Miss Willis

Thanks for sharing your story. I learned from it.

Well I can try hay, but every time I put the egg in the nest, they pulled it out. I haven't touched either of the eggs since except to change the papers on the bottom of the cage. I do it without touching anything, same way they taught us to change bedsheets in nursing school - put the clean one under the dirty one then pull the dirty one out. Isn't it better not to touch the eggs anymore and let her take care of them? My friend said his pigeons laid 2 eggs on the ground outside, where they hatched. He said one baby died and the other is still alive. I hope it gets some feathers fast so it can get off the ground! It's been cold around here. I probably would have tried to move them but he was of the mind to leave them alone and let the birds take care of them how they know best. Thanks again everyone, you're the best.

Thanks for the additional comments. I can't let them fly loose outside because we live across the street from a river and all the raptor birds fly up and down it - hawks, bald eagles - I had to give up my bird feeder because they circle the yard and all the birds disappeared. I let them loose inside and they have a bigger cage they go on the outside upstairs porch. Someday when I get a bigger house they can have a roost but I don't feel comfortable with them outside on the ground in my neighborhood. Egg #2 showed up - 3 days later - strange. She has been dutifully sitting on both. We'll see what happens.

Thank you for the input. I will check Willie for mites. You mean those red spider mites, right? Since I separated them, Betty has been sitting on her egg. I will continue to leave it in there and see what happens. Now I know about quarantine ... too late. Next time. Willie's leg band says 2007 and Betty's says 2001 so I think they are 2 and 8 years old respectively. Thank you so much for the support. I believe in miracles, so I'll keep you posted and if it hatches send baby pics. Thanks again, Dawn

Hello everyone. I know, I only come by here when I want something, because I don't really know what I'm doing except to enjoy the photos and stories. I have a pigeon "Miss Willis" since last fall. I thought it was a girl. She lives inside as a pet and is fun, easy to care for, nice, and smart. A bit before Easter, my friend brought over a female friend to keep her company. He thought a female would be best because it would get along with either a female or male, but 2 males would be bad if Miss Willis turned out to be a male. The day my friend brought new friend "Betty" over, he stuck them both in the cage together and said they would work it out. I said they should be introduced slowly, but he said no, pigeons aren't aggressive. Well, Miss Willis poked newcomer Betty's eye out that day. I separated them and gradually let them fly around together, where they got to the point of getting along together in one cage, which I made bigger by joining the 2 cages together. They do weird stuff, like Betty the definite female will stoop low to the ground and coo like a dove. I think she wants Miss Willis to pay attention to her, but Miss Willis mostly ignores her. Miss Willis grunts like a chicken and Betty frequently grooms her neck, face, and beak. Lately Miss Willis was acting weird, stomping her feet, panting, and not eating. Betty on the other hand ate all the food by herself. Three days ago, I found an egg in the cage. No one paid any attention to it except me. I made it an impromptu nest out of coffee filters and knitting wool. I NEVER saw that coming! Willis doesn't pay the egg much mind, spending most of his/her time standing on the roost box overseeing and acting protective. He/she frequently stamps his/her feet these days. Betty mostly ignores the egg except about 3 times in 3 days has sat on it. She knocks it over running to the food bowl and spilled the water bowl over it so many times I think she's trying to drown it. I bought a nest and nest thread at the pet store and put the egg in the nest to try to protect it. They do pay some attention to it, because someone took the time to cover it with the nest thread. Then Betty pulled it out to sit on it. She's pushing it around now, I can hear her, clunk clank clatter. It's like they're trying to scramble, break, or drown the poor thing! So I tried to look online about topics such as mating behavior, male/female behavior, fertilization, etc. I found out if the egg is fertile, it will hatch in approx 17-18 days, but that's about all I understand. I have some questions I hope knowlegeable people can help me with: a) can you tell by anything I said if Miss Willis is a male or female? we thought she was a female in the past, but I didn't know females pecked each others eyes out or stamp their feet if female Betty was here since Easter, is it possible she was fertilized that long ago and laid a fertile egg here? or are the eggs fertilized more immediately before laying? My male friend suggested separating them and if the egg is fertilized Betty can sit on it or if not in about a week I will know it's gone bad and should remove it. I did separate them, Betty sits on the egg for a few minutes then gets up. Are pigeon eggs pretty hardy? I hope so. Does anyone have any other / better suggestions or any advice to help would be greatly appreciated. I think having a baby pigeon is very exciting! Photos below, White Betty w/ grey grizzle Miss Willis and Miss Willis w/ egg in background. Thanks for your support everyone, I love these birds and try to take good care of them.

