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Pigeons – Rock Dove

by Pigeon Patrol | Jan 4, 2022 | Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control

Commonly known as Pigeons, Rock Pigeons are often considered a nuisance by some city officials and some farm businesses.

In cities they congregate in large flocks and can create messes with their droppings.

On farms, eating grains and possible harm to livestock through bacteria and viruses are concerns about these birds.

Many pigeon deterents are available online to prevent nesting in areas they’re not wanted.

Introduced into North America from Europe in the 1600’s, these birds have been associated with humans for thousands of years.

Rock Doves are thought to have been the first domesticated bird, raised for meat as far back as the time of the ancient Egyptians.

Description

Pigeons have different colors due to breeding by humans. They are the descendants of the wild Rock Dove of Europe.

About 13 inches in length with a dark gray head, iridescent neck, with a light gray back and 2 dark wing bars.

Mating – Breeding Habits

Like Mourning Doves, pairs are monogamous, often breeding in consecutive seasons for as long as both birds of a pair live.

Most will attempt to raise several broods each year. Sometimes as many as four or five broods will be raised in a single year.

The breeding season of these birds can be all year provided climate conditions allow. There seems to be some slowing down during the winter months.

Nesting Habits

The nesting habits of Pigeons are a bit unique. The male chooses a site in view of the female, selecting one stick and bringing it back, lays it in front of his mate.

The female who stays at the nesting site accepts the sticks the male brings to her and places them underneath her.

The nest of these birds can be found along building ledges, rafters, beams, under bridges or inside barns.

The nest is saucer-like in shape and made of stems and leaves.

The female may sit on the nest a day or two before the first egg is laid. Generally 2 white eggs are laid.

Both the male and female will incubate but the female will spend the most time on the eggs since she will be on the nest from mid-afternoon to mid-morning.

Incubation last for about 18 days. When the eggs hatch the young are covered in yellow down.

Young pigeons in the nest are referred to as “squabs”

Initially, the squabs are fed what is referred to as crop milk. This is a regurgitated thick liquid food that comes from the parents crops.

At about 10 days the squabs are fed increasing amounts of the food types that adults eat and are no longer dependent on crop milk.

The young will double in size in a day and a half. Making them one of the fastest growing vertebrate in the world.

Within 2 weeks the flight feathers begin to emerge and by week 3 the squabs are covered in feathers.

The tail and full feathering is completed by the 28th day and their weight is that of an adult.

The young will now leave the nest and the male will teach them what they need to know to survive.

This is 10 – 15 days longer than most of our backyard birds.

The female will begin a new clutch and this cycle will repeat about every 30 days when weather cooperates.

Do Pigeons Reuse the Same Nest

It’s more accurate to say that the same nest site is used as the second and subsequent nest are built on top of the previous nest.

Nest that are several years old can measure out to be as much as 7 inches high and 19 inches wide.

Feeding Habits – What Pigeons Eat

Rock Pigeons feed on the ground. To prevent seed spoilage and to keep the birds healthy a ground feeder is recommended for all ground feeding birds.

The best types of food to offer these birds are properly mixed seeds specifically made for doves and pigeons.

Predators

The primary preadators of pigeons include: man, peregrin falcon, and cats. Nest predators include oppossums, raccoons, crows and owls. Hawks will capture perching birds.

Are Pigeons Smart Birds?

According to Professor Richard J. Herrnstein at the Harvard Psychological Laboratories they are. Pigeons were smart enough to learn all the letters of the english alphabet.

In another study, Pigeons were able to recognize themselves in a mirror. This makes them one of six species and the only non-mammal to be able to do so.

So yes, Pigeons are a pretty smart bird.

What is the Lifespan of Pigeons?

Pigeons may live 3 – 6 years in the wild with the average being 3 – 4 years. In captivity they have lived as long as 15 years depending on the care given to the bird.

Pigeons in History

During the world wars, Homing Pigeons were trained to return to a loft in the UK.

Troops then took the pigeons with them and used them to send messages when radio and written communication were being intercepted.

Pigeon Fun Facts

Pigeons have the ability to see about 26 miles.

When fully feather, adult pigeons have around 10,000 feathers.

There are approximately 400 million pigeons in the world.

Source

Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.

