Pigeon Talk

[biophiliac]

Aww! The youngest has learned first I'm guessing to get more food?

Yes, my observation is when the squabs are just a bit neglected, they learn to fend for themselves at a younger age.

When I last weighed them 2 days ago, the big one weighed 490 gr and the little only 370 gr. Yesterday little was tucking into breakfast with mom and dad while big brother waited begging to be fed.

 

[Serin]

So, I know that my relationship with my pigeon is very different from anyone else's here, but I hope you still enjoy hearing about Olive!

I would like to take a moment to talk about life with my house pigeon. She has now been here five months.

She is amazing, the most rewarding pet I have ever kept. She is more loving than any other animal except a dog, affectionate and gentle, always preening me and snuggling.

She acts as if she never lived anywhere else, like she owns the place. She loves to look outside, and has a few windows with perches where she can see the world go by. She frightened the mailman by clinging to the screen door to greet him as he came up the stairs, and passers by have stopped to take a photo of her sitting looking out the front bay window. But I don't think she actually longs to be outside, because out on her leash, she doesn't like to step off my shoulder, and flies back if I set her down. She is a creature of comfort. Explores the three rooms she has available all day, going back to her little bed in the cage periodically for a nap, then back out to play. She is very snuggly all evening and just wants to sit by me and preen me.

When I come into the room in the morning and uncover her cage, she get so excited she dances in circles and it is only then that she coos like a real pigeon, all her other coos are more muffled "hoo hoos", like a distant owl, or a very soft purring noise when I pet her. She comes when called and flies to my shoulder and nuzzles into my neck. She is gentle and affectionate with my other birds, allows the little budgies to preen her head, and sits with the canaries.

She is endearingly curious about all other animals too. My geckos, salamanders, gerbils (I have a bit of a zoo), the cat, everything, she just loves to sit and watch them, walk around the other cages, and just is fascinated.

She is fearless. I have never seen her afraid. Of anything. Not even a little. Not dogs going nose to nose with her (with her in her cage), not severe thunderstorms, not car rides. Every new thing is something to explore. She adapts immediately to new places, and seems to love going out on her leash, or going for car rides. The only thing that she does not like is being touched by strangers, and she will growl and wing slap anybody she does not know if they touch her. But with me, I can pick her up and she just goes limp and lays in my hand - total trust. I can pull out her wings, clip her nails, cover her eyes, and she just coos happily.

She is really smart, and sometimes scary smart. She knows how to turn on my phone, take photos, and send them to my contacts. Hell if I know how she manages! She has taken selfies by toggling the settings and reversing the camera, but they're really out of focus. She has then managed to peck enough buttons to send the selfies to my confused friends.

She often opens my apps and sends cryptic messages of numbers, letters and symbols too, both on phone and laptop if I leave either around her. She pecks messages on the phone, and walks over the keyboard on my laptop. And it's not just accidental, she is determined to get to both things if she has any chance, and the second I leave the room she will go there and start playing around with the technology.

She recognizes herself in mirrors. It took her a few weeks to figure it out. It started with a little, spinning parakeet toy mirror. At first, she was really interested in it, loved to peck and spin it, sit by it (it was by her bed), and she would spend a lot of time in the evening pecking the reflection, wing flicking, cooing, acting like it was another bird. It was small, and she could only see her head and neck in it. But about a month ago, I found a big mirror about 16 inches tall and 9 inches wide, and mounted it inside her cage. She was able to see her entire body in it, and my reflection as well, for reference. She initially treated it like another bird, but only for a very short time, and then her reaction changed. Being able to see her entire self in it seemed to let it register that this wasn't another bird, but something different. She started walking back and forth slowly, studying herself, and did that for an hour or more. She would turn her head this way and that, and then preen feathers on her back, before checking the mirror again. There wasn't any pecking, wing flicking or other behavior she would use with another bird. She realized it was herself. She now uses it as a tool to look at herself while preening, as if to make sure she doesn't miss a spot. As soon as she made the connection with the big mirror, she lost interest in the toy mirror - I think she also realized it wasn't another pigeon, and it lost her interest.

Every time she finds a new mirror in the house, she goes through the same pattern as she tests it and determines it is herself. I think that's really cool, parakeets never figure out the reflection isn't another bird to talk to, and their behavior is always the same with their reflections. The internet affirms what I think I am seeing, that pigeons have been documented showing self-recognition in mirrors.

