Pigeon Info Archives - Dreaming of a Chance Bird Sanctuary https://dreamingofachance.com/category/pigeoninfo/ "We rescue dinosaurs - What's your passion?" Thu, 28 Nov 2024 18:48:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://dreamingofachance.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-Dreaming-of-a-chance-circular-logo-for-social-media-5-1-32x32.png Pigeon Info Archives - Dreaming of a Chance Bird Sanctuary https://dreamingofachance.com/category/pigeoninfo/ 32 32 Types of Pigeons and Why They Need Rescuing https://dreamingofachance.com/pigeon-rescue/ Thu, 28 Nov 2024 15:02:22 +0000 https://dreamingofachance.com/?p=5255 Types of Pigeons and Why They Need Rescuing Facebook Instagram Pinterest Pigeons are put in so many dangerous situations. Domestic pigeons have been around as pets for about 10,000 years it is thought. Much like chihuahuas can’t survive in the wild unlike wolves, domestic pigeons no longer possess the skills to find food, water, shelter, […]

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Types of Pigeons and Why They Need Rescuing

Pigeons are put in so many dangerous situations. Domestic pigeons have been around as pets for about 10,000 years it is thought. Much like chihuahuas can’t survive in the wild unlike wolves, domestic pigeons no longer possess the skills to find food, water, shelter, and evade predators when abandoned.  

This puts them in a very dangerous situation that often leads to them quickly being severely injured, killed, or left starving slowly. There are a quite a few categories of pigeons that need rescuing. Here we have highlighted some of the major groups and why they need rescuing for you.

Lost Racing Pigeons

Racing pigeons are used in a gambling sport that releases pigeons to fly extremely long distances without food or water.

Oftentimes, these birds are found extremely sick and the owner’s do not want them back. A lot of times if the owners get them back, they send them back out again or kill them because they lost the race and are no longer valuable to them. A lot of info on racing pigeons can be found here.

Dove Release Pigeons

White homing pigeons are used commonly for dove releases. Oftentimes the dove release pigeons we get in are ~4-6 weeks old. Contrary to popular belief, tons never make it back home.

The danger of releasing them is incredible and cruel in itself as so many predators can attack them. Many claim to train them to come back but they only are able to fly at about 4 weeks old and the ones we get in are generally unbanded meaning there is no time. Regardless of training, it is extremely dangerous to free fly in general and they are very susceptible to predation especially given their coloring which stands out to predators.

King Pigeons

This breed is used for meat and is usually processed by 4 weeks old. Some individuals escape live markets and end up on the streets.

Being extremely large with no camouflaging or survival skills, these pigeons best chance is a kind person realizing that they need help and taking them in.

Fancy Pigeons

There are tons of pigeons that fall under this category. Essentially they are the ornamental show breeds of pigeons.

While occasionally they are lost pets, if found on the streets a large amount of the time, it was straight abandonment of the pigeon. We always recommend searching lost pet sites just to be safe though.

Potion is being his kooky self while showing off how he can get on his favorite perch. The perch is a branch that has been hung in the air. Potion is a pigeon with a grey/green body and black wings that have grey speckles.

Unreleaseable Feral Pigeons

Occasionally a wild pigeon will be deemed unreleasable by a certified wildlife rehabber.

If the pigeon seems capable of transitioning to a domestic lifestyle, sometimes rehabbers will try to place these unreleaseable birds in a home so that they can live a full life. 

Picture is of Tabby who is a blue bar tumbler that was used for training hunting dogs before we rescued him

Pigeons Used For Bird Dog Training

Another situation we get in fairly frequently are domestic pigeons being used as training animals for dog hunting. They are usually severely injured and can have things like their wings taped together to make it easier for dogs in training to catch them. These poor birds need a lot of TLC. From what we have seen, a lot of these birds appear to be racing pigeon breeds. We believe that the racers may be selling pigeons that don’t perform well to the bird dog hunters. 

Buddy an adorable birmingham roller is sitting on a colorful ladder perch.

How You Can Help:

If you see an abandoned domestic pigeon, please be sure to catch it and bring it to safety.

If you’d like to support our rescue work, donations are greatly appreciated and help us both to educate and take care of the ~120 rescues that call our sanctuary home. 

You can sign up to sponsor a bird monthly or donate through this link.

