Wood in Wood Pigeon crop?

[Pangolin]

Evening,

Just had a few pigeons from around the grain sheds. As I was dressing them I noticed the crop was heaving on one of them, cut it open to find it was full of wood!

Is this just because they're greedy or some extreme pigeon diet supplement?

[London Best]

New one on me!

[Pangolin]

As you can see, its rammed full of it, Strange.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Pangolin

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Do woodpigeons suffer from eating disorders?

[aga man]

Interesting🤔 looks like the stems of something chopped up. Maize perhaps.

Can you think of any such thing in the area?

 

[DUNKS]

What do you expect from WOOD pigeons

[ditchman]

perhaps they need the wood  (softer than stone) to pre grind the rape leaf prior to it reaching the gizzard ??

[Pangolin]

3 minutes ago, aga man said:

Interesting🤔 looks like the stems of something chopped up. Maize perhaps.

Can you think of any such thing in the area?

 

Cant think of any crops like that near but it was definitely wood, like pieces that had been chewed up by a flair mower and dried out, rock hard.

1 minute ago, ditchman said:

perhaps they need the wood  (softer than stone) to pre grind the rape leaf prior to it reaching the gizzard ??

Possible, just seemed an excessive amount, it was nearly bursting.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Pangolin

[aga man]

Just now, Pangolin said:

Cant think of any vrops like that mear but it was definitely wood, like pieces that had been chewed up by a flair mower and dried out, rock hard.

Bizzare!

[JDog]

Pangolin, does the farm where you shot the pigeon have beef cattle?

[Pangolin]

Just now, JDog said:

Pangolin, does the farm where you shot the pigeon have beef cattle?

No, all arable.

[JDog]

19 minutes ago, Pangolin said:

No, all arable.

I thought it might be dried sugar beet or turnips fed to cattle over winter. That can go woody.

[Pangolin]

49 minutes ago, JDog said:

I thought it might be dried sugar beet or turnips fed to cattle over winter. That can go woody.

It think you're right, he does grow turnips to sell as feed, the beet is going in soon.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Pangolin

[GingerCat]

I had a dry chalk like substance in one once. I took a pic but no one knew what it was. Definitely had eaten it as some had square edges, powdered like chalk when pressed with the flat of a knife but other wise hard and almost like a brittle cheese. Crop was full of it. 

[Pangolin]

See if I get anymore like this tomorrow, having another go at decoying. My first go was unsuccessful....

[51/50]

Fascinating!,i'd never have thought a wood pigeon could swallow anything so big,i've never seen anything like that in a woodies crop,every day's a school day!

[Mr wilberts]

Looks like it was something small to start with like a seed of some sort. It's swollen in the crop 🤔

[Rimfireboy]

Edwood Woodpigeon......🐦

it wood have been hungry or it wood not have eaten the wood. 😀

[kenholland]

shot a pigeon , inside it's crop was full of small shell snails.

[lakeside1000]

I had a few pigeons from close to some horse turnout areas, horses had been moved to a new location, the birds crops were full of rotting straw, horse muck and some rotting wheat, the smell was gut wrenching and I almost threw up just trying to clean them out, worst I have ever seen or smelled. 

That's a weird one, could not decide on the past tense for smell so I googled it,Smelled is the past tense of smell in both North American and British English. Smelt is also used as the past tense of smell in British English. Brits use smelled and smelt interchangeably, but speakers in North America rarely use smelt.

[Jim Neal]

10 hours ago, lakeside1000 said:

I had a few pigeons from close to some horse turnout areas, horses had been moved to a new location, the birds crops were full of rotting straw, horse muck and some rotting wheat, the smell was gut wrenching and I almost threw up just trying to clean them out, worst I have ever seen or smelled. 

That's a weird one, could not decide on the past tense for smell so I googled it,Smelled is the past tense of smell in both North American and British English. Smelt is also used as the past tense of smell in British English. Brits use smelled and smelt interchangeably, but speakers in North America rarely use smelt.

 

On 02/04/2021 at 22:20, kenholland said:

shot a pigeon , inside it's crop was full of small shell snails.

I shot a pheasant a couple of seasons ago and burst its crop with the shot.  It was full of small snails.  That was the most rancid smell I have ever experienced;  to put that into context, in the past I have cleaned up a flat full of rotten, maggot ridden meat and also cleaned a rug that somebody died on.