ill pigeons?

cd07

Hi lads I've been shooting a fair few pigeons the past few weeks and just wondering if anyone else had noticed how thin and under weight the birds are when there is such an abundance of food for them ie rape and cabbage?

sniperman

cd07 wrote: »

Hi lads I've been shooting a fair few pigeons the past few weeks and just wondering if anyone else had noticed how thin and under weight the birds are when there is such an abundance of food for them ie rape and cabbage?

ya,mate of mine gave me a few,hardly worth preparing,very little meat:eek:

cd07

sniperman wrote:

ya,mate of mine gave me a few,hardly worth preparing,very little meat

I know theyre hardly worth bringing home dunno whats wrong with them

270WIN

seen a few like that around here too...id say tis the constant wettings from all the cold rain for the past 4 months...seen lots of em sitting on hedges, miserable looking, and you could almost catch them yourself.

Birdnuts

I've noticed this too around Blessington. Could very well be the awfull wet winter but possibly disease too of the type that's been hitting finches for the last few years which is associated with damp conditions.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/pigeon-disease-kills-one-in-three-greenfinches-2056308.html

meathstevie

I'd put my money on near non stop rain since November and the absence of the rich autumn and late summer foods.

daithi55

the rain has them bet.. they dont like feeding in it..
massive field of rape near my house and it was only getting hit by pigeons when the weather was good.. which wasnt often
as stated above noticed a lot of them taking shelter in ivy bushes the whole winter avoiding the rain..

even the roost shooting was bad this year as it didnt give enough over head protection.. with the lack of leaves.. i noticed a lot of pigeons roosting in pine trees etc for a change