Pigeons as Pets Beginners Guide: Episode 3 - Housing & Equipment

[@azura4582]

These videos are very underrated! This is exactly what ive been searching for because im planning on getting a pigeon soon. Only thing id change is to maybe add some pictures or visuals? I dont do as well watching videos of someone just sitting there and talking haha

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Thank you for the feedback! Im still a massive beginner at the video editing software (I know about pigeons, but nothing about film making lol) but I do hope to improve my videos in any way I can in the future! Ive just had a baby so things will be a bit quiet for a bit!

[@yeldayavuz5343]

@@thecrazypigeonlady8731 congratulations!

[@TrangNguyen-up4ih]

Thank you so much for taking the time to educate! I rescued a pigeon/dove (I’m not to sure what breed it is) a few months ago and I think his/her wing is broken? Found him/her under my mom’s car not sure how many days it was there. So I made shift a cage and have water and bought seeds for the bird. The dog crate idea is great since I have one already.

[@leule9684]

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[@BigAsh75]

I recently rescued a bird and your videos have been incredible and just what I needed thank you

[@chris5942]

I accidentally bought the perfect cage for a pigeon. I bought it on Amazon. Its the Yaheetech 30 inch stackable Flight bird cage. It has one huge door in the middle with a small door in it. There are also two small doors on either side. The large middle door folds down instead of swinging to the side so it is the perfect landing platform for exit and return which my rescue pigeon figured out right away. I added wires on either side to hold the door level. The door can still be close easily with the wire supports. The small doors are good for scary moves like cleaning so bird doesn't escape. I can also get a 9 inch bath pan in through the large door. I also put the pan INSIDE instead of underneath and used zip ties to secure the sides together. I am not scrubbing bird poo off of wire cage bottom nor do I want to make bird walk on wire. I can't speak highly enough of this particular cage.

[@stevenrohde8133]

these are great videos, my wife and i enjoy watching you, as you are very warm and knowledgeable. We have a couple of ferals that we feed with seed, and we were wondering if this gives them more strength within the flock. Have a great day. Thank you for the great videos Jemma.

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Thank you so much! Well done you for looking out for the ferals :-) They will definitely be benefitting fron the wild bird seed or pigeon feed mix as a diet of human food scraps is nutritionally very poor for them. Proper bird seed gives them the nutrients they need to be healthy and will improve their digestion. If you feed regularly they will get to know you and you may even meet others who feed them too! I met several people in my town centre who said they came regularly so i know my local flock are well fed :-)

[@Woofanoofus]

I hope you can make a video of your cages one day. I’m having trouble visualizing what a good cage for a pigeon would be

[@em-yf4ri]

@The Crazy Pigeon Lady Hello again! Thank you so much for answering my other question earlier today. There's a pretty large pigeon/ dove rescue near me and I've been looking into fostering for a week or two. In my current house the pigeons would live indoors full-time. I would probably buy a large dog crate that I could keep them in at night and if I have to leave. Because of the pandemic I'm at home all day so I thought it would be a perfect time to try fostering out. I would be able to keep them out of their cage most of the day while I work. In this situation do you think it would be ok to only foster one bird, or would two be better for when they are home alone? Again, thanks so much for all of the super educational videos!

[@brit1859]

Your videos are SO helpful for preparing for a pet dove/pigeon. THANK YOU 🙏

[@MansCalypso]

your like me crazy is a compliment and i agree

[@disneymaniac001]

silicone baking sheets can also be used as lining. i heard it recently in a parrot video i think as i thought it was genius.

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Yes, these are a good idea! Some people use Yoga mats or similar too, as theyre easily washed :-)

[@MrE1981]

Show us the cute lil pidges!!

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Please check out my Baby Pigeon Development playlist to meet Spencer, and my #Birblife playlist Episode 1 to meet Ana :-)

[@juliehuynh9184]

Wow so educational😮😐

[@Altorac]

I rescued a pigeon who shattered what would be her elbow. We took her to the vet and she will never fly again. Is this something I should keep in mind while choosing a cage? What would you recommend

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Unflighted birds definitely need consideration when choosing cages as there will need to be enough space for ramps between the internal platforms/shelves to enable the bird to move around so you need a cage large enough to accommodate this. I suggest joining the Pigeons as Pets facebook group and asking people to share their ideas and pictures of setups as there are people with disabled birds on there. Many people have created great setups using the xxl dog crates :-)

[@MansCalypso]

you know what im going to share you around you deserve t brev

[@pardediablos2137]

can we get a bird reveal? :0 Would love to see all your birds c:

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Hi, please check out my #Birblife playlist episode Meet the Birds to meet Ana :-) I need to do an episode about Dewie my other bird

[@artwhisps312]

very informative video! I've seen a few of your videos and so far they're great and very educational. I'm thinking about getting a pigeon sometime in the next few months or year, so these videos are very helpful. I'm just have a few questions if you're able to answer them. I'm wondering how many times daily to feed a pigeon, and what their diet should consist of (a regular rock pigeon/domesticated pigeon)? Also how often do you recommend to bathe a pigeon?

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Thank you! Ill be posting Episode 4 on feeding and nutrition next week which should answer your questions so stay tuned for that! As to baths, offer one once a week or whenever your birds indicate theyd like to have a wash!

[@artwhisps312]

@@thecrazypigeonlady8731 ok great! I'm excited to see that episode! And thanks for the info.

[@gulldaw272]

How would you suggest blocking off rooms downstairs/to stop the pigeon flying upstairs when hanging out of the cage?

[@MeganBloom]

Hi what does one do with eggs? And should I own 1 bird or 2 male/2 female?

