How to get rid of a pigeon?

At my place we have a chubby cat, a dog, two chicken, about a hundred plant pots and I think it's good enough for an appartment. Lately though a pigeon joined the party...

It fell in love with my flat roof and chickens wasted food. It just won't go away and I don't feel like I can kill it even though I got a bow and arrow home. I trapped it several times (the old good flipped basket leaning on a woodstick) and dropped it far but he comes back all the time. It gets more and more comfie as it now comes inside my place like if we shared the same nest.

So I was wondering, as pigeons work like compasses to find their way back, will it work if I disorient its navigation center with powerful magnets?

It is ringed but the owner clearly doesn't give a pigeon # about it. (I called)

What would you do? (beyond eating it)

Peace

reply to post by CityFarmer


I think taking care of the pigeon is supposed to be the cat's job. Perhaps lighten up on her rations and she may solve the problem when she gets hungry.

edit: You may also have just acquired a homing pigeon. For fun you may want to see how far you can take the bird and see if it will return. Get a little capsule for putting messages.

reply to post by CityFarmer
About all you can do is make it more inconvenient for the bird to stay than it is to go.

Can you let your pets at it, and see if they can convince it to leave? Otherwise, short of killing it (or accepting it), I'm not aware of any options you've got since it's got a good thing going. I don't think the magnets will help much either, since they'll just be another waypoint on his mental map - you're not going to keep them from detecting the earth's magnetic fields permanently.

you have become a restaurant on its daily tour for food so either make sure theres nothing around it can eat so it'll get bored of visiting you for there to be nothing to eat and move on or shoot it and be done with it and use it to feed your cat

BB gun or mentos.

reply to post by Praetorius


Good point. A compass doesn't loose its north forever.

I don't mind it stays but it drops poopings all over.
And I tried throwing rocks at it, screaming with a stick and then the traumatising experience of the trap. But it still camps there taunting me through the window with its one eye from the side.

Get you a hawk or an owl. Maybe a plastic one would be enough to keep it away.

In my area, they imported falcons to control them. Seems to work.

It keeps coming around because it is finding food. Try finding out what it is after and remove the temptation.

The first thing that came to my mind was a scarecrow of some sort, owls, hawks and so on.

A sample from Google.

www.howtogetridofstuff.com...

Scarecrows have been used for ages to keep birds away from crops (Learn how to make a scarecrow). Scarecrow types that deter pigeons include owls, snakes, cats, and people. The key to using one of these successfully is to make it appear as lifelike as possible. Move it from one location to another every few days. A scarecrow that moves either randomly or responsively is usually more effective then one that does not. Windsocks that are made to look like animals can work well so long as there is enough wind to keep them ‘alive'.

Ahahahaha I love the scarecrow idea. I live in the center of a capital

You should just let him stay, who cares? I have birdhouses in my backyard.

I was wondering what is the problem with letting it stay... I used to have a pet pigeon. They're pretty cool.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


I never considered keeping it to be honest. But I like the idea actually. Any way it can be toilet-trained? Or is it too much to ask :p ?

Mike Tyson would probably appreciate it.

Pigeons man. They are the New Yorkers of the bird world. I've seen geese get their asses in the air but nothing compares to the attitude a pigeon has. AND a nasty look as well.

Can it be trained? Don't know. Had a friend in BC that kept a crow for about a decade. Maybe.

Originally posted by AnonymousCitizen
reply to post by CityFarmer

 

I think taking care of the pigeon is supposed to be the cat's job. Perhaps lighten up on her rations and she may solve the problem when she gets hungry.

edit: You may also have just acquired a homing pigeon. For fun you may want to see how far you can take the bird and see if it will return. Get a little capsule for putting messages.

edit on 5/9/12 by AnonymousCitizen because: another idea

I love this idea!
Take the pigeon far far away, tie a capsule to its leg and see if it comes back.
If it does keep coming back, maybe you can make some money off of it, and if not, well, sounds like you got another "pet".
Personally, I think that is kind of cool!

reply to post by RealSpoke


That's cool I didn't know there was so much love around pigeons. We use to call them feathered rats here. They poop some really good fertilizer though. They have a nice crapping spot under a bridge next to my place. It's really helpful and natural for the plants

Pigeons are edible. That is what squab comes from.

Give it a sleeping bag and a pillow.
It loves you.

"Oh, the world seems in tune on a spring afternoon
as we poison the pigeons in the park
on a Sunday, you'll see my girlfriend and me
as we poison the pigeons in the park

When they see us coming the birdies all try and hide
but they still go for peanuts when coated with cyanide

And maybe we'll do in a squirrel or two
as we poison the pigeons in the park
we'll murder them all with laughter and merriment
except for the few we take home to experiment..."

I can't recall the author of the song...