Is it wrong to feed the pigeons?

38 comments

1. It’s fine, as long as you sometimes feed the sparrows too.

   It will give you a sense of enormous wellbeing.

2. People see them as pests, and having worked in areas that are infested with them I know exactly why. That said, it’s your garden, your rules. They’re living creatures at the end of the day.

3. I think the issue with pigeons is they’ll sit and eat absolutely all the food, leaving none for the birds which aren’t selfish fat pricks. You might as well ditch the bird feeders and just throw chips in the high street.

4. It’s up to you which birds you favour feeding. There’s nothing wrong with feeding a wood pigeon. We’ve had to adjust our feeder because the wood pigeons that visit our garden are quite aggressive towards other birds, as well as eating everything put out without giving other birds a chance to even get a peck, so the pigeons get what’s on a feeding tray on a feeding station similar to yours, and the Sparrows, Tits etc. have a separate feeder specific for small birds that the pigeons are unable to get to.

5. Pigeons are native birds as far as I know. There are certain public places, like Trafalgar Square, where they cause problems, and feeding is discouraged, but there’s no reason not to feed them in your own garden. There are people who regard them as vermin and call them ‘flying rats’, but they have their place in the ecosystem. (as do rats)

   They’re pretty amazing birds, in truth. I’ve seen them pull off some spectacular airborne acrobatics on occasions.

6. Don’t leave the pigeons out! We domesticated them and now treat them like vermin. Please continue to feel your pidges! This looks like a wood pidgeon, so not your street pidge anyway 

7. They love a bit of it

8. – Pigeons helped in WW1 and WW2, 32 pigeons were presented with the Dickin Medal
   – Pigeons navigate using landmarks like motorways
   – Pigeons mate for life
   – Pigeons eat the food that rats would otherwise eat. They keep our urban streets clear of food (and keep rat numbers in check!).
   – Pigeons are the Harrier Jumpjets of the bird world, able to take off vertically and accelerate to 100 kph in two seconds.

   Shoutout to Gerold the pigeon and his girlfriend Geralidine, pigeons are cool 😎

   In answer to the question, given how adaptable pigeons are, maybe there’s a way to feed the pigeons but also feed the smaller birds and keep the two separate? I would imagine pigeons don’t have much trouble finding food, while the other birds might.

9. I actually love Pigeons, I think they are such beautiful birds and it’s so sad that people see them as pests.

   Of course I understand that they are a pain and there are so many of them which is the main problem really (other than potentially carrying diseases) but they have just as much right to be here as we do and all they’re trying to do is survive.

10. Each to their own. These used to be farmland birds that became town birds so not really a pest but they do well. It’s the smaller ones that need more help

11. Good luck trying to stop them! The ones in my garden are like terminators lol

12. I use to put food out and had lots of sparrows, robin’s & tits. Then the pigeons took over.

13. My local area is infested with pigeons and magpies who will absolutely pillage any unprotected bird feeder left outside.

    I go for the [squirrel-proof bird feeder](https://amzn.eu/d/39Jsk2O) that has a nice large cage surrounding it. This keeps all but the most determined magpie out.

14. https://preview.redd.it/hydg9rlt0kwe1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9f627daf5c0aa65ef4ff3457ecde1bc083ee19d

15. I feed them, they have their food ontop of the bins and on the grass and the smaller birds have window feeders that the pigeons can’t get to

16. Become ungovernable, feed the birds.

    If you’re worried, you’ve got a Wood Pigeon there – they are wild native birds, and not the domesticated ferals you’ll see in the cities.

    People see the word pigeon and panic as they got suckered into the “rats with wings” thing, but there’s over 300 wild species of Doves and Pigeons all across the globe – and our city dwelling ferals are closer to feral cats than they are too most of the wild species.

    If you’re concerned, I’d recomend putting some smaller feeders as well, what do not have anywhere for the Woodies to perch – even for Pigeons, they’re massive, so it will allow smaller birds to feed as well.

17. We have wood pigeons in the garden that peck around under the feeders. It’s the jackdaws that are the problem at the minute as they are eating all of the fat (suet) coconuts.

18. Pigeons are domesticated birds that have been turned feral as their use in society was made obsolete by the advent of modern communication technology. They’re lovely birds, in general, and get on well with people.

    If you’re happy feeding them, then feed them!

19. My grandparents *despise* pigeons. I have a horrible memory of my grandpa purposely swerving towards one in the road to try and hit it..

    In contrast – my mother once sat with a pigeon that had been hit by a car – She held it as it passed, then buried it under some shrubs. She was in tears. (This isn’t a regular thing she does, it had been an emotional day already iirc xD)

    I absolutely love pigeons, and will feed them whenever I have the opportunity. They’re goofy and whimsical creatures.

20. Those are wood pigeons, they are lovely. Its the ferral street pigeons that give all pigeons a bad name.

21. Pigeons are pretty great, but they will be greedy fucks who sit and eat the entire amount of food you put out without shares.

22. I have this exact feeder but I removed the little water tray as it just encouraged the pigeons. They would splash all the water out within half an hour of it being put out then shit in the tray, then knock all the other food onto the floor. Without the tray they can’t perch to get at the other stuff so I now see more smaller birds. Also, they eat the berries of the laurel then shit massive rocky road bars all over the place that the kids then stand in, so they can do one.

