Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to my Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, on this page I have pecked out questions I or my pet humans often get. Either when we’re outside or on social media. It’s important to know that these answers are based on my/our own experience, and to tell you the truth. These answers are not only some ‘fairy-tale answers’ you might hope to hear.

This page has two sections, one is about questions which are directly regarding me, and the second section contains (frequently asked) questions regarding (pet) pigeons in general. With this page I hope to enlighten people a bit more about me and other (pet) pigeons.

Disclaimer: Not every (pet) pigeon (or other bird for that matter) is the same, so what applies to me or even to most (other) birds, might not apply to you or your pet bird 🙂

Frequently Asked Questions about me

These are questions which me or my pet owners get frequently asked. Some of them are just normal and serious questions, while others might sound really strange, awkward or even unbelievable, but these are really questions we actually (quite often) get.

Yes, I’m not kidding you, this is actually a question which my pet humans get very frequently from random strangers when we’re taking a walk outside.

Sometimes one of my pet humans has an sarcastic reply which would often be one of the following:
– No, this is the latest robotic stuffed animal from Hasbro® , the batteries go in here [and then he lifts my tail a bit] 😆
– No, this is the latest Animatronics Drone from DJi® [Often used when my pet humans are flying with me in the park 🤦]
– Bird? What bird??? [And they’ll pretend that I’m not there, like they are not seeing me at all😂]
– Nah, I just like to walk around with stuffed animals for fun [sometimes used when they had enough of this question and had received it several times already that day], Sometimes people will then resume with: “But it is moving?“, to which my humans will respond again with something like “Yeah she is moving, so of course it’s a real bird 🤦“

Most of the time my pet humans will obviously just respond friendly with “Yes, she is real, she is a pigeon….” and then tell them a bit about me and sometimes even give them my business card. But from time to time they (obviously) have had enough of a ‘dumb question/conversational starter’ like “Is that a real bird” when I’m clearly moving and perching on their shoulder or finger.

The ‘sarcastic’ reply people will often get when they ask my pet humans this question is:
– No, we’ve sold them to KFC® for a great deal and a discount, and the bonus is that she won’t fly away anymore either.

Of course me and my pet humans understand that they are most likely referring to if my wings are clipped, but let’s be honest: This initial response is much funnier than just immediately saying “Yes, she does have her wings and no she is not clipped”

technically the question “Does she have wings?” is still incorrect when wanting to ask if I have clipped wings, because only my feathers would be clipped (a bit), not my actual wings themselves (ouch!) 😉

However: NO my wings are not clipped, have never been clipped and will never been clipped. My pet humans are strongly against clipping a birds wings (luckily). Their personal opinion is: “If you don’t want a companion (pet) that flies, then you should not get a bird!” They feel like a bird should be able to fly either in it’s home (freely) or even outside if that’s possible.

Obviously there can be (medical required) reasons why a bird’s wings have to be clipped to keep it either safe or healthy (or both), and that’s a different story of course. But in general neither my pet humans or I myself agree with clipping a bird it’s wings (not for “training purposes either”! That’s just NOT the way to properly train a bird).

Sarcastic responses people often get:
– No, we’ve managed to put a cork in her ‘pooper’, so she doesn’t poop anymore.
– No, this is a very special breed which doesn’t need to eat and thus doesn’t defecate either.

Yeah, I would have no other explanation to why people would ask this question 🤷‍♀️, of course I (just like any other bird) have to poop. I THINK they intend to ask if my pet humans aren’t afraid of me (accidentally) pooping on them when we’re walking around or when I’m perching on their shoulder.

Well, yes that sometimes accidentally happens. I however do manage quite well to ‘aim away’ (on purpose) from the arm or shoulder of the human I’m perching on. But sometimes my aim might be a bit off, and then they’ll have to clean it up indeed. But they don’t feel like this is a problem at all, and it’s quite easy to clean up anyway 🙂

Euhm… No.. I’m “just” a pigeon.

But strangely enough this is a question which my pet humans have received more than once. We suspect that it’s due to the colors and pattern of the feathers underneath my wings when I’m either stretching or flying, but that would literally be the only resemblance between me and an hawk 😂

I think it’s just a question from people whom don’t know much about birds at all and just ‘assume the-hawk-thing’ due to the color pattern, but nonetheless we thought it was a funny question to put on this list due to it (surprisingly) often being asked.

And yes, a few people have even asked my pet humans: “Is that a parrot?” We seriously have no clue why, because I don’t even look like a parrot by far, but they do ask it every now and then.

Well on more serious and problematic questions like these my pet humans never respond sarcastically, simply because it could provoke, trigger or otherwise inspire ‘bad behavior’ in the human(s) interested in me.

Answer: NO, Of course not! You should NEVER just catch ANY bird (or any other animal for that matter) from the wild to keep it as your own pet!
Those animals belong in the wild and should not captured to be held in captivity.

(More on how I did got to live with my pet humans in the next part(s))

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: NEVER just capture pigeons from the wild, often you will be breaking up a serious pigeon family and/or marriage! Pigeons basically bond for life with their mates, and thus you will be causing lots of (emotional) pain and stress for both animals!

Sometimes (depending on how long or serious the question is, and how the mood of the people asking it is) my pet humans do reply with one of the following funny sarcastic replies (initially):

– No, we’ve won her at a raffle over there [Then pointing into a random direction at the shopping mall for example]
– No, they give them away for free at the supermarket if you buy two bag’s of corn.
– Yes, you can order them on Amazon®, and with amazon overnight delivery she will be waiting on your doorstep the next morning.

Obviously they will always resume by telling the true story on how I got to live with my pet humans (explained in the next session).

My pet humans will almost always respond seriously to this question (with just the occasional joke every now and then).

They will often explain that I’m a rescue pigeon, which means that I have been rescued by my pet humans from a terrible situation I was in. If you would like to know more about me in detail you can read about it on my About Me page 🙂

I would like to get a pigeon myself
If you are considering adopting or rescuing a pigeon yourself, then please make sure to at least read the rest this FAQ page and my Pigeon & Bird Articles.
After you’ve done enough research on what it takes to care for a pigeon, please consider adopting a pigeon from a shelter or other location where they might be in need of being rescued. There are unfortunately A LOT of pigeons (and other birds) which are in desperate need of a good forever home.

Do however NEVER just capture a wild/feral pigeon from the streets! First of all it’s just cruel to take away that poor bird it’s freedom, secondly it’s (luckily) illegal in most places and you could even be breaking up a ‘pigeon family’ by doing so, making the bird very unhappy.

DO NOT ‘just take one’ from a nest either! Young pigeons (squabs) need very special care, and will most likely not survive in the hands of inexperienced people! If you ‘just found one abandoned on the ground‘, then please just contact wild-life care or any other organization in your area specialized in wildlife care, and do not attempt to ‘keep it yourself’. There are a lot of birds urgently awaiting adoption for a good home, which would love to live with you.

This is one of the most commonly asked questions to my pet humans. Especially when I’m perching on their shoulder, finger or sitting next to them on the grass for example.

Well the short answer is: No, I will not fly away. I will even fly back to my pet humans if they would walk the other way.

This is not something my pet humans have ‘forced’ up on me (or trained me to do), It is something I started doing myself even before my pet humans started practicing new things with me 🙂 My pet humans think this has to do with the fact that I have bonded to one of them (also my own choice!), but little do they know it’s just because I really like these humans, and they care very well for me 🥰.

Question: But what If she suddenly gets spooked by something?
Answer: If I would suddenly fly away, it is actually into the direction of one of my pet humans, because I just know that I’m safe with them.

Probably asked with the best intentions for us birds, but (before explaining more in depth) I could ask you the same about your dog: “Why don’t you just let him go?“

And sometimes my pet humans actually do ‘return the question’ like that, and in most cases they will then get one of the following two responses:
– Well if I would let my dog go, she would just keep following me, or return to me.
– Duh, I’m not going to set my dog free, it will not survive on it own outside.

Well exactly the same goes for me! I will indeed seriously return to my humans when they put me on the ground (or ‘throw’ me into the air), I do not want to be left alone outside at all. And even if I would fly off, I would most likely not survive at all. Simply because of the following reasons:
– I don’t know how to find my own food
– I don’t know where to drink safely
– I don’t know how to find shelter properly
– I don’t know how to deal with harsh weather/storms and high wind speeds at all
– I don’t see any danger in other animals like dogs, cats or most other birds and even try to approach them out of curiosity
– I don’t see any danger in humans and even actively approach them
– I won’t get out of the way of dangerous things like cars, trucks, motorcycles, mopeds, bicycles and more of the alike
– I don’t do well with other birds (as in mating or bonding with them) at all due to my past
– IF I don’t like someone, something or another animal, I will seriously ‘attack’ or ‘threaten’ it, even when a (sane 😛 ) wild bird would know beforehand NOT to do that because it would be a it’s own demise 😂. This basically means that of the ‘fight or flight’ response, I just seriously lack the ‘flight response’, and this can (and will be) very dangerous for birds like me in the wild.

