New home for drop wing - advice needed

[globalgirl]

Hi there,

 

As you guys know my new loft is now finished.  I layed down an extra floor yesterday for extra insulation and finally put Drop Wing in his new home.  Blackie is not moving over just yet as the old loft is still errect and it means his only view is the other loft which I dont think is fair.  He so loves to sit by the trap door and watch the world go by.  As soon as the old one can come down I'll move him too.

 

Drop Wing still seems quite unsure and has spent alot of time on the floor.  She hasnt layed down and chilled since shes got in there.  Is this quite normal?  Will it take time to adjust?  I've been spending alot of time down there to reassure her but she still doesnt seem that settled.

 

Also I've noticed that she seems to have quite a few feathers missing off her neck, especially under her beak where she obviously cant pull em out herself.  Shes by herself so its not down to fighting.  Any ideas anyone??

 

Many thanks xxx

[pjc]

Don't worry about her feathers it the time of year when they are moulting and in a couple of weeks she will look as good as new around her head and neck.

She prob won't lay on the floor with you around but prob does when your not there.

If she can't fly then try giving her a low shelf to get up onto as she will feel safer on there rather than on the floor.

 

Phil

[joe61]

Hi , I should think she needs time to adjust and settle, treat your  pigeons as if they were children.  as long as the pigeon eats and drinks ok, the feathers missing could be the start of the moult which will move through the whole pigeon , do not worry about this. any more help needed just ask, also put a couple of bricks on the floor she may just hop up and sit on there and be more comfortable and some wood chips would be good to.

 

happy happy days.

[hepste]

As long as you've got enough individual perches for each bird, it won't be long before drop wing gets off the floor, as long as she can feel safe and secure there, ie out of view of neighbours cats etc.  It does take time to settle, and get used to a new environment. Pigeons can be quite sensitive souls sometimes!  The feathers missing on her neck are quite normal for this time of year, when they moult out the old feathers.  When the new ones' grow I'm sure she will look magnificent.  It's a good idea to give good quality high protein corn with plenty of seeds, during the moult, so the new feathers can grow properly.

[invalidusername]

Well, everyone's said it before really, but my Bluey was looking very scrappy around the back of the neck, side of the eyes/ears and between the eyes.  He was like it for a good few weeks, and now he's looking great again.  Yours will too.

 

The hen I got off pjc stood in the corner of the shed for weeks, and didn't seem to move around much (apart from when Bluey was chasing her around).  I put her on a long and quite low shelf, and she's fine on there (she shares it with Berwyn - so it's a good job it's long).

 

I'm sure given time, they'll all settle in and love their new home.

 

Well done :-)

[pjc]

the reason for Davids low shelf is that I clipped her flights to prevent her from coming out with the others.

[globalgirl]

Thanks for all your advice everyone, I didnt realise they moult this time of year.  Will wait for lovely shiny coat to emerge now.  Will also check out the protein food xx