so, I've got this bird now and...

[FirstTimeClucky]

Just an added suggestion. My diamond doves love romaine lettuce. I clip part of a leaf to their cage and they go at it. When they're working on eggs or feeding chicks they love it even more. I've tried giving them some crumbled unsalted dry roasted peanut, but they wouldn't touch it. My pigeons love it, though. I give them finch or dove mix seed with a bit of gamebird crumble mixed in.

Make sure he/she has access to grit and calcium. They will peck at cuttlebone or you can get grit that contains oyster shell.

 

[LamarshFish]

This is true except in the case of white birds who often do have dark 'bull eye' I think?

I think you are right. I did not think about that with the white bird.

 

[biophiliac]

I will vote 'Pigeon' bc I can't see any difference from Ron's White Homers. ...too bad about your rat.

 

[LamarshFish]

I will vote 'Pigeon' bc I can't see any difference from Ron's White Homers. ...too bad about your rat.

I see one difference, and I do wonder whether it is significant... and that is the wattle (or "cere"). You can see a defined, large white wattle on each of these white homers, which is typical of pigeons. On the OP's bird I barely see a wattle at all, which I think is more like a dove.... But I am trying to pull up a picture of what my pigeons looked like as squeakers and whether their wattles were this size, because otherwise this bird here looks like a pigeon to me.

 

[Bug n Flock]

As far as the drinking thing, can pigeons use water bottles or no? And I'm assuming you mean out of shell peanuts?

Here are more photos, she's so darn cute!

 

[FirstTimeClucky]

This is true except in the case of white birds who often do have dark 'bull eye' I think?

Here's my Turkish Tumbler hen. She's less than a year old. She's definitely a hen, sitting on eggs right now. This one has yellow eyes. This pic might be helpful in the "pigeon vs dove" debate. At first I was convinced that the OP bird was a dove, but now I'm not so sure, could be a very young pigeon before the cere and head feathers are fully grown in.

 

[LamarshFish]

As far as the drinking thing, can pigeons use water bottles or no? And I'm assuming you mean out of shell peanuts?

I do not think pigeons would be able to use water bottles since they drink differently than other birds, rather than nibbling at water or a drinker and then tilting their heads back like other birds, pigeons dunk their entire beaks into water and slurp the water up like a straw. The best way for them to drink is a simple bowl of water, but that can get fouled by them standing in it, so some kind of gravity feeder or waterer that allows 1" or more water depth is best... but so long as you are willing to change the water a lot, a tiny bowl of water will do fine until you can find a permanent solution.

Yes, out of shell, non salted peanuts. I buy them by the pound at my local pet store in the bulk section. She will go NUTS over them, no pun intended!

Definitely cute! These pictures she looks much more like a pigeon to me. Hopefully some folks on here with white homers can chime in and help. I am new to pigeons as of this spring, and do not have any white ones.

Pigeons are addicting. I think you have opened up a can of worms for yourself lol. I'll bet you have a few more in the next month or so, and possibly a loft by the spring.

 

[arconfederate]

Beautiful bird.

 

[Bug n Flock]

Thanks! She's really growing on me. How would you guys suggest going about finding her a friend? What age bird should I try to find, and any other advice? I really want to do right by her, she's a fabulous bird.

Or should I wait until I know for sure what kind of bird she is? I'm suuuuper hesitant to have my cockatiel be her pal, I am probably way overprotective of him. I don't want to risk her getting him sick or anything, he is over 14 years old and 100% my best friend on this entire planet of Earth.

 

[JaeG]

She sure is gorgeous! They have such sweet faces.