And the list goes on and on. I’m a rescue pigeon which has had a very rough start, I do now have a very happy and healthy life with my pet humans, but due to what has happened to me in the past, I’m now what they call a ‘non-releasable pigeon’.

Releasing pet animals into the wild should never be done
That being said, humans should never “just” release ANY pets into the wild at all! I’ve explained what my issues would be, but most of these would also apply to many other pets. They would most likely be terrified, starve, get very cold & wet and feel betrayed. If you have ANY pet you can’t care for anymore, you should find it an appropriate home or bring it to a shelter instead. NEVER release them into the wild just to “get rid of him/her”!

Well indeed, my pet humans are right: I will not just fly away

But like explained in the ‘Why don’t you “just’ let her go?‘ section: I don’t see any danger in most things which are (or can be) very dangerous to birds like me. Things in which I for example do not see any harm are: Dogs, cats, other humans, vehicles (like cars, trucks, bikes) and much more.

Even while I never fly off on my own, It is best for my own safety that me and my humans use the harness with leash when we’re going outside together.
If I for example get startled by something very unexpected it might happen that I try to flee in panic, and if this would happen at an unfamiliar location, I might not be able to find my way back.

Luckily I have been trained to be almost “100% scare proof”, and most of the time IF something scares me will actually seek safety from/at one of my pet humans, but it is just not necessary to take any risk when it concerns my safety.

Annoying Argumentative People
Sometimes (although luckily quite rarely) we do encounter very annoying argumentative people which keep “asking” thing like:
“Well if you say she doesn’t fly off on her own at all, then why do you don’t let her sit with you without that annoying leash???“

I just assume that they either ask it with the best intend for me OR that they are just ‘one of those annoying I-have-to-argue-about-everything-people. But when they do keep ‘arguing’ about it, and refuse to listen to the fact that the harness doesn’t bother me at all, my pet humans often make a (rather blunt) counter argument like:
– Well let’s say that you are 100% confident that your child will not eat rat poison, will you leave it unattended opened on the living room table?

NO OF COURSE NOT, and why not? Because you just should not take any unnecessary risks 😉

Both are questions which my my pet humans get every now and then when people see me fly (or exercise) in the park with my pet humans.

To answer the first question: Yes I could actually fly without leash and return to my pet human(s) without any issues (see photos bellow)

And to answer the second question: No it would not per definition be more fun for me to fly without leash.

The leash does not hinder me in having fun, nor does it hinder me in making beautiful (but safe!) flights together with my pet humans. They have made some wonderful harnesses for me, a ‘soft brake line’ so I don’t get ‘suddenly yanked by the cord’ while flying, and they adapted retractable dog leashes for me so I can easily fly distances ranging from 8 meters up to over 50 meters (depending on the area and my safety in regards to that area and possible predatory animals).

What the leash however does provide for me is safety. If anything dangerous would get near me, my pet humans can quickly intervene, signal me with it (by giving a short ‘pull’ on it, telling me to return immediately), and it prevents me from getting lost or stuck in trees for example.

And as you might be able to see from the photo’s bellow, I have just as much fun when flying with my leash:

As you might have seen in the first set of photo’s I have flown a few times without leash, but me and my pet humans decided that it would not be safe enough for me to fly without a leash, so we agreed to no longer fly ‘in the open’ without a leash. Yes there are still area’s where it would be safe for me to hang around without leash (and without the risk of me getting lost), and at such locations I am obviously flying with the leash disconnected 🙂

It totally depends on if I want to be petted by you and if my pet human trust you enough to let you pet me (no offense, because often it’s a complete stranger asking it, and I’m not some sort of ‘petting zoo‘).

And IF it is allowed to pet me (by me and my pet humans) there are still some ‘ground rules’ to follow:
– ONLY on top of my head or the back of my neck, I myself do not like it if other people aside from my own pet humans pet me anywhere else.
– ONLY if you do not or did not smoke(d), if there is ANY risk that you might have nicotine on your hands, it’s not going to happen.
– ONLY if you have clean hands. Greasy hands, dirty hands, oily hands or any of the alike will not go near me at all.
– ONLY if you are gentle, careful and respect my boundaries.
– ONLY if you don’t start to complain if I suddenly decide that I don’t want you to pet me after all, and then decide to bite you or peck at you.
– And if I tell you it’s enough or to ‘buzz off’ you’ll need to respect that and stop.

My pet humans won’t allow others to pet me that often though, simply because I’m (like I already said, and they often say) not a ‘petting zoo’, and to minimize health risks for me. If you for example have ointments, creams, chemicals, or anything else on your hands, you could be ‘contaminating’ my feathers, which would cause me to ingest all kinds of things when I’m preening (washing) my feathers. This could potentially make me very sick.

My pet humans will also almost always refuse a ‘petting request’ if there have gathered multiple people (or children) around me for the same reasons as mentioned above. If it is just one or two people asking it, they might consider it (up on evaluating the current situation), but with more people around it’s almost always no.

Please don’t be offended
Like the title of this paragraph says: Don’t be offended if your request to pet me is being denied (either by me or my pet humans). This is just for my own well-being, health and safety. Most of the time it has nothing to do with the actual person (or persons) asking it at all.

Well unless those people are seeing double, I still have no pecking clue why they are phrasing these questions like that (and so often), because it is just me and my pet human(s). No other pigeon(s) or birds involved at all 🤷

But no, I’m not “being trained” for anything special, rehabilitation or for any commercial purposes so to speak. I have been taken into the family of my pet humans when they rescued me, and now I’m just a (happy) member of their family. And if you see us playing or exercising outside, it’s just that: Us playing or exercising 🙂

Sure sometimes my pet humans learn me some new things, and they do for example try to learn me not to be afraid of trees and bushes (of which I still have a huge fear), but that’s just them helping me out with getting the most out of my wonderful life 🙂

Well, euhm… neither and cage. 😛

Confusing huh? Well not really, during the day I’m able to free roam the entire house as I please (unless my pet humans are cooking dinner, then the kitchen and hallway are off limits for a while because of potential dangerous fumes). I’m part of their family and I’m also treated as such, I’m not an ‘caged bird’ when we’re at home. Only when my pet humans have to go somewhere where I absolutely can’t come along, then I will be spending those hours in my (large) night time cage with my own light and music in it (yes I actually love to listen to music).

Aside from my night-time-cage (which I like to call my bedroom) I also have my own ‘day-time-cage’ (which I call ‘my home’).

This (much) smaller cage is located in the living area of my pet humans, and is used by me to retreat if there are for example to many visitors, when I just want some ‘me time’ or I want to eat or drink something and anything like that. And as you can see, my ‘home’ even has it’s own garden, fence, mailbox and lights 🙂 This ‘cage’ is always open and I can come-and-go as I please.

Yes, an often and ‘very carefully asked question’ to my pet humans, where they basically just meant to ask:
“But doesn’t she poop when she’s free roaming your home?“

Yes, of course do I poop every now and then. I however do my best not to (accidentally) poop on my pet humans (or any other humans for that matter) by aiming away from them while I’m sitting/perching on them (I decided to do this on my own, this is NOT something my pet humans decided to learn me!). And yes I will from time to time poop on or from stuff I’m perching on like a door, the floor or a shelf. But this is something my pet humans where very well aware of when they decided to adopt (and rescue) me, and they accepted this.

It is also very easy to keep stuff clean if they pay a bit of attention, and the fact that there are just a few regular places where I actually like to perch for prolonged times, it isn’t too much of an hassle either for my pet humans to keep it all clean and tidy 🙂

Pigeon Diapers/Flight pants
There are ‘solutions’ which would prevent me from (accidentally) pooping on stuff in their home, those are a type of ‘pants’ made for pigeons which primary function is to be a diaper. However most of these ‘suit’ will cover a large potion of my belly and chest, and because I really like to preen (maintain) my feathers quite a lot, my pet humans decided not to burden me with something like Pigeon Diapers. They instead choose for just cleaning up after me every now and then so that I can freely preen my feathers as I please (and I thank them for that 🙂 ).

It isn’t that hard to clean up
My droppings (as our bird poop is called) aren’t to difficult to clean up either. Even if I accidentally pooped on carpet for example it’s very easy to pick up with a paper towel. And even if it has gone unnoticed for a while and it has dried-up, it’s still very easy to clean up with a nail brush 🙂 If my droppings are ‘left behind’ on a harder surface like a wooden shelf for example, it can also be easily cleaned-up with some (lukewarm) water. Obviously my pet humans also regularly clean the surfaces with soap (when I’m not around!) for hygienic reasons.

This is something which many people seem to assume instantly when they encounter me and my pet human(s) when we’re on a trip or outside together. Well let me return the question: Do you take your dog/cat/lizard etc everywhere you go?

Well obviously for most people (with some exceptions for service animals of course) the answer would also be no. And the same goes for me:
– No, I do not go literally everywhere where my pet humans go.

