What I am about to write may ruffle a few feathers in the bird/pigeon world, however, I feel I must address the issue. I apologise if anyone is offended – this is not a personal attack on anyone, just a subject I have been meaning to write about for a while now. I will try to be as objective as I can, however, emotion will also govern my opinions.
Is it right to hand-rear a pigeon on its own and therefore potentially cause them to become imprinted on humans?
Some people might not know what imprinting means, or know the difference between imprinting and taming. Imprinting is very different to taming.
- Taming is the process in which an animal is regularly exposed to humans and thereby becoming used to their presence and trusting them. The animal keeps their identity but simply chooses to become friendly with humans. Not all animals can become tame. Some are just too wild.
- Imprinting means that an animal identifies itself as the same species as to that which reared him, e.g. a human being. Not all animals will become imprinted. It mainly occurs in bird species, especially ducks and other precocial birds (i.e. birds that are born with feathers, able to walk and to feed themselves shortly after hatching).
Although pigeons are not precocial, rather altricial (i.e. born helpless and greatly dependant on their parents), they can become imprinted on humans if reared on their own without any other pigeons to interact with. An imprinted pigeon will identify itself as being human and will not socialise properly with other pigeons and cannot be released into the wild (since it would not survive out in the wild if left to its own devices).
Not all lone hand-reared pigeons become imprinted – some just become tame. I don’t know why some do and some don’t. I guess it’s just down to their individual experience and personality.
An imprinted pigeon would need to live with humans its whole life since it will identify a human as its mate (since pigeons pair for life this is a great commitment). However, how much of their needs can we satisfy as humans? We cannot lay eggs and incubate them. Breeding is very strong in pigeons and they’ll want to mate with you and make a nest.
Over time an imprinted pigeon may learn to be a pigeon – if kept in the company of other pigeons and has limited human contact (I haven’t tried this so I cannot say for certain) – however, the welfare of the imprinted pigeon would need to be assessed constantly – is the pigeon happy living with other pigeons? Is it forming a friendship with them? Is it on its own looking depressed?
I totally understand how someone might decide to raise a baby bird if they find one orphaned – since they can be very cute and endearing. Baby pigeons are particularly sweet because they squeak and waggle their wings at you at a young age. Who couldn’t resist raising one? However, the fact is that unless you are prepared to give the pigeon a home for the rest of its life (and you can expect an average of 15 years in captivity) it is best if a pigeon-friendly animal rescue centre rears the pigeon. That way the pigeon has the best chance of knowing it is a pigeon and being released when older.
Ok, so say you are prepared to give the imprinted pigeon a home for the rest of its life. Does it still make it right to imprint an animal? You’re basically warping their self-image and making them think they are something they aren’t. I guess it all comes down to how you view animals (non-human animals that is) and what role you believe they play in human society.
I know this all might sound very hypocritical of me since I have two imprinted pigeons living with me – however, I didn’t raise them – only acquired them after the ‘damage’ had been done. This is not to say that imprinted pigeons are totally damaged and have no quality of life because they think they’re people. Not at all. Both Elmo and Georgie are healthy, happy beings and other imprinted pigeons I’ve seen have been too. People just need to be aware of the problems they may have on their hands if they imprint an animal and then try to release it into the wild, thinking that it can survive and will be happy. That is animal abandonment and in some countries a prosecutable offense.
I hope what I’ve written is food for thought. Many of us love animals and want to do the right thing. If you have an imprinted pigeon on your hands and need to give it up for some reason then please take the time to find him or her a good home to live in.
Please note that the above can also be applied to tame pigeons – as was the case with Dora – however, more on this later.
Note: Elmo is definately imprinted. Georgie is imprinted but I think she’d like another pigeon if they would give her a chance. Both Dora and Minnie are tame not imprinted.
Rev…what is the alternative when an orphaned baby needs help?
More than most, I am aware of the long term consequences. My flock does consist of 5 hand reared pigeons. Three are older now and have gone on to mate with their own kind. Could they ever survive on their own in the wild?…Certainly not. Still…that doesn’t mean that each does not have a life of value.
