So! I like pigeons a lot. I've kept pigeons on and off since childhood, and I currently have a pigeon named Callisto and will soon be getting a young Satinette as well. I know we have a chicken thread, and although pigeons are less common pets/livestock/etc, I figured like there might be at least a couple people here who like pigeons or think they're interesting. If you have pigeon pictures, questions, stories, whatever, I'd love to see and hear them and will answer questions to best of my ability. This is my bird, Callisto. She's an NY Flying Flight, notable for their white eyes, white wing tips, bright pink/red beaks, and flight patterns. She's also probably male, but we got used to calling her "she" before it was possible to tell, and we're sticking with it. She doesn't care about pronouns, after all. I also just finalized the purchase of a second pigeon, a very young Satinette. I'm really excited about it, but won't have the bird for a while.
:000 a stylish pidge... I think pigeons are cool but irl domestic birds scare me so I will probably never try to keep pigeons. Lots of birds land on the train tracks near my work because i guess the trains are carrying grain or something? So occasionally we see Pigeon Congress Meetings
I don't have pigeons, but one time when I was younger (like...primary school), my mother and I found a racing pigeon just sitting on the side of the road. It had an injured eye and so we took it to the vet, and the vet said that we could take it home for the night-it was banded but I can't remember if the vet read its band or if it was microchipped. Either way its owner showed up the next day to pick it up. Also, it was the biggest pigeon I've ever seen.
I would certainly vote for and obey Pigeon Congress. I'm glad you took it in and it got home! Most homers are just banded, but some have microchips too. Microchips are usually more reliable, because bands generally correspond to the breeder...but the breeder may not be the current owner, nor be able to identify who they sold that exact bird to, so that doesn't necessarily help. Hm. It seems fun to showcase a couple of the, uh, rather unusual pigeon breeds. For your perusal and amusement... The English Pouter: The Scandaroon: English Carrier: The Jacobin pigeon: There are plenty more. Pigeon breeding is wild. I can't say I like all of the many varieties, but I do have to sort of admire the sheer dedication humans have for breeding weird animals. The Satinette I'm getting will look like this:
Callisto is adorable! People regularly roll their eyes at me loving pigeons, but they're honestly such amazing and beautiful birds. I had no idea there were so fancy breeds still :D
omg the Jacobins. They're so beautiful/ridiculous/totally fab. And the Satinettes look like chibi seagulls, I love them. Is there a fancy breed name for the common city pigeon? Because they're totally my favorite. so beautiful so cute, shaped like friend (≚ᄌ≚)
Have you all seen the Twitter account of Jon Pigeon? It is one of the funniest sockpuppet Twitters out there, imho. :)
omg pigeons look, when you're walking around outside in a city, don't you just want to chase them a little? I understand how dogs feel about cars. i don't know what i'll do if i catch it but boy making it run is fun
It depends on the individual, but a well-socialized pigeon who's not afraid of humans will be very personable and often highly affectionate.** Pigeons are super social, and non-territorial (other than over nesting sites), and they are happy to adopt humans into their "flock". Often, a singleton bird kept as a pet will bond with one person as a mate, and want to spend a lot of time with that person (pigeons are socially monogamous and prefer to mate for life). Hens are usually more cuddly than cocks. They need space and time out of their cage/loft to fly and explore, and things to occupy themselves with so they don't get bored and sad. They can't manipulate objects with their beaks and feet the same way parrots do, because their beaks are designed solely for picking up seeds and swallowing them whole. That means they really can't cause as much trouble in a living space, nor bite hard enough to break skin, and it also means "bird toys" from pet stores aren't usually that interesting to them because they're all aimed at parrot-like birds. However, they love foraging, so games or toys that involve solving simple puzzles for seed are great. They are undeniably fairly messy birds. They produce a dander under their feathers that helps keep them free of mites/lice/etc, so you have to vaccuum/sweep around their cage pretty regularly. They also have a tendency to fling seeds when they're eating, as they sort through for the seeds they like best. And as with any bird, they poop every 20 minutes or so. **Their personality depends on upbringing, of course - my rescued pigeon Callisto is very scared of humans, and spends most of her day perching in high places around the apartment, cuddling with her mirrors, or foraging for the seeds we place around her cage and the parts of the apartment she likes. She's probably never going to be friendly with us, as such, although we can feed her from our hands now (a huge improvement over when we got her 4 months ago)! Also!! I got a photo of the baby Satinette pigeon that I'll be getting soon, and it's absurdly cute. It's the one in the back, with the darker wings:
