What is my responsibility to this pidgeon, please? HE KEEPS COMING BACK! [Archive]

pwynnnorman

Sep. 23, 2009, 04:12 PM

My barn--and quite possibly my person--seem to have been adopted by a tagged gray pidgeon. "She" is very sweet and follows me around. I haven't tried to catch her, but she is obviously very domesticated. She is healthy--flies wherever and whenever she feels like it--and has a very good appetite. She will walk right up to me, inches from my foot, and look up at me like I'm supposed to do something for her.

What?

(P.S.--Yes, I called the nearest vet, but the secretary was abrupt and unhelpful. I tried the cooperative extension, but as usual, no one picked up the phone. I refuse to call the sheriff on a pidgeon.)

FatPalomino

Sep. 23, 2009, 04:15 PM

Feed her?

We kept one that a friend's cat almost ate in the bathroom while it healed.
We found the pigeon banging against the door. Obviously, asking for help ;)

bizbachfan

Sep. 23, 2009, 04:15 PM

a friend of mine recently found two tagged doves in her back yard on two different days. They are trying to find the owner via internet, etc but in the mean time they are very happy in a cage. Where I live I would be a little worried what could happen to a domesticated bird out on its on, I would try to catch it for its on good and put it in a cage.

Hilary

Sep. 23, 2009, 04:25 PM

I'd pick her up and read the tag! That might give you a sense of where she came from. We had 2 ducks in our back yard once that had tags so I called Fish & Game - they were mildly interested but didn't do anything. The ducks stuck around for a couple of days, then left.

The ducks were wild so I could only tell the color of the tags.

twofatponies

Sep. 23, 2009, 04:57 PM

It must be the one that fled our barn when we became unfriendly! :D

I posted a couple weeks ago about a tagged pigeon hanging around. It was very clever and friendly - even sat on the horse's backs while they were in the cross ties sometimes! Would stand by the door when he wanted to be let out (he could also go in and out through the windows and hayloft if he wanted to).

But after a few weeks we got tired of the huge piles of pigeon poop on the overhead lights, shovel handles, wheelbarrow handles, and floor. So we (I board there and volunteered to help) brought a net and bird cage in to try to catch it. Honest, the morning we arrived with the net and cage that pigeon gave us a look and disappeared, and from then on he was only to be found in the barn after hours and gone during the day.

Well one evening I came in and spotted him and tried to catch him. Just missed. But since then we haven't seen him at all - I think he must have moved.

FancyASB

Sep. 23, 2009, 05:26 PM

Is there a local pigeon fanciers, racing, homing pigeon club listed? Might be one that strayed. My Dad had racing/homing pigeons for years and belonged to clubs.

birdsong

Sep. 23, 2009, 05:29 PM

There have been two that attached itself to my friend. I looked up the local Homing /Racing pigeon group for her who immediately identified it, picked it up and made sure it was returned to its owner.

Here ya go:

http://www.pigeon.org/lostbirdinfo.htm

Marion County Racing Pigeon Club :
MARION COUNTY RPC SUMMERFIELD 352-347-4027

Another close contact:
http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/articles/2008/12/13/news/news01.txt

Bluey

Sep. 23, 2009, 05:36 PM

Google racing pigeon clubs.
There is even one number to call for help if you find one:

LOCATE A RACING PIGEON CLUBBaby racing pigeons first 31 days of groth. LOCATE A RACING PIGEON CLUB. Racing Pigeon Clubs RACING PIGEON CLUB MAIN SCREEN ...
www.speedpigeon.com/racing_pigeon_clubs.htm - Cached - Similar
American Racing Pigeon Union | Homing Pigeons | Sport FlyersThe American Racing Pigeon Union registered bands have a specific format. ... (3) - ABC - is a letters representing the pigeon club the band is registered ...
www.pigeon.org/lostbirdinfo.htm - Cached - Similar

Welcome to the Royal Pigeon Racing AssociationClub officials may make random checks at any time. ... The 7 day isolation period for racing pigeons following the return from a continental race no longer ...

