[D3ADK]

Hey there. I'm new here and only 18 years old but I have a few questions about pigeons.. So recently my neighbor hand raised a couple of wild pigeons from a farm, and when they were 3 months old she released them. Well, one of them ended up on my parent's back porch and we began to feed it and my father built him a house. We named the pigeon "Freddy" and he has been leaving early in the morning and coming home around 5-6pm every day for the last month. Sometimes he even ate dinner with us. Haha. (I live 20 miles from the Canadian/Quebec border in northern NY so it's pretty rural here) Anyway, 2 days ago he never came home. There are a couple of reasons I'm guessing he's not coming home.

1.) There was a bad thunderstorm during the night before he never came home, Maybe he got spooked and is hiding in the woods?

2.) Do Pigeons leave to go find mates? "He" is actually a "She" but we didn't know his sex when we named him. Do female pigeons go and try to find a mate? I'm wondering if maybe this is the case since it is a wild pigeon that was found on a barn when it was an egg.

3.) This is what I fear most.. There has been a hawk or turkey vulture flying around my area the past few days. I've read that a pigeon's biggest predator is a hawk. Is it possible Freddy was eaten by this hawk?

Any insight would be great. My parents are sad but I am completely devastated. I loved this bird and I'm hoping it will come back.

 

[Jass SamOplay]

Hello and Welcome to PT
Thank you so much for caring for that pigeon, feeding her and building her a house.

No body wants to be lonely. They may start looking for a mate at 5-7months of age. She might have joined a flock or maybe some prince charming has her under his spell, who knows?
A lone bird is always susceptible to attacks from BOPs. But we can only wait for her and can do nothing else. This is what we have to face if we keep them open to nature. I think she has joined a feral flock because pigeons are social birds and roost together in numbers for safety and support, at night somewhere high away from possible dangers.
But be optimistic, maybe in few days/weeks she comes back with her mate and starts to live in the coop you made for her.

 

[Jass SamOplay]

Pigeon like yours have returned even after weeks/months so don't lose hope yet.

 

[D3ADK]

Oh wow. You just made my night much better. So we should leave her house be with food and such? My father was going to take it down. I'm really hoping she comes back. Growing up my mom had tons of birds. But gave them away when I was 13 because they were very messy inside (they were certain types of parrots) and I really never liked them. I mean, I liked them. But never bonded with them. This pigeon and I have really bonded. Just this past Saturday she was floating around with me on the pool float in our pool. Are all pigeons this social? Where can I purchase a pigeon if Freddy doesn't come back? are there online stores?

 

[D3ADK]

Here are some pictures of her and her house. I miss her so much.

 

[Jass SamOplay]

She's cute Black beauty! Who wouldn't miss her?
So much of feed scattered?
On a second thought,I think something might have scared him out of her house. If you feed like that then sure its an open invitation but not only for her, for a number of other animals/vermins too. Rats could have disturbed her at night. So she might have gotten scared. Collect the feed and put it in a feeder to which only she is accustomed to. Also you need to close atleast more than half from the front so that she feels safe inside where nothing can see her from outside.
I like your effort though giving her mirror and play stuff. Its like you made her a suite

 

[Jay3]

Your pigeon is beautiful, but her house, although a nice perch, isn't a safe place for her. It isn't safe against hawks and such during the day, and not safe against rats, weasels or owls during the night. Actually, she was just free to live outside on her own, and a lone bird isn't safe outside. That's why they live in flocks.
The seeds would have attracted rats and such, and they kill pigeons. You may think you don't have all those predators, but you do. Pigeons need a safe enclosure for locking them up at night when the night predators are out. But even during the day, she wouldn't have been safe from that hawk.
I'm sorry you lost your bird, and I hope she just found a flock, but who knows. If you were to find another pigeon, that setup isn't safe for them.

 

[Skyeking]

I agree, a pet pigeon by itself outside is just an invitation for any type of predator attack , and leaving extra seed is another invitation for predators of all kinds. I hope she returns, so you get a chance to build her a nice weather/predator proof enclosure.

 

[cwebster]

Agree with Skyeking and Jay 3...hope she returns so you can make her a safe home. She is beautiful.

 

[RoxS]

I'd take the suggestions to make the house more secure and just hope for the best! I had one pigeon who flew away. I normally keep my pigeons indoors but let them out to my backyard during the day in the summer (they fly back in when I clap & call them). Boyfriend and his buddy were doing work out back one day and one of them got spooked by a ladder. I watched him sitting across the street way up high all day and was calling for him but he just wouldn't come. I was devastated and soooo mad at the friend who spooked him by just slamming the ladder down! Well anyways, I can't say 100% for sure if Rodan ever came back for a visit but I thought I had seen him multiple times with a lovely speckled girlfriend in the flock that hangs out on my house- looked like him, acted like him, responded the same way he did when I talked & whistled. I think if he wanted to come back he would have (I've had a pigeon spend the night on a neighboring building then fly back in the AM). I choose to believe and just hope he found a more fulfilling life (he was never fond of my other pigeon). Aside from improving the house, that's about all you can do- just hope for the best!

 

[Whytpigeon]

Hey there. I'm new here and only 18 years old but I have a few questions about pigeons.. So recently my neighbor hand raised a couple of wild pigeons from a farm, and when they were 3 months old she released them. Well, one of them ended up on my parent's back porch and we began to feed it and my father built him a house. We named the pigeon "Freddy" and he has been leaving early in the morning and coming home around 5-6pm every day for the last month. Sometimes he even ate dinner with us. Haha. (I live 20 miles from the Canadian/Quebec border in northern NY so it's pretty rural here) Anyway, 2 days ago he never came home. There are a couple of reasons I'm guessing he's not coming home.

1.) There was a bad thunderstorm during the night before he never came home, Maybe he got spooked and is hiding in the woods?

2.) Do Pigeons leave to go find mates? "He" is actually a "She" but we didn't know his sex when we named him. Do female pigeons go and try to find a mate? I'm wondering if maybe this is the case since it is a wild pigeon that was found on a barn when it was an egg.

3.) This is what I fear most.. There has been a hawk or turkey vulture flying around my area the past few days. I've read that a pigeon's biggest predator is a hawk. Is it possible Freddy was eaten by this hawk?

Any insight would be great. My parents are sad but I am completely devastated. I loved this bird and I'm hoping it will come back.

I hope your pigeon does come back. You are right on the guesses why he has Not come back. Turkey vulture do not attack they eat already dead animals. The pigeons age is the right age for them to start to mature and find a mate so he or she maybe playing house somewhere with his or her new mate.