What should I feed this pigeon?

[jonaeselaye]

My mum found a pigeon last night getting terrorised by cats in her front yard. He kept trying to enter her house and she noticed that he had a ring on his foot and realised that he belonged to someone. She was a bit afraid of them though (she's not really a bird person) and asked me to collect him.
I called and messaged the phone number on his ring and found out that the owner is away. They asked me to take care of him until Wednesday and give him dried rice and barley. Is there anything else I can give him? Asides from rice and barley We don't have a lot of rice, can he have regular bird seeds? We've been experiencing a lot of bad weather the past few days In Melbourne and most of the local supermarkets are closed due to flooding.

 

[cavemanrich]

Just give him regular bird seeds, like for wild birds or parakeets. The dried rice does not make sense to me at all, unless they mean cooked , and then dried. Uncooked rice fed to anything is a NO NO NO!!!!!!!.
for rescuing him. I mean this sincerely.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ask anything else you are not sure of. and

 

[jonaeselaye]

Just give him regular bird seeds, like for wild birds or parakeets. The dried rice does not make sense to me at all, unless they mean cooked , and then dried. Uncooked rice fed to anything is a NO NO NO!!!!!!!.
for rescuing him. I mean this sincerely.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ask anything else you are not sure of. and

Thank you so much for the advice I'm always happy to help out a lost animal
I have given him some bird seeds and a big bowl of water. I will just stick to bird seeds as you suggested as it seems like the safest option. He seemed sad to be caged so I let him out in the laundry and he seems much happier now.
Do you think it would be better to keep him indoors or outdoors? I just assumed he was an indoor bird because he kept trying to enter my mum's house but I can make him a temporary enclosure outside if that's better for him.

 

[Hokum Coco]

This is what a pigeon would eat in a perfect world. It is a pigeon mixed feed not available in every store.

 

[jonaeselaye]

This is what a pigeon would eat in a perfect world. It is a pigeon mixed feed not available in every store.

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Thank you that's a very handy visual. It looks similar to this scratch feed
http://www.peterspureanimalfoods.com/products/poultry/food/free-range-poultry-mix.php

Do you think it'll be okay to give him that ? It doesn't have the green stuff though

 

[Hokum Coco]

Do you think it'll be okay to give him that ?

That visual of the feed I posted is not available in my area. I feed my pigeons a mix of hen layer pellets and other grains. I like to feed whole corn to my pigeons especially through the winter months. I find it helps them combat the cold in our Canadian winters. The green you are referring to I think is dried whole peas.

 

[cavemanrich]

Do you think it would be better to keep him indoors or outdoors? I just assumed he was an indoor bird because he kept trying to enter my mum's house but I can make him a temporary enclosure outside if that's better for him.

I suggest you keep him inside until Wednesday, when owner will show up to take him home. You don't want him possibly escaping, and/ or being harassed by cats or such. It is most-likely, that he is tired/or such, since he was on the ground when you picked him up. Otherwise, he would have flown up into trees or somewhere out of reach.
Again,,,,,,, it is GREAT to hear stories of pets getting rescued

 

[backyard pigeons]

Good job! Its likely a lost racing homer from a toss. I would keep it in even though it likely was being kept outside in a loft. Make sure the water is atleast one inch deep since pigeons slurp water like horses. If you like it, you could ask the owner if they will keep it since many dont want a bird that gets lost. (If its a racer). Hope this helps.

 

[jonaeselaye]

Thank you very much

Yes it does sound like he was worn out when my mum found him. She said he was loitering on her driveway for a little while before he caught the attention of cats.

I gave him the Peters grain mix and he seemed to like it. He has stopped resting on the floor and is now chilling on top of the washing machine.

Hopefully the owner isn't too upset at him for getting lost. Could extreme weather have caused him to get disoriented and lost? Last week we had a few scorching hot days (35+ degrees celsius) then a sudden change to days of extreme cold and heavy thunderstorms (typical weird Melbourne summer).

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[biophiliac]

Thank you very much

Yes it does sound like he was worn out when my mum found him. She said he was loitering on her driveway for a little while before he caught the attention of cats.

I gave him the Peters grain mix and he seemed to like it. He has stopped resting on the floor and is now chilling on top of the washing machine.

Hopefully the owner isn't too upset at him for getting lost. Could extreme weather have caused him to get disoriented and lost? Last week we had a few scorching hot days (35+ degrees celsius) then a sudden change to days of extreme cold and heavy thunderstorms (typical weird Melbourne summer).

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Very nice set up for your guest bird! The weather certainly could cause problems. He's nice looking , I have one that color.