23. These are wood pigeons, a wild native species. They will ground feed from the spillage created by smaller birds, which will tidy up a potential attraction to rats. You could rearrange the items on your pole so that they can’t perch to reach the feeders directly.

24. That’s a wood pigeon. They’re a native species, definitely not pests. I personally wouldn’t even consider feral pigeons (the ones you see in towns) as pests.

25. Absolutely, yes. I’d advise against feeding seagulls though as they can be very vicious and territorial. I recall having to duck behind a transit van on more than one occasion as the nesting seagull at my old workplace repeatedly dive-bombed me inches from my head. I can thank her for helping me stop smoking at least, I was too terrified to nip out for a fag.

26. Its fine as long and they’re really fat and struggle to get a footing on the feeder. I could watch those big fat winged hippos for hours, they’re hilarious.

27. IMO Woodpigeons do not need feeding because there’s plenty of them and they have more than enough food to go around. Furthermore, they will scare off smaller birds too and other pigeons (even actively). Stock doves scare off even the Woodpigeons, but they’re much more rare so I don’t mind them eating.

    Also, Woodpigeons eat grass seeds :-/ so bit of pain in the back if you’re trying to get your grass lovely and green again for the summer.

    So, I have a caged birdfeeder which allows small birds to eat, but prevents larger birds and grey squirrels (non-native, invasive species) from eating, and I would definitely recommend them.

    Small birds need our support, Woodpigeons absolutely do not.

28. There’s a myth that they’re vermin but I think it’s largely unjustified. They’re domesticated so they’ll always be around no matter what you do.

    They don’t harm other birds, in fact the smaller birds in my garden like to eat at the same time as them, presumably because they offer them a degree of protection from magpies, since they’re bigger.

    I usually leave a ground feeder for them while the smaller birds use the hanging feeders. The only problem you might have is that the pigeons are voracious eaters and consequently shit a lot. This one is a wood pigeon and they’re particularly lovely.

29. Pigeons get such an unfair rep, I remember hearing “rats with wings” a lot when I was a kid… When pigeons started out as pets and were promptly abandoned. Carry on feeding sweet Gerold and Geraldine, I hope they continue to bring you joy

30. All creatures should be welcome to your table of offering, I recently made the mistake of chasing the two away who came to mine. I realized how mean it must have been to them and allowed them back. They brought me a small branch and left it there. I was so touched and also felt a hidden burden lift from my heart.

31. Nothing wrong with it at all. I feed them. I sometimes feed the sparrows too.

32. I’m more than happy to feed our pigeons! All birds are welcome in my garden 🐦

33. We have a permanent set of wood pigeons in our garden. There are always nests and the same parents seem to stay and the kids move on.

    I feed them if the weather is bad along with the other birds.

    They are difficult to tell apart but when you can tell you can see their different personalities and they will engage with you.

    One male pigeon started to get feeble as he aged. I fed and watered him specially and talked to him as I did so = and towards the end when flying was difficult he never left the patio.

    He died outside an open bedroom window. Perhaps he got some comfort from being near me at the end. I like to think so.

34. It really depends on your view. I am not a fan personally.

    Feral pigeons often nest in your roofs and rafters (or under solar panels that aren’t bird proofed) and their nests, shit and noise can cause a lot of problems; particularly in older houses that have more nooks and crannies. If they get into your loft, it’s a massive hassle. If they get down your chimneys (if you have them) it’s a massive hassle. We’ve had to spend thousands bird proofing our property after very distressed pigeons got stuck in our chimney, nests caused our gutters to overflow and leak into our bedrooms, and hooting from nesting under our solar panels would regularly wake us up at 5am. Partly – we should have bird proofed when we had them installed, and it’s on us.

    They also mate several times a year, so if they nest on your roof, they will exponentially expand in numbers, meaning a couple of cute pigeons can easily become 20 or more if you’re not careful. That’s really why they’re seen as more of a pest in a ways that most birds aren’t, they’re the bird equivalent of rabbits.

    For that reason – I personally wouldn’t do anything to encourage a pigeon population over other birds.

35. You will be feeding the rats too.

    The birds drop nuts, or parts of nuts, and as soon as a rat can establish a regular source of food like this, they will look to nest nearby. Somewhere warm, like your house.

    They can squeeze around waste pipes, or climb up drains. Their ribs fold nearly flat so if they can squeeze their head through a small gap, the rest of the body can follow.

36. Weird. We have Geoff and his Mrs. We put the food out for the crows, jackdaws and magpies in the area, and they somehow invited themselves over and eat EVERYTHING unless I’m standing there.

37. Nothing wrong with feeding this big fat wood pigeons as they are great entertainment – they are UTTER MORONS and just waddle about confused by everything. One of our regular wood pigeons has figured out how to divebomb the bird feeders so stuff falls out ***and the idiot looks surprised each and every time it does it***

38. It’s just a weird bias people who grew up in Urban areas have. They see Pigeons as the “rats of the sky” when they are literally just normal birds.

    The only legitimate concern would be if they were eating all the food as Pigeons are very capable of scavenging by themselves so having them eat the feed for the more vulnerable birds like Sparrows and Blue Tits might be an issue (A pigeon isn’t likely to be taken out by a sparrowhawk for example).

    Apart from that I think they are very useful as they eat all the food that the other birds drop on the floor thus preventing it from attracting rats. I’d recommend shooing them away from actually sitting on your feeder so the smaller birds have a chance.

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