She knows what "no" means, and will usually listen. This is most often when she tries to sneak into the hallway from the front room, where I have hung a curtain which worked for a few months to keep her in the front of the house, until she figured out she could walk under it, and now she always tries to sneakily run under it if I am not watching. If I catch her, and tell her "No!", she stops, looks at me, and turns around and runs away real fast, as if to say "What! I wasn't going to." I don't always catch her, and I am resigned to the fact that if I leave her unsupervised for even a minute, I will return to her either on my phone, on my computer, or in the back of the house where I will find her trying to bathe in the cat's water dish, laying on the stacked towels in the bathroom, or strutting on top of the fridge.

She still mostly potties in her one spot and is very tidy, preferring not to soil her cage.

She is funny and cute and always brightens my day. I love her a lot. She has become a family member, not just a pet.

 

[LaughingDove]

How adorable is she? She sounds amazing. Do you have two finch flight cages modified into one for her cage?

 

[biophiliac]

@Serin - I very much enjoy hearing about Olive! Your last post was great and I hope to hear more about her 'alternate lifestyle' as a house pigeon.
The affinity for technology rings a bell with me since I remember my hand fed baby Doo developed an interest in Youtube while still a baby.

Question - Do you always have her on a leash outdoors? It doesn't sound like it's needed to prevent her from straying... anyway, I'd love to hear anything else you want to tell about her!

 

[biophiliac]

@Serin - I think Olive could do this...

 

[WVduckchick]

Not really, I expect to learn something from the questions of others. I do worry I'll probably forget!

I was trying for some pics of the 2 youngest, Doo's babies...
The big one...
View attachment 1809837
The little one...
View attachment 1809838
Little guy started feeding himself way before big brother...View attachment 1809839.
That's him with his head in the feeder right behind mom.

One more of little guy with the macro setting, not that i know how to use it, lol...
View attachment 1809849

looking good!

And no, I didn’t bid on the seraphims

 

[WVduckchick]

So, I know that my relationship with my pigeon is very different from anyone else's here, but I hope you still enjoy hearing about Olive!

I would like to take a moment to talk about life with my house pigeon. She has now been here five months.

She is amazing, the most rewarding pet I have ever kept. She is more loving than any other animal except a dog, affectionate and gentle, always preening me and snuggling.

She acts as if she never lived anywhere else, like she owns the place. She loves to look outside, and has a few windows with perches where she can see the world go by. She frightened the mailman by clinging to the screen door to greet him as he came up the stairs, and passers by have stopped to take a photo of her sitting looking out the front bay window. But I don't think she actually longs to be outside, because out on her leash, she doesn't like to step off my shoulder, and flies back if I set her down. She is a creature of comfort. Explores the three rooms she has available all day, going back to her little bed in the cage periodically for a nap, then back out to play. She is very snuggly all evening and just wants to sit by me and preen me.

When I come into the room in the morning and uncover her cage, she get so excited she dances in circles and it is only then that she coos like a real pigeon, all her other coos are more muffled "hoo hoos", like a distant owl, or a very soft purring noise when I pet her. She comes when called and flies to my shoulder and nuzzles into my neck. She is gentle and affectionate with my other birds, allows the little budgies to preen her head, and sits with the canaries.

She is endearingly curious about all other animals too. My geckos, salamanders, gerbils (I have a bit of a zoo), the cat, everything, she just loves to sit and watch them, walk around the other cages, and just is fascinated.

She is fearless. I have never seen her afraid. Of anything. Not even a little. Not dogs going nose to nose with her (with her in her cage), not severe thunderstorms, not car rides. Every new thing is something to explore. She adapts immediately to new places, and seems to love going out on her leash, or going for car rides. The only thing that she does not like is being touched by strangers, and she will growl and wing slap anybody she does not know if they touch her. But with me, I can pick her up and she just goes limp and lays in my hand - total trust. I can pull out her wings, clip her nails, cover her eyes, and she just coos happily.

She is really smart, and sometimes scary smart. She knows how to turn on my phone, take photos, and send them to my contacts. Hell if I know how she manages! She has taken selfies by toggling the settings and reversing the camera, but they're really out of focus. She has then managed to peck enough buttons to send the selfies to my confused friends.

