/r/pigeons

Photograph via snooOG

Welcome to r/Pigeons, under new management. Found a dove or pigeon? Post here!

For discussion about competitive pigeon keeping - racing, flying, showing!

/r/pigeons

8,683 Subscribers

34

Final Megatron update!

So, as I previously said in the last update, me and my friend went back to the abandoned building (little fact: it actually used to be a naval pressure testing sight in which they’d submerge goats in deep water due to their similar respiratory systems to humans to see what would happen and how deep we could go) and unfortunately Megatron was not there.

There was a slight concern as a bit away from where we left him there was a large hole in the floor, but after going downstairs and looking around there we figured he hadn’t fallen down.

We looked around quite a bit and couldn’t find any trace of him being eaten or hurt, no feathers, no corpse. We brought some oats and water in case he was there but ended up making a little camp fire and eating the oats ourselves once we concluded he was gone.

We aren’t sure if he healed up and went back to the flock or if someone came and took him as it is a very frequented spot by kids and teens in my area (saw a dad with his 5-7 year old daughter once!).

Hopefully Megatron is well and still flapping around somewhere in the site.

Thank you to everyone who offered advice and tips on what to do!

5 Comments
2025/01/01
18:18 UTC

35

Can anyone help identify what this pigeon is suffering from?

Found in the UK. It was weak and couldn’t fight the wind and just kept itself contained in the corner of the garden. It was limping and it did fly away but it came back to our garden to find shelter in the corner again. The part on the bottom of its beak was suet that fell off after the video, it couldn’t eat it and there was also a suet pellet stuck in its mouth and it couldn’t swallow it. We’re going to contact RSPCA, but if anyone can provide any information it would be a big help. Thanks :)

10 Comments
2025/01/01
14:30 UTC

11

Happy New Year 2025

1 Comment
2025/01/01
02:24 UTC

39

Megatron update!

This is referring to the post of the amazingly named pigeon - Megatron.

So, me and the group that were there that day have been talking about returning to the building, and as of right now the plans are to go back on the 1st of Jan!

We'll bring some food (more brunch bar oats presumably) and water just in case Megatron hasn't done so well for themselves. However we are definitely slightly concerned due to the fact that as we were leaving the site, a group of boys (all around 17-19) were entering it. We gave them a little warning about Megatron and let them know that they were friendly (actually very friendly from the get go, didn't peck anyone even as we were all taking turns to gently stroke and feed them!). But hopefully nothing has happened to the little guy.

Hopefully Megatron is still there tomorrow, and if they're not where we left them, we just have to assume and hope that they got a bit better and went back to their friends. We actually kept making jokes whilst sat with the little guy like "oh the flock won't believe this one" and "pigeon parent lore goes crazy" (as teenagers from varying ages of 14-16 do).

Will definitely update on them tomorrow and hopefully all is well for the little guy!

And thank you to those who offered suggestions on where we can take him and what to do about it if we do take him somewhere!

(PS: yes, teens do still listen to cannibal corpse)

4 Comments
2025/01/01
01:53 UTC

3

What's a Gickna?

0 Comments
2024/12/31
16:19 UTC

14

NPA Grand National Show 2025

If anyone is in the area, this is coming up. A cool way to see hundreds of different fancy pigeons! Hours are 10a - 8pm. Saturday closes at 1pm.

11 Comments
2024/12/31
03:34 UTC

33

Is this pigeon sick ?

She seems a bit „fluffed up“, but her flying is normal. Visits regularly to eat and drink. Could she be sick?

5 Comments
2024/12/30
13:35 UTC

8

Floofball in their happy spot after being fed.

I also went out to talk to them.

0 Comments
2024/12/29
10:05 UTC

2

Targ zwierząt Lublin

0 Comments
2024/12/28
08:59 UTC

16

My siblings confuse me

So I LOVE pigeons and think they're SUPER adorable but one of my siblings hates them, says if I got one she'd feed it to our cat, etc. and when I ask why she says it's because they're "dirty birds". But that's because they LIVE IN THE CITY. If I had one as a pet it would be clean. Can anyone here relate and/or explain why so many people think that pigeons are "ugly, dirty birds"?