We also have quite a bit of resources to help you. 

Here is how to catch a pigeon.

Here are resources for finding placement for the bird OR keeping them as a pet. 

You can also find educational infographics to share here. 

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Pet or Wild? How To Tell A Domestic vs. Feral Pigeon https://dreamingofachance.com/domestic-vs-feral-pigeon/ Thu, 06 Apr 2023 11:02:56 +0000 https://dreamingofachance.com/?p=4845 Domestic or Feral? How To Tell If A Domestic Pigeon Needs Rescuing Pigeons are abandoned all the time.  Millions of domestic pigeons are kept as

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Domestic or Feral? How To Tell If A Domestic Pigeon Needs Rescuing

Penguin a gold rush homer is chillin' on his perch
Penguin A Gold Rush Homer

Pigeons are abandoned all the time.  Millions of domestic pigeons are kept as pets, raced, or used commercially in the United States leading to large numbers being abandoned. Unfortunately, domestic pigeons have no survival skills in the wild. They have never had to learn how to find food, water, or shelter as it has always been provided for them. They haven’t learned how to evade predators and often time their fun and funky coat colors prevent them from even blending in with the background.

Most of the time, if we are called about a domestic pigeon and they are not able to be secured, the majority “disappear” (get killed by predators) within a week with a select few lasting one month in the wild. The vast majority come with heavy parasite loads, respiratory issues, horrible injuries, and completely emaciated. Let’s not forget the potential to spread the parasites to wild birds, them disturbing the wildlife’s habitat, and the negative impact introducing a non-native species to a native habitat has on the biodiversity.

Cinder with friend Avery
Cinder a Roller Cross with Avery a White Homing Pigeon

Most people will walk by a pigeon in need. Some because they don’t want to take on a project of finding them help but others simply because they don’t know this pigeon needed rescuing. So here’s a quick guide on telling a domestic from a feral (no true wild pigeons left) pigeon.

Sunshine a rescued dove release white homing pigeon over the aviary door hanging out
Sunshine a white homing pigeon from a dove release

#1: Solid White Coloration

It is very, very, very rare that you would find an albino pigeon in the wild. Those solid white pigeons you see on the street are often white homing pigeons released during dove releases or King pigeons that were raised for meat and escaped live markets. In both cases, these poor babies are generally only a few weeks old with the majority being 4-6 weeks of age. The occasional white homing pigeon may be used in racing but they would be banded which leads to our next way to tell domestic vs. feral.

Pete the blue bar pigeon looking at the sky from the safety of the aviary
Pete a Blue Bar Homer with Leg Band

#2: Look For A Leg Band

If a pigeon has a leg band, they are domestic. They need your help. Oftentimes racing pigeon owner will tell you to just leave the pigeon alone and they will find home. What they don’t tell you is that on their races, they average a 60% loss of pigeons and oftentimes will cull racers that lose the race. You can learn more about pigeon racing here but as for now know that all banded pigeons need rescuing! 

Monet the grey indian fantail pigeon posing for a picture
Monet a Fantail Pigeon

#3: Odd Appearances

If you see a pigeon with feathered feet, a head crest, a puffy chest, giant fantail, or any other out of the blue characteristics, they are domestic. Fancy pigeons as they are so called have one of the lowest survival rates. As ornamental pets, these birds are often kept indoors. If they have a rescue band on them, they may be someone’s pet so be sure to give them a ring. If not, they most likely were abandoned by either a breeder who didn’t think they were up to par with the breed standard or because someone didn’t want them anymore. They generally can only make it a day or two on the streets especially since a lot of fancy breeds of pigeons have less flight capabilities due to the way they were bred. Other things to look for are pigeons that are much larger or smaller than your average pigeon or do they have an abnormal beak such as a very long or short one. 

Jude the white king pigeon is perching on a caretaker's knee
Jude a White King Pigeon

#4: Watch That Behavior

Sometimes well meaning people rehabilitate injured baby pigeons. They then think they are being kind and release them back into the wild. If a feral pigeon grows up in captivity with no feral pigeons to teach it skills, it can no longer survive in the wild. With these birds, they are often trying to do stuff like land on you or walk right up to you separately from the flock. They often aren’t integrated into the flock and you will see them possibly near a flock of pigeons but obviously outside it. Domestic pigeons will oftentimes exhibit these behaviors to but that pigeon is in need of rescuing. 