Ring List - To report a stray racing pigeon - Loft News - Contact Us
www.rpra.org/ - Cached - Similar

Dubai Racing Pigeon ClupHello, welcome to Dubai Racing Pigeon Club Homepage, here you'll find some useful information about the racing pigeons the new sport in the United Arab ...
www.angelfire.com/in/zajel/ - Cached - Similar

Find a Racing Pigeon Club near you!Click on the headings to sort the list to quickly locate clubs in your Province or City. Call their contact person to find out more about the Pigeon Racing ...
www.canadianracingpigeonunion.com/PigeonClubs.aspx - Cached - Similar
Pigeon ClubLocated in an actual pigeon racing clubhouse, the pigeon club has kept the olde-tyme vibe of the original building. The decor remains untouched and, ...
www.pigeonclub.com/ - Cached - Similar

pwynnnorman

Sep. 23, 2009, 06:33 PM

Wow, it's amazing the stuff you can learn around here. Now I'm a fan of pidgeon stories: "He must have moved." Indeed! :lol:

OK, I'll make those calls. Thanks!

sidepasser

Sep. 23, 2009, 06:38 PM

Homing pigeons occasionally get "off course" and they are tagged and very, very tame. If you can catch her, you can read the tag and get the info on her.

I bet she was "blown" off course and sometimes if you just leave them alone, they rest up and then fly away to their "home" coop.

Equibrit

Sep. 23, 2009, 06:44 PM

Check this site; http://www.ifpigeon.com/

They have a searchable band list.

Contact The IF Lost & Found Coordinator:
Sal Lama
17820 Monteverde Drive
Spring Hill,FL 34610
Phone:(727) 379-0632
SLama@tampabay.rr.com
to assist in Locating only (IF) International Federation Birds.

chai

Sep. 23, 2009, 07:37 PM

I agree with the others that she may be a racing pigeon. We lived near a racing hutch in ME and quite often, pigeons would snug in for the night on our farm on their last leg of a treck back to their home. They were beautiful and very tame. I think you should try to find out if there is a racing group near you and perhaps they can help. It is kind of you to care for her in the mean-time.

Doodlebug1

Sep. 24, 2009, 05:37 AM

Let him stay and rest for a while - he'll go on his way soon. Sometimes they hang around for a few weeks but they always go eventually.

hunter-eventer-hunter

Sep. 25, 2009, 10:36 AM

You can, with a little work, get the tag ID and then off the mighty oracle that is google to find his home.

Google is stupidly amazing, when you get right down to it.

HEH

Chester's Mom

Sep. 25, 2009, 10:51 AM

How nice of you to watch out for the pigeon! We had one my SIL found at her work... she works at a Budweiser distributor and it kept pooping on the beer trucks! She called the phone number on its band and the owner (who is in NY, the pigeon was in Greensboro NC) said he didn't want it back so we found someone who rehomes pigeons & doves and donated him. Now that nice ladies white birds are having speckled babies :eek:!

Ozone

Sep. 25, 2009, 10:52 AM

Funny this thread came up. At my farm there is a "stray" peigon too! Vey sweet little thing, we name her Piggie .... we started feeding her and now when she is not around we get concerned! :) I think she came in from some where, needs food and some companionship and then she will probably leave :( yours will too

Everythingbutwings

Sep. 25, 2009, 11:18 AM

We found one a few years ago, she turned out to belong to a racing pigeon guy up in Pennsylvania about 30 minutes from The Winglet's home. He came down to visit and took the bird back to it's owner on his way back. :)

Carolinadreamin'

Sep. 25, 2009, 11:37 AM

One flew into our garage. Saw it had a tag. Managed to catch it and read the tag. Found the local racing pigeon club and called the number. Someone came and got the bird the next day.

The Shadow

Sep. 25, 2009, 06:58 PM

I had a banded pigeon show up at my barn (one of the released AGSG ones - long story). If AGSG is on the band you have one too! Found someone to adopt it at this website:
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/index.php

lolalola

Sep. 25, 2009, 10:47 PM

A friend told me that some pigeon racers will kill birds that are found and hadn't come back. It's supposed to be a bad bird for the sport, or something. Does anyone know if that is common practice?