I am however allowed to come along with my pet human(s) to a lot of places, but I’m obviously not ‘tagging along’ everywhere.
Just to name a few things and places where I will absolutely never ‘tag-along’ with my pet humans:
– Grocery stores (or any other store which sells food)
– Restaurants & Snack bars
– Cafés, clubs, carnivals or anything like that (not that my pet humans like to go there anyway, but still)
– Loud and/or very crowded festivals & events
– Doctor and hospital visits (unless it’s for me obviously)
– Pharmacy’s
– Stores, depots, buildings etc which have or might have a chemical smell (like paint stores, certain hardware stores etc)
– Car garages (as in both parking and repair shops)
– Gas stations (because of the fumes)
– Perfume & Fragrance stores
– (Most) Work related meetings
– Other stores which for example sell strong smelling products like incense, candles or other ‘air-freshener’ products

And that’s just to mention a few of the things where I won’t be going.

There are however lots of places where I will be able to come along with my pet humans, but that also depends on certain conditions. If it is for example bad weather, they will not expose me to extreme cold, rain or extreme heat (during the summer), I will then need to stay at home for my own health and safety. When I’m visiting other locations with my pet humans, I will always be wearing my harness and will always be connected to my leash!

Next to that it’s also important that I’m actually welcome at the place(s) where my pet humans are going. Some of the activities, visits and trips where I will be frequently accompanying my pet humans are for example:
– During family visits and visits to friends of my pet humans (IF they don’t mind that I’m coming along of course!)
– Pet stores (to pick out my own snacks for example)
– Thrift-shops (to pick out my own toys and gadgets, because I’m quite picky when it comes to choosing toys!)
– Dollar & Discount Stores (again to pick out my own toys, gadgets and decorations)
– Garden Centers (which often even welcome animals/pets to come along)
– Picking up or delivering packages at the postal/parcel shop.
– The park (to either sunbath/chill or exercise/fly)
– On bicycle trips with my pet humans (enjoying nature)
– For walks through an (open air/strip mall) shopping mall for some socialization (not during ‘rush hours’)

And many other things where possible and appropriate.

IMPORTANT NOTES
– Me and my pet humans ALWAYS ask (when we are visiting a new store for the first time) IF I’m welcome there, If they rather not have us birds visiting the store, we will respect that and not enter the store at all.
– When visiting stores, I will always be on my short leash, and my pet humans will always have some paper tissues at hand so they can clean up if I accidentally drop a “poopie”.
– My pet humans avoid any store which uses carpet on their floors when they are taking me along, because they do not want to cause any stains on the floor (accidentally) made by me.

Often asked by many people, and a very simple answer for my pet humans: One.

It’s just me, all by myself with my pet humans, and I’m very happy about that actually (more about that and why in my whole bio if you’re interested 🙂 ).

No, and a bit of both for the second question.

My breed is not required by law (local and European) to have a permanent ring around my leg (although in Dutch, the official list can be found here).

My pet humans however decided to order custom laser-engraved rings (which we call ‘my shoes’) for me. These rings are removable and are only worn by me when I’m going outside. One of the rings has my name on it (Sophie), and the other ring has both phone numbers of my pet humans on it. These rings are intended to make people aware that I’m not a ‘wild bird’, that I am actually “someone’s pet”, and how to reach my humans if something bad might happen and I lose my way back home for example.

But again: No, it is not illegal for my breed to not have a permanent leg ring when being held in ‘captivity’. It is however illegal for many other bird species (including certain other pigeons and/or doves) to be kept by humans without a leg ring and registration.

HELL NO!

I’m not “available for rent“, and neither should ANY other pigeon or dove be used for such purposes ever! It is already ridiculous that there where people whom actually had the guts to ask if my pet humans would ‘lend me out’ like some pecking library book to complete strangers 😲. But this did give me the opportunity (and inspiration) to address an serious issue: Dove “releases” at weddings, funerals and more of the alike.

WARNING: If you don’t want to read ‘the gruesome truth’ and just keep thinking releasing doves is a sign of love (weddings), helps to begin the grieving process (funerals) or any of that bull***, then please just remain ignorant and skip this section, because a debate with me or my pet humans on this topic is not possible.

Dove releases is something which is unfortunately still done often, both at weddings and funerals. Let me first explain what humans claim what releasing doves means in both situations:

Weddings: Humans claim it symbolizes love, peace, happiness and prosperity.
Funerals: It’s claimed that it helps beginning the grieving process because it symbolizes “letting go of a loved one“

Well let me tell you a ‘little secret’: Most of those doves won’t even survive and don’t make it ‘back home’! Those beautiful white doves are domesticated birds, which are not capable of surviving on their own in the wild! Doves are not strong flyers, they will often starve, lose their way back home or get caught (killed) by predatory birds. PigeonRescue.org has an article here (with pictures!) showing what often happens to ‘released’ doves.

So to put it very bluntly and direct (wedding dove releases):
If you are releasing a dove on your wedding for “love“, “peace“, “happiness” and “prosperity“, do you really think it feels like being loved for the dove to be tossed into the air at a random location, not knowing if it will make it back home safely? Do you think the dove feels ‘at peace‘ or that he experiences any happiness in such a stressful event? And do you really feel it’s “good prosperity” for the dove that it’s now greatly at risk of being killed by predatory animals while trying to get home while you are happily toasting your next glass of champagne on your wedding party? (Keep in mind: You are actually going home safely later that night, sleeping in your own bed, that poor dove might not even make it back home anymore).

So to put it very bluntly and direct (funeral dove releases):
Okay, so for funerals it’s claimed that it helps beginning the grieving processes because you’re ‘letting go of a loved one‘. So knowing what you know now about dove releases: You would really think it’s okay to sacrifice more lives (of the doves) just because your loved one (unfortunately) has passed away? Yes? So to help you get over this loss you would basically “need to potentially kill a couple doves first?” 😲 That’s pecking whack man!

Yes this is is very bluntly put, but me and my pet humans don’t care to be honest. There is absolutely no need to keep doing these ridiculously stupid human “traditions” at the expense of animals!

But the ‘dove release company’ I’m going to hire said they are using special white homing pigeons (not doves)
I. DON’T. CARE. PERIOD.
If you “pretend” to care (by making sure you are using pigeons instead of doves), then you basically already know what the risks are for the animals, and then you are just looking for ways to reassure own conscience. Just don’t do it!

You will never get me or my pet humans ‘onboard’ with ‘pro arguments’ in regards of releasing doves (or pigeons for that matter) for ceremonial purposes.

You want an idea which will really give a good feeling and be a good deed on your wedding?
Take two origami (folded paper) doves (even learn to fold them yourselves with your partner for this day, and have another fun activity together!) and toss those two into the air instead of real doves. And instead of spending between $120 to even $350 for “releasing” (potentially killing) two or more real doves, why not donate that money to a bird or animal rescue center instead? You could then later even tell to friends and family why you two decided to use origami doves and what you did for the bird/animal rescue center. Personally we think this is a much much nicer gesture.

Me and my pet humans do appreciate your concern, but there is actually (quite) a back story to why I have so many ‘technical/advanced/technology’ gadgets and toys instead of natural/wood toys etc.

The short and simple explanation: I just don’t like regular/natural bird toys at all

This can even been seen in some of the (future) pigeon vlogs I’ve uploaded on my social media platforms. My pet humans literally have box full of natural bird ‘toys’ and trinkets in which I just refuse to show any interest, no matter how hard they keep trying.

I do however show A LOT of interest in things like blinking lights (LED’s), screens (movies, photos, pecking games etc), music, news papers (crumbled up), paper towels, tie-wraps, the robot vacuum (I LOVE to ride along on-top of it), some (plush) cat toys and other toys, trinkets and gadgets which make a lot of noise or which I can drag or throw around the room.

So please trust me when I say that I actually DO have lots of natural toys and items, but I personally just don’t give a peck about them at all. My pet humans do NOT ‘enforce’ any toys, gadgets or items upon me, they do however let me pick and choose what I like. And if they see that I show (a decent amount of) interest in certain things, they will try to get it for me or (custom) make a variation safe and suitable for me 🙂

None of my (‘unnatural’) toys are toxic or dangerous for/to me and I’m always being well supervised while playing with my toys 🙂

Just rest assured that I’m a happy pigeon,and that enjoy my activities a lot 🥰

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Frequently Asked Questions (or comments) about my Social Media channels/content

These are questions and/or comments I sometimes get about my social media channels or the content on it. So instead of replying the same stuff over and over, I decided to put these questions on my website 🙂 , and if there are more questions that are frequently asked, then I might also add them to this list.
NOTE: These questions/comments are specifically about the channel(s) or content itself, not about me or pigeons in general.

Nope, nope and nope….

