Proper care for adopted pigeons?

[bhawk-23]

Hello!
We have been considering pigeon adoption since last July. I have so many questions though. I’m hoping to list the major ones to see if our home and situation would be a good fit for pigeons or not.
Here’s some important info on my flock and set up:
My flock (10 full sized hens) has Mareks disease and mycoplasma. Our flock seems to be managed well with little to no symptoms of MG and all are doing well for 11 months now(knock on wood!!!) I treat with Tylosin during high stress times to keep the symptoms at bay.
Our set up is a 16’X6’ run with a metal roof and wrapped in hardware cloth. The coop adds another 30 sq ft of floor space, which the chickens only use to lay in, they roost in the run. They free range in a netted yard from morning to roosting time. We have always had a pretty peaceful flock (knock on wood again!!).

We travel for hockey about 8 weekends throughout the year when we rely on the automatic door (controlled by a phone app) cameras and a neighbor checking in on them daily.

1) Can the pigeons catch and die from MD and/or MG? Can they drink Tylosin and Corid without harm?

2) Can we build them a pigeon house and attach it up high in the run so the chickens cannot access it? Or better yet, can we train them to roost high in the coop where our bantams used to roost?

3) The net covers the whole fenced in free ranging area but it has a couple weak spots where the pigeons could escape. It keeps our girls safe from aerial attacks but squirrels come and go.

4) We want to adopt. Can we adopt pigeons/doves with the intention of keeping them outside?

5) Can we adopt a same sex pair to avoid a full flock of pigeons while we figure out how to care for them properly?is it difficult to add to a flock similar to chickens? Do we need more than 2 to keep them happy and healthy?

6) Can they safely be left alone with the same current set up when we travel?

If you have anything to add please do!

Thank you!!

 

[Debbie292d]

I do not know anything about pigeons, but I just read an awesome article about them that might help you with some of your questions: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-pigeons-i.75444/

 

[NatJ]

4) We want to adopt. Can we adopt pigeons/doves with the intention of keeping them outside?

You will have to check that with the person or organization you adopt them from.

Just like any other kind of animal you might adopt, different organizations will have different rules. For example with cats, some organizations will say indoor-only, but others allow adoptions of barn cats who will live outdoors. I would expect similar variation with pigeons.

 

[bhawk-23]

I do not know anything about pigeons, but I just read an awesome article about them that might help you with some of your questions: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-pigeons-i.75444/

Thank you!

You will have to check that with the person or organization you adopt them from.

Just like any other kind of animal you might adopt, different organizations will have different rules. For example with cats, some organizations will say indoor-only, but others allow adoptions of barn cats who will live outdoors. I would expect similar variation with pigeons.

I love programs that catch, neuter, health check and then adopt feral cats to businesses who will use them for organic pest control. And I had a local guild friend (sheep farm) who adopted her working dogs from rescues who needed homes for guardian breeds unsuitable as house companions.

I was thinking we may be a good fit for pigeons unable to be released due to injury. It could be a safe place with netted free ranging, weather proof shelter, consistent food and lots of care. I would never take a house pet and put them outside, that would be extremely cruel imo.

But I would also find it cruel if I knew my chickens could get them sick with MD and MG and still decide to adopt. I definitely need to do more research.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

1) Can the pigeons catch and die from MD and/or MG? Can they drink Tylosin and Corid without harm?

5) Can we adopt a same sex pair to avoid a full flock of pigeons while we figure out how to care for them properly?is it difficult to add to a flock similar to chickens? Do we need more than 2 to keep them happy and healthy?

I'm still learning about Pigeons.

I'll give my 2¢ though.

Yes. Pigeons can contract Mycoplasma or be carriers of MG. Yes, they should be able to tolerate Tylan.

Marek's is mainly seen in chickens. Can't say that a Pigeon would never contract the virus, but it's not likely.

There are various strains of Coccidia. While the "Family" of Coccidia that affect chickens and pigeons is Eimeria, the "species" or "strains" are generally species specific. Likely the Pigeons and Chickens will not get Coccidiosis from one another, but they definitely can become sick from Coccidiosis. Treatment is with Amprolium (Corid) for both Chickens and Pigeons. (Or you can use other treatments like Toltrazuril).

There are diseases and conditions that Pigeons carry that can make chickens sick too. Canker is one. You do not want Canker in your poultry flock.

Off the top of my head, that's the biggest one.

Do your homework and research of what crosses over. Mine that internet. I've found there's not quite the info "out there" on Pigeons like there is for Chickens, so you have to dig. It takes time to find it.

I do know that some people like @WVduckchick do keep Pigeons and Chickens in the same space, but I believe she also started with hatching out her own Pigeons (could be wrong), so the chances of bringing in disease would be much less than bringing in rescues from unknown sources.

Life if full of surprises, chances and risks. Just like bringing in adult birds from "someplace" you take a chance/risk that you may introduce something to existing flocks/birds. You have to weigh the risk/rewards.