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How to Clean Pigeon Poop Off a Balcony

by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 24, 2021 | Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows

While birds might be fun to watch, the damage that they can leave on your balcony and lawn furniture isn’t. Not only is pigeon poop unsightly, but it can also be a health hazard. It’s important to make sure to clean it from your home’s outdoor areas.

Health Precautions

Bird feces carries with it hazards like slipping, but can also carry health risks as well. This is because it contains pathogens that can be harmful to humans if ingested. When you are cleaning pigeon droppings, you will want to make sure that you take the proper precautions by wearing gloves, a mask, closed-toe shoes, and long sleeve pants and top. Immune-compromised individuals shouldn’t clean up pigeon droppings.

a pigeon bird standing by guano manure

Multipurpose Method for Pigeon Poop

Whether you have a wood, cement or metal balcony, this method can help you remove stains and poop from your scenery.

Materials

Scraper (plastic)
Broom and dustpan
Dishwashing detergent like Dawn
Water
Bucket
Scrub brush
Baking soda

Instructions

For stuck-on droppings, take the scraper and remove it from the balcony. You are just trying to scrape off all the larger pieces. Be careful not to gouge wood.
Use the broom and dustpan to sweep this up and dispose of it properly.
Fill the bucket with warm water and add a tablespoon of detergent.
Use the scrub brush to remove any fecal matter. This will take a bit of elbow grease.
For stains, sprinkle the area with baking soda and allow it to sit for 30 minutes or so.
Use the scrub brush to scrub the area.
Rinse with water.
Allow to air dry.

Cleaning a Wood Balcony

Depending on your balcony, you might take a different approach with wood. This method can help remove stains and odor from wood.

Supplies

Scraper
Broom and dustpan
Club soda
Baking soda
White vinegar
Spray bottle

Method

Use the scraper to remove any dried-on poop.
Broom the area and use the dust pan to dispose of the fecal matter.
Mix vinegar and water in a 50/50 mixture in the spray bottle.
Spray the crusted areas and allow it to sit for 10-30 minutes.
Rinse with club soda.
Apply baking soda to stained areas and use the scrub brush. This will help to remove loosened up fecal matter and remove stains.
Allow the baking soda to sit for 30 minutes.
Rinse the area.
Allow to air dry.

Removing Pigeon Poop from Metal

Metal is tougher stuff, so you can add a little more power to the mix.

What You Need

Hose or power washer
Laundry detergent
Water
Scrub brush
Towel or rag
Spray bottle
Broom and dustpan
Polishing compound

How to Clean

Remove any loose poop with the broom and dustpan.
In the spray bottle, mix 1 tbsp. of laundry detergent with 2 cups of water.
Saturate the stuck on areas with the soapy water.
Allow the mixture to sit for about 10-15 minutes.
Take the rag or towel and remove the softened areas.
Get the power washer or hose and spray the areas until all the poop is removed.
Since pigeon poop is acidic, check the metal for signs of wear.
Using a rag, apply the polishing compound.

Using Commercial Cleaners

If natural cleaners like detergent and baking soda aren’t covering it, commercial cleaners are available that can be substituted. These also work great for areas that need lots of cleaning or larger areas. These include:

Getting Rid of the Smell

If you are looking to get rid of the pigeon dropping smell rather than the actual fecal matter, try vinegar and water or baking soda.

To use baking soda for odor, just sprinkle it on the area and let it sit, then hose or broom it off.
Mix 50/50 vinegar and water in a spray bottle and spray the area. Allow the vinegar to air dry to remove the smell.

All the Birds

Whether pigeons are overtaking your balcony or you just need to clean up a few random areas, several methods are available for cleaning your balcony depending on the type of material it is made out of. Thankfully, most of these methods only require items in your standard house cleaning arsenal.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

SAFETY FIRST – HOW A PIGEON’S JOURNEY HOME REVEALS MORE ABOUT THEIR FLIGHT PATTERNS

by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 16, 2021 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons

How does a lone pigeon get back home? Does it choose the fastest, the easiest or the safest route?

As flying takes a lot of energy, birds generally adapt their flight speed and trajectory to reduce how much they use.

Now researchers at Swansea University have been using high-tech tags to study homing pigeons and to discover if these crucial decisions could be linked to helping them avoid attack by predators.

When the team monitored pigeons as they flew back to their loft at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour in Germany, they observed that the birds did sometimes adopt energy-efficient flight styles such as starting their climbs ahead of hills to reduce their climb angle. But they also saw pigeons using up energy by flying at high speeds.

