Care For Lost Pigeons

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This question is asked most often when we receive phone calls about some one finding a pigeon and wanting to return the bird to its’ owner. By knowing the type of pigeon it is, helps us determine which fanciers might be missing a bird. For example, is this a racing homer, or is it a fancy pigeon?

There are many sites on the Internet that show the different varieties of pigeons available, one of which is as follows:

Click here to view gallery

Once you know what kind of pigeon you have found, you need to be able to identify the leg band, which helps us identify the owner. Understanding the leg band can be explained as follows:

The band number consists of the company, club or organization initials that have issued the bands, the year the bird was banded, the individual band number, a local clubs initials and/or the size of band. Sound confusing, here are a few web sites that explain how to read bands. Keep in mind that the order of the numbers on the bands appear differently, depending on which organization issued the bands.

American Racing Pigeon Union >>>
Canadian Racing Pigeon Union >>>
National Pigeon Association >>>
North Road Racing Pigeon Association (Aldergrove, BC) >>>
Mid-Island Racing Pigeon Society (Vancouver Island) >>>

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Having found the organizations initials on the band, you can check the following list for contact information:

Organization Initials
Email Contact or Website Link

Keep in mind that some organizations do not have a band registry program for their members, especially the smaller clubs. Volunteers manage all clubs, and maintaining a band registry can be a large task only managed by large national clubs. If you do not have any success locating the birds’ owner from the list above, you can send an email to info@vancouverfancypigeon.ca. Be sure to list the complete band number and a description of the bird, how long you have been taking care of it, and the condition of the bird i.e., it is healthy, it is injured etc. We will contact you and try to locate the owner. If we are unsuccessful in locating the owner, we may suggest putting the bird up for adoption, either with one of our members, or you may opt to adopt the bird yourself.

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Providing care for a lost pigeon is not that difficult. Here are a few tips that will help you until you can find the bird’s owner:

You can keep the bird in a small cardboard box, providing it has plenty of ventilation. You should provide additional ventilation by creating small holes in the sides of the box. You could also use a small dog or cat crate.? Provide fresh water daily in a small dish or plastic container. If the dish is too large, the bird may want to take a bath in it, which is something that most pigeons like to do. Providing a bath for the pigeon is not recommended at this time, until the owner can assess the birds condition and health.

Pigeons will eat most grains. Wild birdseed mix is a good substitute for traditional pigeon mix. Budgie or canary mix could also be used.