Pigeon Talk

[WVduckchick]

Speaking of house birds..... I just remembered I didn't put Spicoli (serama rooster) back in his cage before I left for work.

 

[Serin]

Do you have any plans to get Olive a mate/friend?

I got a pigeon and not a parrot because it was recommended to me that they are much better suited to being an only bird while being similarly affectionate and social, and my experience so far has been that Olive is content and shows no signs that she is lonely or stressed versus many single parrots I have known that seem much less well adjusted. She has bonded well to me, so the current plan is to keep just Olive unless signs point to her being unhappy in the future. She can be trusted to be out in the house all day without destroying anything, so she has more freedom than I could give a parrot which basically has a set of pliers for a beak.

If Olive were withdrawn and mopey or if she were just absolutely desperate to make friends with my other birds and were shunned then it would being her best interest to find hr a home with another pigeon (I don't have the means for two right now.) When I got her, it was on a trial basis, and if she were not settling I would find her a better situation. But she is doing very well, and all signs point toward her being very content.

But her welfare is foremost, and if that ever changes, then we'll see if changes must be made.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I had a budgie for almost 16 years and lost him last April. He ended up outliving his mate so he spent his last year or so alone, but during that time he became extra friendly and even started to talk for the first time in his ripe old age.
He was never a screamer thankfully

 

[biophiliac]

More snow today!

Very pretty! Are all their beaks that long? I hadn’t noticed it before.


In other news, I checked Shadow’s eggs tonight. One egg was collapsed. Not broken, but the shell must have been soft/weak and was crunched in. The other egg looked infertile, so since they’ve only been there a few days, I went ahead and pulled both eggs, thinking it may take her a few days to lay another if I just took the one that was messed up.
Can/will they eat oyster shell? I’ve given her some layer feed, along with her regular feed sometimes, but not every day.

Mine will eat oyster shell. At first I crushed it but then I saw there were many smaller bits mixed in. So now I just put a bunch out and let them pick out the right size. Then I toss the leftover chunks and give a fresh batch. For a quicker calcium boost I think you can get liquid calcium at the feed store. I have not used that yet.

Birds are viewed as pets that are inherently dumb and messy, but they definitely aren't dumb and I don't think they have to be that messy. They definitely can learn where to do their business - setting hens don't soil their nests, after all, and know to hold it until they get off. Olive has proven she is very smart, and I think she will be very able to figure out house rules. We make pretty big progress every day, more than I have ever had with another type of pet bird. We have gone from her wing boxing and biting me if I came by her (first day), to letting me touch her and being OK with it, to eating from my hand, to stepping up on my hand, to seeking out snuggles in her cage, to flying to my arm from across the room, to choosing to come over and spend time with me on the cage/on my shoulder, to knowing not to poop on those two places. And she has only been here nine days.

Olive is such a rewarding pet, and she is honestly better than I anticipated. I never expected she would just adapt so instantly to be taken from a cage at the feed shop, where she probably had never been handled kindly before, and let loose in a house but she has. She flew into a a window one time on day two and then went around carefully and tapped every other window with her beak and learned her boundaries. She has totally bonded to me and trusts me more every day. We already have a routine and she knows that when I say "goodnight", she is going to her cage. She eats, drinks, and then she sits on her wooden ledge and I pet her and she coos and she preens me for five or ten minutes. Then she goes to bed. In the morning, we do the same thing, then I ask her to step up, and she comes out and flies out to the sun porch. She spends most of the midday there lazing in the sun, we do some step-up/recall training (she's started doing it for snuggles, not just food - she steps up and then she wants me to pet her for a few minutes.) I give her a bathtub, and she thinks about whether or not she trusts it for half an hour before taking her bath. In the evening the sun porch is dark, so she alternates between walking around on the couch with me and the top of the door. She met my other birds a few times (finches and budgies) and has no interest in bothering them which is good, but they're scared of her as she's quite a lot bigger so it will take time for them to be out at the same time.

I think pigeons are much more naturally suited as indoor pets than parrots, because they are actually domesticated, and I don't think they are any less clever. Her only downside is that she does poop a lot, but if today is any indication we may be able to work on organizing that issue!

I don't think Olive's breed is anything unique in the smarts department. I would imagine homers or ferals, which are adapted to problem solve outdoor environments, are the smartest breeds. But the old german owl, as a breed bred for tameness, may relate more naturally to people (I did choose this breed on the recommendation they are one of the nicest pet breeds.) There was almost no taming process with Olive. She just didn't fear me, and once she got to know me, we became friends. No other type of bird I have worked with has gone from unsocialized to seeking out snuggles in four days. I have been working with a budgie for six months and only now does he step up (on his terms). And don't even think of petting him!

Wonderful update. Thanks for sharing and I hope there will be more!

Y'all better stop... Now I NEED a parrot!!! Lol. Ive a always thought a cockatiel would be fun! or maybe a pareekeet.

Do you have any non-avians besides the fish? and how are the fishies doing?

Speaking of house birds..... I just remembered I didn't put Spicoli (serama rooster) back in his cage before I left for work.

Oops!

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Well guess what, the DNA results are back on the silver, and she is a hen. She sure doesn't act like one, though. Huh. Color me surprised.

Well, I think I'll ask the guy I'm getting hens from if he has a silver cock instead that would go well with her. If not, I'll just stick to getting two more hens because extra hens to have for future pairings isn't a bad thing.

Well shoot!

@Fields Mountain Farm have you decided on a breed? Or a coop plan? No worries if you havent! I just decided as I went!

Im liking those Jacobins the more I see em.. and Olive is beautiful! The fantails are gorgeous ... ugh, too many to choose from.. dh is still bein squirrelly about it.. idk..

Im not a fan of those..
They are interesting tho..

Neat birds. Only have a pair that I’m gonna have for a little project.

View attachment 1678812 View attachment 1678813

Well now I have a dilemma, of the good variety, lol. He has no silver cocks, so I was thinking I would just get another pair from him. What I wanted to do is either a black hen and a blue cock, OR he has a pair of this gorgeous color called cream yellow bar. I want them but I'm not too sure if breeding the offspring from them with other colors will work.

But look how pretty they are

Not my bird but my picture. They can see just fine in front of themselves when showing and then when relaxed they can somewhat see to the sides as well.. These bird is an Almond Jacobin I saw at the BCPPA show.

View attachment 1678921

Very pretty! Are all their beaks that long? I hadn’t noticed it before.


In other news, I checked Shadow’s eggs tonight. One egg was collapsed. Not broken, but the shell must have been soft/weak and was crunched in. The other egg looked infertile, so since they’ve only been there a few days, I went ahead and pulled both eggs, thinking it may take her a few days to lay another if I just took the one that was messed up.
Can/will they eat oyster shell? I’ve given her some layer feed, along with her regular feed sometimes, but not every day.

Hope she lays again soon..

Olive the house pigeon is super smart! She is learning potty training!

The one place I really don't want her to do her business is on the couches. So if I see her start to move her tail while she's there, I would quickly shoo her away and she would fly up to the top of the door (her go to safe spot) and then go (I have paper under the door.) I'd give her treats and make a big fuss like you would a puppy every time she did her business there and she seemed to figure it out really fast. She is now flying directly to the door to her business (so it all drops onto the paper). It may just be coincidental, however quite a few times this evening she has been on the couch by me and then flown off quickly, done her business, and come back to the couch with no more accidents there. I left the house for a while, and she was on the couch. I came back, and she was still there laying down, but there were new droppings on the newspaper under the door.

That's really awesome!

I really miss having a house bird.
When I started in on ducks I agreed I would give up on wanting a parrot.
Now, 20+ some ducks later, the hubby says he should've just gotten me the parrot

Speaking of house birds..... I just remembered I didn't put Spicoli (serama rooster) back in his cage before I left for work.

And he's not house broken is he..

More snow today!
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Mine will eat oyster shell. At first I crushed it but then I saw there were many smaller bits mixed in. So now I just put a bunch out and let them pick out the right size. Then I toss the leftover chunks and give a fresh batch. For a quicker calcium boost I think you can get liquid calcium at the feed store. I have not used that yet.


Wonderful update. Thanks for sharing and I hope there will be more!


Do you have any non-avians besides the fish? and how are the fishies doing?



Oops!

More snow!

 

[slorider18]

More snow today!
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How do you survive with all of that snow??? Still blows my mind the birds are ok with all of that.

 

[backyard pigeons]

More snow today!
View attachment 1679323 View attachment 1679325 View attachment 1679326


Mine will eat oyster shell. At first I crushed it but then I saw there were many smaller bits mixed in. So now I just put a bunch out and let them pick out the right size. Then I toss the leftover chunks and give a fresh batch. For a quicker calcium boost I think you can get liquid calcium at the feed store. I have not used that yet.


Wonderful update. Thanks for sharing and I hope there will be more!


Do you have any non-avians besides the fish? and how are the fishies doing?



Oops!

The fishes are doing good! And I have a bunch more fish, shrimp, a bearded dragon. And if course lots of pigeons

 

[backyard pigeons]

Ps. Bearded dragons are a type of lizerd.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

The fishes are doing good! And I have a bunch more fish, shrimp, a bearded dragon. And if course lots of pigeons

Glad they're doin good!
Cool.. my cousin in Florida had a pair of bearded dragons.. neat guys!
Are you getting much of this rain and mess?

 

[Serin]

She's

very photogenic.