Chive looking cute - She is a orange flying flight pigeon.
Chive a Flying Flight Pigeon
#5: Unique Colors

A pigeon may not have a band or funky features, but the color pattern may seem strange. If you see any abnormal colored pigeons, it is certainly worth shooting a photo to a rescue to tell if they are domestic. It doesn’t matter where you live, we at Dreaming of a Chance are always happy to help you tell if you have a domestic or feral pigeon on your hands.

Fancy pigeon Buckbeak showing off (rightfully so) inside the aviary.
Buckbeak

With these tricks in your hand, you’ll be able to tell a domestic pigeon from a feral with ease. It is also extremely helpful to be knowledgeable on common domestic pigeon breeds so you can recognize them at a glance. If you ever run into trouble identifying a domestic vs. a feral pigeon, please feel free to shoot us a text at 845-239-7257 or email us at dreamingofachance@gmail.com .

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Pigeons In Cancer Research https://dreamingofachance.com/cancer-research/ Sat, 08 Jan 2022 12:35:45 +0000 https://dreamingofachance.com/?p=2588 Pigeons Are Being Used In Cancer Research Facebook Instagram Pinterest Athough they may get a bad rap, pigeons are actually super smart. So smart in fact, that

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Pigeons Are Being Used In Cancer Research

An ex- racing pigeon and a dove release pigeon sitting on a perch together

Athough they may get a bad rap, pigeons are actually super smart. So smart in fact, that using their incredible bird brains, they have been able to help with cancer research.

A study by Levenson, et al. showed that when trained pigeons are actually extremely good at telling apart malignant from benign tumors. Individually, they have an 80% accuracy rate but as a group they managed to get that up to an astounding 99% accuracy! 

Sunshine the white homing pigeon on a perch

For many humans, they need 8 years of medical school to be able to pull of such a feat. So how did they train the pigeons to do this in just a matter of weeks? Simple. Positive reinforcement using food rewards every time they were successful at telling the type of tumors apart.

Sunshine a rescue pigeon resting

Three experiments were conducted for telling various aspects of tumors apart. With the first one, they looked at full color histopathology. In a mere 15 days, the pigeons accuracy rate for detecting cancer rose from 50% to 85%! That’s crazy!

Similarly in a second experiment, they were told to find ones with micro-calcifications. In just 2 weeks, they went once again from a 50% accuracy to a 85% accuracy. The scientists conducting the study did various things to the images such as rotating them and this caused little variation in success. 

Determining if a mass is malignant or benign from a mammogram was thought to be the most challenging. Pigeon success rate varied greatly but in 10 days of training, certain pigeons were able to get up to an 80% accuracy.

The most remarkable thing is that when put in groups of 4 pigeons, the success rate of these experiments rose to an astonishing 99% accuracy. What this means is that if anyone ever tells you that you have a bird brain, you should thank them for the incredible compliment. 

Article Source:

 Pigeons (Columba livia) as Trainable Observers of Pathology and Radiology Breast Cancer Images
Levenson RM, Krupinski EA, Navarro VM, Wasserman EA (2015) Pigeons (Columba livia) as Trainable Observers of Pathology and Radiology Breast Cancer Images. PLOS ONE 10(11): e0141357. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141357

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The Real Cost of Getting a Bird https://dreamingofachance.com/costofabird/ Tue, 15 Jun 2021 15:42:52 +0000 https://dreamingofachance.com/?p=2118 Costs to Consider Before Getting a Bird Getting a bird seems so simple. You can pick a chick up at a feed store for a

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Costs to Consider Before Getting a Bird

Larry the turkey's side profile

Getting a bird seems so simple. You can pick a chick up at a feed store for a couple of dollars. Birds like any animal require proper care and setup though. Be sure you understand all the costs before getting one and remember to ADOPT DON’T SHOP.

Earls coop! Where he and his lady's seek shelter at night.

Cost of Coop

Many premade coops are nowhere near the adequate size space for the birds they claim to hold. Although, seemingly affordable, a small properly sized coop to hold just a couple of chickens can easily cost well over $1000.

Cost of the Run

Building the run isn’t much cheaper. The cost of lumber or a premade kit, 1/2″ or 1/4″ thick gauge mesh, and other materials rack up the cost quickly.