There are several reasons why me and my pet humans are not constantly going comply to these requests/suggestions:
– My content is about my (pigeon) life and adventures, not to be the 154.3563th video with the same background/trend sound on it 😉
– Those “trend sounds” are often so overused that they even start to get annoying to hear/see (at least in our personal opinion)
– Those “trend sounds” where most likely funny in the original video (of which it’s often ‘stolen’ without any credit given by all the “viral videos“
– To resume on the previous reason: I/we don’t like to use (“steal”) content (and thus also audio) of others without being able to properly credit them.
– I want my (pigeon) content to be unique and my own, and not just ‘another one in the pool’ of trying to go viral due to the ‘stolen content/audio’ of someone else.

Q: So you are never going to use ‘a viral idea/trend sound’?
A: Well never say never. But IF I/we would use something like that, or make our own variation on it (due to being inspired by it), then it is because we ourselves actually thought it would be fun to do so. NOT just because it’s currently a trend where we need to ‘run along’ with hundreds of thousands of other videos.

So thank you for your suggestion, but I/we most likely disagree that this “trend sound” should be put underneath my video(s). And we do realize that it’s most of the time actually meant as a compliment (that the video is funny and would suit that sound perfectly), so no worries, we appreciate your compliment, but it’s just not ‘our thing’ to run along with all those trends all the time.

First my response to “Uploading too often” comments/remarks:
Might sound very rude and harsh, but If you “really like my content” but at the same time think that I’m uploading “too often”, then you probably don’t like it that much 😉

I usually try to limit my uploads/posts as follows:
– Normally a maximum or 1 post/upload per 2 or 3 days.
– I/we try not to ‘spam timelines/feeds’, and this is why we usually limit posts/uploads to a maximum,
– If it’s a ‘multi-part-episode’ because it doesn’t fit in one (short) video, I might upload two videos at the same time
– Usually me and my pet humans ‘hoard’ content and just post it every now and then as explained above.
– During special periods (like the holidays) I might upload more frequently like for example: every other day, each day, or even as exception 1 upload per 12 hours. Simply because “hoarding the video’s” doesn’t make sense, it happened during the holidays, so it would be pointless to upload them in March 😉😂. That would be content that “requires it” to be shared during that ‘themed period’. So Yes, during those times you might see more frequent content (is not a guarantee though!)
– It could also be that we are very busy and actually do not have time to post per 2 or 3 days, but you will read about that in the next section 😉
– Me and my pet humans just love to share all the fun and joyful moment’s I’m having, and if it happens to happen that there where several of those moments during a themed period like holidays, snowy weather, a vacation trip, Halloween etc etc, then Yes: it might happen you see a bit more posts from me than you would normally do.
– I would however never ‘flood your timeline’ with non-stop posts/uploads. And IF your social media page does make it appear like I have uploaded for example 5 video’s at once, then this definitly wasn’t my fault but most likely the algorithm of said platform. If there would however be a situation where I would have to re-upload quite a bit of content (due to technical reasons for example), then I will most likely first make a ‘notification/warning’ post about this in advance.

So if you (still) really feel like I’m uploading too much: Maybe you could/should hit that unfollow/unsubscribe button😉? Obviously I would hate to see you go, and I would love it if you would enjoy my content. But if it’s ‘too much’ for you with these ‘rules’ I’ve made for myself, then my content might not be interesting/appealing to you enough I assume. And I obviously don’t want to make you watch stuff you don’t want to see 🥰. But on the other hand: I’m not going to adjust my upload/posting behavior just for you while I’m already doing my best in not being too much of a presence.

I LOVE making the content for you guys and gals with my pet humans, but please do consider that making a single video of just 60 seconds can sometimes take hours to complete and edit. Especially if it’s a “Mini PigeonVlog” about a whole day trip for example. Editing all that takes a lot of time and effort, just for you to watch 60 seconds, then give a like (or not) and scroll to the next video.

So Imagine this:
Me and my pet humans have been on a trip together for about 8 hours. Then we spend about 4 hours in sorting the footage, editing it so it fits perfectly within 60-90 seconds without leaving out important details, and then we have to upload it to all my platforms..

So that is basically (in this example) 12 hours of work on our side, for 60-90 seconds of viewing time on your side.
Nope, I’m/we are not going to ditch the fun or hoard even more video’s because you ‘can’t bare it’ to scroll past one extra video you don’t want to see. Then please just unfollow 🥰 And no, this is NOT meant to be harsh, rude or ‘mad’ at all, I just don’t want to force you into watching my content on which I/we spend hours to make, while you don’t want to watch it, but did got notified of it because you subscribed/followed me, just so that you can complain that you see too much content of me 😉. I hope you get what I’m trying to say here 🙂

Now my response to not making enough content/uploads:
I have had a few people asking If I could upload more often, like for example everyday (this was not during the holidays period obviously😉). And I unfortunately just have to say no. Me and my pet humans just don’t have the time to do so. We try to upload as regularly as possible, but at the same time we also want to make sure that we don’t dump the same stuff over and over 🙂

We want to keep my content diverse and interesting. And if for a while ‘nothing new or interesting’ happens, then we won’t upload anything. Don’t be sad though, most of the time we have about 30+ video’s “in stock” which are ready to upload but have to wait to prevent a “big content dump/spam” 🙂

And let me finish this part with saying: Thank you for actually asking more (frequent) content, that means you are enjoying my content and my adventures 🙂 I just hope that you can understand that it’s just not doable to go on a (for example) full daily upload schedule 🙂

Plain and simple: Nope

I do not do trends just because they are trends. And my humans don’t make me do things either! 😉

The stuff you see me and my humans do in my content is because I actually showed interest in it and because I liked it. I’m never ‘forced’ into doing something just for content (at all!). Sometimes my humans have funny idea for content, and it it then turns out that I’m not in the mood, that I refuse, or that I just simply don’t like it, then the idea is canceled.

Does this mean that I (or my pet humans) will never try a trend? No, it could be that there is a trend which we (me included!) do like, and then we might make a video about it. But that is the main requirement: Me and my pet humans would have to like the trend to participate in it.

NO, NEVER!

Me and my pet humans just spend A LOT of time together (I’m out of my cage throughout the entire day, and spend all day with at least one of them), and due to that we just have A LOT of interaction, playtime and fun(ny) moments. And that’s where all the content is coming from: My human(s) just record some of those moments to share the joy and fun with you guys and gals 🥰

But there is also PLENTY of stuff going on which either isn’t captures on video, or simply just isn’t (andt won’t be) shared online throughout the day 🙂

Q: But your human makes all kinds of ‘content interesting’ toys and such for you! What’s the deal with that then?
A: Well you should rephrase that first sentence to : “Your human makes all kinds of fun toys and such for you, how sweet” 😉

Because that is what’s happening: My human(s) make toys and custom items for me, not for the content. And that they happen to be interesting for the content, or that the projects even turn out to be interesting enough to share online as DIY project is just a nice bonus. But that’s all there is to it. My humans just enjoy having a fun time with me, and sometimes we also do ‘scenes’ for photoshoots or video’s with a theme. But trust me when I tell you that we have WAY more of those than will ever be uploaded 🙂

It’s just one of the ways me and my humans like to have fun with together 🙂

No! Unless clearly stated in the video or in the description (where applicable), those brands, products and/or companies are not sponsors.

Obviously I do from time to time ‘showcase’ Projects by XNL Future Technologies, but these are most of the time actually projects made for me by my pet human(s). And I just like to ‘show off’ my new gimmick, toy, gadget etc… And sometimes I show projects my pet humans made for me and other pigeons DIY projects which can be downloaded (often for free).

But we obviously do not consider the latter as ‘being sponsored’ because It is me and my pet humans making those projects ourselves 😊

No you can not, not without proper permission that is.

Content created and published by others (me included) is copyrighted and should not be considered ‘just up for grabs’. Sure you could try to argue the fair use policy, but trust me/us on this one: Compilation video’s are NOT covered by fair use policy, but that’s a whole legal story, just do your own research about that please 😉

You can use part of my content in your own videos if you have permission AND credit where needed. You are however NOT allowed to crop my video’s and/or content in such a way that it removes my watermarks, and neither are you allowed to blur them in your content.

If you have a question like this, then I’m assuming you are a content creator yourself, and then I would like to request you to treat my content with respect like you would like your content to be treated with respect🥰.

NO! and stop asking!

Pigeons almost have no toys available on the market which are specifically designed for pigeons, so I don’t need to buy (with a discount or even for free with your code) your dog scarf, dog toy or whatever to promote it on my channel(s)!

That is not ‘being a sponsor’ either btw. That is just you trying to get your product shown on as many pages as possible for as little money as possible 🤦🏽‍♀️

Currently neither me nor my pet humans are seeking for sponsors (nor do we need them for my platforms). IF there someday would be an offer that is suitable for pigeons, and does also benefit my channel(s) positively (for my me AND my viewers that is), without it being a rude attempt to ‘shove your product into my viewers their faces without actually caring about my content”, THEN me and my pet humans might reconsider your sponsor offer.

My humans are al ready very strict on their sponsor policy for their own platform(s), and this is no different for mine.