Peckedhen, thanks for the advice about the threads. Several weeks ago I ended up buying some bird toys at the petstore, so I would be sure they were safe. I got her a bell, a tinkly dangly thing, and some hanging pull toys. She's really smart, she knows how to ring the bell when I sleep in too late. I gave her some of that nesting material to play with too, but she's already bored with it and ignores it. Hi Debbie, she was found at one of the state wildlife management areas this fall wing clipped and unable to fly. I took her home because of her light color I was certain she would be hawk food. Her wing feathers have grown back and she's a great flyer now. From what I gather, she's a gray grizzle tippler hen. Your bird must be very beautiful if it looks like my Willie!

Well I'll think about it but please keep in mind: David found his kitchen pigeon in his yard. I found mine in the state WMA specially designated for dog training - WING CLIPPED and with a hole in it's wing feathers. Did you know you can buy pigeons and pigeon rings online and do what you want with them? Did you know pigeons are used for dog training and pigeon shoots (hunting) in this country? Is it the same where you are? I promise I'll think about it more though, it is an ethical dilemma.

Especially after seeing the 'pigeon in my kitchen' link baby pictures! I think I'll keep her in for the winter, then come spring get a hutch for outside and a mate. Two people I know already offered to give me a buddy.

Happy Birthday Acocksgreen! I believe pigeons are smart enough to wait around for a piece of birthday cake. Redcheqhen, thanks for posting the pigeon in my kitchen link. That is a great read!

Thanks you guys, it's fun learning about pigeons. I already contacted the registry about the ring number. They offered to track the owner for me, but I declined, didn't want anyone to make me give her back (recall, I found her at the state Wildlife Mgmt Area assigned for dog training, wing clipped and with a hole in her wing feathers). The ring says NPA (National Pigeon Association) 7 (band size) 07 (year pigeon was born) there are 2 alpha and 4 numerals (00XX) following representing the club code and unique serial number for the bird. I'm afraid to give them out because I don't want the previous owner to make me give her back.

LOL don't be sorry, it is funny. :-)

Well I hope this photo upload works. I looked around online some and I think Miss Willis is a Tippler. Can anyone confirm a) is this a female? is this a tippler? c) is there a certain name for these markings or colorations? The photo is a bit dark, basically the only color on her besides black/white/grey is some irridescent green on her chest. She has some grey mottling, as you can see. Her wings are mostly white with 2 black bars and a bit of grey mottling. Her tail appears mostly charcoal to black. Miss Willis is tons 'o' fun - her latest stunt: I've been leaving the top off her cage at night so she won't feel segregated. So earlier this week, I crawled into bed to read, dog followed. Miss Willis flew over and tried to land on my chest, but the dog wouldn't allow it. I think she wanted to sleep with us. My male friend said she probably just missed her shelf, but Miss Willis is an excellent flyer who could land on a dime. I don't think she misses a thing.

Won't it just fly home when it's ready? Sorry I'm new around here too but I thought they fly home at the end of the day.

Thanks everybody, I think you're right. She did play with her toys because a bunch of threads I gave her were lying around the cage. She's out right now, pecking and tugging on books. She doesn't like to be picked up but seems otherwise comfortable around here, she's sitting a few feet from the dog, they just ignore each other. I think they like toys.

Hello. I think I'm not like everyone else here, I get the sense most of you have lofts w/ multi birds while I have one pigeon in the house in a cage as a pet. But I wanted to get your knowledgeable opinions. I noticed when my bird is out playing, she's very nosy and busy. She likes to peck stuff, tug on fabrics and strings, and I have this dial game I play with my friend where you spin the dial and have to do what it says, well my bird sat there spinning the dial for about 45 minutes! So I got the idea to get her some bird toys from the pet store. When I first put them in the cage she looked nervous, but after awhile she started tugging on the stringy thing I got her. Do you think pigeons like to have objects to play with or do you think it was just annoying her so she was tugging on it?

