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Pigeons, A Menace Or A Boon?

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Tamrakshar, Jun 6, 2021.

  1. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    Addendum #9
    It reminds me of popular song and the movie where pigeons played the role of a go-getter.



    pigeons were doing messenger work. The written message tied to their foot and they travel huge distances to deliver the message. It also reminds huge mosques in Charminar hyderabad. Kabudhar khana in BB Dadar comes to mind.

    A pigeon with hurt leg hiding from crow near the motor room in our court yard. I never handled pigeons but then I remembered a boy in our neighbourhood studying veterinary. I went to his home and requested him to help the injured bird at our hovel.

    He readily agreed came along with his kit. I saw a gang of crows and a robust cat were all waiting near the motor room. Luckily I closed the small iron grille of the motor room before I went for the veterinary student.

    After nursing it’s injured part, that boy took away the bird. He politely declined when I offered him some amount toward cost of medicine and his visit.

    Certain things in life are good to watch only from a distance. Pigeon too.
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2021
  2. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanks Paru123 for your response. You were lucky. But, this pigeon couple is desperate, and therefore fearless. My wife has tried all kind of tricks without any result.
     
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  3. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanks Thyagarajan ji for another comment. There is no dearth of pigeon-lovers in this world. My city is no exception. Many people feed them regularly. However, my favourite bird is Indian Mynah.
     
  4. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

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    In the book "Twilight in Delhi", i.e. Delhi just before Spanish Flu, the Novelist lives in big Haveli in Delhi.

    On rooftop he has Pigeon Coup. It is here he also flies kites.
     
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  5. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Though I have not seen, I have also read in novels about pigeon coups on rooftops. There is a famous children novel in Bengali, written by Lila Majumdar, where the precious jewellery was hidden in the pigeon coup.
     
  6. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    upload_2021-6-7_23-18-0.jpeg

    Yes you guessed it right. It is not in a Delhi. It is in commercial capital of India near a central railway local station in the city.
    Tagging @Tamrakshar
     
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  7. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    Yes they can be nuisance but we recorded a video to honor their life in our balcony. We colored the squab red for future identification but it never turned up.



    Pigeons mate for life and rear their broods together, although if one dies the other will take a new mate. Once the simple nest is built, the female lays an egg and then another a day or so later. The incubation period for common pigeons is 17 to 19 days. The female sits on the egg from late afternoon through the night until about 10AM. The male then takes over and does the day shift. Once the eggs hatch, both parents feed the young squabs. The first food is pigeon milk or crop milk, a cheesy substance that appears in the crops of the parents at hatching time and is fed for a week or so. Then the adults start regurgitating partially digested grains for the young. By the time the squabs are ready to fly, about 4 weeks, the father is doing most of the feeding. The squabs are fed for another week to 10 days after they are free-flying. One such squab was hoasted by us in our flower pot.
     
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  8. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

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    Pigeons are more sensible lovers and parents than humans.
     
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  9. SuiDhaaga

    SuiDhaaga IL Hall of Fame

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    This looks nothing like a rooftop of a Haveli!
     
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  10. Mistt

    Mistt IL Hall of Fame

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    @Tamrakshar
    I found some tips to keep away pigeons/birds from plants on google. Hope it may help you.

    1. Clean out nesting materials as soon as you find them. Sometimes the birds realize this might not be a good place to nest and move on. Sometimes….
    2. Stick toothpicks or plastic forks in the soil—this makes it hard for a bird to find a place to situate a nest
    3. Saturate a few cotton balls with peppermint oil and place itend to avoid really strong scents.
    4. Use a fake predator. You can find statues of owls, for example. Whavesome here, as a matter of fact, with heads that move.
    When using a fake snake or owl move it a little every couple of days so birds don’t get “used” to it.

    5. Hang streamers, wind chimes, wind socks or similar items alongside the basket. Their movement will discourage nesting.

    6. At planting, lay light wire mesh over the basket or container, so birds can't get in to build nests.

    7. add a shiny pinwheel to the center of my hanging baskets, it reflect the sunlight and they seem to stay away from the baskets.

    8 Check this video.

    If you already tried everything of which I mentioned here, just ignore my post.
     
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