12 Comments
2024/12/27
16:03 UTC

109

our first nest

4 Comments
2024/12/24
11:56 UTC

2

Pigeon safe candles / incense related products?

2 Comments
2024/12/24
07:10 UTC

19

Are pigeons generally less of a “commitment” than, say, a dog/ cat?

I’ve been wanting a pigeon and researching them for months and based off what I’ve read, a pigeon seems like less of a commitment than a dog (especially working dogs) a little more than a cat, and less of a commitment than other (non-domesticated) birds, like a parrot or something. Also seems easier in the sense that I can bring a pigeon pretty much anywhere with a harness, even in cold weather. I’m an avid hiker, so that would work out great!

18 Comments
2024/12/23
08:28 UTC

8

How do I deter pigeons from my balcony without harming them? I'm desperate LOL

My partner and I noticed some pigeons nesting around our apartment balcony this summer. After speaking with wildlife control we followed their humane directive to let nature "run its course" and were told once the eggs would hatch and the babies leave the nest, the pigeons would not return. BOY OH BOY was that a big fat lie!! Not only did they stay and keep coming, they brought friends!!! Multiple times we'd see up to 8-9 pigeons at a time on our small 10ft x 3ft balcony - you can imagine the amount of bird poop that came with that...

After thoroughly cleaning multiple times, and chasing down our landlord to help, we finally had spikes put up. While this deterred them a bit for a week or two, they have now learned to squeeze themselves in any little gap they find between said spikes - some even resting over them completely (see picture).

We tried every other trick in the book (or the internet) from rubber snakes, to reflective decorations and even laser pointers - nothing helps. At this point it feels like a battle of wits between the pigeons vs us.

We live is a busy area of a metropolitan city, so street pigeons are common, but i've never seen it this bad at a residence - ever. We can't ever use our balcony anymore... HELP!

**Edit: The photo won't load for some reason but just imagine a chunky pigeon resting on a bed of spikes likes it's a freaking acupressure bed.

https://preview.redd.it/d4lwbxjd7a8e1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4b327beba8b155e7930510aef1fbf2470f3b4e2

8 Comments
2024/12/21
22:09 UTC

5

How can i identify between male and female faintales.

Its been a month since i bought a faintales as pair but not sure whether they are in pair as sometimes they peck each other and also dont show any breed

4 Comments
2024/12/21
10:21 UTC

56

Has anyone seen a pigeon do this before?

Hey folks, I’ve been feeding this adult male pigeon for two years and every 2-3 weeks he gets a ‘cold’ and his symptoms are coughing and spluttering like this. Droppings are normal and he’s a bit tired and sounds like he is struggling to breathe. Has a good appetite, but slower to eat because he struggles to breathe. After three days it passes and he’s back to his normal self. It’s been going on for years. I have treated him for Cocci, worms and did Roni V in his water for a month because I was advised it could be canker, not nothing fixes it. I’m starting to think it could be an environmental trigger of some sort. Has anyone seen pigeons behave like this before? Could this be canker? Even though it’s been two years of this and no one else in the flock including his mate has ever been sick?