One would hope a rescue has already been examined and perhaps has been deemed healthy, but who knows anymore.

 

[bhawk-23]

I'm still learning about Pigeons.

I'll give my 2¢ though.

Yes. Pigeons can contract Mycoplasma or be carriers of MG. Yes, they should be able to tolerate Tylan.

Marek's is mainly seen in chickens. Can't say that a Pigeon would never contract the virus, but it's not likely.

There are various strains of Coccidia. While the "Family" of Coccidia that affect chickens and pigeons is Eimeria, the "species" or "strains" are generally species specific. Likely the Pigeons and Chickens will not get Coccidiosis from one another, but they definitely can become sick from Coccidiosis. Treatment is with Amprolium (Corid) for both Chickens and Pigeons. (Or you can use other treatments like Toltrazuril).

There are diseases and conditions that Pigeons carry that can make chickens sick too. Canker is one. You do not want Canker in your poultry flock.

Off the top of my head, that's the biggest one.

Do your homework and research of what crosses over. Mine that internet. I've found there's not quite the info "out there" on Pigeons like there is for Chickens, so you have to dig. It takes time to find it.

I do know that some people like @WVduckchick do keep Pigeons and Chickens in the same space, but I believe she also started with hatching out her own Pigeons (could be wrong), so the chances of bringing in disease would be much less than bringing in rescues from unknown sources.

Life if full of surprises, chances and risks. Just like bringing in adult birds from "someplace" you take a chance/risk that you may introduce something to existing flocks/birds. You have to weigh the risk/rewards.

One would hope a rescue has already been examined and perhaps has been deemed healthy, but who knows anymore.

Thank you! I’ll research more about canker. Most the information I’m finding is that you can mix chickens and pigeons together but does not go into the nitty gritty of sickness and meds.

Having a chicken sitter bring mareks to my property/flock has made me all to aware of cross contamination and lethal diseases.

Hatching would be fun! But I’ve never incubated eggs and fear I would screw it up. But the thought of no possible diseases is quite nice.

 

[WVduckchick]

I agree, pigeon information is much less readily available, compared to chickens and other fowl. There are literally hundreds of species of pigeons! I would suggest finding a breed that would fit in with your setup.

Most pigeon breeds fly well, so any loose areas in your netting would need to be secured, even temporarily. You may decide to free-fly them eventually, but they need to be secured to know where home is. There are some breeds that are not great flyers, especially feather footed ones. I keep Satinettes, which are feather footed, and while they can fly great, they don’t fly high, or long distances. They do roost high above the chickens though and are easily able to get away from the chickens if they pick on them, which rarely happens in my flock. (Bantam d’uccles)

Pigeons also prefer a different diet than chickens. They like more grains, seeds, etc, rather than chicken crumbles, so you may want to consider that. I feed both in my combined pen, they both eat from each other’s, but they can choose for themselves. The pigeon seed can be put up on a shelf where the chickens can’t get to it, if you don’t want the hens to eat it.
Also pigeons do better with deeper waterers. Some chicken ones are deep enough, but there are styles that are better suited for pigeons. This includes all doves also.
My favorite pigeon supplier is Foy’s. Look them up and browse their site for ideas. While I love my chickens and my ducks, the pigeons are much easier to care for, and they sure are interesting birds!
Best of luck!

 

[bhawk-23]

I agree, pigeon information is much less readily available, compared to chickens and other fowl. There are literally hundreds of species of pigeons! I would suggest finding a breed that would fit in with your setup.

Most pigeon breeds fly well, so any loose areas in your netting would need to be secured, even temporarily. You may decide to free-fly them eventually, but they need to be secured to know where home is. There are some breeds that are not great flyers, especially feather footed ones. I keep Satinettes, which are feather footed, and while they can fly great, they don’t fly high, or long distances. They do roost high above the chickens though and are easily able to get away from the chickens if they pick on them, which rarely happens in my flock. (Bantam d’uccles)

Pigeons also prefer a different diet than chickens. They like more grains, seeds, etc, rather than chicken crumbles, so you may want to consider that. I feed both in my combined pen, they both eat from each other’s, but they can choose for themselves. The pigeon seed can be put up on a shelf where the chickens can’t get to it, if you don’t want the hens to eat it.
Also pigeons do better with deeper waterers. Some chicken ones are deep enough, but there are styles that are better suited for pigeons. This includes all doves also.
My favorite pigeon supplier is Foy’s. Look them up and browse their site for ideas. While I love my chickens and my ducks, the pigeons are much easier to care for, and they sure are interesting birds!
Best of luck!

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. This is really helpful!
And my porcelain d’uccle was the absolute sweetest chicken ever I miss her so much. I would absolutely love a flock of them!