[@evanspell727]

Do you think you could use one of those big wire dog crates as a cage edit: nvm I didn’t get to that part

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Yes definitely, dog crates are popular as indoor pigeon cages :-)

[@happydillpickle]

Hi Gem, The pigeon we are looking after (approximately 5 weeks old) is waking to flap out of the way of his poop but refuses to sleep on a perch- so he's waking often in the night to poop. I guess that's because he would still be in the nest? Is there a good way to help him become accustomed to sleeping in a way where his bum is hanging over the ground so he understands he doesn't need to move every time he poops, or will that just come naturally to him as he matures? I've only ever looked after older pigeons before. This is my first baby who I have had for just over two weeks. He's doing incredibly well especially considering his right leg was badly splayed when we found him. He is now quite mobile and his leg is in a more natural position, although his non splayed leg is still much stronger and he has overcompensated for only being able to use one leg, which has made his good foot curl a little sideways. This has improved significantly and his toes are no longer mixed up randomly, but it's not fully corrected. Do you have any advice on helping rehabilitate pigeons with splay leg? Thanks for your videos: they're very helpful.

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Aww, thank you for helping him! Im not an expert in rehab but it sounds like maybe his ex splay leg is a bit weak so hes avoiding perching on it. He will need to build up strength here so perhaps you can get his some freestanding pole perches you can get him to perch on throughout the day to build strength and balance? Keep encouraging him to perch, even on a handheld broomstick maybe, so you could move it a little so he has to move to balance and exercise? If he does not improve, he may need a vet x ray to see whats going on there. Good luck!

[@happydillpickle]

@@thecrazypigeonlady8731 Thank you! The freestanding perches is a good idea. He's still with us and sleeping much better now: he's just got the hang of it and he's pooping less through the night anyway now he's a bit older. I'm going to build a loft for him and any friends he might make on top of our porch as that's where he enjoys hanging out and it's safe from cats up there. He followed a wood pigeon around the other day, who completely ignored him! Poor little guy got overwhelmed by a group of pigeons who took all the seeds and didn't let him have a chance to get any for himself, but he's doing incredibly well and is flying almost high enough to join the high flyers.

[@happydillpickle]

@@thecrazypigeonlady8731 I have an amazing update. Little pigeon had been with us nearly 5 weeks and yesterday evening, we took him on his daily walk/fly from where we live to where he fell out of his nest, perching on our hands and shoulders. Well, when we reached the place about halfway between our home and his old nest, where he often stops for a good fly around, last night, about an hour before sunset, he decided he wasn't coming down from a high up window on a big old stone church. We waited for him two hours, asking him whether he was flying down or staying. He decided to stay. So this morning, we went to see if he was still there and he was perched on a nearby roof. When he saw us, he wagged his tail, but stayed put. We have just come back from walking the same way and the little guy flew down to us doing huge circles of the churchyard, landed on the roof, wagged his tail then flew away. I am so, so proud of him! What a brave young pigeon. I think he's around 8 weeks old and a lot of the recent youngsters are out on the roofs, around his age, so he'll have plenty of other pigeons to look after him. People kept telling me "Oh, well, he's your pigeon now!" and I told them, no, he's his own pigeon and when he's ready, he'll let us know! So proud of him. Pigeons are such majestic little souls. With massive personalities!

[@happydillpickle]

@@thecrazypigeonlady8731 PS I forgot to say, he really enjoyed the freestanding perches. I think practising landing on them gave him a massive boost of confidence. Thank you!

[@thechickenwizard8172]

What about outdoor housing? I'm interested in getting a pet pigeon or two, but I have cats and our house may not be too accessible to the pigeons. Would it be possible to use a converted chicken coop or small aviary for pigeons outside?

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Hi, this series is mainly designed for pet pigeons indoors but pigeons do thrive outside! A chicken coop inside a small aviary sounds like a good option for a small number of pigeons for perching and shelter, pigeons do like shelves and wall mounted boxes. Theres a really good facebook group called Pigeons as Pets - The Perfect Pet and Im sure the folks there would share pics of their setups to give you inspiration :-)

[@lovisa4143]

Can you transport two doves together in just one carrier? If they know each other from before.

[@Artishakya]

Hello Ma'am, I rescued a pigeon with PMV, it's been two weeks already, now she can eat by herself and fly around very well with safe landing. Should I still keep her for few more weeks or send her to the wild? I am afraid she might spread the virus. What should I do?

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Definitely keep a few more weeks as the bird will still be contagious at the moment

[@Artishakya]

@@thecrazypigeonlady8731 ok will do

[@Awakendabeast13]

can u please tell me about diseases they may carry? i currently rescued a pigeon after a cst almost killed it. i just not sure if they can give me disease?

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

No problem, please check out my 'Fun Fact Friday' playlist, there is an episode there called 'Are Pigeons Really Diseased?' that should help :-)

[@MeganBloom]

When you say wash towels on a hit wash do i use washing powder???

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

Yes, non bio powder but no fabric softener :-)

[@MeganBloom]

@@thecrazypigeonlady8731 Can I grate a cuttlefish bone to powder?

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

@@MeganBloom you could but it wouldnt be a substitute for grit, which is needed to grind food, as well as for its calcium :-)

[@MeganBloom]

@@thecrazypigeonlady8731 I think I've misread the video, so I only need grit, or both? Also please do a pigeon set up tour im struggling to understand it my disability gets me confused easily and things take time :)

[@thecrazypigeonlady8731]

@@MeganBloom you can give grit for grinding and calcium and you can also give a separate minersl supplement if you like :-) I hope to do something on my setups in my Birblife series :-)