I felt it was time now (unfortunately) to put this one on the list, because I’m getting those “sponsor offers” for toys A LOT lately now. And also had a few serious offers about sponsored pigeon food (seed mixes and such), with ‘preset conditions’ that they would then like me to show it while I’m eating it in content about 2 to 3 times per month… Well NO. I have my own custom blend (made by my humans from three other brand/blends with my own additional supplements). Not going to drastically change my food diet just for some free bags of food (or lie to my viewers and pretend that I eat that ‘simple mix’).

Yes that sounded harsh, but I don’t care 😉 If you keep spamming me on my social inboxes and even in comments with your products/offers (and thus already are ‘advertising’ it without permission! Instead of going to the link in my bio and contacting me through the form on the website like a decent sponsor/partner would: Then you kinda deserve this kind of response to be honest 😉

Well this is because me and my humans sometimes ‘hoard’ (‘stock up’) footage and/or content to publish it later (this is especially for content which for example has the old Twitter logo in it instead of the new X logo). That content has been edited earlier, but hasn’t been uploaded yet.

This can be for various reasons like (but not limited to): The theme of the video doesn’t suit the current season, the theme of the video doesn’t fit the current ‘period’ (like holidays etc), or we just had too much content to post it all at once (to prevent flooding) and thus kept it for later. But then other cool (recent stuff) happened and that got uploaded first 🙂

So yes, sometimes you might indeed see something in the background (like an old/previous cage, toy or furniture item for example) which has been replace a while ago, but suddenly “magically” reappeared in a recent video. No worries, that video is just a bit older then 😉

Me not following you (back) has nothing to do with me not considering you a friend at all, don’t worry 🥰

But please consider this: I’m a bird (pigeon), and I try to keep my feed as much as possible ‘birds only’ and a happy place 😊

So even if someone occasionally posts about his/her bird(s) but also (often) posts about politics or other topics which often result in ‘heated arguments’ (sexuality, the economy, religion, elections, conspiracies etc etc) I tend to avoid following those accounts and also tend to avoid those topics as much as possible. This however does not per-say means that “I would be on your side”, or that I don’t believe or share the same opinions, but like I’ve said:
I want to keep my socials a happy, warm, cozy and safe place for me AND everyone following me 🥰

Which is why I will avoid all topics which might ’cause issues’ where and when I can 😊

This however does not mean I don’t consider you a friend, I will often fully engage in conversations with people whom follow me while I don’t follow them back, sometimes even in private chats. It just means that the majority of their posts aren’t about birds or not in ‘line with my main interest or my channels’.
An simple example of which type of content (publishers) I would not follow (back), but my pet humans for example actually might follow (back) are for example people whom post those beautiful anime drawings they make. Me and my pet humans love to see some of the artwork those people make, but it’s not in ‘line with my bird content’, and thus I would not follow it (back) on my account 😊

It might sound like a strange reason, but trust me: The algorithms on those platforms are sometimes so messed up that I will still get very morbid posts recommended to me, just be cause some bird parent friends of mine follow those posts (they don’t even share or interact with them, they just follow them!). And I just try to keep those ‘appearances’ to a minimum.

I however also do not expect you to follow me back just because I followed you 😉🥰

I hope you (now) understand why I might not follow you back, but do (still) consider you a friend and for example even mention/include you in my content or projects from time to time (with your permission of course🥰)

Frequently Asked Questions about (pet) pigeons in general

These are questions me and my pet humans also (quite) frequently get, but they do not directly concern just me, but also (pet) pigeons in general.

There are people and websites which for example claim: “You do not have to be afraid of handling pigeons. They don’t bite and are harmless.“, while this is mostly true…. We pigeons DO sometimes bite and CAN in some cases actually hurt you “quite a bit“. Either with our beak when (intentional) biting, or accidentally with our ‘pigeon feet’ (talons/claws).

So the short answer(s) would be: Yes we can bite, but don’t do it often. It CAN hurt but it’s not ‘that bad’. And we pigeons could accidentally ‘injure’/scratch you with our nails on bare skin.

More elaborate explanation

I have (accidentally) injured my pet humans before with biting
I myself for example love to ‘roughhouse‘ with my pet humans from time to time, and the ‘rough‘ part of ‘roughhousing’ is quite an understatement for me to be honest. It did happen and still does from time to time, that when I’m biting while playing, that I bite or pull so hard that some ‘blood is shed’ (although not much!). It’s not something which happens frequently or on purpose, but it CAN happen. Some of our beaks (depending on the strength of the pigeon itself and the beak shape & size) can be quite sharp when we’re biting (or playing roughly). Once I even bit a piece of skin ‘at the wrong angle’ and accidentally caused a (small) bruise/’mini blister’ on one of my pet humans.

Before all ‘internet-experts’ rush to help: NO, I’m NOT really stressed or mad at all when we’re playing (roughhousing) like this, I even perfectly know when ‘rough-playtime’ is over and when to go back to normal cuddly and kissing playtime. On my YouTube you can see me playing (‘roughhousing’) a bit with the feet of one of my pet humans, but you can also clearly see in that video that it’s just playing, because when they say it’s done, I will also actually stop playing 🙂

Just being honest
Getting bitten and actually injured by a pigeon is not something you should really be concerned (or afraid) about, our beaks are not nearly as dangerous as the beak of a parrot for example. But making a statement that pigeons do not bite and that it won’t hurt (at all) would just be incorrect in my (any my pet human’s) opinion. Most of the time our bites will not hurt and just be ‘quite uncomfortable’ at it’s worst. It is however important to keep in mind with (younger) children that for them a pigeon bite could be much scarier or more ‘painful’.

I’m not trying to scare you or anyone by telling you that we pigeon can actually bite, because like I said: It most of the time doesn’t hurt, but saying we don’t bite at all or that it ‘never hurts’ just isn’t true.

But why do most websites say that pigeons don’t bite or ‘attack’?
Well honestly? I have no clue, me and my pet humans suspect that this mainly concerns pigeons in a loft or (outdoor) aviary for example. But my pet humans and quite a few friends whom also keep pigeons as indoor pets, can and will confirm that we pigeons can be quite fierce and ‘bitey’. This however also depends on the pigeon(s) itself, the character and mood of the pigeon, if the pigeon is bonded to someone, if the pigeon likes someone (or not) and then there can also be many other reasons why a pigeon might peck/bite at you. Stress and fear are also reasons why a pigeon might bite, but these situations should obviously not be provoked on purpose.

Example: My pet humans have a friend whom also has a rescue pigeon, and she can do literally anything with her pigeon. Her husband however can’t even come close to the pigeon without him beginning to coo loudly at her husband, and if her husband would even try to pet the pigeon, he would peck at her husband very fiercely. This particular pigeon has chosen to bond to his wife, and accepts almost anything from her, but not from him. This type of behavior or preference is not uncommon in pigeons.

Sharp Claws
Another thing to keep in mind (which is often heavily underestimated), is that our pigeon claws can actually be quite sharp! We obviously use our claws to stand/perch on things and to hold-onto stuff. Our grip can however be quite strong, and if we are perching (or even landing) on bare skin like your hands for example, it is very well possible that we will (accidentally) scratch your skin or even injure it a bit. I myself have had this ‘problem’ quite a few times with my pet humans, especially when we where exercising outdoors (flying) and I kept landing on their hands. This problem becomes even more prominent if you humans have a bit of dry skin (during colder days for example), then our claws will often also be more prone to ’cause injuries’. There has been more than one occurrence where my pet humans ended up with quite a few scratches and even some (small) scabs on their hands from me perching or landing on them. And please do note that I have very healthy, maintained and correctly shaped nails, so it’s not just an issue like “bad maintained claws” for example.

Especially around soft skin (like lips) it’s very important to be extra careful with our claws, if we accidentally climb, jump or land on them. I for example accidentally missed the hands of my pet human once during landing, and accidentally landed on his face instead 🤣, however when this happened I stepped on his lip with one of my nails and it completely punctured his lip causing it to bleed quite heavily for a while 😱. This was obviously just an accident, and a unique incident, but these are things which can happen so keep that in mind.

What type of injuries do we pigeons cause?
Well, most of the time it’s nothing to worry about, and it would just be some small scratches, a tiny skin puncture if it was a ‘really “good” bite’, and some small scabs if we accidentally scratch you with our nails. We are by nature not really aggressive birds, but we aren’t ‘shy’ either to let you know if we don’t want to be touched, picked up etc.

What to look out for
Always make sure that you pay extra attention in regards to our beaks and claws when it comes to your eyes, mouth and face in general. Even if we don’t intend to bite, scratch or hurt you in any way, we pigeons do sometimes make very sudden movements (for example when preening our own feathers), and we could then accidentally scratch your eye, lips or face with our beak.

Just like with (almost) any other animal, there is always a possibility that you can get sick from it, and thus this also goes for us pigeons.

However, the risk of pigeon-related diseases is rare (extra info here). People whom are most at risk, are those which already have a compromised immune system (like for example due to HIV/AIDS or cancer). But for those people it is often not recommended to interact (too much) with any animals at all.

In general if the (pet) pigeon is healthy, and doesn’t show any signs of illness, there is generally little to nothing to worry about.

I do understand that you might think that this sounds a bit vague, but it’s just impossible to state/list all the possible things you could or could not get from pigeons (or any other bird for that matter), because then this website would become a ‘near-wikipedia-copy’ so to speak.

But that would not just be about us birds, did you for example knew that something simple as getting a lick from a dog could already cause you to lose your limbs? (another different article about it here). Or that you could catch any of the following from something ‘as simple’ as “just your house cat”: cat scratch disease, pasteurella multocida, salmonella poisoning, scabies, ringworm, rabies and more?

Basically put? Yes, in general we birds do produce a lot of dust.

My pet humans are ‘quite lucky’ because my ‘dust levels’ are quite low compared to most other pigeons, but it definitely is still there.

NOTE: The amount of dust produced can vary greatly per pigeon. One pigeon can be very dusty, while another pigeon from the same breed and flock won’t product as much noticeable dust.

Pigeons, doves and a small group of other birds (parrots, cockatoos, bustards, herons, storks, woodpeckers and frogmouth’s) have what they call ‘powder down feathers‘. These are special feathers which are never molted and grow continuously. The tips of these feathers breakdown into a very fine keratin dust which kinda resembles talcum powder. This powder (or dust) is somewhat oily which makes it stick to our feathers, we pigeons treat our feathers with it like you humans wash your hair with shampoo or conditioner for example. Doing so will help us waterproof our feathers and keeping our feathers healthier for a longer time. This ‘feather dust’ will for example make it easier for to preen away mud or other dirt from our feathers because it gets absorbed by the powder, making it easier for us to ‘preen away the dirt’.

And thus it will help us keep our feathers soft and healthy 🙂

This dust will also spread through the house when I fly, preen my feathers and more of the a like. It is however important that bird keeping humans do clean their homes regularly to prevent issues arising from this dust. Not only can this dust cause health problems for humans, it can (will) even be bad for us birds if the ‘dust levels’ get too high. In more serious situations it could even cause ‘Bird Fanciers Lung‘ for humans.

Therefor it is very important that everything gets cleaned and vacuumed regularly. Some things my pet humans and I do to minimize feather dust affecting their health, my health and our home:
– I will take a bath at least once a week, which will help rinse off the (excess) dust from my feathers
– They will regularly wipe surfaces with a damp cloth to ‘sweep up’ dust
– Of course regular vacuuming is part of the standard cleaning routine
– Next to regular vacuum cleaning my pet humans also use three robotic vacuum cleaners which often clean the area’s where I’m mostly present (each for every area which is not autonomously reachable by just one robot).
– The entire home is being ventilated almost every night up until I get out of my bedroom (night-time-cage) around 13:00 (1PM)
– My cages (and the lining/bottom covering) are cleaned daily

NOTE: It is important that your vacuum has a good HEPA® or water filter system to trap the small/fine dust particles effectively!

People might also want to consider getting an good air filter system to purify the air. Do however make sure to do lots of research on air filters, because some air filter systems can actually be (very) bad for us birds!

Very directly put: Yes…. BUT…. there are a few things which should be taken into consideration.

We pigeons are very emotional and intelligent birds, we need someone to spend the day with, be it another pigeon or a human. We really absolutely need our best friend, partner or mate to be happy. Being alone by ourselves most of the day in a cage is not a good life for us pigeons (or most other birds for that matter). And yes, we pigeons can even see you humans as our best friend forever (BFF) or even as our “partner“.

So if you are able to be with us pigeons for most of the day and (almost) everyday (for example you work from home), then you should in theory be able to keep a single pigeon as pet perfectly fine. Given that you can actually give him or her all the attention he or she needs and wants. Otherwise it would definitely be better to get your pigeon a mate so that they can spend the day together while you are not around.

Do not breakup pigeon couples!
When you are considering to get a pigeon, or are looking at pigeons to get one, then please make sure that you do not break up an existing couple (“pigeon marriage”)! Pigeons mate for life, and it would be very cruel to take apart a couple which have been happily together.

Pigeons mate/bond for life
Like mentioned in the previous ‘paragraph’, we pigeons mate for life, but we also bond quite easily with humans. If you treat us pigeons right, earn our trust, give us the love we deserve and feed us properly, you will often get a very happy, loyal and faithful companion for life in return. If this is exactly what you are looking for, then you might want to consider adopting just one pigeon instead of a pair, because it’s often (quite) a bit harder to get the same level of bonding with a pigeon which already has a ‘bonded mate’ from it’s own species.

No matter if you will have one or two pigeons, you will need to have a large cage with a good amount of ‘floor surface‘, for example a double-flight cage would be a good size for a pair of pigeons. Especially if your pigeon(s) might be spending a larger portion of the day in it’s cage.

My Cage Situation as Example
I’m allowed to free roam the entire house everyday and the entire day, and I only go into my ‘night-time-cage’ when I’m going to bed or when my pet humans have to go somewhere where I can’t come with them. And even though I’m barely in my night-time-cage throughout the day, my pet humans still bought (and modified) an XXL dog bench for me.

NOTE: Square tall bird cages are NOT suitable for us pigeons! We need more floor space than height!

Important to know is that it is best if we are able to have as much out-of-cage-time as possible throughout the day to stretch our legs, wings and to have fun. Being able to fly is also a very important aspect of keeping us birds healthy, and for example to prevent cardiac diseases.

WARNING NOTE: This section is written purely from the perspective of keeping one pigeon as pet, not when you are keeping a couple. The information in this section is also partially based on other ‘kept-alone’ pigeons we know, but mainly on me (Sophie The Pigeon). It is also very important to realize that every pigeon has his or her own personality, needs and desires. Which basically means: What works for me, might not work (or just partially work) for other pigeons.

Back to the question (Do pigeons require a lot of attention):
Honestly: YES, we pigeons requite a lot of attention if you only have one pigeon.

Like mentioned before, in most cases it’s best for us pigeons to be kept with another pigeon so we can spend the day together all day long (and thus give each other all the attention we need and desire), but in situations where there is only one pigeon with his or her human, the human will need to ‘substitute for the other pigeon’.

What does this mean for you (as human)?
Well I can give you some examples on what getting attention (all day long) means for me (Sophie The Pigeon):
– I can be around my (bonded) human whenever and where ever I want, and often even come along with him outside.
– I can freely follow him throughout the entire house and office to see what he’s up to.
– If I coo or grunt that I want some petting or neck rubs, my pet human will be there for me.
– If I need help preening (getting pin feathers off my neck or head for example), my human will (need to) help me.
– Sometimes I like to roughhouse with one of my pet humans (play fighting).
– Sometimes I just like to chill on their lap and watch TV together while they gently pet me.
– Sometimes I like/want to play with my humans and some paper (we shred it together and I run around with it).
– Sometimes I just want to be on the shoulder of my humans and tag along for hours while they are doing their thing around the house.
– Sometimes I come alone with my human(s) on bicycle trips to enjoy nature together and to get some sun.
– Almost everyday (if the weather permits it) we will take at least a 30 minute walk outside (on a harness with leash for my own safety!).
– As often as possible me and my pet humans take some extra time outside to exercise (fly), yet again with harness and a leash for my own safety.
– Every now and then I want (and ask for) some neck or head scratches (often combined with some cuddles or petting).
– Sometimes I like to take a quick nap in the (for my humans) most uncomfortable locations (like on their forearm while they are trying to type on the computer😂).
– If my human plays guitar, I NEED to sit on his arm and closely observe his picking hand (I do not peck at the guitar, but I just HAVE to see it for some reason).
– Basically put: If there is something I think I can (or should) be involved in: I will do my best to do so😂.

And much more.

As you can probably see, not every ‘item’ on this list is a ‘full focus type of attention giving’, for me getting attention can sometimes already be something as simple as sitting (or standing) on my human’s shoulder and just observing what he or she is doing (we call that “Sophie is Supervising” 😉 ). Sometimes I will even just be laying down near one of my humans and I will be having a great time doing so, just because I’m around them.

But there are also moments where I don’t want any attention at all, and I will then just be doing ‘my own thing’. This could be perching somewhere randomly, chilling in my ‘day-time-cage’, looking outside, pecking at games on my Pigeon Computer, laying down near my own speaker listening to some music, playing with one of my toys by myself, preening my feathers or anything else a pigeon does.

Be honest to yourself and your possible future pet (pigeon)
It is very important that you humans realize that having a pet (pigeon or otherwise) is a true commitment. Some pets/animals (including pigeons) can live for dozens of years, if you think (or feel like) it might be taking up too much time of your day, or that you might not be able to give your pet all the attention it needs, that it might be better not to get a pet (yet) until you are absolutely certain that you will be able to fully provide the animal with what he or she needs. This does of course not only concern giving your pet enough attention, but also being able to provide him or her with the correct food and even medical care if needed (which can be quite expensive if something goes wrong).

Unfortunately a lot of humans ‘just buy’ a pet ‘out of (an ow what cute, I want one) impulse‘ but don’t realize what it takes to actually properly care for such an animal. And this is also the reason why there are for example so many birds (and other animals) in shelters desperately seeking for a good and loving forever home. So please do yourself but above all; the animal(s) a favor and think it really through before ‘suddenly’ deciding to get a pet (any pet for that matter). Every pet deserves a good loving home where their humans will take good care of them unconditionally. Thank you ❤️

Not everyone seems to agree on these topics, but the averages on which most seem to agree are:
– For doves between 1 and 3 years in the wild with 1.5 years average.
– For pigeons between 3 to 6 years, where 3 to 5 is the average in the wild.

But it’s not unheard of that pigeons live up to over 15 years in the wild either. There is even a (confirmed) case known where a mourning dove reached an age over 31 years while living in the wild.

The average life span for an adult Mourning Dove is 1.5 years. The oldest known free-living bird, discovered through bird banding research, was over 31 years old. This is the record life span for a North American bird that lives on land.
https://woodstock.wbu.com/mourningdoves

Pigeon and dove life expectancy In captivity
In captivity the life expectancy of pigeons and doves will drastically increase, for doves the average lifespan is said to be around 20 year. While there are also doves which exceed (almost) ‘double’ that age, where this wonderful dove (currently at the age of 37 years!) is an perfect example.

For pigeons it’s basically the same, where reaching ages of 15 to 20 years is quite normal, but we pigeons can often also reach ages over 30 years.

I even know of a dove (a friend of mine on Twitter) which has recently reached the age of a whopping 37 years (hatched in 1986). The funny thing here is that this dove is actually one year older than my bonded pet human 😳!

Just as for all animals (and even humans) the same applies to us: How old we will eventually get, depends on our general health, diet, exercise, genetics and how well you would take care of us.

It is however (yet again) very important to realize that we pigeons are ‘not “just a pet” for a year or two‘, bringing us pigeons into your family often means that we will be around for many many many years to come.

These are questions which are often asked, and not only for pigeons but for most pets. To me personally if a question like this is asked it kinda sounds like: “I would like a pigeon as pet, but I don’t want to have to put too much effort in it“. Obviously I’m NOT saying that this is actually what everyone means when asking it, but it’s a ‘vibe’ I (and my pet humans) often get when people are also considering to get a pet pigeon (or pigeons) when asking this question.

But a simple yes or no is not really possible, because it all depends on the person and what they would consider to be hard or easy.

There are websites which for example claim that “indoor pet pigeons are low maintenance“, but me and my pet humans have to disagree with that statement to be honest (at least partially). We are not trying to tell you it’s a ‘very difficult task‘, but I just want to make sure that it’s not as simple as:
1. Buy cage, 2. Buy Pigeon, 3. Put pigeon in cage, 4. Give Pigeon water and food, 5. Give pigeon “some” attention, 6. Clean Cage, 7. Repeat from step 4

Unfortunately this is what way too many people would consider ‘taking proper care’ of a pet (or a pigeon for this matter). This is even often seen with people ‘randomly buying a fish’: They get a bowl, smack in some tap water, immediately drop the fish in it, feed it once a day, replace ALL water once a week and resume that routine until it dies. That is NOT the way how you should take care of a fish (at all). It is important to research ANY animal thoroughly before getting it. You should research what it needs to eat, how much space (or water) it needs, how to maintain it’s health (for example maintaining good water quality for fish) and more of the alike.

So if you really want to take properly care of a pigeon (or any animal), then NO, taking care of an pigeon is not easy if you’re just beginning.

Things you will need to do/know (and more) to properly take care of a pigeon even before getting one:
– Do research about our diet and possible supplemental (vitamins, calcium etc) needs
– Do research about what kind of ’emergency’s’ you might need to expect (things which can go wrong and how to deal with it when it happens)
– Make sure you have/know an avian vet near you before even getting us into your home (just in case you need one)
– Realize that veterinarian costs could get quite high if something happens with your pigeon
– Do research about diseases, how to prevent them, what signs to look for and how to properly monitor our health
– Research potential dangers in your home (for us pigeons)
– Research the required cage size (and type! because we need lots of floor space)
– Make changes to your home where required to make it safe for us pigeons to fly and walk around freely
– Research dangers like for example: Air-freshers, non-stick-cookware (PTFE/Teflon), toxic (house-)plants and more
– How to bathe us pigeons (and how NOT to bath us (using shampoo’s for example))
– Learn about pigeon dust (powder down) in your house and how it could affect you and us pigeons
– Realize that you once or twice a year will need to clean up A LOT of feathers due to us molting and ‘throwing them everywhere into your home’
– Realize that you might have to ‘let go’ certain things or hobbies around us in your home (for example soldering, model painting, airbrushing, gluing models etc), these are all things which can’t be done with us in the same room/area.
– Realize that you will most likely have to clean your home more often than before (due to our feather dust, droppings etc)
– Research if you would want to use flight pants/flypers/pigeon diapers (and change them at least every 3 hours), or if you are just going to clean up after us
– Research on what to do if you have a female pigeon (hen) which lays eggs, and how to deal with it properly (also if you are planning to take the eggs away, you CAN NOT just take them away! You will need to replace them with fake eggs to prevent health issues with your pigeon(s)!)

And more….

And then there are the things you’ll need to do when you have a pigeon:
– Clean our cage lining every day or if required even twice a day if it’s very messy
– Thoroughly clean our cage(s), perches etc at least once a week
– Monitor (and keep record of) our weight to keep an eye on our health
– Clean our food dish and drinking bowl daily
– Provide us with fresh water at least every morning (it’s better to do it even twice a day)
– Provide us with fresh (balanced!) food every day
– Give us a bath at least once a week
– Make sure that we have as much as possible of out-of-cage time to fly (which is important for our health)
– Make sure that we get lots of attention (especially if you only have one pigeon!)
– Try to maintain a ‘steady routine’ with us pigeons as much as possible, because that is what we like and be comfortable with
– Clean up after us (our droppings) or change our pigeon diaper at least every three hours

And that’s about the ‘basic list’.

If you would ask my pet humans if it’s easy to keep a pet pigeon? They will say: Yes, for us it’s easy, we have no trouble in taking care of her.
Would my pet humans consider me high maintenance? No, they do not consider me as being high maintenance.

Some people (or even pigeon owners) might consider this list/article as ‘making it look extreme’, due to everything I’ve listed, but I honestly don’t care if they do. Personally me and my pet humans don’t think it’s difficult at all to take care of a pigeon, when reading it ‘all’ here it might look like A LOT, but the majority is just learning it the first time (as you should when properly taking care of an animal), the rest will quickly become routine of you and your household 🙂

And once you get the hang of it, it won’t even take up that much time at all. It will be quite easy to ‘schedule it into your daily life’. Sure in the first month or two you might be struggling a bit to figure out your new routine together with your pigeon, but that’s perfectly fine and nothing to worry about.

But why did you made it look so hard with those lists then Sophie?
By providing this information I’m hoping to prevent people from ‘impulse buying or getting a pigeon’ and then later ‘dumping it’ either outside (when it can’t survive on it’s own anymore) or at a shelter, because it turned out that it was more work than they thought due to a ‘careless claim’ like “Pigeons are low maintenance‘. And I also hope to prevent pigeons from living a terribly unhappy life locked and ‘forgotten’ in a cage all day, because ‘impulse purchasers’ are over the “hype” of their new “toy pigeon”. I know that this paragraph might sound quite harsh, but we all know that it unfortunately still happens a lot.

It will be worth your time
If you however do your research, properly prepare yourself and care for us pigeons as you should, it won’t be that difficult at all. It will also be well worth your time and effort. We are very loyal companions, we can be very affectionate, are very intelligent & funny birds which can and will quickly learn your (household) routine, and are just amazing birds to be around 🙂 Ow and we’re just freaking cute 😉

If you are already past the ‘start up stage’ (you got the cage, all the necessities, toys, bathing items etc) then keeping a pet pigeon is not expensive at all. However just like with any other animal, the start up can cost quite at bit depending on how you approach it. It is also very important to keep in mind that unexpected veterinarian bills can get really expensive quickly if something goes wrong with your bird, but this basically goes for any pet animal.

So what are the normal monthly costs of having a pet pigeon?
Well if everything goes well with your pigeon (no vet or other unexpected costs), then there are not even ‘monthly costs’ to be honest. My pet humans buy a supply of seeds (two different kinds) every now and then, and that supply will last for several months. If you would however split the costs of those seeds over the months that I can eat from them, my total costs would be around $3 – $5 per month (roughly).

