To have befriended this bird?

[Tangled59]

I live right in the middle of a market town just off the main square and have a huge rooftop terrace.

I noticed this beautiful pigeon the other day, dont know if the photo does it justice but its a beautiful cream colour. It also has "wristbands" on its feet.

This morning I fed it some bread and it ate out of my hand! It appears to enjoy sauntering around my terrace.

AIBU to have it as a semi feral pet? What can i put out for it (im assuming bread isnt great)? Or is that irresponsible?

Yes that's fine. You'll be able to buy pigeon seed from pet shops over there I would think. Shame you're not in the UK...you could have had some of Gazzie's for Praline (yep...one year down the line I appear to still have a bag of her food in my cupboard ).

Likely she went off to roost elsewhere last night but back for food and love this morn! And your gorgeous cat gets more cat tv, so it's win-win

Don’t send her home - if racing pigeons don’t return home within a certain time the owners won’t usually keep them (and by that I don’t mean they will send them to a rescue to find their forever home) 👎🏻

Not always though... DGazzie's owner was a nice guy and looked after his birds! Sounds like Praline has made her own choice though

waves Hiya @TheSassyAssassin and I too have fond memories of Dpidge Goodness it's been a yr already [shocked]
Waves Hiya Tangled and Praline

((((((Madd Hugs))))) all

Love it. It’s a living creature, embrace your friendship 😄
I have a Magpie friend in my garden, I think animals are better than people xx

Im so pleased Pralines returned, i think she has certainly chosen you!

TuTru
Magpies have facial recognition so they will know you & your family, they learn your routine so when you got up late and didn't put their food out like normal, they will know!

Ive never met an animal i haven't liked, I can't say the same for humans!!!

@LimboLuna
They belong to the same family as crows no?
I heard about a man who disturbed a nest in america and the crows took a dislike to him. They would attack him whenever he left his house, but no other member of his family!

Yes they are corvids.
That is amazing about the crows, I bloody love animals! Great judges of character. I am picturing generations of crows doing it and being brought up to do it. Brilliant.

So glad that Praline has come back for a 'visit'!

Does anyone remember Stratters' corvid who she originally called Mortimer? Until 'he' laid an egg and she had to rename 'him' Morticia?!?!

I'm glad Praline is okay, and that you'll look after him when he makes an appearance. I love birds, but can't feed or encourage them, (my cat would think I was giving a feast in her honour).

Praline now eats out of my hand with zero trepidation. I'm now going to stop feeding her for the day because i think its good she goes off to roost somewhere else.

She even came up to me whilst i qas having a coffee and pecked at my feet, almost playfully!
The only thing I'm not sure about is she is literally spending all day just perched on the edge of the terrace looking out - I'm only half joking here: shouldnt she be getting out and about and making some bird friends?!

Pigeons are naturally gregarious so Praline will be part of a social circle somewhere. However, she clearly values her me-time and makes the most of it. Don't be surprised if she brings a friend back to yours for dinner soon. Then another, and another...and so on. Word gets around; I went from a dozen to nearly fifty.

*her! Sorry

Pigeons mate for life, if they don't have a pigeon mate and are used to humans you can be adopted, especially if you represent food.

Waves back to @TheMaddHugger Yes a year already...how pigeon-time flies hey?

Awww lovely pic Tangled. She looks well loved! and spoilt

I think this is perfectly normal and an awesome thing to do! Enjoy your bird friend. This is one of the best things I've read on mumsnet in a while.

Oh how lovely 💕

I wouldn't be able to have a pigeon for a friend. The last one that ventured into our garden left lots of feathers in his haste to escape the clutches of my older cat.
I had robin eating from my hand during a hiking tour once. It was really great.
Good luck with your feathered friend even though you'll probably spend some time cleaning pigeon shit from around your terrace.

@TheSassyAssassin
Sassy i just read through your thread! Excellent it had me gripped! Although I can't believe you didn't go on to adopt a pigeon or something after that, you're clearly a natural pigeon momma.

I'm pleased to report Praline may be starting to make friends. An absolutely massive street pigeon rocked on up twice to the edge of the terrace, flapping away every time I came out. Doubt this is a potential mate as I'm fairly sure Praline is a he (but fuck it, lets stick with she cuz I have dreams of being a pigeon granny). This is good news for Praline as I really want her to be able to integrate the local community!

Also, Praline evacuated the site at precisely 21h00. And I mean on the dot.

If she's here tomorrow morning, I think we may have got ourselves a little routine going.

She was also born in 2015 - like Gazzie! 😁

In other news, the cats are no longer interested in chilling on the catio or playing or anything. They just want to sit in the access tunnel, watching Praline......and waiting....

Aww thanks Tangled. It was a bit of a rollercoaster...thought we'd lost her but when she made it home it was awesome! I got the message at work and squealed out loud in the office iirc! And as much as I would have liked to have adopted one, Sassycat and her local moggy friends would have had a field day!

Sounds like you and Praline are getting a routine together though and that's really lovely...and the DCats pic is brilliant!

I'm sure it won't be long before Praline finds her soul mate, followed by uninhibited courtship rituals, the follow-up, nest-building (a large terracotta plant pot will do nicely) and finally, fun-size Pralines. Junior pigeons are properly called squabs but it's such an ugly word.

I love how there are so many people here who understand bird nutrition and racing pigeons. I was going to offer some advice about bird food and what to do but I see I don’t need to. Well done girls.

All is well in the world.

Praline not interested in food this morning. She hasnt come near her box, water and food patch, shes just huddled on her favourite spot (a tiny piece of the terrace that juts out over the square).

So, much less sociable today. Maybe shes starting to take me for granted? Its also quite cold with a hint of storm brewing..

Maybe shes starting to take me for granted?

Tell her it's time for her to do her part around the house. If not, LTPigeon.

In all seriousness, I love pigeons! The only reason we're overrun with them is because of humans in the first place - so people can bore off with their 'sky rats'

I can't believe TheSassyAssassin's thread was a year ago, now!

I love these threads.