Hi, I'm Budgie Dad, and I'm looking for ways to recover 2 abandoned homing pigeons

[Budgie Dad]

Hello, I'm Budgie Dad and I'm a teenager from VT, USA. My neighbor called me yesterday to tell me there was an abandoned pigeon coop with 2 homing pigeons on one of her landlord's properties. The person who lived on the property built a coop and had homing pigeons. When they left, they abandoned the coop. They didn't notify anyone or leave any food and water. They were last seen yesterday morning, cooing in the coop. I went and leaned the coop today, and we put out some food and water. They didn't seem to be within 50 feet of the coop. We are very worried about them. Any advice is welcome, thanks.

 

[Budgie Dad]

I will go back later today, but I couldn't stay too long as it was cold and I'm allergic to birds.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Good luck with the pigeons.
Just leave the food and water and hopefully they will find it.

 

[Budgie Dad]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Good luck with the pigeons.
Just leave the food and water and hopefully they will find it.

Will do. My neighbor is going back this evening to see if they're there. I'm going later today to look for them.

 

[sourland]

Merry Christmas and welcome to BYC. My guess is that they are out foraging for feed. They will probably return to the loft to roost in the evening. If you plan on catching/taking them, after dark would be the best option. The owner may not have left them. They may have been given or sold to someone and then escaped. If you take them, they most likely can never be free flown as they will return 'home' to their old loft.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! What do you plan to do with the birds after you catch them?

 

[Budgie Dad]

Welcome to BYC! What do you plan to do with the birds after you catch them?

They're technically my neighbor's landlord's birds, but if only one returns I will likely ask to take it as I have a large outdoor aviary and a bird room, and I've always loved pigeons.

Merry Christmas and welcome to BYC. My guess is that they are out foraging for feed. They will probably return to the loft to roost in the evening. If you plan on catching/taking them, after dark would be the best option. The owner may not have left them. They may have been given or sold to someone and then escaped. If you take them, they most likely can never be free flown as they will return 'home' to their old loft.

Hopefully, yeah. We strongly suspect the owner left them, as the coop was "fresh" (I don't know how else to describe it), and they kept going and coming back for food. Of course, I could be wrong, but homing pigeons aren't really popular around here, at least the type they had.

I'm not sure if I'll take them. I'll have to discuss with my neighbor. The landlord is her friend and he's just happy we're taking care of them.

How well would a homing pigeon adapt to more "domestic" life? I mean, going outside frequently (daily) in an aviary, but being treated as more of a pet, and likely having an indoor setup too?

 

[Budgie Dad]

I should add: I'm experienced with birds, but mostly parrots. I have done some wild bird rehab type stuff, and will likely do some falconry in the future. I know a lot about keeping pet pigeons but not much about homing pigeons.

 

[N F C]

Hello, I have no experience with pigeons but @sourland does as well as others on this forum: Pigeons and Doves

Good luck!

 

[Budgie Dad]

Hello, I have no experience with pigeons but @sourland does as well as others on this forum: Pigeons and Doves

Good luck!

Would it be allowed to repost there?