So what are the reoccurring costs when having a pet pigeon?
This obviously depends on what you would use, but this is a ‘basic breakdown’ of what my pet humans spend on me (reoccurring costs):

What	Pice	How often/description
2,5kg Balanced Dove Seed mix	€6,79	Every three to four months
20-25kg Balanced pigeon feed mix	€24,95	Every eight to nine months
650Gr Mineral, grid, clay etc Beyers Picking Block	€2,41	Every nine to twelve months (depending on how much I peck at it)
660Gr Beyers Fino Bathsalt for pigeons	€3,85	Every twelve to fifteen months. This is enough for about 82 weeks of bathing for me with the size of my ‘bathtub’. When using this only about once a week, it will last me (much) more than a year.
1,5kg Beyers Belvimin Support Plus for pigeons (Vitamins, Minerals, calcium etc)	€9,67	Will properly last you around 2 years for one pigeon (you don’t need much, and not every day for a single pet pigeon)

DISCLAIMER: The products listed/linked here are NOT sponsored placements, and they are not endorsements either! These are just the products me and my pet humans prefer to use.

My pet humans use news papers as cage liner instead of sand, wood-chips or any other cage lining, not because this is ‘the cheapest solution’ but because it is undoubtedly the best to use for us pigeons (more can be read about this in my Pigeon & Bird Articles section). So there are no reoccurring costs for cage lining. Other recurring costs which you might/will have are for example snacks/treats, fruits or other additional food you might buy for your pigeon, and toys every now and then.

And what are the ‘start-up’ costs when getting a pet pigeon?
Well this can be as ‘crazy’ as you want to make it. I personally have to admit that my pet humans took it ‘quite far’ on this topic, but that’s what they wanted. You can do it how you want to do it, and obviously leave out certain parts (or add your own things to this list). This list is just an indication of what my pet humans did for me. Do note that this list also includes the same items as the list above, because you obviously would need to buy them for the first time 😉

XXL Dog Bench	€110,-	Mainly used as my nigh-time-cage (bedroom) and for the rare occasion where I have to stay at home alone.
Medium Dog Bench	€79,-	This is my ‘day-time-cage’ (my home) which is always open, and is mainly used by me to drink, eat and chill if I want to retreat for a while for example.
(Modified) Designer LED Ring lamp	€64,-	This was a light intended or home decorative uses, but my humans modified it so it’s my ‘artificial sun’ on top of my day-time-cage, to keep my sleeping routine regularly and so that I can use it to ‘sunbathe’ inside the lamp when I want to. Demo of the lamp can be seen here (through the ceiling of my cage) and here where I’m standing inside the lamp.
(Modified) LED Ceiling light	€34,-	A simpler light which is used on top of my night-time-cage with an automated timer so that my day always starts with a regular (time) schedule.
IP Camera	€29,-	A (yet again) modified IP Camera which my pet humans can use to check up on me in my night-time-cage.
3X Computer Connected Outlets	€49,-	Three (no-internet-connection) outlets connected to a central computer which controls my lights and camera power for energy savings protocol.
High accuracy kitchen scale	€14,99	Used to keep track of my weight and health. Full glass, easy to clean and decontaminate (in case it has to be used when I’m sick for example).
Wooden perch	€9,95	Placed in my night-time-cage and used by me every night to sleep on
Drinking and food bowls	€12,99	Both made of nonporous (glazed) stone, so they are easy to clean (and keep free of bacteria).
Leg rings	€66,99	These are 4 sets of removable leg rings/band (we call them my shoes): Pink set: Has my name engraved on them (SOPHIE) Purple set: Has both phone numbers of my pet humans engraved on them Red set: Has my name engraved on them and the text ‘Merry Christmas’ Green set: Has both phone numbers of my pet humans engraved on them Each set consists of 50 rings, and obviously the ‘Christmas rings’ are overkill, but one of my pet humans is a huge fan of Christmas, so we bought two extra sets with matching colors for the holidays. Usually these bands (my ‘shoes’) are put on when we’re going outside to ensure my safety IF something ever happens, and every ring can be re-used for several months is used properly and carefully.
Various toys	€50,-	Probably underestimating the amount spend here, but this is obviously all up to you and what you are planning to do/give to your pigeon. For me this for example includes: A Tip-and-treat, some stuffed toys I can play with, a LARGE parrot swing, custom front yard (including custom 3D printed parts) and more of the alike.
Multiple DIY Harnesses	€30,-	My pet humans have made my harnesses themselves, and spend an estimate of about €30,- to be able to make about 5 different harnesses (including my soft-brake leashes).
(Modified) Retractable Dog leash	€24,95	Just a regular dog leash but adapted for my use so I can safely exercise (fly) with my humans outside (in a park for example).
Dog water bottle	€9,95	A ‘special’ dog water bottle with a ‘drinking cup’ build-in so that I can drink some water when me and my pet humans are ‘on the road’ together.
Clicker (for clicker training)	€4,95	Clicker device used to practice tricks with 🙂
Cleaning supplies	€15,-	Additional cleaning supplies to clean up after me around the house (paper towels, nail brush for carpet etc)
My Bathtub	€6,95-	Basically just a large size Pyrex oven-dish
First time food	€31,-	A large bag of balanced pigeon seeds, and a smaller bag of balanced dove seeds (needed for my breed due to my smaller beak and what I was used to eating before)
The ‘health stuff’	€17,-	The picking block, minerals, pigeon bathsalt, and Belvimin Support plus etc
‘First Aid stuff’	€30,-	More about this in detail can be found in my *Pigeon & Bird Articles section*.

As you can see from this list, my pet humans have spend roughly around €700,- (more or less) when setting up everything for me. This unfortunately can’t be used as indication for your own pigeon at all. Simply because it totally depends on the (local) prices of the stores near you, which items you will (and won’t) get and more of the alike. This amount is however not uncommon if you want to start ‘well prepared’. As you can read on this site, costs for the first year of a bird owner (“start up costs”) can range from $300 to $1800 on average.

What is important to realize though, is that your budget does allow such purchases, and that a bird for example will not suffer because you had an ‘impulse buy moment’ and can’t actually supply your bird with what it needs.

But what does a pet pigeon actually cost?
Well this can be a very broad question. You can get (pet) pigeons ranging from $0 (for free) all the way up to $1.9 MILLION (although then it’s not really a ‘pet pigeon anymore’ is it? 😉 )

Depending on where you get your pet pigeon (a farm, pet/bird-store, pet/pigeon/bird rescue etc) prices might vary. My pet humans did pay a small ‘transfer/rescue fee’ for me, but it definitely didn’t broke the bank so to speak. This fee was so low that there are just a few items on the list(s) above that where cheaper 🤷 than my ‘rescue fee’.

Me and my pet humans would however like to recommend you to get a pigeon from a rescue center instead of from a store or farm if you’re getting one (or a pair). Simply because there are A LOT of pigeons (and other birds) which desperately need a (new) forever-home.

No, most human diseases including the flu and the common cold are not transferable to us pigeons (or most other birds for that matter).

My pet humans also had the same question in regards to COVID-19 when they where infected with COVID-19. There are studies showing that ducks and chickens don’t get the virus, and other research also states that “birds, reptiles, and amphibians are not susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)“

This however does not mean that humans can’t infect us birds at all. If you have for example (avian affecting) bacteria or ‘viruses’ on your hands, shoes or otherwise which you’ve contracted in for example a pet/bird-store, aviary etc then it is still possible that you will also infect your own pigeon(s)/bird(s). So always make sure to practice proper hygiene when handling your own bird(s).

Yes, this is seriously a question we have had several times now! And to be honest: It seriously pisses both me and my pet humans off.

NO you can and should NOT just take/grab/abduct a pigeon from the streets, your garden, the wild, it’s nest etc etc. Those are wild and free birds, you should not EVER take their freedom way! EVER

They will be horribly miserable, depressed and you will most likely even break up a married pigeon (please consider they bond for life with their mate!) couple! And thus also making another pigeon very miserable while taking one. NO this is not a ‘tip’ to abduct two pigeons to ‘keep the set complete’!

And if you are taking (again: abducting!) one from a nest you are literally taking way the children of two pigeons! While taking the Squab (baby pigeon) away from it’s parents for no good reason!

Then there is also the fact (when abducting them from a nest) that it’s very difficult to properly take care of a baby/young pigeon if you do not exactly know what you are doing! Chances are that you will mess it up making the young pigeon very sick or you might potentially even kill it.

In my honest opinion (which is a shared opinion of my pet humans), if you are seriously considering to do these kind cruel things to a pigeon (or any other wild animal for that matter), then you are not worth it to properly care for an animal.

Because when doing such things you are just being selfish and are only thinking about your own personal gain: “You want to own a pigeon, period“, and you are definitely not thinking in the best interests of the pigeon itself. Please just never ever abduct wild animals to keep them as pets!

Frequently Asked Questions

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More elaborate explanation

Sophie’s Blog

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Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions about me

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Frequently Asked Questions about (pet) pigeons in general

More elaborate explanation

Sophie’s Blog

Resources

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