Q. What is a pigeon?
A. "Pigeon"
is the common name for members of the Columbidae family of birds. Smaller
species are commonly known as doves. One of the most prevalent types of pigeon
is the common pigeon (Columba livia), found the world over.
Rock
dove the common pigeon, from which all breeds were domesticated, descends from
the rock dove. The rock dove was found originally in Europe, North Africa, and
India where they made their homes on the faces of rocky cliffs.
Mankind
has enjoyed the benefit of thousands of years of domesticated pigeons. From the
lowly feral common pigeon eating popcorn in the park, to a champion-racing
homer costing hundreds or thousands of dollars, pigeons provide mankind with
way to observe and appreciate the beauty of birds anywhere. Pigeons have been
used througought antiquity as messengers, in both war and peacetime. Pigeons
are also mentioned many times in the Christian Bible. «
Hundreds,
if not thousands of breeds have been developed by man for many purposes: large
pigeons for the table, many types of fancy pigeons for competitive showing,
homers for racing and messaging, and rollers and tipplers for their aerial
acrobatics.
Like
many creatures in the world, the common pigeon is not native to many of the
places where it thrives. In many large urban areas, common pigeons are some of
the only "wildlife" that some people will ever see. To many, the
sight of seeing individual members of a flock of pigeons interacting socially
with one another, flying about and just being pigeons is a relaxing way to
spend some free time.
Q. When
does the hen lay her eggs?
A. The
hen lays the first egg of a two-egg clutch about 10 days after mating. The
second egg follows a day or so after the first. The couples usually do not
start sitting on the eggs until the second egg comes. This ensures both eggs
hatch around the same time.
Q. Which
parent sits on the eggs?
A. Both
the cock and the hen take turns sitting on the eggs. The hen usually sits in
the morning and overnight. The cock usually sits during the afternoon.
Q. How
long are pigeon eggs incubated?
A. Both
eggs usually start to hatch about 18 days after the second egg was laid. It can
sometimes take a chick an entire day to break free from his shell.
Q. What
do baby pigeons eat?
A. For
the first few days of life, baby pigeons, also called "squabs," are
fed "pigeon milk" by both parents. Pigeon milk is a cheese-like
substance created inside the throats of both parents and put into the mouths of
the baby pigeons.
After
a few days of the pigeon milk diet, the young are fed regurgitated grains and
seeds. The parents will pump the baby pigeons so full of seeds that their crops
will look and feel like overly stuffed beanbags.
After
about 20 days or so, the young pigeons will begin to peck at grains and seeds
and begin eating like adult pigeons. They will, however, continue to beg their
parents to feed them when given the opportunity.
Q. How
fast do baby pigeons grow?
A. Pigeons
grow at a remarkable rate. Anecdotally, they appear to double in size every
other day of their first week of life. A young pigeon is fully feathered and
ready to leave the nest at about 30 days.
When
putting on a permanent, seamless identification band, special care must be
taken to ensure it is placed on the bird's leg within four to six days after
hatching. Any time before that, the band will be too large and will slip off.
Any time after that, the band will be too small and will not slip over the
foot.
Q. What
do pigeons eat?
A. Naturally,
pigeons eat only seeds and grains. Wild pigeons may also eat bread, popped
corn, and bits of food dropped by people. Pigeons do not eat worms, insects, or
meat.
The
best food for pigeons is a mixture of quality grains. Premixed sacks of feed
are typically available at any feed and seed stores. A typical 50-pound
premixed bag of general-purpose pigeon food consists of Canadian field peas,
popcorn, Milo, hard wheat, maple peas, oat groats, red millet, white millet,
canary grass seed, rice, and hemp seed. I supplement the feed by mixing in
popcorn kernels, also purchased at the feed and seed store in a 50-pound
bag.
Q. What
do pigeons drink?
A. Pure,
clean water made available at all times. For optimum health, the water should
be changed daily.
Q. How
do I tell the cocks from the hens?
A. Unfortunately,
the differences between male and female pigeons is not as obvious as with other
species of birds. Somehow, the pigeons themselves know instinctually, but us
humans have to work a little harder at it.
In
older pigeons, the cocks are usually a little bigger than the hens. By far, the
most accurate way to tell is to observe their behavior in social settings. The
cocks will often puff out their crops and coo loudly. They will fan out their
tail feathers and drag them on the ground or floor and spin in place. The bird
to which he is exhibiting this behavior usually is a hen. When I see one do
this, I snap a blue plastic band on the cock's leg, and a pink one on the
hen's.