Hi Rev, Well, is it possible to hand rear a baby that needs a little help, without him/her becoming imprinted? I know I havent reared as many as you/Folly, however I have tried very hard not to over expose, and with the exception of baby liddal, all the others went on their way. Baby Liddal was SO DEMANDING !!! I have found that the quicker you can get them outside even it s for a couple of hours at first, then the day ect, the quicker they seem to “wild up”. Also there are web sites that give advice on how to hand feed ect, but they dont mention the consequences. I think the bottom line is that people that do hand rear, are doing it with good intentions. These are the very same people that would take a bird to a sanctuary, and indeed the very same people that eventually start up a sanctuary. Also some sanctuarys stop taking birds at busy times of the year, I phoned three other sanctuarys before I found Folly. Jaya
and another thing ! (hee hee) Clearly your talking from a great deal of experience, so I think it would be safe to say that the odd person that finds a baby pigeon and thinks they are doing the wright thing is lacking in knowledge and insight. I work in the pet industry, over the last few years the information out there on how to train dogs and cats ect has tripled. How ever you would still be amazed at the levels of ignorance when it comes to behavour, body language, even house training. Now if us common folk still cant get to grips with domesticated animals, what chance is there when it comes to wildlife.??? People will often find the need to humanize their animals and it is impossible to tell them other wise. ( I know !) Good debate though
Hi Charis,
thank you for your comment. Obviously there is no alternative than to help an orphaned baby. I never said not to hand-rear. The point I was making was that hand-rearing should be left to experienced animal rescuers (such as yourself!). Many people do not realise the commitment needed in rearing baby animals and think they can release them and everything will be fine. A person like yourself – with years of experience and knowledge – knows what to do and can therefore help, however, too often wildlife rescue centres receive young crows, magpies, starlings, pigeons and other birds that are imprinted and cannot be released into the wild. I just thought I should bring up the subject so that the regular people out there can do the right thing by taking an orphaned baby bird to a rescue centre instead of trying to do it themselves. Of course, in many cases there aren’t any experienced carers around and someone has to start from scratch to help.
Hi Jaya, thanks for your comments. I know I was opening a can of worms with the subject but I really wanted to bring it up. (I just have to make trouble, eh?!)
Of course it is possible to rear a baby without it being imprinted. It just depends on how you rear them (if they receive constant human contact or not) and also sometimes it is just down to the individual bird how they react to hand-rearing. At first I feared that baby Liddal was imprinted but he has quickly become wild with his other pigeon friends. You have done a good thing by hand-rearing and giving him a chance to live life.
You make a good point in saying that in many websites there are no warnings or mentionings of the consequences. As well as the fact that there will always be people out there who cannot be bothered to research what to do even though there are people out there who can help. And as you said, the same people who have good intentions are often ones that find sanctuary! – Just like you did!
I must admit that every time I get a bird that needs hand rearing, I am fearfull of the consequences ! Not about me keeping the bird, but more about the birds welfare and happiness. I believe I may of mentioned to yourself (or Cynthia) that I was expecting to keep Judith, however she started to become more detached so I went with it and fingers crossed you guys can work your magic. Rev, Im following your post and waiting for the after shock ! Interesting stuff, Jaya
ps, Many people also assume that if you take a fledgling to a sanctuary that it will be destroyed as some sanctuarys tend to pick and choose what birds they want.
Hi. When I was 12 years old, and on holiday I found an abandoned pigeon and with some instruction, managed to hand-feed it (it was just a few weeks old). It became very tame, living in our home, and grew to be part of the family. My bedroom was her territory, and used to chase my mother out by pecking at her feet. She would follow me to school, and come meet me at close of lessons. She nibbled my fingers like she was preening feathers, and would sleep on my lap, but never attempted to get sexually aroused. Eventually I got a small flock of pigeons, and bit by bit the tame one learned to socialise with them. She even mated and brought up some chicks. Despite this, she always remained tame, and would often bring the rest of the flock into our house. We had her for 14 years. I think she was a good example of how a hand-reared bird can adapt to living with other birds.
Hi Bob, thanks for your comment. It’s lovely to hear about your pigeon and how she managed to integrate with wild pigeons successfully. When done corrrectly, like how you did the introduction, it is successful.
I want to thank you for all the great information you share on your website. I had found a baby pigeon (a few weeks old) after hurricane Sandy here on Long Island N.Y.. I hand reared the little guy not aware of the consequences nor am I regretful of them either. Although the pigeon has lost her identity, she still has her life and I enjoy her company & companionship daily. There’s a reason for everything. In fact she has taught me a few things about life and love, and your website has taught me about pigeons. Thank you so much !
Best regards,
Bryan Reif
Hi Bryan, thank you for commenting. Lovely to hear about your rescued pigeon. I’m glad you gave her a lovely home!!