My pigeon Mollie

[cfulhage]

I have already told the story of how Mollie came to live with me, but I thought I would share some pictures with commentary about her care and the kind of temperment she has. This is long, so if you're not interested in pigeons, than skip this thread. I just think they are such great birds, and not many people know much about them. BTW, sorry if these pictures are weird sizes- I still can't figure out what I'm doing wrong...

This is a picture of the shelterbelt of trees where her cage is (you can actually see some of my sheep on the very right. Edit: pic is too small) . Our house is about 30 feet behind the camera. She lives outside year round, and gets out to fly around a few times a week.


Here is the tree house my dad, brother, and I built about 10 or so summers ago. It is starting to sag a bit, but you can see Mollie's cage underneath it. It used to be our rabbits cage.


This is just a close up of her cage. It is divided in 2 because we had 2 rabbits. However the divider didn't keep the rabbits separated, and it doesn't keep Mollie on one side exclusively. She can go over the top among a few other ways. She seems to love her cage. After she has been out for awhile (even as little as 5 minutes), she will follow me right back in there and hop back in her cage.


This picture is a funny one, and actually very typical. Mollie has no known fears. The cats, save one, are rather indifferent leaning toward scared of her. My cat Simon will actually play with her- it's so cute. I wanted to get a picture of that, but he is still in the house nursing his broken leg. The dogs are petrified, and in this picture, she is chasing Sophie. Mollie thinks it's a game and gets so excited- the faster she runs, the faster her little head bobs and the louder her coos get. She is very playful, and very easy going.


Next is a picture of her flying to me on command. She usually comes when I call, especially when I am heading in the direction of her cage. She is very smart. A few years ago I let her out on a very windy summer day (Remember, I live in Kansas, so "very windy" means near tornado-like conditions). She flew up and the wind caught her and carried her clear up and over the shelterbelt. We looked and looked and couldnt find her. It got dark, so we gave up. I was distraught of course, but wouldn't you believe it, the next morning she was walking up the sidewalk when I looked out the window.


Finally, a few pictures of the 2 of us. She is very sweet, but doesn't know the slightest about stepping up. It makes it difficult to handle her. However, she has gotten used to me wrapping my hands around her and carrying her that way. I don't know how much she weighs, but it's more than Ollie. Her wingspan we figure is about 20 to 21 inches. She (who is actually a He we believe) is a pretty chunky bird.


Mollie eats just wild bird seed, and whatever crop my dad has on hand that he throws in there- corn, milo, wheat, soybeans, sunflower heads. She is not a pet in the same sense that Dakota and Ollie are, but I love her to death. I think pigeons are great birds to own, and I am so thankful that I had the chance to raise her from a baby chick.

[Joel]

Great pics Camille.....Wish I could let all my flock members fly free and then come back when called.... :)

[poi_lover]

How neat that you can let her fly around like that. That pic of her chasing the dog is funny!