LearnToFly

Sep. 27, 2009, 11:41 PM

Bluey

Sep. 28, 2009, 01:03 AM

Am I the only one that's like... flabbergasted... by the fact that there are pigeon rescues and pigeon races?

How do you train a bird to fly to a certain spot anyway? (Seriously, I've been wondering this ever since the mashable article about scientists proving that carrier pigeons can deliver information faster than the African internet)

Ours were trained to come back home.
We used anis and that was supposed to make them want to fly home again.
Don't know if it worked, but it sure made the coop smell sweet.

To race, we drove them to, say, the race track, when we were taking a horse there, five hours away, wrote the time down and turned them loose.
When they came home, you logged in the time and turned it in to the racing secretary and that is how it was scored.

I don't know how they do it any other way.

Stacie

Sep. 28, 2009, 08:42 AM

Some years ago we had a tagged pigeon walk into our garage and begin to eat the birdseed we had in a bag there. We are in suburbia but have foxes so we caught her and put her in a dog crate. The tag traced back to her breeder but we couldn't find her owner so we called a local pigeon racer. He came to get her and said there had been a race from Florida (we're in N.Va) and a storm blew through georgia and over 30% of the birds were blown off course and never finished. He suspected she was one of these as she had no muscle left in chest because she was starving from trying to fly home. He said once they are back in shape, they will fly home.
He thought she was a very nice bird and planned to feed her up and breed her before he let her go. :lol: Yep, he was VERY pleased that we called him.....

pwynnnorman

Sep. 28, 2009, 09:52 AM

Am I the only one that's like... flabbergasted... by the fact that there are pigeon rescues and pigeon races?

How do you train a bird to fly to a certain spot anyway? (Seriously, I've been wondering this ever since the mashable article about scientists proving that carrier pigeons can deliver information faster than the African internet)

Not only are there pidgeon races, there are whole pidgeon racing communities, where everyone owns a pidgeon fleet.

Well, my pidgeon--who, I was told, is only about three months old--went home on Saturday. The day I went to the website, I got a call from the national folks. The next day, I got a call from the local chapter. By the third day, a fellow came out, netted him and carted him away. I was quite relieved because he was becoming very demanding, hanging around my feet all the time so I had to watch where I was walking.

I just wish I knew what it was he had wanted, but I suspect he'll get it back home.

Other than that, he was a nice guest to have around for little while. I miss him.

LearnToFly

Sep. 28, 2009, 12:05 PM

http://mashable.com/2009/09/10/carrier-pigeons-adsl/

So how do you teach them to do this??

PalominoMorgan

Sep. 28, 2009, 06:59 PM

I worked with a guy who raced pigeons. I found in FASCINATING and it seems pigeon people are just as crazy as us horse people. :-)

pwynnnorman

Oct. 5, 2009, 06:36 PM

He's BACK! For the THIRD TIME!!!

Should I keep telling them he's here? Maybe I should just let him stay? Does anyone know if these friendly pidgeons are nevertheless dog saavy? (There's only one loose dog in the whole neighborhood, but he does show up in my barn every now and then. He's old, but he's a Aussie-type dog, so I think he might go for Pidgeon and I'll be crushed to find naught be a trail of gray feathers one morning...)

Blinkers On

Oct. 5, 2009, 07:49 PM

Yes, and they likely need to cinfine the bird for a bit so that he gets zoned in to where home is... aka not your house

Foxtrot's

Oct. 5, 2009, 08:00 PM

We owe homing pigeons a debt of gratitude - they were used during the war to send
messages back from the field.

Also, on one of the big rafting rivers (Colorado?) to carry exposed film back to town so the photos were ready for the rafters when they arrived back.

Take care of the little thing, and it may just carry on home when it recovers, or may decide to enjoy your hospitality.

We had a couple of baby pigeons brought to us over the years to raise. They grew up around here but eventually took off to find mates. One, "Squeal", used to stay with my husband on top of his hat. If anybody came near they would get bopped with a very strong wing whack. When he left, he brought a very beautiful lady friend with him for one last visit, and then was gone.

Foxtrot's

Oct. 5, 2009, 08:02 PM

Yikes -- you have re-programmed him. He/she thinks YOU are his home. Like a boomerang.

