Ultrastu Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 Do Any members reckon that wood pigeon eat snails. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hambone Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 (edited) Only if they are cooked in garlic butter ? Don't see why not however, a lot of birds are opportunist by nature Edited August 11, 2018 by hambone has got time to improve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 yes they definately do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 yes, especially the French pigeons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 Pigeons will eat snails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultrastu Posted August 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 Well reason i ask is i was just butchering a load of pige for the freezer when a shell caught my eye in the crop .on investigation this bird had eaten 3 of them .this is a first for me . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 Yep, had similar a couple of years ago with about a dozen pigeons that each had six to eight small snails like the ones in your photo. I will go back through my game book to find out what crop I was shooting over and report back, but I think that it was laid wheat, which would make sense with the snails possibly climbing up the stalks. Just shows what an opportunist bird the wood pigeon is. OB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 Amazing how they manage to grind those up in their gizzards. Certainly the first time I have seen it in 60yrs of cleaning pigeons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 14 minutes ago, Walker570 said: Amazing how they manage to grind those up in their gizzards. Certainly the first time I have seen it in 60yrs of cleaning pigeons. Surely snails are more 'grindable/digestible' than dry beans or even acorns. OB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 I was thinking the shells, but yes, your right. Certainly, horse beans and even wheat is as hard but may be moistened and softened somewhat in the crop prior to passing into the gizzard. The snail shells would not. A heron will swallow a rat or duckling whole and manages to dissolve and grind the bones so I suppose the snail shells would be no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultrastu Posted August 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 You dont suppose the bird picked these snails up as very small youngsters (thinking they were grain ).and they have grown inside the crop ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 (edited) 58 minutes ago, Ultrastu said: You dont suppose the bird picked these snails up as very small youngsters (thinking they were grain ).and they have grown inside the crop ? I would very much doubt that. I thought it was fairly common knowledge amongst pigeon shooters that they will eat snails. Edited August 12, 2018 by motty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultrastu Posted August 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 Ive not come across it before . Why do they eat them then ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClemFandango Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 High protein I would imagine. Most birds eat snails. I have shot pigeons on and near the foreshore with winkles in their crops on a few occasions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead eye alan Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 Seen this many times normally at this time of year, may be due to needing calcium for egg production. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 I have seen woodies pecking at a road kill rabbit . harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 6 hours ago, Walker570 said: Amazing how they manage to grind those up in their gizzards. Certainly the first time I have seen it in 60yrs of cleaning pigeons. Yes, I've had birds with little else but snails in their crop so they must be able to grind them up. On the same note a wild turkey I shot this spring had a few complete hazel nuts in it's crop. Now that would take some grinding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenholland Posted August 12, 2018 Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 had a crop full of them a couple of years back , spoke to peter theobold and he said he had seen it many times over the years , variety is the spice of life has they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lord_seagrave Posted August 19, 2018 Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 (edited) Slightly off-topic, but I was fascinated to see footage of a Lammergeier in Ethiopia swallowing huge pieces of bone - apparently its stomach juices are more corrosive than battery acid Nature is brilliant, isn’t it⸮ LS Edited August 19, 2018 by lord_seagrave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted August 19, 2018 Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 3 hours ago, lord_seagrave said: Slightly off-topic, but I was fascinated to see footage of a Lammergeier in Ethiopia swallowing huge pieces of bone - apparently its stomach juices are more corrosive than battery acid Nature is brilliant, isn’t it⸮ LS your gut ph is between 1.5 - 3 and battery acid around 1, it is super strong and made up of potassium chloride and hydroclhorid acid among others. Your own gut does not dissolve as it constantly makes proteins by globlet cells which produce a thick mucous that protects the stomach lining and the lining is constantly being replaced. Yep it is highly corrosive and can deal with bone. This is one of the reasons that gastroesophageal reflux can damage your gut lining as the acid gets up into areas where there is not the protective globlet cells. . I would surmise that the crop of a piggie deals with them no problem as an important mineral source. As humans we have teeth and can masticate (chew our food) Wonder if pigeons also use the snail shells as Wrangle mastication to break down the hard outer husks of grains in the same process that game birds and raptors use wrangle in their crop, such as grit. atb 7diaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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