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Rescued baby Pigeon

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lemonmeringue

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Hello! My friend rescued a baby pigeon while rock climbing about a week ago. He found the little guy dangling between two wedged rocks and no nest in sight. So, naturally I end up the baby. (He told me "Happy Birthday!" as this baby was given to me a day before my b-day, what a silly present) :hehe:
I'm guessing that the little guy (or girl) is close to two weeks old now according to a growth chart I found online. I've researched what and how to feed him and he seems to be doing very well. He's gaining about 15-17 grams a day and very active.
I plan on keeping him since I am hand feeding him, so I would love any advice and/or tips for caring for him. Anyone have pigeons as pets?

Thanks!:)
 

jmfleish

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OMG! These guys are awesome! We had one about 20 years ago that my dad raised and he imprinted on my dad. He'd go outside during the day and play with his friends and come home and sleep inside with us. He was for all intents and purposes a wild pigeon but completely and totally in love with my father. He knew the sound of my dad's car and you could see him flying down the block when my dad would come home for lunch and would land on his head or shoulder when he got home from work and come in for lunch and then go back outside! We had him for ten years. He even had a girlfriend who lived inside although she wasn't as friendly. Unfortunately, one of my dad's cats got the girlfriend one day when my dad forgot to shut the front door and they came in when he wasn't home and Henri (the pigeon) found a new girlfriend who refused to come in, so Henri had to choose between his girlfriend and my dad...it was the coolest ten years ever though!
 

Lovebird Lady

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OMG! These guys are awesome! We had one about 20 years ago that my dad raised and he imprinted on my dad. He'd go outside during the day and play with his friends and come home and sleep inside with us. He was for all intents and purposes a wild pigeon but completely and totally in love with my father. He knew the sound of my dad's car and you could see him flying down the block when my dad would come home for lunch and would land on his head or shoulder when he got home from work and come in for lunch and then go back outside! We had him for ten years. He even had a girlfriend who lived inside although she wasn't as friendly. Unfortunately, one of my dad's cats got the girlfriend one day when my dad forgot to shut the front door and they came in when he wasn't home and Henri (the pigeon) found a new girlfriend who refused to come in, so Henri had to choose between his girlfriend and my dad...it was the coolest ten years ever though!
What a sweet wonderful story, Jen :heart: Henri had the best of both worlds :D
 

Anne & Gang

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how neat....I know they are incredibly smart!!
 

jmfleish

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What a sweet wonderful story, Jen :heart: Henri had the best of both worlds :D
It was really, really cool. I wish we would have kept notes because it would have made a great book. Henri's first girlfriend's name was Gertie. She was a pigeon that I found in the yard one day that had a broken wing and I put her on the porch because I was afraid that one of the local cats would get her. While she was recouperating, her and Henri bonded and we had the pair of them for a good 9 years. I can't even begin to tell you how many baby pigeons they produced because my dad was too saddened to take the eggs away from them. He eventually started to swap out infertile eggs though because he was worried that the neighbors would turn him in!:) The first clutch we helped raise I'll never forget, there were three of them and they would come onto the porch every now and then after they were grown. My dad has always had a soft spot for animals.
 

jmfleish

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Here's a picture of my dad and Henri shortly before Henri flew the coop for good. He was one lucky pigeon...living in a Victorian house!

dscn1448.jpg
 

lemonmeringue

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Thats such a wonderful story! And what a lucky Pigeon. We've named our pidgy 'Squit' The name comes from the Animaniacs cartoon. There were these mob pigeons called the Good Feathers and Squit was one of them. LOL
 

Ede-bird

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What an adorable squeaker!! We have a house pigeon named Cooter. She was about 12 days old when she was rescued by my Husband and brought home. The Pigeon Talk forum is full of wonderful helpful people, their knowledge was invaluable when raising Coots! :)
Cooters new house 003.jpg Cooters ouside pool 004.jpg

This is our adorable girl - she's 2 years old now:heart:
 

SandraK

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Awwwwwww! :heart::heart::heart: Be still my heart! Squits is totally adorable and Coots isn't shabby either. :heart::heart: Jen, I love the photo of your dad and Henri - they make quite a dashing pair of guys! :hug8: :hug8:

Have to admit that Squits looks like he/she's got HUGE antlers growing out of his head from the bedding behind him :D.
 

Cyreen

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Yep, I have Ollie, she's been with me almost 4 years and does very well on the same Roudybush pellet that my hookbills eat. She does the most awesome little happy dance anytime she contemplates doing something really daring or is really excited about something.

Something every house pigeon needs to know about: PGWear Store

Ollie-1.jpg
 
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Birdbabe

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Pigeons make wonderful pets, therye so social, sweet and cuddly. Pigeon talk is great, what a doll that baby is.:heart:
 

lemonmeringue

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Thanks. I was looking at Roudy Bush for feeding him when he's ready. We have a really great Parrot shop here in Boise and although she (the owner) said she doesn't know much about pigeons but said she has lots of customers buying Roudy Bush for pet doves and pigeons. Squit's definitely starting to recognize me and loves sitting on my chest after his feedings.
 

Ede-bird

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Is he doing the wing and shoulder flippy/twitchy thing when he see's you coming, getting ready to beg for food?? Cooter still gets her right shoulder going when I have some of her favourite treats - defrosted room temperature peas and corn. :) She even knows that they are stored in the freezer part of the fridge :hehe:

She eats a pigeon dove mix that I add unpopped popcorn too and Harrisons pellets, the Adult lifetime fine. She also has pigeon grit available all of the time, the kind with the calcium-because she is a girl she lays a pair of eggs every month :)
 
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Cyreen

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Calcium really important, my girl is a layer too. However, because she eats pellet, I use sterilized egg shell, with a some oyster shell mix in and cuttlebone, she likes her cuttlebone.
 

lemonmeringue

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Squit does get really excited when he sees me. He's really been flapping his wings lately, like he's stretching them. The last couple days we've been letting him walk around on the floor to stretch his legs and he comes right to my hands.
Two days ago he started pecking at his bedding, so I thought I'd try offering some seed to see if he'd eat anything by himself and he did!! Just a little though and he tries pecking at the corn and peas I put in his bowl too. He's so cute!!

So, how would I tell he is a he or a she? I read something about the length of his toes or something while he's under a month old, but it didn't make sense.
 

Renae

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Lucky little one to be taken in, s/he is thriving well in your care. :) :hug8:I can’t help with the sexing, sorry!
 

Birdbabe

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Happy to hear hes coming along, thanks for helping him.
 

lemonmeringue

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We started our weaning process yesterday and it kills me to hear him squeak in the afternoon because he wants me to feed him, lol. He's pecking at seeds some but not too sure how much of it he's swallowing. He's still getting bigger every day. He's now up 246 grams at three weeks old. He started at about 122 grams when he was rescued at about 6 days. I think thats pretty good.
Pinto and him met on the floor yesterday too. He seemed really excited to see another bird and Pinto could have cared less. Ha!
 

Birdbabe

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aww:heart: we of course, will need updated pics.:D
 
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