Baptiste Garde, of the University’s Swansea Lab for Animal Movement (SLAM) led the new research which has just been published by the journal Royal Society Open Science

He said: “This might suggest that pigeons are just trying to get home as fast a possible, but by comparing the variation in their flight speed and altitude to those of an ultralight aircraft following the same path, we found that pigeon altitude and speed was, in fact, very variable.

“Flying this way is neither efficient in terms of time nor energy, but it might have an unexpected advantage. Indeed, if we look at the trajectory of a rabbit on the run, or a snipe flying away, we can see that they make unpredictable sharp turns to confuse their predators.

“That is what we call a protean behaviour. Pigeons might be using the same strategy to increase their chances of avoiding an attack.

“Protean flight has only been described in a handful of birds up until now but we think that it might be a relatively common behaviour, with birds flying in a more unpredictable way when they fly solo.”

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

Well-fed pigeons leave their mark at Lawrence and Markham

by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 7, 2021 | Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control

One of the best places for pigeons is at Markham Rd. and Lawrence Ave., where a perpetual buffet of birdie num num is on the menu.

It is also a bad place to be a pedestrian or a TTC rider. After they dine, the birds roost on overhead utility wires to digest their meal and then deposit wet, smelly droppings on the sidewalk and people below.

We’ve had several complaints over the past few years about the hundreds of pigeons drawn to the southwest corner of the busy intersection by food scattered across a parking lot.

The bird lovers’ hearts are in the right place, but the mess created by the huge number of pigeons attracted to the food is the bane of people who catch the bus at a TTC stop on the corner.

A reader told us he’s been twice bombed on his way to the TTC stop, adding that he’s heard it’s a sign of good luck to be pooped on by a bird but doesn’t believe it.

“They sit on the wires and s– on everything below,” said the reader, who asked not to be named. “One time I could see it falling in front of me, like it was raining bird s–.”

We’ve gone there several times and seen hundreds of pigeons and a few seagulls pecking at seed in the parking lot, while others that had finished dining roosted wing-to-wing on wires on the east side of Lawrence, waiting to drop a surprise on a hapless victim.

The sidewalk below the wires had a residue of guano on it, but we thought it would have been much worse. Plentiful rainfall over the past few weeks has likely washed away some of it.

Dumped next to a concrete barrier on the north side of the parking lot was a huge pile of stale white bread cut into pieces — enough to fill a couple big garbage bags — along with several pounds of white rice.

The situation raises a couple questions, like who’s doing it and what can be done, if anything, to stop them.

STATUS: We asked the city if any rules prohibit the feeding of birds. City spokesperson Angelica Santos sent us an email that said “feeding wildlife can increase the population of wild animals in a community and cause the animal to lose its natural fear of people.” Yeah, but we’re talking about pigeons, not raccoons or bears. Santos went on to cite bylaws that say “a person feeding wildlife in a public area can be fined by the city, if the person is observed by an officer throwing waste.” In other words, unless a bylaw enforcement officer stakes out the parking lot and catches someone feeding them, there are no repercussions. We also found a page on the city’s website that says “there are no specific bylaws that restrict the feeding of wildlife outside of a city park.” Since the feeding is done in a private parking lot, it looks the feeders are home free.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

Pigeons As Pets: Outside or Indoors

by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 30, 2021 | Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control

Pet lovers are embracing the joys of adopting dogs and cats from shelters in ever greater numbers, but few people realize how many birds there are in shelters and rescues needing to be adopted.

Pigeons Make Great Pets — And They Need Our Help

I started Palomacy (originally named MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue) in San Francisco, CA when I discovered domestic (unreleasable) pigeons were being killed in shelters for lack of homes. Pigeons such as Kings, Fantails, Tumblers and Homers are smart, beautiful and gentle birds. They’ve been selectively bred and tamed and, while they can’t survive in the wild, they thrive as pets. Many pigeons (and other birds as well) wind up in animal shelters, either surrendered or found as strays, but they need adopters to get out alive.

Pigeons make great pets both indoors as part of the family or outside in a rodent and predator-proof aviary.

