Found a racing pigeon and the owner doesn't care

[LamarshFish]

A racing pigeon was hanging around our house. He came to me himself so didn't really need any capturing. I put him in my cat box and gave him grains and water. After some stress relief he ate. We contacted the owners based on the ring and they were completely not interested and even saying things like it's a poor pigeon that's not worth keeping if it gets lost and etc... The weather the last week was 28-30 degrees c. And the pigeon looked very tired. I was shocked to the response of the owners. We decided to keep him over the night so that it recovers and let it go, but I am afraid that this pigeon is going to fly back to a nasty owner. I have also researched that the ones that come back too late get killed so they don't breed further and bring 'bad' genes to offspring. Being a big animal lover I am now looking into option to how could I give this pigeon a better home.
Can a home pigeon get used to my house and be an outside pet pigeon? What care do they need in winter? I have no clue how to start so any tips would be great. I would like to make sure this pigeon gets the best it can.
The only experience I have is curing broken winged wild pigeon and raising a wild baby pigeon and then letting them go.

Unfortunately, what you observe about some racers is true. They race, and breed for good racing genes, and while many racers adore their pigeons and cannot bring themselves to cull (so they end up with hundreds and just care for them), many do not, and culling is a yearly thing that they just consider to be part of their game.

You can certainly keep this pigeon, and I'd bet it makes a fine pet/companion so long as you do your part. Mainly, it needs company. At least one pigeon with it. Of course, if it is the opposite sex they will mate and produce offspring, likely to the tune of around 8 babies per year. That said, if you want to control the numbers, you might make best efforts to find it a companion of the same sex. A lost racing pigeon will always have an instinct to return home, however this can be fixed if the pigeon is settled to a new home. As a rule of thumb, you can be confident the bird is settled after it raises 3-4 rounds of squab in your loft. If you let the bird out after that and it does not return home, at least you have the contact info of the original owner, so if it flies away you can simply ask him to keep an eye out for it and that you are willing to immediately come and pick it up if it ends up at his loft.

Enjoy!

 

[Kylo_Hen!]

if you don't want it i can take it i have been wanting a homer pigen and could you do me a favor and contact the owners and ask them how to train homer pigens tell me if i can have her and were do you live?

 

[aart]

if you don't want it i can take it i have been wanting a homer pigen and could you do me a favor and contact the owners and ask them how to train homer pigens tell me if i can have her and were do you live?

We live in Belgium and indeed the pigeon is Belgian

 

[steve&kris]

Congrats on the new pigeon.... It will probably become your favorite bird! I agree on the post from above that you need to get it outside, cover the crate (or build a new one, they're fairly easy) with an open wire bottom so poop falls through. Protect it from elements and elevate the cage (to 5-6 foot floor should be good) to keep cats and predators from getting to it from the bottom. It would be nice to have a contained box with a caged platform it can walk into to feel outside - there are many pics available online of ones to make.
Eventually, not yet, add bobs so the pigeon can come and go. For now, you should either clip wings or just keep it contained for a few months. There is a good chance it will head home when it feels better, and it will be killed. Once it nests and lays an egg, it should re-home itself to you. If it doesn't lay eggs to keep it, then you just need time on your side and it won't happen as quickly as you'd think (again, months....). Good luck, and enjoy your bird.

 

[Kylo_Hen!]

sorry your very far away i live in Macallan Texas good luck finding her a home

 

[PalomaNova]

A little update since i wrote last:
The pigeon stayed with us for a week in a secure place with plenty of food and fresh water. We have decided to let it go since we do not have suitable place and space to keep her and building a proper place here costs quite a bit, etc....
So one of the mornings i let the door open and barely 30 seconds later the pigeon flies out and i sadly wave bye bye.
2 days later i see the pigeon back!
We could not believe our eyes and this was completely unexpected!
The pigeon was in good health and very active. We tried to catch it however with no much luck. She flew away again until the next day.
The next day she appears and sits on a shader of the kitchen the whole day. By the end of the day another beautiful ringed pigeon joins her. We were in utter disbelief as we were now with two pigeons. We made a high raised plank and placed food and water there to make sure they stay alive and hydrated since we have a wave heat. After a day the second pigeon disappeared and did not appear again. However our found pigeon (we named her Pikpik) is sitting there every day ever since. In the evening she flies to a tree to sleep over and in the morning she goes back to sit on the shader. She eats and drinks and sometimes we see her on the terrace tiles where i also scattered some grains.
To this day no luck of catching her as she does not let us near her. Thought of catching with a net but dont want to hurt and scare her.
Since she is not leaving we are thinking to build a hole to go into a garage where a cage would be fixed and she could fly in and out (a good free life) when she wants and be safe in bad weather.
However i don't know how would i need to get her used to it and how would i need to catch her?
I tried feeding her by initially throwing grains on the floor but she gets scared and flies away or keeps her distance. How can i earn her trust?

 

[Hokum Coco]

[QUOTE="how would i need to catch her? Yes a milk crate box and string house in your idea for a few days and providing her with food and water and you should be good to go.
[/QUOTE]

 

[SDocheff]

The SAME thing happened to us! A pigeon joined our chickens about a month ago. She roosts in the chicken house at night. So, I was able to catch her and read her leg band. Turns out she is a champion racing pigeon out of Florida. I’ve written to her owner via Facebook Messenger with no response. So, we have just adopted her, call her Pidge, and let her hang out with the chickens.

 

[biophiliac]

. How can i earn her trust?

You have already started to earn trust. Two words are key in this aspect of animal behavior: habituation and reinforcement. You can think of food rewards, ie chopped raw peanuts or sunflower seeds as one example of positive reinforcement. Offering a bath pan is another one. Habituation is a process where the bird becomes increasingly comfortable in your presence as time goes by. This is helped by moving slowly or just sitting still from a distance at first, then closer and closer over time. Use a food call when you bring feed.
Understand that they never enjoy being picked up and restrained(who does!?!). When tame and trusting they like to land on you for treats. I have noticed they don't mind as much if I touch their toes or even touch their chest or belly. Once you do have a certain amount of trust built up its relatively easy to catch them when necessary and they are pretty calm.

The pic is my friendliest bird interacting with a boy he barely knows.

If one of mine gets lost, I hope it gets to kind people like you and the others on this forum who notice and help.

 

[Hokum Coco]

The pic is my friendliest bird interacting with a boy he barely knows.

That is a young bird it has no iridescent neck and the cere on his beak has not turned white yet. My birds my older alpha ones in particular will only fly to me and my grand daughter when in the loft.