White pigeon advice please

[craiggoswell]

hello

 

i currently shoot on a local farm and have been asked by the farmer to help out around the cattle sheds. They have lots of chickens and the food bill has gone through the roof due to the pigeons in and around the farm buildings. However although some of them are defiantly ferals the others are pure white all over, what i obviously don't want to do is shoot something i shouldn't. What are they, they are about the same size as the ferals and look similiar except the colour.

 

Can anyone help i have searched the internet a lot and can only find that there either stock doves or white ferals.

 

Thanks

[contrysports]

they could be white doves i'm not sure about the law on shooting them but if your superstitious then it won't bring you much luck or as you said they could be ferals. We won't be able to tell without actually seeing them

[Tod]

There most probably doves that have been released to celebrate something or for a funeral that have gone feral. Not sure about the legal side of shooting them.

[craiggoswell]

Thanks for your replies i will try and get a picture at some point

[Cranfield]

They could be white ferals, or someones prized doves.

 

Ask the Farmer if he knows of anyone locally who keeps doves, you could also have a look around the area yourself.

You could leave the pure white ones and remove the others first.

Its a debateable point , but if they are on the Farmers property, eating the chicken food and no doubt making a mess with droppings, then surely he has the right to cull them.

[craiggoswell]

Its definatley a tricky one the farmer wants them gone because of the food bill this year and the mess their making over all the new calf and i want to keep him happy but at the same time dont want to be doing something i shouldnt

[CharlieT]

White doves that become feral soon interbreed with their feral cousins and the offspring are no longer pure white. If you have pure white doves you can almost guarantee that they come from someones dovecote and are their pride and joy.

 

It would be illegal to shoot them under the terms of the General License. Feral pigeons are Columba livia whereas white doves are Streptoprlia risoria.

[Dekers]

White doves that become feral soon interbreed with their feral cousins and the offspring are no longer pure white. If you have pure white doves you can almost guarantee that they come from someones dovecote and are their pride and joy.

 

It would be illegal to shoot them under the terms of the General License. Feral pigeons are Columba livia whereas white doves are Streptoprlia risoria.

 

Sounds pretty close to me, a picture would be interesting/helpful!

 

But whatever, if health or other issues can be shown Natural England may be tempted to issue a special licence!

[craiggoswell]

I will get some pictures next time I'm there. The previous time we went there we also saw some pigeons that were again white but had shades of brown and grey across their backs and tops of wings any idea what these were.

[stubby]

I will get some pictures next time I'm there. The previous time we went there we also saw some pigeons that were again white but had shades of brown and grey across their backs and tops of wings any idea what these were.

ferals that have bred with white ones, a bit like a mongrel dog/heinz 57,

classed as ferals,

[Mochastorm]

I have kept racing pigeons in the past and had all of the colours previously mentioned, although the white ones do sound like escapees (feral) ornamental doves.

[Stealth Stalker]

I would catch the white ones up ( easily done with a pigeon trap) and flog em as doves...everyones a winner

[hawkfanz]

have a look at fieldsports.tv theres one episode that shows regular roy lupton at his own place,they have the doves and when they get too many around he culls them with air rifle and he deliberatly keeps them,monks kept them in dovecots for food.

[CharlieT]

have a look at fieldsports.tv theres one episode that shows regular roy lupton at his own place,they have the doves and when they get too many around he culls them with air rifle and he deliberatly keeps them,monks kept them in dovecots for food.

Thats because they belong to him and therefore he can kill them. They may not be shot under the terms of the GL.

[al4x]

surely on that basis they belong to the farmer when on his land? or is there an exception in law making doves livestock or the likes.

[CharlieT]

surely on that basis they belong to the farmer when on his land? or is there an exception in law making doves livestock or the likes.

 

Remember that every bird is protected and only game birds etc or those that come under the GL may be shot. Bit like a neighbours Peafowl straying onto your land and then being shot, the owner would be able to sue for damages and the police if they were so minded may take action.

[al4x]

Remember that every bird is protected and only game birds etc or those that come under the GL may be shot. Bit like a neighbours Peafowl straying onto your land and then being shot, the owner would be able to sue for damages and the police if they were so minded may take action.