Of
course, if you happen to be around a bird when an egg comes out of it, you can
be fairly certain that this bird needs a pink plastic band about her foot.
Old-timers
in the sport of pigeon racing can instantly tell the cocks from the hens. As
with any activity, experience is the best teacher.
Q. What
is the life expectancy of a pigeon?
A. Pigeons
kept in captivity can live to 15-20 years. GI Joe, a decorated veteran of World
War II, spent his declining years in retirement at the Detroit Zoo Birdhouse
after delivering a message saving the live of 1,000 Allied soldiers. He died at
the age of 18 in early June 1961 at the Detroit Zoo Birdhouse.
The
Encyclopedia Britannica states that pigeons can live to be 35 years old.
Q. At
what age do pigeon begin mating?
A. I
have not studied this scientifically, nor have I researched this in other
literature, but in my own observation, I have seen young birds hatched in the
winter and early spring begin to show an interest in courting and mating in
mid-summer. I have even seen some hens lay eggs at this age. This would put the
age of first mating near six months.
Q. Aren't
pigeons dangerous?
A. The
Association of Pigeon Veterinarians National Avian Disease Task Force for
Pigeons and Doves does "affirm and testify that ... the raising, keeping
and the exercising of pigeons and doves represents no more of a health hazard
than the keeping of other communal or domestic pets."
Unfortunately,
this is an idea that many people have about pigeons. Of course, rats don't have
wings. The closest thing to a "rat with wings" is a bat. People in
society often treasure wild pigeons, unlike “wild” rats. Many people take great
pleasure in feeding and watching wild pigeons in urban areas where no other
natural wildlife exists. Wild pigeons also serve as a sort of
"janitor" in urban settings, cleaning up messes left behind by
people.
Aside
from the wild pigeons, the domesticated thoroughbred racers, rollers, and fancy
pigeons are even further removed from the "rats with wings" notion.
When did rats ever save the life of downed airmen in World War II? When did
rats deliver mail into Paris under siege keeping families in touch when no
other mail could get through?
Anyone
who wants to call these remarkable creatures "rats with wings" should
take a hard look at history.
Many
people, particularly people who don't like birds, or pest control companies who
stand to make money, would have you believe that pigeons, both feral and
domestic, are harborers of disease. Below are some quotes from respected members
of public disease control agencies.
"...Diseases
associated with [pigeons] present little risk to people..." - Dr. Michael
McNeil, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta
“We
do have some concern about the indiscriminate killing of pigeons.” “[Histoplasmosis
disease rates are] misleading and irrelevant, because histo’s so ubiquitous.
It’s in the soil, regardless of whether pigeons are around or not...”- Dr.
Marshall Lyon, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta
"The
New York City Department of Health has no documented cases of communicable
disease transmitted from pigeons to humans." - Manuel Vargas, DVM, New
York City Department of Health
Please
see the Urban Wildlife Society's page on pigeons and human disease for more
information. «
Q. Do
pigeons carry West Nile Virus
A. No.
Since WNV seems to be carried by common birds such as crows and jays, some
people suspected that pigeons might carry it as well. Please read the following
from the Summer 2002 issue of the American Racing Pigeon Union's AU Update.
The
AU continuously monitors the spread of West Nile Virus. it is spreading
quickly, but it does not seem to be the problem we feared it might be. There
are cases of humans contracting the disease, but in almost every case the
victim was elderly and/or immune compromised.
Officials
at CDC tested flocks of pigeons and challenged them. It is now confirmed that
pigeons are not a significant pool for the virus. As with Avian Influenza (AI)
they do not get it, do not shed it, do not transmit it nor serve as a vector
for the disease -- for either animals or humans. "(Pigeons) develop very
low levels of the virus and are very poor amplifiers of the virus,"
according to Dr. Nicholas Komar of the CDC in Fort Collins, Colorado. This may
be due to their high body temperature having some effect on the virus' ability
to reproduce.
Q. What
can I do? so they're not really dangerous, but I don't like them (feral)
hanging around.
A. Pigeons
are creatures of habits. Disrupt their habits, and you might have some success
in getting them to leave. Don't feed unwanted pigeons. Use boards, netting,
wire, etc, to exclude the unwanted birds from your area. If they can't nest,
they won't hang around. Killing unwanted pigeons is not said to work, as there
will always be another bird to take the place of the killed birds.
There
are some commercial sellers and installers of netting. Look closely next time
you are downtown. You might just see some near invisible netting covering
windows and ledges of buildings.
Q. What
is a "homing pigeon?"