Pigeons as Pets in an Outdoor Aviary

Rescued pigeons can’t be safely flown (they are easy targets for hawks and cats) and so, when outside, must be protected in an aviary. It needs to be predator-proof (sturdy and securely built all the way around including top and bottom), rodent-proof (use 16 gauge or better hardware mesh with openings half inch or smaller) and include a sheltered corner that will stay shady on the hottest days and dry during the rainiest. No one has ever wished for a smaller aviary so make it as big as possible. Minimum size for four birds would be at least 6 feet long by 4 feet deep and 6 feet high.

Pigeons excel at the leisure arts and spend their time bathing, preening, lounging in the sun, foraging for favorite seeds, watching the sky, napping, showing off and courting. Every four to five weeks, mated couples will lay a pair of eggs (which need to be replaced with fake eggs for pigeon birth control) and take turns sitting on them. Pigeons are extremely devoted to their family and mate for life. They require fresh food and water and a quick poop-scrape daily and a thorough aviary cleaning weekly. Pigeons are beautiful, peaceful and full of personality. With time and attention, most can be hand-tamed. All can be befriended. It’s easy to create a charming, attractive and safe aviary for rescued pigeons.

West of England Tumblers Beau & Cher are devoted mates

Pigeons as Indoor Pets

Pigeons can also live inside with the family. They need a big cage for their home base (a double-flight cage or an extra large dog kennel is a good size for a pair) with daily out-of-cage time to stretch their legs and wings and have some fun. They’ll walk around more than fly and will pick out some favorite spots for hanging out. Pigeons are smart, easy going birds that quickly learn household routines. They do fine in homes with other pets and can live peacefully and unafraid with dogs and cats as long as they are kept safe. Pigeons are very emotional and do need a BFF, whether another bird or a human with whom they can spend the day. (Home all alone in a cage isn’t a good life for a pigeon.)

Janelle & Beep chat up Petey & Pineapple in their double-flight cage

Using Pigeon Pants for Indoor Birds

The main inconvenience to having pigeons as indoor pets is probably their droppings. Healthy pigeon poop is odorless and not too hard to manage with hardwood or tile floors or with strategic placement of liners. Pigeons can also be potty trained or they can wear pigeon pants! Pigeon pants are adorable little harnesses with a diaper to catch droppings. The pants are easy to put on and pigeons tolerate them well. Once dressed, they can walk and fly around the house and sit on laps and shoulders poop-free. The diaper, lined with half a panty-liner, should to be changed every 3 hours.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

Police in India take pigeon into custody after bird found with note threatening PM

by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 23, 2021 | Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control

Police in India took a pigeon into custody Monday after the bird was found carrying a warning note to the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency, Border Security Force (BSF) officers found the pigeon in the northern state of Punjab, where clashes between Indian and Pakistani troops have intensified.

“We took it into custody last evening,” a police investigator told the news agency. “The BSF found it with a note in Urdu saying something like ‘Modi, we’re not the same people from 1971. Now each and every child is ready to fight against India’.”

The note was apparently signed by the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

According to English language newspaper The Indian Express, this is the second time in just over a week a pigeon has been found with some sort of note apparently sent from Pakistan.

On Sept. 23, a bird was found in Hoshiarpur district with “some words written in Urdu,” the newspaper reported.

“We are investigating the matter,” inspector Ramesh Kumar told the Express.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

« Older Entries

Next Entries »

Pigeons – Rock Dove

Description

Mating – Breeding Habits

Nesting Habits

Do Pigeons Reuse the Same Nest

Feeding Habits – What Pigeons Eat

Predators

Are Pigeons Smart Birds?

What is the Lifespan of Pigeons?

Pigeons in History

Pigeon Fun Facts

How to Clean Pigeon Poop Off a Balcony

Health Precautions

Multipurpose Method for Pigeon Poop

Materials

Instructions

Cleaning a Wood Balcony

Supplies

Method

Removing Pigeon Poop from Metal

What You Need

How to Clean

Using Commercial Cleaners

Getting Rid of the Smell

All the Birds

SAFETY FIRST – HOW A PIGEON’S JOURNEY HOME REVEALS MORE ABOUT THEIR FLIGHT PATTERNS

Well-fed pigeons leave their mark at Lawrence and Markham

Pigeons As Pets: Outside or Indoors

Pigeons Make Great Pets — And They Need Our Help

Pigeons as Pets in an Outdoor Aviary

Pigeons as Indoor Pets

Using Pigeon Pants for Indoor Birds

Police in India take pigeon into custody after bird found with note threatening PM

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