33 Comments
2024/12/13
02:33 UTC

11

how friendly are pigeons bred for racing?

hello!! ive been wanting a pigeon for awhile as ive always liked them and i know they make wonderful pets- weve owned birds for most of my life (mostly budgies and chickens, had quails at one point as well) so im not entirely unfamiliar with taking care of them. my mom recently started asking for a parrot and i tried to convince her to get a pigeon instead as i dont think shes actually prepared to care for a parrot (she tends to impulse buy pets and leaves the responsibility on me), but im confident i could do most of the work needed for a pigeon on my own, and i’d rather get an animal i’m sure we can care for. theres a man in our city that raises toghi pigeons and is selling a bunch of his adult pigeons as hes getting older and its harder for him to take care of them. from what i understand, theyre not bred to be companion animals, and it doesn’t look like he handles them very much (vs keeping them in their enclosure most of the time). my mom also specifically wants a male pigeon. i would like a bird i could handle a good amount- i’m not expecting it to cuddle with me 24/7 or i’ll give it away or anything like that, but i’d like to be able to play with it somewhat often and do things like scratch its head etc once it’s comfortable with me. so my main question is, would a racing pigeon also be comfortable showing affection, or would i be better off trying to find an actual companion pigeon?

12 Comments
2024/12/12
18:47 UTC

9

Mystery pigeon illness - help!

Hey folks. I have been feeding a feral adult male pigeon from my balcony in suburbian Australia for over two years and for 1.5 years of that time he has suffered what I can only describe as a 'cold'. At first it happened about once per month, and then for the last 8 months he has been getting sick routinely every fortnight, every second Wednesday. It starts off with a slight silent cough, then he sounds very congested in his cere for three days and and breathes out of his beak. He becomes slightly slower but he is still alert. He struggles to eat as fast but he still eats and has appetite. He always bounces back after 3 days like nothing happened.

I have treated him for Cocci, Worms, Canker. He has had a mate this entire time but she has never been sick. They had babies once, over a year ago but haven't since. He is healthy, not under any stress, and nothing in the conditions has ever changed here, I just feed him a tablespoon of healthy seed each day. Regarding his water, for two years I have put 5ml of Apple Cider Vinegar in 1 litre of water. In the last fortnight I only gave him plain water in case that was the trigger, but he is sick again today.

I have been advised it's lingering canker, I treated him with Roni V in his water for a month, but it doesn't feel like canker to me. What virus comes back every fortnight to the day? Could it be an environmental trigger? I don't know where he rests or nests at night. Could this be an allergy?

His droppings are normal too. It's a baffling condition. I am trying to do all I can before having to trap him and take him to the vet, which I really don't want to do - it will traumatise him and he won't trust me again afterwards. I have never touched him, he never imprinted, I just look after him from my balcony and keep my distance.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

17 Comments
2024/12/12
01:06 UTC

11

[VET TOMORROW] Pigeon fell from a moderate height and now won't voluntarily stand up anymore

Disclaimer: I am already taking it to the vet tomorrow at noon, it's late where I'm at and I couldn't find anything open at this hour.

He isn't bleeding and does not seem to be in severe pain, although obviously he must be in pain due to his behavior. He's about 30-40 days old, hard to say since he's a rescue. He's one of two rescue baby pigeons I took under my care at 10-15 days old judging by their feather at the time.

The chance that he's sick is very low, since right before this (literal minutes before) he was walking around and being active. I took him up to feed him and then when I went to put him back in the cage, he jumped from my hand from a height of around 1m / 2-3ft. and literally bellyflopped on the barely padded plastic bottom of the cage. Both he and his sibling are trying to learn how to fly these days, so I assume his instinct was to slow down his fall using his wings; however, he just fell right down at mach 10 and smashed his belly / chest on the floor.

Now he's just sitting there, lying on the floor, and won't move at all. I've picked him up and checked for injuries but I'm no pigeon anatomy specialist; I couldn't tell whether something was broken. He didn't flinch nor squeal in pain and he can very easily move his legs and wings and head etc. He's not sleeping, he's looking around and at me, he's not like in a vegetative state or something, just does not move from that spot, as if he's in pain.

Excuse the bird droppings, I usually clean before sleep and in the morning

The vet will obviously answer all questions tomorrow, but until then, I just wish I could find out whether he's just a little hurt and it's something that'll pass soon, or if it's something more serious. 🙁 Poor baby.

Thank you all so much!

5 Comments
2024/12/06
15:01 UTC

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