What do I feed a pigeon

[Azriel]

I had a tame leg banded pigeon show up at my house about a week ago. Its very friendly, I can walk right up to it and pick it up. I tried putting an ad on Craigs list lost & found, but they removed it. I've just been giving it some oats when I feed my horses, but what else should I feed it. Is just regular bird food OK? Do the #s on the band mean anything- would they help me find its owner. I was hopeing it would just fly back home, but not so far. If its still here in the winter will it be OK just out in my barn, or do I need to make a warmer place for it.
Thanks

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

Wild bird seed is fine. Whatever you feed your chickens will also work. Please post all the information on the leg band. It should help find the owner. In the meantime, try trapping it and putting it in a cage so it doesn't fly out and get eaten by a hawk.

 

[cochinGurl]

yes, i would also sugest puting it in a cage to keep it safe. is it blue bar (looks like a feral pigeon) or is it a less common collor, like white or brown? if it is a blue bar, its likely a raceing bird and would belong to a racing club. look around for local racing clubs and ask around. if it has more showy collors, or has muffs, a crest, ect it is prolly a fancy pigeon. Watch its flying aswell. does it roll or tumble? good luck to the both of you!

 

[Rollerman]

Get the cheap bird seed that has a lot of red milo in it ,they love the milo.

 

[Azriel]

This bird is amost all white with a small amount of brown/red markings on its wings, very pretty pink iridesent on the under side of its neck. A neighbor of mine back in MN had Tumblers, it doesn't fly like that. It really doesn't fly to well, mostly walks around cooing.

 

[Towman72gmc]

http://npausa.com/foundpigeon.htm check here to see if you can track down the breeder.

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

What does the band say? We need to know so we can find the club and ask for the owner contact info.

 

[ChiknChief]

I see Mary said you can feed pigeons chicken feed. I just got 2 birds about 6-8 weeks old. I have been feeding them chicken starter with cracked corn. Should I give them some wild bird seed also?