Rescued Rock Dove

[Greengirly68]

I rescued a young injured rock dove last Thursday. She is currently housed in a dog kennel but I am wondering if she could live happily with my 5 silkie hens? She is unable to fly and her left wing seems to drag just a bit. Other pigeons were dive bombing her so I stepped in. She is sweet and unafraid of us. I have no idea what I am doing but so far she seems OK. I know this isn't a pigeon group but wondered if anyone had experience? The bird rescue I called do not rehab rock doves. I have 2 years experience with chickens but this is my first pigeon.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Pigeons are very fun! I would not house them with chickens, even silkies. The easiest way I can think to put it is silkies don't speak pigeon, and vice versa. So if your little lady there goes to eat, and the silkie says "hey gimme space" the pigeon isn't gonna understand and it's a pretty big size difference, even if not truly aggressive, just curiosity or a disagreement could cause serious damage, especially with your pigeon being unable to escape to somewhere the chickens cannot get to. While it could go very well and smooth, there is a lot of spots that an issue could arise, they could also do well at the start and have an argument days, weeks, months later and you may not be there to supervise. Just my opinion on it! Did you need ideas for housing? If she's going to remain by herself, she may benefit from being in or close to the house for socialization and (from your pictures) porch chair snuggles

(I would also wonder about the different diets, I fed seed to my pigeons not pellets, but I'm not sure the chickens & pigeon would be able to share a common feed. Silkies might think their food tastes yummy like treats and steal it)

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We do have a pigeon/ dove thread here

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh sorry, I see that's where you posted.

 

[cavemanrich]

I am wondering if she could live happily with my 5 silkie hens?

I had pigeons in the past, and also silkies.
Silkies are gentle chickens, so I think it is worth a test action.
Is your pigeon able to hop up onto a low roost/perch??
Your pigeon would be in a larger enclosure than the current pet carrier.
Are you considering releasing the pigeon when heals??
If not, then consider getting another rescue pigeon, and build a loft for them.
That is how I started my pigeon adventure years ago. All started with a single pigeon.
If you decide to keep ,, I can answer, all your questions.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,