The Bachelor Boys! Here we have our roosters who don't have hens to watch over, instead taking care of each other
Dennis the pigeon is a galician highflier and a rescue bird here at our bird rescue

Feed Bills

Just like dogs or cats, birds have a feed bill too. Depending on the size of the bird and quality of the feed, cost can vary. 

Vet Bills

Don’t forget that like any pet, birds every now and again end up needing to go to the vet. Make sure you have an avian vet and it is a good idea to have an emergency fund saved for vet bills.

One of our little rescue pigeons

Bedding

Their coop’s bedding needs to be changed often. Although shavings may cost only $5-$6 a bag, it really adds up week after week. 

Upkeep of Enclosures

Depending on the bird species, it might live 20+ years. Your enclosure most likely won’t. Replacing old posts in a run or repairing the coop adds up.

Housing for pigeons - Our Outdoor Pigeon Aviary with Pigeon Love Art on the Siding

Miscellaneous Costs

Feeders and waterers are just one example of miscellaneous costs one may incur. Don’t forget about other things like grit and oyster shells that get added to the pot.

Cost of Medications

Even separate from vet bills, you may find yourself having to get medications such as dewormers, lice treatment, supplements, and such. 

Henry looking handsome on his perch

Enrichment and Treats

In order for birds to live a engaged life, they require enrichment. Perches, dust baths, pools, treats, and other toys such as xylophones all should be considered.

Pet Sitting

If you want to go on vacation, you will need a pet sitter to watch the birds. An experienced sitter can cost a pretty penny so take this into account.

Young Xena getting some love

First Aid Kit

Antibiotic cream, bandaging, quick stop, and bluekote are just a few examples of items that you should have on hand.

Quarantine Area

You are going to want some sort of indoor and outdoor quarantine area so that you have a space for a sick bird to recover or quarantine future birds that you would like to introduce into your flock. 

One of our old coops
Savanah the Blue Swedish Duck enjoying a Sunny Day Outside

The Bird Itself

Finally, let’s not forget about the bird itself. While you might be one of those kind souls that finds an abandoned bird and takes it in off the streets, most people end up purchasing or our favorite ADOPTING! Either way you have the cost to purchase or the adoption fee.

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Pigeon Intelligence https://dreamingofachance.com/pigeon-intelligence/ Mon, 14 Jun 2021 22:01:15 +0000 https://dreamingofachance.com/?p=2101 Intelligence of a Pigeon Pigeons are super smart and amazing. They have been known to pass many intelligence tests other animals couldn’t. Let’s look at

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Intelligence of a Pigeon

Linda the MALE pigeon, looking handsome from his perch

Pigeons are super smart and amazing. They have been known to pass many intelligence tests other animals couldn’t. Let’s look at a few of the amazing things that pigeons can do…

Pigeons Can Categorize

In one study, pigeons were actually able to categorize 128 photos into 16 categories. These pictures were of both natural and human made things showing how impressive their cognitive abilities are (1).

Able to Pass the Mirror Test

Pigeons are able to recognize their reflection in a mirror as themselves. Although seemingly simple, many animals are unable to pass the mirror test making this quite the achievement (2).

Help a pigeon like Dante today by sponsoring a bird!
Roberto the white homing pigeon used in dove releases

Now I know my ABC's

Pigeons have the ability to learn the alphabet and are able to distinguish the 26 letters from one another (2).

Pigeons Can Distinguish Art

When trained pigeons were able to discriminate between color slides of Picassos and Monets. Without further training they were able to determine which of newly presented paintings were Monets and which were Picasso (3).

Dennis watching his friends in the aviary from the perch

Citations:

1.AGNEW-IOWA, SARA. “Pigeons Are Smarter than You’d Think.” Futurity, 16 Feb. 2015, www.futurity.org/pigeons-intelligence-856552/.

 

2.“Amazing Facts about Pigeons: OneKindPlanet Animal Education & Facts.” OneKindPlanet, onekindplanet.org/animal/pigeon/. 

 

3. Watanabe, S et al. “Pigeons’ discrimination of paintings by Monet and Picasso.” Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior vol. 63,2 (1995): 165-74. doi:10.1901/jeab.1995.63-165

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