A. A
homing pigeon is a specially bred and trained pigeon descended from a centuries
old line of proven homers. All pigeons have some ability to home, but homing
pigeons have this trait especially enhanced though breeding and training.
Q. Aren't
homing pigeons extinct?
A. No.
You might be thinking of the passenger pigeon. The passenger pigeon was a
migratory bird that numbered in the billions in eastern North America in the
early 1800's. The bird was hunted to extinction for food and sport. The last
known passenger pigeon died on September 1, 1914 in Ohio at the Cincinnati
Zoo.
Q. How
does a homing pigeon know where to go?
A. Despite
all of our modern advances in science, no one can truly say exactly how homing
pigeons know where to go. Common theories are:
Magnetic navigation: pigeons possess a magnetic substance called
magnetite in their brains. It is suspected that pigeons can detect the Earth's
magnetic lines of force to aid in their navigation. This would be similar to
using a compass to aid you on a journey.
The
Japan Times Online published an article (May 12, 2001) on the subject of iron
found in the ears of birds. Astronomical navigation:
A sailor using a sextant and a watch can regard the position of the sun in
relation to the time of day and make a determination of his geographic
location. Perhaps pigeons can do the same internally, without the need for a
physical sextant or clock.
Smell and/or hearing: This theory states that pigeons can hear sounds
much too low for people to hear. It is thought that every area has its own
unique sound, and the birds have the ability to detect the sounds over a
distance. Others think that pigeons can smell their home area from a great
distance.
Non-local consciousness/psychic navigation: Rupert Sheldrake, among
others, believes that pigeons have some sort of non-local consciousness
connection with their home, owners, or mates.
It's
worth noting that experiments show that pigeons do not seem to rely exclusively
on any one method of navigation. Experiments on pigeons in which they were
outfitted with frosted contact lenses still showed that they could get very
near their home loft. Similar experiments with magnetic fields showed the same
results.
The
questions of how pigeon’s home still remains largely unanswered.
Q. Are
pigeons used to carry messages, letters, or packages? Anything else?
A. History,
both modern and ancient, has many examples of pigeons being used for the purposes
of delivering messages. Still today, some police departments in India utilize
official pigeon messengers to carry interdepartmental communications. Iraq used
messenger pigeons as recently as the Gulf War. I think the Swiss army still
experiments with messenger pigeons. The US Army Signal Corp had it's own
special pigeon messaging unit until the 1950's or so. A young Mr. Reuter (of
Reuter's News fame) made his fortune sending financial information via
messenger pigeon.
In
addition to carrying messages, pigeons have also carried reconnaissance
cameras, film, maps, etc. Pigeons are used at this time by a white-water
rafting outrigger in Colorado to ferry undeveloped film canisters in special
backpacks down a mountain so that printed photos can be purchased by the
outrigger's clients.
Q. What
is a carrier pigeon?
A. A
carrier pigeon is the same as a homing pigeon, though this term may be applied
more directly to a pigeon, which is employed to carry a message or small
package.
Please
note that there is a breed of fancy pigeon called a "carrier." It is
named for the way it carries itself when walking and strutting.
Q. What
is a "racing pigeon?"
A. A
racing pigeon is a specially trained homing pigeon. Racing pigeons are trained
and motivated to fly from a designated release point to their home loft as
quickly as possible. The difference between a homing pigeon, messaging pigeon,
and racing pigeon is subtle, and varies mostly with training and
conditioning.
Q. How
do you race a pigeon?
A. Very
simply, all the racing pigeons are put into a specially designed truck,
trailer, or rail car and released at a predesignated point. The birds are
liberated and fly home to their respective home lofts.
Q. How
fast do racing pigeons fly?
A. The
average airspeed of a racing pigeon is around 50 miles per hour. The actual
ground speed can vary based on the wind encountered. For example, a tail wind
may dramatically increase the ground speed, and a head wind may significantly
impede the ground speed, but the air speed may remain fairly constant.
Q. How
do you know which bird is the winner?
A. Each
birds arrival is timed by a special racing clock, thus recording the total
amount of time lapsed since liberation. Knowing the exact geographic
coordinates of both the release point and the home loft, the exact distance
flown can be computed. Then taking the exact flight time into consideration,
the average speed can be computed. The bird with the fastest average speed
wins.
Q. Help!
I've found a lost/injured pigeon. What do I do?
A. Racing
pigeons can sometimes get lost or injured during training or racing activities.
When that happens, you might find one in your backyard. Sometimes all they need
is some rest, water or food, and they are ready to resume their trip home.
Q. Do
you sell pigeons?
A. Yes,
I do sell pigeons.
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