Pretty!So...I unexpectedly became a pigeon keeper yesterday. I was out birding on my property and came across this guy/gal on the bank of a river near the road. I was able to catch it easily with a net and bring it back inside to recuperate. It's obviously someone's pet (banded) and I have contacted the appropriate association to try and find its owner but they have not responded yet.
It has perked up a lot since I caught it. It had to rest and dry off for a few hours before it was ready to eat, drink, and fly again. It still has very watery diarrhea though. I have been giving it raw brown rice as it's pretty much the only pigeon-appropriate food I have on hand, but if I have to keep it longer I'll buy something else. What feed should I get for a short term stay?
And can anyone tell me breed or sex?
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Oh my, you are in for some fun. I "found" one in FebruaryI really do like mine. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-talk.1276029/post-27483752
Goodness, I'm still learning and learning. Slowly. The info is "out there" just not like it is for chickens.
As for feed, what you posted looks o.k. I get the Pennington small bird blend, but then mix a little wild bird seed, sunflower and safflower seeds together. So far, this has worked well for me/her and poops look good! Oh and a tiny bit of chick grit to the side.
Oh and a bowl for water bathing! Mine was wallowing around in her water dish all the time. I tried different bowls and found this, she loves it, but still gets in her water bowl sometimes too.
Do look for lice or whatever kind of crawling bugs - mine had a few when I found her. They were sort of hard to see. I gently spread out her wing (was checking her for any injuries when I found her) and in the sunlight, you could see a few tiny crawling lice (louse?) along the feathers. I promptly gave her a thorough dusting.
Green poop, may be stress, hunger. I found my girl when it was cold. She had green poop the first couple of days, but once hydrated, warmed, dusted and eating, the poops starting looking normal. I don't think it would hurt to treat for Coccidiosis though if you feel you need to.
I'd also look inside the beak for any signs of canker, lesions. You can bet I looked this one over first thing and several times since. All is well thankfully cause I really like her.
For the Corid, hopefully Kathy will chime in, but in the meantime, I'd follow what Foy's says on their site. It may be that the dosing for Pigeons is the same for chickens/quail, but I have not researched that far yet!
What an adventure. Yes...I'm sure you are looking at cages. @WVduckchick keeps hers with the banties! Perhaps in the future, mine might join the chickens or she may get a couple of friends and a larger area...time will tell