Dear All,
I have seen the perfect pigeon control on the BBC website. Apparently there is a pelican in one of the london parks gulping down the local pigeons. It has been caught on camera with many witnesses.
Now, what I want to know is does anyone think that pelicans count as wildfowl or poultry with regards to the allotment rules. I mean, one could dispense with brassica nets altogether if you had one of those chaps on your plot.
Also do local pet stores stock them and how much would one cost or would they rentable.... I mean what would it eat after all the pigeons were gone.
Regards Sally Wright.
pigeon controll.
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter
Our allotment society has a commitee meeting this morning where we shall vote whether or not to order a dozen pelicans to be placed strategically around. the site.
The amount of cash saved by not buying netting should cover the cost.
The amount of cash saved by not buying netting should cover the cost.
Guys,
There are battles to be won with admired allies such as pelicans, cats, foxes etc.
The war is being lost. Pigeon numbers are on the increase. Winter rape helps them through the hard months, spring drilling gives them a boost through to harvest and the spilled grain. They suppliment their diet in my veg patch.
Please note though, they [Wood pigeons] are exceptional eating. Strangely more so when accompanied by the crop they were eating when you spotted it! Don't eat a town pigeon. They're likely to be riddled with disease and nasty bugs.
Also make sure its a woody, some doves (protected) look very similar.
Enjoy the free food.
Loz
There are battles to be won with admired allies such as pelicans, cats, foxes etc.
The war is being lost. Pigeon numbers are on the increase. Winter rape helps them through the hard months, spring drilling gives them a boost through to harvest and the spilled grain. They suppliment their diet in my veg patch.
Please note though, they [Wood pigeons] are exceptional eating. Strangely more so when accompanied by the crop they were eating when you spotted it! Don't eat a town pigeon. They're likely to be riddled with disease and nasty bugs.
Also make sure its a woody, some doves (protected) look very similar.
Enjoy the free food.
Loz
If it feeds someone or amuses someone and hurts no-one do it!
Johnboy,
I have a soft spot for pigeons. But it tends to harden in the oven!
My evidence is largely anecdotal, although I can recall a few references to this in the odd book I've read on the subject of pigeons.
Woody's and Feral pigeons are on open general licence meaning that they can be shot where they damage crops. The wood pigeon enjoys (in the main) life on the farm with wide open spaces and trees which don't catch the crap they drop. In spring/summer months the flocks break up and they tend to live in pairs. Much healthier than the huge flocks gathered under the dark arches of inner cities.
There is also a healthy population of feral pigeons that live in and around farm buildings which are generally in good health for lifestyle reasons. BUT when shot, you can often detect that the birds are less healthy than their wing-barred brethren. When plucked you can often see the droppings of insect passengers that you rarely see on a rural woody.
Town pigeons' living conditions are less salubrious. They tend to live in areas that attract other pests and associated disease such as rats. Additionally, if you imagine what they might walk around in you can see that the likelihood of disease and lice or ticks is increased. Their diet would also be a great concern.
I eat lots of stuff others would not (including grey squirrel - recipes available on request). I would not eat a town pigeon, however healthy it looked. Neither, incidentally would Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall [A cook on the wildside] when he caught a trafalgar square specimin with the intention of eating it. He plumped for the far more palletable Thames Carp cooked on the engine of a land rover defender!
Whether or not they are disease ridden is a matter for debate. Pigeon huggers insist they are not and do not represent a threat to public health, councils and pest control companies take the opposite postion. The former because its the easy position to take, the latter cos they make lots of money out of it. The debate goes on. Wikipedia gives a reasonabley balance if brief resume.
I'm sure there'll be some research somewhere that confirms (or otherwise) this assumption . In its asbsence I'd rather caution was exercised.
Loz
I have a soft spot for pigeons. But it tends to harden in the oven!
My evidence is largely anecdotal, although I can recall a few references to this in the odd book I've read on the subject of pigeons.
Woody's and Feral pigeons are on open general licence meaning that they can be shot where they damage crops. The wood pigeon enjoys (in the main) life on the farm with wide open spaces and trees which don't catch the crap they drop. In spring/summer months the flocks break up and they tend to live in pairs. Much healthier than the huge flocks gathered under the dark arches of inner cities.
There is also a healthy population of feral pigeons that live in and around farm buildings which are generally in good health for lifestyle reasons. BUT when shot, you can often detect that the birds are less healthy than their wing-barred brethren. When plucked you can often see the droppings of insect passengers that you rarely see on a rural woody.
Town pigeons' living conditions are less salubrious. They tend to live in areas that attract other pests and associated disease such as rats. Additionally, if you imagine what they might walk around in you can see that the likelihood of disease and lice or ticks is increased. Their diet would also be a great concern.
I eat lots of stuff others would not (including grey squirrel - recipes available on request). I would not eat a town pigeon, however healthy it looked. Neither, incidentally would Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall [A cook on the wildside] when he caught a trafalgar square specimin with the intention of eating it. He plumped for the far more palletable Thames Carp cooked on the engine of a land rover defender!
Whether or not they are disease ridden is a matter for debate. Pigeon huggers insist they are not and do not represent a threat to public health, councils and pest control companies take the opposite postion. The former because its the easy position to take, the latter cos they make lots of money out of it. The debate goes on. Wikipedia gives a reasonabley balance if brief resume.
I'm sure there'll be some research somewhere that confirms (or otherwise) this assumption . In its asbsence I'd rather caution was exercised.
Loz
If it feeds someone or amuses someone and hurts no-one do it!
I once worked with a pigeon fancier and another person whose hoby was shooting.
In a heated debate one day the pigeon fancier said
"I bet you don't know the difference between a wood pigeon and a racing pigeon"
"I do" was the reply.
"OK what's the difference then".
" Well, when you pick up a racing pigeon it has a ring on it's leg".
Regards Gerry.
In a heated debate one day the pigeon fancier said
"I bet you don't know the difference between a wood pigeon and a racing pigeon"
"I do" was the reply.
"OK what's the difference then".
" Well, when you pick up a racing pigeon it has a ring on it's leg".
Regards Gerry.