Hand-raised pigeons,
trained to trust you.

My pigeons come with a split aluminum band ($5 on Etsy) with my phone number on it. For safety reasons I keep the band on when the bird goes to a new home so you have time to order your own if you want. They're split bands, easy to get off and on with pliers. Since the birds are very well trained, if one got lost it would just land on another human, who'd see the number and call.

Pigeons are granivores. Seed or pellet mix both work fine, mine are trained to eat both so they're not picky. I personally prefer a mix lower in corn.

• Seed mix: Etsy listing
• Pellet mix: Mazuri Checkers, Chewy

Also available on Amazon or at local pet stores with a bird section. Keep grit available at all times, it helps digestion. I don't feed treats, since it can make birds picky.

Pigeons prefer wide enclosures over tall ones. Dog crates work well. I like ones with a slide-out bottom tray for easy cleaning. Look on Amazon or Facebook Marketplace, cages there often already come with a perch, flat platform, and nest box.

For water, use a poultry-style waterer so they can't bathe in it (search "pigeon waterer" on Amazon). I keep one in the cage and one in my living room.

My birds are diaper-trained, so cleanup is minimal. Pigeon poop is easy to clean and doesn't smell or stain nearly as much as people expect.

• FanzyPants: around $43 plus shipping, customizable with measurements and name
• PigeonPants: around $33 for one, $51 for two, free shipping
• Budget option on Amazon: $10 to $15, what I mostly use while birds are still growing (measure with a flexible tape, I go with Large for bigger birds)

I usually leave a diaper on for 4 to 8 hours depending on the bird, some poop more than others. Test at the 4-hour mark to see how full it is, you can always swap in a fresh one. It is safe to trim vent feathers to help with poopy butts.

The bird is new to you and has been learning to fly to me, so work on recalling for a couple days to get the bird knowing to fly to you. I help this by using the salt shaker, so they already know how to fly to that. Simply make your sound (clucking, come here, etc) and then use the salt shaker and reward the bird.

• Reward in small amounts if you're going to do it a lot, big amounts if they did good or you only want to practice a couple times
• I recommend feeding on your shoulder too, pigeons are very good with association, so wherever you feed becomes a place they want to be
• Sprinkle a little seed wherever you want them to nest. We make crochet nests too, available for an extra $25 if that interests you
• Feed right after putting the diaper on so they associate it with something good
• Birds don't naturally like being grabbed, so reinforce it with food afterward
• Hand-feed daily to keep them tame, I include a feeding container and starter food with each bird
• Feed little by little throughout the day rather than all at once, that way you can constantly reward them
• If a bird stops listening to recall it just means they're full

My birds are trained to free fly to help build their confidence and trust in humans. I do not recommend it and it's not my goal to give you a free flight pigeon, my goal is to give you a trained calm pet pigeon. That said, you're free to continue training outside if you want, but you have to understand the risks. In 6 years I have never lost a bird to a predator or to flying off, but my training is extensive and I never free fly if I see predator birds in the sky. I'd personally recommend just using a leash and taking your bird on walks to be safe.

Only free-fly a hungry bird outside. I do training with food rewards rather than flying them on a full stomach. I bring water and grit along in case they want it after training, grit especially helps stop them from pecking at rocks on the ground. Common sense wise, don't free fly where you see hawks or falcons.

Diapers with a leash attachment are available if you want to cut the risk further. My birds do great on a leash thanks to their training and recall, so if they try to jump down they don't freak out. I use a leash in crowded public spots like festivals, since a flying bird can startle people who aren't expecting it. I prefer training at parks with fewer people around. Don't worry if your bird tries to jump off while leashed, just put them back on your shoulder, it's safe. I actually recommend having a full stomached bird when using a leash, offer grit and water and they'll be more chill. It's a great way to bond with your bird.

If you have no interest in free-flying, that's completely fine. These birds make excellent house pets and will fly to you indoors all the time regardless. It's a risk you take by taking a bird outside, I can't guarantee everything goes perfectly. I guarantee you a trained and relaxed bird.

An air purifier is highly recommended, as pigeons are quite dusty. Plenty of general pigeon care guides exist online for things like bathing or nail trims, this guide just covers what I personally do, not a full encyclopedia.

You can't tell until they lay an egg (around 6 months) or you DNA test a feather for about $25. Hand-raised pigeons show behaviors from both sexes, so you can't go by behavior either. There's no real difference as a pet unless you plan to breed. If you end up with a female who lays eggs, you'll want "fake eggs" on hand.

Pigeons bond to humans as mates, so after 2 to 3 months old they may try to "mate" with you or wing-slap. It just means they like you, think of it as a horny-teenager phase that passes. Their bites feel more like a pinch and their noise isn't nearly as loud or startling as a parrot's. My birds are usually sold before this phase kicks in. At sale age they're still squeaking, just starting to coo.

One is totally fine if you spend time with it, they're hand-raised and bond naturally to humans. They also do well with a second pigeon for company, though whether they end up "pairing" depends on the individual birds. I haven't noticed much behavioral difference between owners keeping 1, 2, or 3. They're all pretty chill and social either way, since they grow up socializing with other pigeons already.

The $200 birds are fully trained and ready to bond immediately. The $100 option is for people who want to finish flight training themselves or want a more hands-on, grow-with-me experience. Both are great pets, just different levels of involvement. Under $200 is for a bird trained with a late start.

Varies based on which breeders have babies available. Mostly rollers and tumblers, occasionally German Owls, Classic Frills, etc. I personally have one Birmingham Roller breeding pair and I'm working on getting a Classic Frill pair and a German Owl pair. Birds from those will run $250 since they're fancier breeds with smaller beaks, so harder to feed. Color is mostly random, but I can send photos of available birds.

Yes. If you want a specific breed, I can point you toward finding a breeder, but I won't source it for you, that part takes a lot of time and driving on my end. If you bring me a baby, I charge $100 per 10 days of training. I recommend 20 days. Ideal age to start is 2 to 3 weeks old, though I'll train adult birds too (can't guarantee friendliness with adults). I don't free-fly adult birds I train, but they recall great as house pets. You'll get progress updates plus an in-person session showing you how it works, and I post training videos on social media too.

For comparison, a pigeon from a hatchery like Stromberg's runs around $300 shipped, and that bird could be anywhere from 3 to 18 months old and untamed. You're paying that much for an adult bird with no hand-raising or training behind it. I think $200 for a fully hand-raised, trained, socialized bird is a good deal, especially compared to parrots, which are far less domesticated and still sell for thousands. I hand-feed multiple times a day and spend real time with each bird. My main income is teaching country dancing (10 to 20 hrs/week), which is what gives me the time to do this properly.

I used to travel training horses and exotics (zebras, camels, water buffalo, alpacas, etc.) but got frustrated with how people treated and trained their animals, so I stepped back from public training. I still train privately for the Salt River wild horse management group and occasionally help someone out. These days I teach country dancing at Scootin' Boots in Mesa, but pigeons are still my passion project.