She often opens my apps and sends cryptic messages of numbers, letters and symbols too, both on phone and laptop if I leave either around her. She pecks messages on the phone, and walks over the keyboard on my laptop. And it's not just accidental, she is determined to get to both things if she has any chance, and the second I leave the room she will go there and start playing around with the technology.

She recognizes herself in mirrors. It took her a few weeks to figure it out. It started with a little, spinning parakeet toy mirror. At first, she was really interested in it, loved to peck and spin it, sit by it (it was by her bed), and she would spend a lot of time in the evening pecking the reflection, wing flicking, cooing, acting like it was another bird. It was small, and she could only see her head and neck in it. But about a month ago, I found a big mirror about 16 inches tall and 9 inches wide, and mounted it inside her cage. She was able to see her entire body in it, and my reflection as well, for reference. She initially treated it like another bird, but only for a very short time, and then her reaction changed. Being able to see her entire self in it seemed to let it register that this wasn't another bird, but something different. She started walking back and forth slowly, studying herself, and did that for an hour or more. She would turn her head this way and that, and then preen feathers on her back, before checking the mirror again. There wasn't any pecking, wing flicking or other behavior she would use with another bird. She realized it was herself. She now uses it as a tool to look at herself while preening, as if to make sure she doesn't miss a spot. As soon as she made the connection with the big mirror, she lost interest in the toy mirror - I think she also realized it wasn't another pigeon, and it lost her interest.

Every time she finds a new mirror in the house, she goes through the same pattern as she tests it and determines it is herself. I think that's really cool, parakeets never figure out the reflection isn't another bird to talk to, and their behavior is always the same with their reflections. The internet affirms what I think I am seeing, that pigeons have been documented showing self-recognition in mirrors.

She knows what "no" means, and will usually listen. This is most often when she tries to sneak into the hallway from the front room, where I have hung a curtain which worked for a few months to keep her in the front of the house, until she figured out she could walk under it, and now she always tries to sneakily run under it if I am not watching. If I catch her, and tell her "No!", she stops, looks at me, and turns around and runs away real fast, as if to say "What! I wasn't going to." I don't always catch her, and I am resigned to the fact that if I leave her unsupervised for even a minute, I will return to her either on my phone, on my computer, or in the back of the house where I will find her trying to bathe in the cat's water dish, laying on the stacked towels in the bathroom, or strutting on top of the fridge.

She still mostly potties in her one spot and is very tidy, preferring not to soil her cage.

She is funny and cute and always brightens my day. I love her a lot. She has become a family member, not just a pet.

View attachment 1810098 View attachment 1810099

I admittedly find it a little odd, I’m not even sure why, but it sounds like she has a fabulous life with you. I do enjoy reading about her, especially the intelligence she displays. Birds are amazing!

 

[biophiliac]

looking good!

And no, I didn’t bid on the seraphims

Who is your new avatar?

 

[backyard pigeons]

So, I know that my relationship with my pigeon is very different from anyone else's here, but I hope you still enjoy hearing about Olive!

I would like to take a moment to talk about life with my house pigeon. She has now been here five months.

She is amazing, the most rewarding pet I have ever kept. She is more loving than any other animal except a dog, affectionate and gentle, always preening me and snuggling.

She acts as if she never lived anywhere else, like she owns the place. She loves to look outside, and has a few windows with perches where she can see the world go by. She frightened the mailman by clinging to the screen door to greet him as he came up the stairs, and passers by have stopped to take a photo of her sitting looking out the front bay window. But I don't think she actually longs to be outside, because out on her leash, she doesn't like to step off my shoulder, and flies back if I set her down. She is a creature of comfort. Explores the three rooms she has available all day, going back to her little bed in the cage periodically for a nap, then back out to play. She is very snuggly all evening and just wants to sit by me and preen me.

When I come into the room in the morning and uncover her cage, she get so excited she dances in circles and it is only then that she coos like a real pigeon, all her other coos are more muffled "hoo hoos", like a distant owl, or a very soft purring noise when I pet her. She comes when called and flies to my shoulder and nuzzles into my neck. She is gentle and affectionate with my other birds, allows the little budgies to preen her head, and sits with the canaries.

She is endearingly curious about all other animals too. My geckos, salamanders, gerbils (I have a bit of a zoo), the cat, everything, she just loves to sit and watch them, walk around the other cages, and just is fascinated.

