Guest Blog Post by Juniper & Her Mom

Editor’s Note: If you have pigeons as pets, they are not well suited to survive on their own and need to be safe at home. Here is an article about how to catch a pigeon or dove in need of rescue and below is Juniper’s story of pet pigeon Flint’s textbook-successful recovery.

On Saturday morning, I was cleaning the pigeon cage in our living room. When I took out the water, I left the door open so I could put the water tray back in. Our two pigeons have never tried to get out the doors of their cage — the doors are really small. But when I came back, Flint was standing right at the back door of our house, with a little stick in her mouth. And the door was wide open. 

TIP #1: Don’t underestimate your pigeon’s ability to escape.

TIP #2: Don’t open the cage when nearby windows or doors are open.

I was terrified of what Flint would do. But I also didn’t want to scare her away. I called to my mom with a shaky voice.

When she came, our pigeon Flint was standing between us and the outdoors. There was no way to get to the door and close it without going directly toward her. The best thing my mom could think of to do was grab a light blanket and try to throw it behind or over her. 

But Flint was super fast and as soon as mom moved toward her, she flew right out onto the back deck. Then my mom tried to get her again and she flew up on our roof.

TIP #3: If your pigeon is in the doorway or a window or outside, don’t chase or try to capture her unless you KNOW she can’t fly away from you (ie there’s a way to corner her).

As I was saying, when my mom tried to get her, she flew onto our roof. So my mom went up to the roof, too, thinking she could get her. Then Flint flew to the house across from us.

I felt incredibly guilty that I’d left the cage door open. And now she was out there with all the predators. And we didn’t know how to get her back.

The first thing we managed to do right was to call Elizabeth at Palomacy and she started to walk us through what to do next. (If this happens to you and you’ve read this story, you won’t have to call Palomacy!)

Elizabeth told my mom to give me a big hug and say this has happened to a lot of people. She said the most important thing now was to stay very calm and get organized. 

I pulled myself together and managed to be positive so I could help Flint get home.

TIP #4: STAY CALM

Elizabeth told us that Flint was definitely going to want to return home and we needed to make her return really inviting and easy. (Pigeons are all about home and they want to come home!)

TIP #5: CLEAR PATH OF RETURN! Prop open the door or window they escaped through. Make sure there is nothing obstructing your pigeon’s way home. Once out, they are spooky and nervous. They are most likely to fly back in if they have a clear, easy line of flight in. No swinging door, blowing drapes, no person or pet between them and their home. Lock your other bird(s) (and pets) up but keep everything as normal as possible with a clear, easy way for them to fly back in. (Don’t stand outside in front of the door yelling, ‘Come here!” like we did. You can be outside talking to them just NOT between them and their way back in.)

We made sure that Bloom, Flint’s mate, was safe inside the cage with the doors closed. And we moved the cage so it was even closer to our back door and Flint could see it (but still come easily through the door). Then we sat out of sight as we could while still keeping an eye on the rooftop where Flint was.

TIPS #6 & 7: As much as possible, try to keep eyes on your pigeon. If not yours, then your neighbors. Tell everyone you can that your pigeon is missing and make sure people understand she is a dear pet (since lots of people don’t understand pigeons as pets). Get the word out immediately to your neighbors that your pet pigeon has gotten lost and to contact you if they see them. (The NextDoor app is wonderful for this!) Make sure to tell people NOT to try to chase or catch your pigeon – just to call or text if they see her.

For the rest of the day, I sat in the very corner of the window looking out to where Flint was. He was standing on a rooftop near a dove, who was cooing. Then the door of the house he was on opened, and Flint got scared and flew away. 

We also sent out a note to all the neighbors on the block and our friend posted it on NextDoor. 

First he went to another neighbor’s porch and he let my mom go onto his deck with some food to see if she could get Flint to come to her. She failed again and Flint flew out of sight.

 So my mom started going around looking on all the rooftops of the neighborhood trying to find her. At first, we put out food on other people’s porches. But then we realized that was a mistake because Flint might go to other people’s porches to get food, instead of ours. Which was bad because we wanted him to come home. 

TIP #8: Don’t leave any source of food outside. Make your pigeon’s regular spot in the house be the only place she can get food and water. When your pigeon has escaped (or when you’re trying to rescue one in need), hunger is your friend. Use the lure of food and water to coax them indoors to safety.

We took all the food off our porch and the neighbors’ porches and, instead, put it inside the house, near the cage but as far from the open back door as possible. That way when she came in to eat and drink, we could close the door.

We saw Flint a few times during the day, flying a lot farther and faster than we thought she could. But each time she saw us, she would fly away. 

All afternoon, neighbors would tell us they’d spotted her. Some of them sent photographs: like, Flint perched on the top of a roof looking totally happy.

When it was almost dark, one lady sent a picture of Flint flying halfway out of the photo. First she wrote ‘my porch.’ Then ‘your porch.’ 

While those texts were coming into my mom’s phone in the other room, we were in the kitchen, watching the window and hearing crows. We were getting really scared the crows would get Flint. Or that Flint would stay out all night (Elizabeth said if it got dark while she was still outside, she would roost somewhere and not fly anymore until morning). 

Then suddenly, Flint just flew in and landed on top of her cage! We were super happy! 

 

TIP #9: When your pigeon returns to your home, stay SUPER cool. Do not scare her or move toward her. Wait until she is out of the way of the door and you can close it behind without scaring her out again.

My mom wanted to go to the door right way, but I didn’t want her to scare him away all over again. I was whispering to her, “Not yet! Not yet!”

Then my dad yelled from the other room, REALLY LOUD: “You guys, the neighbor just called to say Flint just flew in our door!!!!” We all said, “Shhhhhhh!”

Flint was on top of her cage, looking down into it where Bloom, her mate, was waiting. Then Flint flew down to the floor and started drinking water and eating the seeds next to the cage. She was thirsty and hungry. That’s when my mom went calmly and quickly over and shut the door.

Then we all cheered! 

The whole day felt like a dream. Or a nightmare. And then we woke up and Flint was safe.

I hope this story will be helpful to you if your pigeon escapes.