feral pigeons

Question
Hi Chrys, what dimensions do you recommend for an aviary for two pigeons and is it normal for the new pigeon to be so amorous to a human?  He was very dingy in color (I thought it was parking lot grease and oil) when I picked him up but now has the iridescent neck colors.  Maybe he was young.

I was worried about disease because he seemed so sick when I picked him up.  I did not expect him to last the night.  He surprised me.

Sincerely,
Debbie Cardeccia
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hi, I "adopted" an injured pigeon several years ago and now have acquired another feral pigeon.  The first pigeon has a broken wing and will never fly.  This was confirmed by a vet.  The newer bird I picked up in a parking lot.  He was limping, lethargic and seemed unable to fly.  After a couple of weeks though he did not look like the same bird and when released he did not leave.  He does fly.  Is it safe to put him with my first pigeon?

My first pigeon has never become social with us, but the new one is very friendly and social.  I would like to keep him  as long as he wants to stay.  Sometimes he is aggressive and pecks at me and other times he tries to court me.  Thats weird!  If I put him in the same cage with my first pigeon will the two males get along or will he bother the older one with his sexual antics.

I am concerned about the older pigeon catching some disease.  Should I just try harder at releasing the new pigeon?

Sincerely,
Debbie Cardeccia
-----Answer-----
Hi, Debbie.  Thanks for posting!

The 2d pigeon has found a new home, so it will most likely not leave!  Normally, feral pigeons are not friendly, which makes me think perhaps you have a domestic homing pigeon versus a feral pigeon.  Domestic homing pigeons resemble feral pigeons, but there are visual differences.  People who keep/race homing pigeons handle their birds a lot, and this bird might be one that couldn't find it's way back home due to an injury or something.  Is there any way you can send me a picture of the new pigeon so I can tell you for sure whether it is feral or domestic homing?  If so, I can send you an E-Mail address.

It should be OK to put the newest pigeon with the other pigeon.  However, pigeons need to be kept in a flight cage or aviary where they can fly around when they want to, sit in the sunlight, bathe in the rain, etc.  Cages really aren't suitable for this type of bird.  Therefore, I'm not sure how the 2 will act together in a cage.  Males can get along well together, depending on the personalities of the individual birds.  However, a cage setting might affect their behavior, particularly the newest one who can still fly.  If they start fighting with each other, then you may need to separate them or house them in a bigger setup.  

Why are you concerned about the older pigeon catching some disease?  Pigeons get a bad rap about carrying diseases when, in fact, they are no more disease prone than a cat or dog.  As long as the second pigeon isn't showing any signs of illness, there shouldn't be any problems.  You may need to worm these birds though, as any animal that comes into contact with the earth needs to be wormed at least once each year (humans can get worms, too, from being in contact with the earth).

Please come back with any additional questions.

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, Debbie.

It doesn't need to be enormous for 2 pigeons.  Size would depend on if you intend to keep them outside all the time or just several hours per day.  If you intend to keep them outside all the time, you should provide a large area, something like 3' wide x 3 or 4' long x 3' deep on about 3' legs.  One end (about 1/2 the total space) would need to be covered on both sides, back, and top (so they can get out of bad weather, cold, and the sun if they would become overheated), with a door at the opposite end so you can retreive, feed and water them.  The rest of the cage would be wire (something like chicken wire or about that size wire spacing in order to keep any cats, hawks, etc., from being able to get to the birds).  If you intend to only keep them outside for several hours per day/all day and bring them inside at night, the size could be cut down to half the above.  

I made something like this for 4-6 birds out of an old wooden rabbit hutch, to which I added legs.  I've also used large steel dog cages that I put on legs (and I reinforced with smaller diameter wire to keep other critters' paws out).  Doesn't have to be fancy...just something they can live in during the day, all the time, or just several hours, depending on your desires.  Some like to keep their birds inside, some like them outside due to messes they make.  When kept outside though, they have to be protected from hawks (as soon as hawks/falcons know they are outside, they will try to catch them for dinner), cats, other critters, who might try to grab them through the cage wire.  You can get many ideas of an outside aviary type set up from the below websites.  Most of these are FAR more than you would need for 2 birds, but they give you an idea of the type of setup you might want to consider (in smaller size), depending on your desires for keeping these pigeons:

http://www.pigeon.org/showcaselofts.htm
http://www.pigeonplanet.com/

Your newest pigeon was likely lethargic and limping at first due to an injury of some sort during flight (sometimes they hit wires when they fly or evil people shoot BBs or other at them) and perhaps as a result couldn't find food and water.  When a pigeon can't get to water to drink, it will go downhill fast.  As long as the bird seems fine now, I wouldn't hesitate putting s/he with your other bird.  You probably saved this bird's life (and s/he's very grateful).

The irredescent color around the neck doesn't appear until they are older, but also, sometimes this coloration is difficult to see unless the bird is in light.

Come back with any other questions.

Chrys