The problem with the netting is that one side is butted up to two large white pines. While the net drapes nearly to the ground in some areas there are other areas that the girls walk under to enjoy sitting under those trees. There is no good way to net that area for complete coverage. But If the pigeons walked with the girls under the net and then jumped up into the pines they could then take flight. That is the most concerning area in their yard. Not sure how I would train them to stay.

I wonder If we got younger pigeons and kept them in their hutch with lots of visits and handling from us for a few weeks, then allow them to roam the closed run towards the evening without the hens to imprint their home could this possibly work? I did this routine when I introduced 4 pullets last spring. Acclimated all the girls and they knew where to roost. Worked out perfectly! But those were chickens, not pigeons

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

My chickens have Marek’s, which is a huge part of the reason that I got my first couple pigeons; everything I’ve read says they can’t get Marek’s. My pigeons have so far proved to have less health issues than my chickens, even though most of the ones I’ve taken on have either been injured or dumped in the wild.

I would not personally recommend keeping pigeons with chickens, though I know some have had success with it. There’s always going to be a risk that a pigeon gets hurt or killed, and pigeons love to be on the ground, so they’re not always going to be high above the reach of chickens. You mentioned wanting to adopt pigeons who are unreleasable due to injuries. However, keep in mind that injuries that limit eyesight, neurological ability, flight, and mobility in general (such as a missing/twisted leg), would make it dangerous for those pigeons to live with chickens, as they would either have a hard time getting away from them or wouldn’t be able to react fast enough to avoid a potential attack.

I’ve never heard of a rescue only adopting to those who would keep their pigeons indoors, though I have heard of some rescues not adopting to people who want indoor pigeons, which is a bit silly.

You can certainly adopt a same-sex pair. Whole most rescues won’t break up an already bonded pair, you can adopt two single males or females. Or, you can get an opposite sex pair and replace their eggs with fakes, which is what I do.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/caring-for-pigeons-in-an-aviary-or-indoors.78312/

 

[bhawk-23]

My chickens have Marek’s, which is a huge part of the reason that I got my first couple pigeons; everything I’ve read says they can’t get Marek’s. My pigeons have so far proved to have less health issues than my chickens, even though most of the ones I’ve taken on have either been injured or dumped in the wild.

I would not personally recommend keeping pigeons with chickens, though I know some have had success with it. There’s always going to be a risk that a pigeon gets hurt or killed, and pigeons love to be on the ground, so they’re not always going to be high above the reach of chickens. You mentioned wanting to adopt pigeons who are unreleasable due to injuries. However, keep in mind that injuries that limit eyesight, neurological ability, flight, and mobility in general (such as a missing/twisted leg), would make it dangerous for those pigeons to live with chickens, as they would either have a hard time getting away from them or wouldn’t be able to react fast enough to avoid a potential attack.

I’ve never heard of a rescue only adopting to those who would keep their pigeons indoors, though I have heard of some rescues not adopting to people who want indoor pigeons, which is a bit silly.

You can certainly adopt a same-sex pair. Whole most rescues won’t break up an already bonded pair, you can adopt two single males or females. Or, you can get an opposite sex pair and replace their eggs with fakes, which is what I do.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/caring-for-pigeons-in-an-aviary-or-indoors.78312/

Thank you for sharing. Having the constant worry of spreading mareks, or worse watching your bird’s health decline because of it, has been extremely stressful. We are in a good management phase now not having lost a hen to MD nor MG in a year. (Knock on wood and !)

If I cannot keep them together then unfortunately it may not be a great time. I am confident I can provide them a hutch in the coop that the chickens could not access and also high shelving with their own food and water in the run if they chose to leave their hutch before the girls are let out to free range. But I cannot keep them separated outside in the fenced area. Off the top of my head, without exact measurements, we probably have 1300-1400 sq foot (95% netted) free ranging area for 10 hens. The girls have never paid much attention to squirrels nor small birds when they are free ranging. Squirrels and small birds have even entered the run without issue. The new-ish net has been preventing birds but not squirrels. We are fortunate to have a pretty laid back flock.

Your mentioning of blindness, severe leg or neurological issues is appreciated. I did not consider these birds to be a good option for us but then what disability was I expecting from non releasable pigeons? That’s embarrassing! Would getting newly weaned birds help make them more attached to us, their safe hutch and less likely to fly off? Or a bonded pair having a safe nesting area to stay by? The girls would become acclimated to their presence with the coop housing the hutch and nest boxes. This is how I’ve introduced new pullets in the past with great results.

Idk, maybe it’s just a bad idea in general. My son loves his chickens and has taken a huge liking to pigeons and doves now. I like the idea of having him learn responsibility, care and compassion for another life but would love to provide one that is not at risk of dying at any moment. Losing his chickens has really taken its toll. We’ve been talking about it since last summer and it’s come up again with the 2 doves visiting our feeder. I thought adding a nest box for them might work but they have not been visiting as often so I’m thinking they will not be interested in the box we’ve provided