How to catch a pigeon

How can i catch an injured racing pigeon ?
he seems to look lost and looks injured i gave hime some food and water and her eat and drunk loads what would be the best way to get hold of him to check him out he lets you get close to him but he is quiet scared.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

thank you x

I would keep feeding him to gain his trust.
Last year I caught one outside a grocery store, by sitting on the ground and putting seed near my legs and right in front of a ltiile kennel I brought with me. I ened up making a food trail inside the kennel and them I quickly closed the door. A small deep dish of water is aso very attractive to a lost bird.

The very best way to catch him to to figure out where he is roosting and catch him after dark because pigeons don't see well in the dark.

Thank you Charis when i fed him earlier he was quiet close he is coming in to my garden which make thing easier as i can keep an eye on him i have placed a carry case on the floor near by with food inside hoping he might get used to it and go inside i have given him a really deep water bowl and he took a really big drink from it and i chucked him some seed at 1st and then placed some in a pile near the water and when i went inside he ate i will leave the food and water out there in the same place so if he comes back he knows where it is he is sitting on my neighbours roof at the moment in the sun so weather he will roost there to night but i will keep an eye out and see if i can spot where he goes.

He looks like such a sweetie and i am woried that if he is injured and goes back home that he might be killed as often people that race pigeons will kill ones that arnt good of hurt. I think he is attracted to my to pigeons in the garden so hopfully he will hang arround.

Thank you again x

The most important thing is to be patient and listen to your inner voice. Your best chance to catch him is when your inner voice tells you to go for it. You will only have one opportunity, that time and if you miss...the trust will need to be re-established, which could take longer.

Thank you ever so much will keep you updated. It is quiet hot today in the uk and he has just been sitting on my neighbours roof in the sun for hours is that normal as i would have thought he would be getting to hot also earlier on when he was eating he started shaking and then regurgitated some seed is this because he ate too much seed too quick? or because he is ill?

thank you x

I would suspect canker infection. If he's on the neighbor's roof for hours, I alos doubt he feels well. See if he stays there when it gets dark. Is it easy to get to?

I though it was a bit strange he was sitting on the roof for hours in the sun i will keep an eye and if he stays i will try and get him though there are street lamps near by will he be able to see because of this? Also i dont know if i have a long enough ladder.

He has been sitting on the roof in direct sun for 3 hours now in the same place just sitting there a bit dopy also he has a big cere does this mean he is an older bird it doesnt look scalie it just rather big compaired to my other pigeons.

Can you post a picture of him? Sounds like an older male.

will try and get one he is to high up at the moment x

Racing pigeons often have very big ceres, so that may be to do with the breed rather than the age. Do they look like this?



When I rescued this homer, I thought there was something wrong with his ceres, but the more experienced members here assured me it was perfectly normal for a racer.

It's good that he's taken some food and water, and it's a great idea to try to win his trust. It doesn't sound like it would be doable for you to try to catch him after dark, if your neighbour's roof is very high -- unless you can access the roof from inside the neighbour's house and you use your best diplomacy skills...

This is a trap I made to catch a very distrustful customer:



It's a lidless box made out of hardware cloth, with some plastic string wound along the edge so that it won't harm a bird.
I attached it to a piece of hard cardboard (by making some holes on the edge of the cardboard, passing a bit of string through them, and tying them to the edge of the box. (You can see the cardboard under the box, in the picture, and the 'hinge' is at the back).
Then I tied a stone to the top front of the trap to make it heavier, and got a can of drink with a long piece of string tied around it.
I set up the trap where the pigeon came to feed, holding the trapdoor open with the can, and scattered seed leading up to the box and inside it. I hid out of sight, holding the other end of the string, and the moment he went in the box, I pulled it. The weight of the stone stopped him from lifting the top of the box and escaping.
I think a trap the birds can see through gives them more confidence to go in. I'd tried lots of other ideas before, and this was the one that worked.

That particular story had a very happy ending (in fact that customer is out the back right now, waiting to be fed ) and I wish you a very happy ending too!

I agree with Teresa I've found the trap way has always worked with a little patience.
Also I used an open wire cage as they will go underneath without necessarily noticing they're inside something.

I use a peace of wood to prop up the cage and attached a long piece of string to that. Scattered seeds underneath the propped up end and sat in wait holding the other end of the string. Once the bird goes under, pull the string and the cage drops down.
Just a variation on Teresa's.




Good luck,

Janet

thanks for the great advice his cere doesnt look quiet like that he has flow off tonight he went really far so i couldnt see him any more hopfully he will come back tomorrow

At least you have some options, which is very good.
Does he seem to be attracted to your pigeons? Perhaps you can lure him to thier cage.

yes he does seem a little interested in my pigeons mainly my male x

the pigeon is back this morning and i have set the trap ready for him so fingers crossed will keep every one informed what happens thanks for all the help and ideas every one : )

He seems to be more spooked to day aswell he is not as willing to come down for seed or get too close.
this is the only pic i have been able to get of him so far it is really blury as he was up high on my roof.

Cammypigeon wrote:

the pigeon is back this morning and i have set the trap ready for him so fingers crossed will keep every one informed what happens thanks for all the help and ideas every one : )

You got it, Rachel.

Poor thing. I know how nerve wracking this is. I'll be thinking positive thought that you catch him soon.

Wishing you the best of luck!

At times like this, I think we all wish we could speak Pigeon...

I know i wish he understood that i am trying to help him. He has been sitting up high on the roof in the sun all morning not wanting to come down he must be baking though as it is so hot today i wasnt sure if the trap was scaring him as i had placed right near his food and water, and he seems more scared today so i moved the trap further away and eventually after a while he came down the ate loads and wouldnt stop drinking he stuck his head in about 15 times each time taking huge gulps of water he is really hungry and thirsty but im not supprised as it is hot i just wish i could get him quick.

I have come up with the idear of attaching a racing pigeon trap to my existing aviary i could have a cage attached high on my females aviary attach a racing pigeon trap door on the front and hopfully he will go in for food and water. He will be used to going in through the trap door so i thought it might work what do you think? then he can go in it when im not there and get caught.

It could work. You'll want to separate him ASAP form you other birds, though.

Yes it will be a seperate cage next to the aviary he wont be able to get inside, and then i will quaratine him. If i catch hime how long should i keep him seperate before i mix him with my female?

Oh...30 days at least and in the mean time, you will have an opportunity to observe him...poops, how much he eats, if he is thin and so forth. If he is fluffed, I would suggest bringing him inside and putting him on a heating pad. Can you get heating pads in the UK? They are really great for giving a sick bird consistant heat where as rice heated in the micro wave and hot water bottles cool down.
You can also treat him for canker, coccidia and worms. The 3 really do seem to go hand in hand.