So I guess I have a pigeon now?

[Ecarroll]

Or yes…

 

[Gezellige_Poes]

He is pretty skinny, but since I have heard nothing back I feel ok feeding him now. Some game bird food should get the weight back up?
View attachment 3908690

Get him some dove seed mix, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002DK9UG, and make sure he has access to grit.

 

[Gezellige_Poes]

A few days later he took off and hopefully found his way back home. Maybe he'll stop by again at some point when he is passing by.

I did not read far enough down... Has he ever returned?

 

[ChikaInu]

I did not read far enough down... Has he ever returned?

Unfortunately not. Wee Dave. I don't know if they race them much during the winter though so maybe he will stop by at some point during the summer if we are lucky!

If not, we do have a pigeon pair living in the basement laundry at the moment so we still get to listen to some rooroos.

 

[ChikaInu]

He was just so lovely. I can't get over what a pet he was.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

He was just so lovely. I can't get over what a pet he was.

He was so pretty! It’s sad he left!

 

[ChikaInu]

But at the same time I'm happy he went home! Someone obviously spent a lot of time with him.
It wasn't too far away so he should have made it there just fine. <3

 

[Gezellige_Poes]

He was just so lovely. I can't get over what a pet he was.

It looks like he has a band on his leg. He may well have gotten lost returning home. When I lived in Germany, I found a pigeon who looked very much like this one, aimlessly wandering, disoriented. I brought him inside, set him up in a dog crate, and offered him food and water. He drank and drank and drank. Wow, was he thirsty! The next morning, he was very alert and ready to go, so I released him. He flew a huge circle high up in the sky above my house, and disappeared. He then landed on my window sill and peered in at me as if to say thanks. It is possible he was a racing pigeon and had gotten lost due to weather interfering with his homing skills.

 

[ChikaInu]

It looks like he has a band on his leg. He may well have gotten lost returning home. When I lived in Germany, I found a pigeon who looked very much like this one, aimlessly wandering, disoriented. I brought him inside, set him up in a dog crate, and offered him food and water. He drank and drank and drank. Wow, was he thirsty! The next morning, he was very alert and ready to go, so I released him. He flew a huge circle high up in the sky above my house, and disappeared. He then landed on my window will and peered in at me as if to say thanks. It is possible he was a racing pigeon and had gotten lost due to weather interfering with his homing skills.

Oh he was absolutely a racing pigeon! I traced his registration and reported him as found but never heard back from the Scottish Homing Union, or the owner. I can't remember where he was from but it wasn't too far away.
I was just surprised he stayed on for so long and was so comfortable. Usually when we get a tired racer they just hang around for a couple of days, get some food and drink and take off.

Before Covid we had a racer that desided to stay at the hotel for three years. Percy. His owner tried to get him back a couple of times but it didn't work.
He was nowhere as friendly though. He'd hang out with us at lunchtime but you couldn't handle him or anything.

 

[Zenmonkey]

Every birds is it's own unique individual.

Perhaps it is common knowledge on this channel, but young bird season (when the current season's birds are raced) is late summer and fall, in the northern hemisphere.

Dave was exactly as you said, a wayward racer in his first year, still learning the ropes.

It is an unfortunate side effect of pigeons reproducing fairly easily, and a racing homer's entire purpose being to *come home*, preferably as rapidly as possible.... that those birds which fail to do so are often not greatly valued by the owner.

When I raced, I always wanted my birds back. However it isn't uncommon for people to have absolutely no interest their birds as soon as they decide to wander off.

It might appear heartless, as Dave clearly has personality. But consider a barnyard cross chicken or goose, or a hybridized pheasant. Those aren't typically what a good breeder is looking for, and putting them into the freezer is considered just fine in most cases.

I'm sorry that you didn't get a response from the Scottish racing union. They probably did notify the owner. However eating pigeons in the US it's a pretty niche thing these days, often looked down upon. I assume it isn't terribly different where your are. And the owner apparently didn't feel it worth the time to call you and tell you he didn't want the bird back.

I'm not saying this is a great place to be. And I was always anxious to get mine back. They were more pets than performance animals. Which probably explains why I didn't win races. But the older fellow who is going to be culling under performers anyway, faced with possibly talking to an animal rights activist, yeah. I'm sorry you didn't get more of a response, but I'm not terribly surprised.

Pigeons are one of my favorite birds, and I'm thrilled that you got to spend some time with Dave.

*edits because I can't spell