Wow you guys are geniuses. I fed Miss Willis like you said, and she ate more different kinds of grains and seeds in her mix. She still left the big corn pieces, but I know she ate more different kinds of seeds. I'm going to look up short faced tumbler and see if it looks like Miss Willis. Thanks again you guys, have a good weekend.

Thanks for the nice welcome and kind words everyone. I never knew there were so many pigeon fanciers, it's kind of beautiful. I'm finding out for myself what nice docile birds they are.

Hi everyone, thanks for the welcome and food advice. I'll try what Paul and Diane said and see if she eats the bigger grains and corn; but only for a day or 2 in case she's not physically capable like Kirky said. Roland, I looked in my calendar and it was October 12 2008 to be exact because that was the date of my retriever club field trial when it happened. It was still hot and sunny so that must be why I thought it was summer. The only other place I wrote the story of Miss Willis was to the president of the pigeon registry to explain and ask what I should do. Maybe someone else has a similar story. It doesn't seem too outrageous that training pigeons would escape or get left behind after dog training. Blaz, my male friend offered to either take Miss Willis and put her with others or bring me a friend for her. I thought it would be least selfish to send her to live with others, but now that she's been inside, I don't want to send her outside, it's about 10 degrees w/ a few inches of snow out there now. I also worried if he brings another of the same sex they will sit there and coo at each other all day and night. Thanks again for the advice and comments everyone. I was a bit nervous you would all hate me for being a dog person with a bird dog.

Hi. My name is Dawn, I'm in Connecticut USA. My avatar picture is "Miss Willis". Her name was originally Willis but my male friend said it's a girl, he can tell by her neck (??? don't ask me how). I didn't know I'd be a pigeon fancier but I have a pigeon now. Miss Willis was born in 2007 according to her leg band. She came to me this past summer, when I was at a retriever event at a state wildlife management area with my golden retriever and this pigeon kept flopping around the field in front of the dogs and guns. Someone scooped her out of the way and was going to leave her at the wildlife management area at the end of the day, but I noticed she couldn't fly so I decided to take her home till she could fly or else she would be hawk food (because she's light colored). After I got her home, I noticed she had a leg band on, and was wing clipped. She didn't appear otherwise injured except for a puncture hole in her wing feathers that looked suspiciously shaped like a dog fang. I suspected Miss Willis had been used for dog training at the WMA and got left behind. I asked my male friend why anyone would use a registered pigeon for dog training; he said she probably flunked out of pigeon racing and got sold for dog training. I searched on line for what I should do. The recommendation was let them go to fly home, but she couldn't fly then, and even if she could, I wasn't sure I wanted to send her back for more dog training. I looked up the leg band and contacted her registry to see if I should return her to home or keep her. They said if I really wanted her I should probably keep her because my male friend's explanation was most likely plausible, the only reason she would be wing clipped would be a) so she wouldn't return to a previous home or dog training, and given being found at the WMA, dog training was most likely. So I got a big cage and built a roost in the closet, after a month Miss Willis' feathers grew back and now she can fly around. I think she's really smart; when I want to clean her cage she flies to her roost, and when I'm done, she flies back to the cage. I don't think she has any great love for me or the dog, but she doesn't seem too scared and I think she's reasonably happy. Sometimes when I work from home we all sit together all day and she just watches us. The dog doesn't bother her, he would never go after her unless I told him to, which I would never do. Miss Willis is really a lot of fun and gives pigeons a good name. So that's the story of Miss Willis. Here's my question: I bought pigeon feed at the feed store and I put some sunflower seeds and grits in it. Miss Willis picks out the sunflower seeds and the tiny birdseed but leaves the big corn and grain. Should I just buy birdseed from now on so she can just have what she likes, or does she need the big corn and grain seeds? Like is pigeon mix a nutritional requirement? I probably won't post about racing or fancy show stuff but I wanted to join to get advice to take good care of Miss Willis. Thank you for reading about her and thanks in advance for any advice you can give me about feeding her. P.S. check out Miss Willis' picture, she has a feather that sticks out the back of her head like Alfalfa from the Little Rascals - I love it!