# Getting rid of pigeons/pigeon/dove hybrids!



## Graham

My flock of doves is growing, from 4 this time last year to a dozen now, most of the additions are chicks from the original pair, but a few birds have just joined the flock from elsewhere. Recently I've had a grey and white bird and an all grey one (looks like a dove but with pigeon colouring) turn up, they show no sign of leaving but haven't really been accepted by the others in the way that the all-white arrivals were.

Anyway I don't want them here as I want to keep my birds all white, so other than killing them what's the best way to get rid of them?

I was thinking I could catch them (dead easy when they're eating), then drive them at night to somewhere where there's a large population of pigeons and release them, they're not going to go anywhere at night and hopefully by morning they'll just join the new flock.

How realistic is that? Are they just going to fly straight back in the morning?


----------



## PythonPaul

as long as they are getting a free meal they wont leave, just like all animals it saves them searching for food and feeling hungry.


----------



## Dee_Williams

if you want rid of them you'll need ot cull them. they will always come back.


----------



## Ron Magpie

Nope, they'll come right back. About the only thing you can do (apart form killing them) is to remove any eggs produced if they set up home with any of your flock.


----------



## ljb107

Yes, you could try that with the feral pigeons. Just make sure its pitch black and you drive far enough away.

There is a chance they come back but if there are already pigeons there then they probably won't.

I find it hard enough to break my own fancy pigeons and racers to my loft sometimes haha.

Lloyd :2thumb:


----------



## Graham

Well I've just been out and caught them and I'm going to try it, there's a bridge a few miles away that has a large pigeon population so I'll take them there.

I won't be surprised if they come back, just as long as they don't bring all their new mates as well! 

And yes if I can't get rid of them I'll just remove any eggs they lay, at the moment there's no room for them in the dovecote (just building another) and the other birds won't let them in, so they'd have to go elsewhere to nest anyway.


----------



## Graham

OK they're gone, now to see if they are back by the morning!


----------



## Shellsfeathers&fur

Graham said:


> OK they're gone, now to see if they are back by the morning!


Are they back?

Just had visions of you catching them up, boxing them up, driving them to their release point, only to look out of the window this morning.........


----------



## Graham

No they're not back, I don't want to speak too soon but it looks as though my excercise in ethnic cleansing may have worked!


----------



## Graham

Guess who's back, grr!


----------



## ljb107

Graham said:


> Guess who's back, grr!


Unlucky, you have some clever ferals haha :lol2:


----------



## Graham

Time for a rethink, I'm going to have a word with the couriers at work, find out when they're next doing a long distance delivery and get them to take the birds with them, maybe I didn't take them far enough!


----------



## Wolflore

You've got me chuckling Graham. You can tell you're a Southerner. A Northerner would quickly realise you're just training homing pigeons! How far will you take them after the next time? France?


----------



## adamntitch

problem is alot of ferals have race blood in them so it maybe a case of does not matter where you take them they will come back


----------



## BigHomer

"Hiya Graham. We waited ages for you to come back to the wee bridge, we thought that you must be busy with something so we just flew back ourselves. You're welcome." :lol2:


----------



## ljb107

adamntitch said:


> problem is alot of ferals have race blood in them so it maybe a case of does not matter where you take them they will come back


Thats true about the racer blood. I have lost count at how many pigeons i've lost now, they're not as good homers as everyone thinks. Only the clever ones get home.

Its the same with youngsters out of the nest when you try to break them. If they're too strong on the wing they can get carried away and just go up and up and up until out of sight and never seen again.

The joys of pigeons! :bash:


----------



## Ron Magpie

Graham said:


> Guess who's back, grr!


Not the sort of person who likes to say 'I told you so'- but I did! :Na_Na_Na_Na:


----------



## Graham

Yes you did Ron, but I thought it was worth a try, TBH I expected them to make it back before I did!

I have another plan that involves releasing them some distance away again, but this time with a brick tied to their legs!

If anyone is interested in a homing pigeon let me know...


----------



## corvid2e1

Driving them somewhere else and letting them go won't work (as you now know first hand) The only way to do that is to have them shut in somewhere for several weeks at the other end in the hope that they will home back to there instead once released, and even then that will probably just reduce the number that come back, not stop them completly. replacing the eggs with dummys (just removing them will cause the birds to just keep laying more, pointless for you and a drain on them) is the best way to control your numbers in future, although it won't stop the odd feral joining your flock. Also, you don't have doves, pigeons and hybrids. sorry to tell you, but your pretty white fantail "doves" are not doves at all, but white pigeons, exactly the same species as the ferals on the street. They just carry a recessive gene that masks their true colour.


----------



## ljb107

corvid2e1 said:


> Driving them somewhere else and letting them go won't work (as you now know first hand) The only way to do that is to have them shut in somewhere for several weeks at the other end in the hope that they will home back to there instead once released, and even then that will probably just reduce the number that come back, not stop them completly. replacing the eggs with dummys (just removing them will cause the birds to just keep laying more, pointless for you and a drain on them) is the best way to control your numbers in future, although it won't stop the odd feral joining your flock. Also, you don't have doves, pigeons and hybrids. sorry to tell you, but your pretty white fantail "doves" are not doves at all, but white pigeons, exactly the same species as the ferals on the street. They just carry a recessive gene that masks their true colour.


This is true. They are just recessive white feral pigeons bred to look like they do :2thumb:


----------



## Wolflore

Pigeons are doves, doves are pigeons. So he does have doves, just not the hybrid. Feral pigeons = Rock dove = Fancy pigeon = fancy dove = Columba livia.


----------



## ljb107

Wolflore said:


> Pigeons are doves, doves are pigeons. So he does have doves, just not the hybrid. Feral pigeons = Rock dove = Fancy pigeon = fancy dove = Columba livia.


The ferals you see on the streets are a long way away from looking like pure rock doves, if there are any around anymore - they look more like doves - very small and have very thin long beaks and tiny beak ceres.


----------



## Wolflore

All the same species. Just because they're towney cousins look more gruff, doesn't make them any less...


----------



## Graham

Yes I realise they're essentially the same species, calling them doves and pigeons is just a handy way to distinguish between the white ones and the grey, or grey/white ones, or the ones I want and the ones I don't!

I'm pretty certain the two that I don't want are females, so it'll be relatively easy to control their reproduction if I can't get rid of them, I'll just remove the eggs if I see them nesting, would be much more difficult if they were males and mating with my nice white females.


----------



## Wolflore

Out of interest, are you a vegetarian?


----------