JSwan

Oct. 5, 2009, 08:05 PM

He's BACK! For the THIRD TIME!!!

Maybe you should just take up pigeon racing. Looks like you have a head start.:lol::lol:

Go Fish

Oct. 5, 2009, 08:55 PM

He's BACK! For the THIRD TIME!!!

Sorry, but I just about split a gut laughing! :lol:

It's like your drunk Uncle Ronald...you love him, but you wish he'd just leave!

pwynnnorman

Oct. 5, 2009, 09:05 PM

Oh, gosh, now he has a name, so I guess Boomerang has a new home, too. BTW, the guy who picks him up (he's from Ocala, but Boomerang is an Inverness resident--or was) says most likely Boomer is only about three or four months old.

I'm going to try to get a picture of him looking up at me with that oh-so-expectant look on his face.

What do pigeons like to eat, anyone? (Oh my, "pigeon peas" just popped into my mind!)

Blinkers On

Oct. 5, 2009, 09:11 PM

Bird food, grain...

GilbertsCreeksideAcres

Oct. 5, 2009, 09:27 PM

Just wait until Boomerang finds a little friend. Then you'll become obsessed with the creative practice of pigeon birth control, as I am.

Let me know when you need some tips.

Foxtrot's

Oct. 6, 2009, 01:24 AM

If I were you I would not rush out and buy a 40 lb bag of pidgey food -- he just may decide to go home!! Round here they do just super around the grain silos.

nightsong

Oct. 6, 2009, 02:56 AM

It sounds like whoever picked pidgie up from you let him go (TWICE!) before mr. pidgie was ready to fly all the way home. Yours was the only place he 'knew' locally.

Equibrit

Oct. 6, 2009, 10:37 AM

This guy has an interesting pigeon website; http://www.racing-pigeon-fancier.com/

SonnysMom

Oct. 6, 2009, 12:10 PM

I found one years ago (before the internet was really available) and a local racer told me to keep him about 48 hours and feed him unpopped popcorn. Then take him outside and throw him up.

So I think unpopped popcorn would be cheap and easy start.

JWB

Oct. 6, 2009, 12:17 PM

The ones who ended up in our barn loved the sweet feed.:D

Melelio

Oct. 6, 2009, 03:28 PM

Beasmom

Oct. 6, 2009, 09:40 PM

Abut a year ago we had one of those pigeons with the big feathery feet show up at the barn. He was fairly friendly, but I could not catch him to see if he had a tag. I bought a bag of bird seed for him (I'm a sap for birds of all kinds) and we'd worry if he wasn't around for a day or so.

Eventually he disappeared. Don't know where he went, or if he met a bad end.

birdsong

Oct. 6, 2009, 09:53 PM

Loving the stories....can't wait to see the photos..hint, hint.

I met a racing person who began telling me all about the sport. I actually had a wee moment of consideration since I do love birds. Alas, so do hawks. I have a huge family that nests here annually on my place.

Still fascinating though. Why don't you get a little tube and send a note along with him with your # if he should ever fly away.

You could get a bag of wild bird mix and toss in some horse feed for extra protein. He'll love it.

lolalola

Oct. 6, 2009, 10:52 PM

There is commercial pigeon food, but my pigeons are in a coop with a couple of chickens and eat what they eat - chicken feed, sunflower seeds and leftover fruits and veggies.

Sugarbrook

Oct. 6, 2009, 10:55 PM

OK PWynn, now heres the real story.

Something about the blue color of our barn has attracted pigeons. The RACE pigeons.

So, I love these guys. But OMG, when I see them strutting down our barn isleway with 3 cats around I do worry.

Being the nice person that I am, we called and found the info we needed to track the owner. Called the owner (after making sure the little guy was safe), and the owner came, thanked us and left. Of course with little guy.

After doing this many times in a row, finally MR HONEST pigeon owner told us that when they go off course, and they bring them home, they destroy them.

OH JUST GREAT!!!!!! All our efforts are in vain. Since then when we have one land, we just try to protect it and hope it flies off to another safe farm and has a good life. Usually they stay for from one to 5 days to rest up. So sad.