their homes, see their cages as their own little bit of real estate. Do you know if Rupert is a male for sure? I think you ( and us as bystanders) are embarking on a delightful journey of the adventures of Rupert.

Margaret

 

[Mindy]

I'm glad you took rupert home with you. I received my first 2 piji's last week and I love them. They are inside with me, and they get about 5 hours of free flight time per day. I just found out about the diapers, so I might have to invest in some. I have plenty of cats also, but there free flight is in a no cat allowed room. Have fun and you won't regret it. min

 

[SilviaGTO]

No, im not 100% positive that Rupert is male. He does seem to do a mating kind of dance when he sees me though. He starts to do a funny coo and struts in a circle, while doing a 'lobster tail'

Im going to have him DNA sexed, well because I can. Job perk. If he turns out to be female, his name will be Rupee

What should I do for exercise since he is unable to fly? At work I just let him run all over the exotics room and let a pan out for him to bathe in and a brick to sit on.

I also want to post pics to see what kind of pigeon he is. I just assumed he was a homer because he was banded, but I see there are tumblers and rollers and whatnot, and they all look the same to me

 

[SilviaGTO]

Another question.

What is the proper amount of food I should feed him a day? I dont need him getting obese since he cant fly it off.

 

[RodSD]

I feed mine 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) per bird per day. They still can get fat with that if I don't let them fly! Yet giving them less makes them act hungry.

For exercise, how about this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz7XvsTCkXM&feature=channel_page

 

[SilviaGTO]

So Rupert is home. I wish I had pics but my digicam is broken.

His cage is set up but hes sitting here next to me cooing loudly and preening.

I took his band number and did some research. He apparently is a homer. He did a 397 mile flight from Brunswick georgia, back to miami, florida. (i found a bunch of race results hehe)

It makes me wonder how he broke his wing =(