She is fearless. I have never seen her afraid. Of anything. Not even a little. Not dogs going nose to nose with her (with her in her cage), not severe thunderstorms, not car rides. Every new thing is something to explore. She adapts immediately to new places, and seems to love going out on her leash, or going for car rides. The only thing that she does not like is being touched by strangers, and she will growl and wing slap anybody she does not know if they touch her. But with me, I can pick her up and she just goes limp and lays in my hand - total trust. I can pull out her wings, clip her nails, cover her eyes, and she just coos happily.

She is really smart, and sometimes scary smart. She knows how to turn on my phone, take photos, and send them to my contacts. Hell if I know how she manages! She has taken selfies by toggling the settings and reversing the camera, but they're really out of focus. She has then managed to peck enough buttons to send the selfies to my confused friends.

She often opens my apps and sends cryptic messages of numbers, letters and symbols too, both on phone and laptop if I leave either around her. She pecks messages on the phone, and walks over the keyboard on my laptop. And it's not just accidental, she is determined to get to both things if she has any chance, and the second I leave the room she will go there and start playing around with the technology.

She recognizes herself in mirrors. It took her a few weeks to figure it out. It started with a little, spinning parakeet toy mirror. At first, she was really interested in it, loved to peck and spin it, sit by it (it was by her bed), and she would spend a lot of time in the evening pecking the reflection, wing flicking, cooing, acting like it was another bird. It was small, and she could only see her head and neck in it. But about a month ago, I found a big mirror about 16 inches tall and 9 inches wide, and mounted it inside her cage. She was able to see her entire body in it, and my reflection as well, for reference. She initially treated it like another bird, but only for a very short time, and then her reaction changed. Being able to see her entire self in it seemed to let it register that this wasn't another bird, but something different. She started walking back and forth slowly, studying herself, and did that for an hour or more. She would turn her head this way and that, and then preen feathers on her back, before checking the mirror again. There wasn't any pecking, wing flicking or other behavior she would use with another bird. She realized it was herself. She now uses it as a tool to look at herself while preening, as if to make sure she doesn't miss a spot. As soon as she made the connection with the big mirror, she lost interest in the toy mirror - I think she also realized it wasn't another pigeon, and it lost her interest.

Every time she finds a new mirror in the house, she goes through the same pattern as she tests it and determines it is herself. I think that's really cool, parakeets never figure out the reflection isn't another bird to talk to, and their behavior is always the same with their reflections. The internet affirms what I think I am seeing, that pigeons have been documented showing self-recognition in mirrors.

She knows what "no" means, and will usually listen. This is most often when she tries to sneak into the hallway from the front room, where I have hung a curtain which worked for a few months to keep her in the front of the house, until she figured out she could walk under it, and now she always tries to sneakily run under it if I am not watching. If I catch her, and tell her "No!", she stops, looks at me, and turns around and runs away real fast, as if to say "What! I wasn't going to." I don't always catch her, and I am resigned to the fact that if I leave her unsupervised for even a minute, I will return to her either on my phone, on my computer, or in the back of the house where I will find her trying to bathe in the cat's water dish, laying on the stacked towels in the bathroom, or strutting on top of the fridge.

She still mostly potties in her one spot and is very tidy, preferring not to soil her cage.

She is funny and cute and always brightens my day. I love her a lot. She has become a family member, not just a pet.

View attachment 1810098 View attachment 1810099

aww! How sweet! I certainly do enjoy hearing about her! Thank you for sharing. She is very smart. And yes, our types of keeping pigeons are VERY different, it's good for me, and everyone to keep an open mind.

@Serin - I very much enjoy hearing about Olive! Your last post was great and I hope to hear more about her 'alternate lifestyle' as a house pigeon.
The affinity for technology rings a bell with me since I remember my hand fed baby Doo developed an interest in Youtube while still a baby.
View attachment 1810216

Question - Do you always have her on a leash outdoors? It doesn't sound like it's needed to prevent her from straying... anyway, I'd love to hear anything else you want to tell about her!

so cute! Did he respond to seeing other pigeons thru video's\pics?

@Serin - I think Olive could do this...

maybe! If she could keep up... Her cute little wings.

 

[WVduckchick]

Who is your new avatar?

He's a little porcelain d'uccle I hatched a few weeks ago. Eggs shipped from California, so only 4 hatched, and one failed to thrive and died. But luckily I ended up with 1 male and 2 females, a porcelain and a golden neck. Sweet little birds.