 

indeed but were you to shoot your own chicken I assume you wouldn't commit an offence, presumably it comes down somewhere along the lines of whether they are wild birds as per the protected ones or released / domestic pets effectively. Round here they seem to interbreed with ferals and people who keep them tend to end up feeding masses of feral crosses with a few white ones thrown in, as ever in these situations it can be best to do it discretely and remove the evidence, in this case I would try lamping them round the buildings with an airgun. If they are roosting and living there then odds are they aren't going home to a dove cote

[Dekers]

indeed but were you to shoot your own chicken I assume you wouldn't commit an offence, presumably it comes down somewhere along the lines of whether they are wild birds as per the protected ones or released / domestic pets effectively. Round here they seem to interbreed with ferals and people who keep them tend to end up feeding masses of feral crosses with a few white ones thrown in, as ever in these situations it can be best to do it discretely and remove the evidence, in this case I would try lamping them round the buildings with an airgun. If they are roosting and living there then odds are they aren't going home to a dove cote

 

Has it been decided they are Feral?

 

Bit of a new on to me and I've not really given it any thought before, BUT, a pedigree, thoroughbred, pure (call it what you will) White dove breeds with a pigeon, does that instantly make it a feral and therefore potential quarry?

 

Put simply,when does it stop being a Dove and become a Feral?

[al4x]

Put simply,when does it stop being a Dove and become a Feral?

 

I have to say feral probably covers it simply if you check the dictionary definition I'm sure the mongrel of the pigeon world would fit it. But its interesting as we have Mr Lupton culling some and the opinion on that is its fine but a farmer having to put up with the mess from some can't shoot them. Its interesting as I'd throw in how does Mr Lupton know they are his and not just popping round at feed time, we used to have a neighbour when we were kids who got a dove cote and his 5 white doves expanded into 50 rapidly then 70 and were a mix till we got an airgun but they also used to fly between two other dove cotes as and when the food was put out

[malantone]

surely if these white birds are roosting and feeding at the farm, then they have gone ferral and as such can be shot, like the escapee Boar,

 

:- Feral pigeons (Columba livia), also called city doves, city pigeons, or street pigeons, are derived from domestic pigeons that have returned to the wild.^[1] The domestic pigeon was originally bred from the wild Rock Dove, which naturally inhabits sea-cliffs and mountains.^[2] Rock (i.e. 'wild'), domestic and feral pigeons are all the same species and will readily interbreed. Feral pigeons find the ledges of buildings to be a substitute for sea cliffs, have become adapted to urban life, and are abundant in towns and cities throughout much of the world.

 

 

If the owner of these white birds hasn`t bothered to come for them and they continue to live at the farm then they have gone feral

[turbo33]

Fantails I suspect They start off in someones dove cote and often stray taking up residence in a more appealing place than a wendy house up a pole!! They bread like flies and readily cross with other ferals. I guess the question is as Dekers says, at what point do they become ferals I can't imagine it can be proved without DNA and a database (even if one even exists), and who's going to go down that route, police? Tricky one on ownership though. Pheasants strolling onto your land become yours as they are inherantly a wild bird. Racing pigeons have an owner, until they decide not to fly home and I presume after they have been in your barn for several months they morph into ferals? Its a tangled web

Edited April 8, 2013 by turbo33

[Dekers]

Fantails I suspect They start off in someones dove cote and often stray taking up residence in a more appealing place than a wendy house up a pole!! They bread like flies and readily cross with other ferals. I guess the question is as Dekers says, at what point do they become ferals I can't imagine it can be proved without DNA and a database (even if one even exists), and who's going to go down that route, police? Tricky one on ownership though. Pheasants strolling onto your land become yours as they are inherantly a wild bird. Racing pigeons have an owner, until they decide not to fly home and I presume after they have been in your barn for several months they morph into ferals? Its a tangled web

 

I was just going to ask about that!

Edited April 8, 2013 by Dekers

[craiggoswell]

Thanks for all your replies really helpful

[goodo123]

Set up a trap, should be simple enough then take them to blue cross or wherever coupled with a bill for all the grain they have ate.