Lost Pigeons

Pigeons become lost due to circumstances out of the fancier's control. For example, some may become tired after a long flight and lose their bearings. This frequently happens during long distance races in the sport of Racing Pigeon Flying. In rollers it occurs less often, usually only when birds are swept up in high winds and cannot come down before dusk. Pigeons have very poor night vision. In rollers, it is more common for pigeons to get chased by aerial predators, like the Peregrine Falcon or Cooper’s Hawk, and end up far from their home. Fanciers also lose a percentage of each new batch of pigeons to poor settling. Settling is the process of familiarizing the pigeon to the loft and its surroundings. Birds may become quickly disoriented and lose sight of home if they stray as little as one house over. These types of loses are more common among younger and inexperienced fanciers. At this young of an age, pigeons are in a far more delicate situation, with little or no food in the crop and possibly thirsty.

Whatever the case may be, Roller pigeons, and really any domesticated type of pigeon, may end up in your hands and you might not know exactly what to do with them. The following is a set of steps you can take to find the owner, as well as some steps in the basic care of a pigeon while you do your investigative work.

Caring for a lost pigeon

When you have found a banded pigeon you will want to make an assessment on the condition of the bird. Usually a lost pigeon is weak from lack of food and water. They are desperately looking for water when they happen upon you, or you them. Domesticated pigeons never really learned how to fend in the wild (or suburbia, as the case may be) and so they don't know where to find water unless it is placed before them in a dish. Take these steps to help them out …

• Place them in either a pet carrier or a strong and well ventilated cardboard box. Do not use any bedding other than wood shavings (not sawdust). It's preferable to not use any bedding if wood shavings are not convenient.
• Place a small but heavy bowl or plate with water, in the container. It needs to be heavy to avoid being tipped over. The water will have to be changed daily, if not more often, since pigeons have a tendency to soil indiscriminately.
• Place another bowl with any of these things found around the home: un-popped popcorn kernels, dry lentils, or dry peas. You can go to your local farm supply or feed store and ask for pigeon feed. It’s typically sold by the 50lb bag but you might be able to buy it by the pound. If you don’t have a farm supply or feed store nearby, visit a Petco or PetSmart and buy canary food. Do not feed your new friend rice or bread. These foods have a tendency to absorb moisture and may cause the bird to die from indigestion and dehydration.
• If the bird is injured but alert, it will most likely be a minor injury. Use rubbing alcohol on the injury. Spray it in the region of the wound or dab it on with a cotton swab.

If the bird is injured but not alert, it will most likely not survive. If you feel compelled to rescue it by taking it to a vet, be aware that the owner of the bird will most likely not reimburse you for your expense. Pigeon breeders rarely use vets because of their fees. A pigeon can be replaced within a few months by younger siblings and this is generally the attitude most breeders of performing pigeons will take. So if you do take it to the vet, be aware that you are likely to incur the full cost.

Finding the owner

Locating a pigeon's owner is not a simple process if the pigeon does not have an identification band. In most cases, a domestic pigeon will have a club band on one of its legs. Sometimes they will also have a personalized identification band.

Identification bands

An identification band will likely contain current information since any pigeon you are likely to find is young. Look for a phone number, an address, or a name. In some cases, like the current personalized bands that I use, you may find an email address or a website address. If you try the numbers and addresses and they are not current, use the name and look them up in the white pages of the county in which you found the bird. If that fails, try entering the name of the person, followed by the word "pigeon" and city in which you found the bird into any of the web search engines out there.

Club bands

A club band contains useful information in trying to locate the owner of the bird. There are a few important fields common to most club bands. On most bands you'll find a two digit number representing the year the pigeon was born. You'll find a set of letters, usually in large font, representing the club to which the owner of the bird belongs. You will also find another set of numbers accompanied possibly by one or two letters. This set of numbers is the unique identifier for the bird for that year, belonging to that particular club. The only pertinent information on the band that may help you locate an owner are the initials of the club. Again, go to any search engine and enter those initials followed by the city or state in which you found the bird and the word "pigeon". Information should show up which at minimum directs you to a club web site or a name and number of someone belonging to that club. You can then contact that person and figure out the rest.

When all else fails

If you didn't succeed in finding the owner or someone else who will take the bird, you can also try the SPCA or animal control for your city. They will likely already have experience locating lost pigeon owners. Most SPCA or Animal Control centers will also have an expert on file who will care for the pigeon.