Once pigeons have had sex....

Greyduster a few weeks ago I had this lovely racing pigeon in my garden. It looked in a really bad way totally exhausted. Following online advice I gave it wild bird seed and lots of water. It needs to be in a container at least an inch deep they get dehydrated very quickly.

It had perked up a lot next day. I eventually spotted its number and found out who owned it. It was not far from home but had been caught in bad weather and very cold winds on a 100mile training trip, as had some others in that batch. It took off again after three days and got home ok.

I think Pigeons in towns need to be controlled, their droppings cause an awful lot of mess and chemical damage to buildings. which is expensive to repair. I never feed wild pigeons. The problem is there are very few natural predators in towns to keep their numbers under control, a few more hawks that are not afraid of living in towns are needed..

It's the old question of having natural balances in the food chain. In terms of ecology we shift these natural balances at our peril.

About twenty years ago, when I was working, we moved into new offices and our second floor general office had a grandstand view of a tree in which two wood pigeons built a nest. It generated a great deal of interest. I put a pair of binoculars on the window sill and staff - even the boss - would come on a have a look and see how the babies were doing. One day there was all kinds of a commotion and we watched two magpies raid the nest and take the chicks. It was horrible, but of course, that's nature. It was a very subdued office all day.

Numberplease You comment struck a chord with me. I don't know why there is so much animosity about pigeons (I'm not referring to people who've posted here). When I was a child, the highlight of a day out in central London was to go to Trafalgar Square and feed the pigeons. And they are such funny and feisty birds - watching the puffed up male's amorous attempts always makes me laugh. I also think wood pigeons are really beautiful birds.

It seems that more wild animals are now spoken of with disgust and as if they have no right to exist - foxes, squirrels, badgers, moles. It is true they all cause us some inconvenience and annoyance at times but I'm sure not half as much as we cause them.

Once the pigeons have had sex!!!! In my garden the bloody pigeons never seem to stop having sex. They seem to be at it all the time, all the year.

Re the baby pigeons and how long they stay with the parents. We get loads of pigeons in our garden. When DH wants to trim up the bushes at the end of the summer he checks all the nests to make sure the babies have gone, except one year he missed one and it fell out of the nest and on to the grass. It was an ugly thing but we managed to catch it and return it to the nest. We watched and saw the mother return to her ugly baby later, so that was alright. It was very big, nearly full grown I would say, but the parents were still feeding it.

We did stop putting food on the table and the ground and in truth, I don't know what they are still finding to peck at, but he/she doesn't seem inclined to leg it anytime soon, and now we have another! Until today, I have never seen a feral pigeon anywhere around here, let alone in the garden. Walter (the homing pigeon) is not keen on the competition though. They would both be less annoying if they didn't spend so much time clattering about (and doing other things!) on the roof of our conservatory! Ashtree, re your suggestion, there is a shop down the road from us that sells pet foods and stuff and I will ask if he knows any local pigeon keepers.

Loads of pigeons around here, especially those big fat woodpigeons with heavy undercarriages. They sure do a lot of courting. I don't think they are an endangered species!

I had a pair of collared doves mating in my garden. They have now taken to sitting on the top of my garden wall. The wall is topped by glazed pottery which looks like half a pipe. (I'm not describing it very well). Anyway it gets lovely and warm when the sun shines on it. I have never seen any of their young either.

Perhaps you could find out if there is a local pigeon fanciers club Greyduster and ask if anyone would be willing to come to your garden to try to catch it.
We had a homing pigeon resting on our back bedroom windowsill for a few days 2 or 3 years ago. It eventually flew off, but only after I gradually and gently opened the window out, inch by inch, thereby reducing the amount of room on the sill for him to perch! I think he was just resting and, once recovered, was happy to continue his journey. Or her journey, mustn't be sexist

You have encouraged him to be a garden bird. I would go along with removing all food sources, but not the catching bit! (eurgh)

I guess there are plenty of insects about for the other birds now.

I know no-one has posted on this thread for a month or so, but does anyone know anything about homing pigeons? We have had one in our garden for almost two weeks when bad weather forced it down. It has a ring on its leg. I had hoped that once it had dried out and had a meal from my bird table, it would continue on its way, but no. It seems quite happy to feed alongside the resident woodies and collareds. I phoned the Royal Racing Pigeon Association who said remove all food sources and see if you can catch it to get the number off its ring! As if! To add insult to injury, today we have another feral pigeon who seems to want to hang out with our visitor. I can see a trend developing here which I am anxious to discourage before my patio starts to resemble Trafalgar Square! Any ideas?

We never see them until they are young, streamlined teenagers. We do have permanent residents, but of course as each generation grows up, they try to come home and nest in the area. That is not approved of and they are driven away, we see them sadly cooing in the cherry tree, looking mournfully towards their old homes. After a week or so they give up, but it is quite sad.

The big fat woodpigeons that literally trudge around my garden are lucky I am a veggie, or I might be inclined to take a pot shot!

Just googled it and they call it 'crop milk' which is where I got the 'milk' bit from. But it sounds as though it's very difficult to make a substitute for it if the baby bird is orphaned as there are special secretions from the mother bird in it and it also has to be a certain temperature. Flamingoes do it as well.

I was wondering how the babies get their beaks through all the feathers.

I love the thought of a breast fed baby pigeon.

The female regurgitates cereal and grass after it has been stored in the pigeon's crop. It's partially digested and looks a bit milky.

Yes I can see that but for instance we get loads of baby birds all fluttering and demanding food from mum and dad but never pigeons? So do they stay in the nest until adult - sounds a bit like my son

Breast fed pigeons!

I think baby pigeons have to stay with their mum till they are quite old as they get some sort of milk from her. I'm questioning my own memory about this but I'm sure I found an orphan pigeon once and when I asked someone who had racing pigeons for suitable food they said it wouldn't survive cause it needed it's mum.

Oh the poor things.

Grandson, when he was eight, went into a butchers whilst on holiday, and bought a pigeon. (Oven ready thank God) His dad helped him cook it and he ate it all.

He is such a carnivore!

We sometimes see finches with what you describe, Bez in our garden.
This is what the RSPB says:

"Chaffinches are often seen with a parasitic condition known as bumble foot or a fungal attack called 'fur foot'. The infection is not directly fatal but it can cause a loss of agility and make the individual vulnerable to predators."

Neither have I!!! That's odd.

I never see any baby pigeons where do they go?