Pigeon free ranging with chickens

[Cheekychook12]

Not sure if this is the right place for this thread but it’s the best fit I could think of
There’s this one pigeon who keeps hanging out with my chickens while they free range, and spends a lot of time nearby watching them
I would be ok with this if it weren’t for the avian flu and other wild bird diseases
How do I stop this pigeon from being near my chickens? The chickens don’t even chase it away
It’s a native animal so I can’t trap or remove it

 

[Perris]

I would be ok with this if it weren’t for the avian flu and other wild bird diseases

I think pigeons (like other garden and woodland birds) don't suffer from H5N1, so it is not a threat from AI perspective. It's ducks, and some other waterfowl and shore birds that spread Avian flu, and predatory birds that eat an infected one also suffer (but don't really spread it).

If my birds were happy to share their space with a pigeon, and it wanted their company, I would leave them be. As it is, here the two species do not get on; the pigeons seem to delight in buzzing the chickens, and the chickens attack a pigeon if they get the chance.

 

[Callender Girl]

I think @Perris is correct. Pigeons are unlikely carriers of Avian flu, at least according to University of Minnesota Extension.

When I was a kid, a wild pigeon flew into our yard and stayed. He didn't seem bothered by the chickens, not they by him. Pidgy (okay, we weren't very creative with names) chose to stay in an old rabbit hutch and was always free to fly away but never did.

At least it's only one pigeon. A flock of starlings -- a winged invasion -- has been coming to my yard to clean up anything the chickens haven't eaten. Why can't it be a flock of prettier intruders? Or, smaller ones that eat less?

 

[Perris]

A flock of starlings -- a winged invasion -- has been coming to my yard to clean up anything the chickens haven't eaten. Why can't it be a flock of prettier intruders?

but if you are lucky you may get to see a murmuration!
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/where_to_see_starling_murmurations

a small flock lives locally and nests in our gables; they're quite noisy neighbours, chattering away in a rather raucous fashion, and I quite like them, but sadly ours don't gather into a big enough flock to generate those wonderful aerobatic displays.

 

[Callender Girl]

I've seen those lovely murmurations on TV -- nothing that spectacular here. But if there were, I'd sure need to have a LOT more chicken feed!!

 

[Seaslug]

I thought that pigeons can carry the protozoan that cause canker?
Cheeky, where are you located? That pigeon is an interesting blue color on my screen. Are you sure it is a wild bird? We have numerous domestic pigeons intermingling with wild birds around here.

 

[Cheekychook12]

I thought that pigeons can carry the protozoan that cause canker?
Cheeky, where are you located? That pigeon is an interesting blue color on my screen. Are you sure it is a wild bird? We have numerous domestic pigeons intermingling with wild birds around here.

I’m in Australia it is a native crested pigeon, they are quite common here, definitely a wild bird

 

[Cheekychook12]

I think pigeons (like other garden and woodland birds) don't suffer from H5N1, so it is not a threat from AI perspective. It's ducks, and some other waterfowl and shore birds that spread Avian flu, and predatory birds that eat an infected one also suffer (but don't really spread it).

If my birds were happy to share their space with a pigeon, and it wanted their company, I would leave them be. As it is, here the two species do not get on; the pigeons seem to delight in buzzing the chickens, and the chickens attack a pigeon if they get the chance.

Well that’s good to know, I’ll let it alone

 

[Altairsky]

My rooster hangs out with crows and tries to mate them.

 

[HamsHen50]

Yeah, I’m in Australia and Turtle Dove/ Crested pigeons (different names on who u ask), are often with my chickens. I haven’t seen anything go wrong with the chooks near the doves.