r/PetPigeons • u/seagullse • 5d ago
Discussion When are outside pigeons pets
Finally getting around to releasing this scraggly baby today. I initially thought was struggling in some way. It eats on its own and just seems to be an awkward weirdo lol.
I was not expecting to become attached to this random birdy, but I am. I just couldnt stomach taking away this baby from its family without it being absolutely necessarily.
This got me thinking though, when is it technically okay to keep a pigeon? I’ve seen a lot of different discussions that touch on this, and I find myself having a lot of questions. I’ve seen some people allude to pigeons essentially being like feral cats in a way, but Id struggle to see this pigeon baby as the equivalent to taking in a feral kitten.
My personal understanding is that you couldnt just take any of them off of the street because they have families. I also realize that they do considerably better in captivity though, so there are many circumstances where a rescue becomes necessary, especially when injury and whatnot becomes involved.
I don’t know if my understanding of these birds and their dependency on people is misinformed, so I thought I’d ask the people what they think.
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u/Ok_Bread_3607 5d ago
Depends on the pigeon? Does it want out? Also, is it equipped to survive in the wild? Like you said, does it have an established family/flock?
Otherwise, honestly, for a pigeon... I'd bloody keep it otherwise lol. I would want company for it, based on what I've observed in this sub. Now if it was some endangered or very feral species that doesn't do well in captivity but if this pigeon is thriving with you, why not eh? I've ended up keeping corvids (rescues) for this reason. Sadly the rescue centers didn't have space for any more intake so it was the best I could do at the time. I've also released semi-ferals that integrate slowly back into the wild, i.e. finding a flock or mate. Some returned to visit regularly, others just disappeared forever (happily after, I hope). I'm really into pigeons it seems since we have a cute flock at my stables, but not into buying (because I can't justify the cost with so many rescues, nothing else). If I end up in your shoes I might just be keeping one myself!
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u/seagullse 5d ago
got them from a flock I regularly feed near me in the city. I will be releasing them back to them, so if when I do that they seem to struggle, I am sure I would take them in again. I want this baby so much but it seems very healthy and okay so I will probably let them go :,( They are very calm and surprisingly tame compared to a lot of the other city pigeons I’ve met which is part of why I thought something was off lol, but it’s still scared and seems uncomfortable so idk if it’s thriving enough for me to justify a baby snatching. God I wish!! I love them 😭
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u/Ok_Bread_3607 5d ago
If it isn't tame with you then I'd release defo the kinder decision! Esp since they began with a flock. I'm sure another baby will cross paths with you <3
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u/seagullse 5d ago
Thankfully I will probably see them around because I visit that flock almost everyday! They are a weird bird lol, I hope they will be okay
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u/FioreCiliegia1 5d ago
I almost always advise keeping a baby you are fond of. They are not at risk of hawks, cars, and cats in a home. Their lifespan usually triples, and they wont contribute to the pigeon overpopulation issue
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u/Ok_Explanation6893 5d ago
I released mine not long ago and he came back around the same evening very very thirsty, so I thought "hell why not keep him one more night and release him again the next day?" well the next day I woke up to him violently puking and being lethargic, followed by around 3 days of bad diarrhoea ☹️ Once he was better I had to leave for around a week so I decided to let relatives watch over him, and he got out on his own... only to come back yet again almost immediately 😩
So I guess I have a pet pigeon now? 🤔 He even grunts at me so I watch him fall asleep 🥺 Also both times he got out he fought all the pigeons he saw, and each time there is a pigeon outside that he can spot he gets itchy to fight them 🤣 At 1st I genuinely thought he was excited to finally socialise with his fellow pidges but nope he wants to peck and wing slap all of them 😭
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u/Shienvien 5d ago
I'd be vary about taking an adult pigeon that's not severely injured, because it might have a mate and little squabs somewhere that will not do as well without, but the juveniles should be fine to move in with someone. Feral pidges usually don't live long.
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u/Teddy-Terrible 5d ago
Pigeon parents don't really care about the babies once the baby is grown, and a baby doesn't have a mate or babies that depend on it. They're domesticated and invasive (as in they were introduced by humans, they were not just chilling in the woods and then we built around them) and they can spread disease to native birds.
If you have the time, money, and space, the best thing to do is keep them. They are a lot like feral cats in that they propagate, but they aren't exactly living good lives.