Pigeons and barley.

[Britsmoothy]

Pigeons are a curse, at the natural gas compressor station where I worked for the last twenty+ years. If not checked, they'll cover the floors and the equipment in deep layers of manure. And the manure can carry a deadly fungus that's killed at least one person I know of...

A couple of years ago I carried a .22 cal., top-break pellet gun into the #1 compressor building, and over the next three or four days carried twenty seven of the fat feathered rats out in plastic bags. All done very discreetly after regular business hours, of course. The next year there weren't nearly as many, because there wasn't a whole generation returning home to nest.

And yes, they were tasty. Think pigeons in gravy... They're just oversized doves, and out in the country they eat what the doves eat.

The woodpigeon is a clean bird generally but them that we call town pigeons or feral pigeons are a health risk.
I've done a lot of shooting in farm buildings of feral type pigeons.
They are derivatives of the rock pigeon that live on coastal cliffs or some are escaped racing pigeons.

An air rifle and flashlight at night is best for that job.

 

[gunnyr]

Pigeons are a curse, at the natural gas compressor station where I worked for the last twenty+ years. If not checked, they'll cover the floors and the equipment in deep layers of manure. And the manure can carry a deadly fungus that's killed at least one person I know of...

A couple of years ago I carried a .22 cal., top-break pellet gun into the #1 compressor building, and over the next three or four days carried twenty seven of the fat feathered rats out in plastic bags. All done very discreetly after regular business hours, of course. The next year there weren't nearly as many, because there wasn't a whole generation returning home to nest.

And yes, they were tasty. Think pigeons in gravy... They're just oversized doves, and out in the country they eat what the doves eat.

I worked for seven years at a Haydite plant ( light weight aggregate used in pre-stressed cement ) My job was to
grease the bearings on the screens and check the screens for damage. We also had a pigeon problem I used a old
22 cal rifle using bird shot was death on pigeons and not shoot holes in the roof. I would shut all the doors and
windows , just me and the pigeons, a regular kill house. After a week or so no more trouble ,blocked screens or chutes
gunny

 

[troy2000]

The woodpigeon is a clean bird generally but them that we call town pigeons or feral pigeons are a health risk.
I've done a lot of shooting in farm buildings of feral type pigeons.
They are derivatives of the rock pigeon that live on coastal cliffs or some are escaped racing pigeons.

An air rifle and flashlight at night is best for that job.

We raised pigeons for eating when I was a kid, and ate them as 'squabs,' usually marinated and baked whole like small Cornish hens. Squabs were plump, over-fed young pigeons, who were nearly full-grown but hadn't started flying yet. The theory was that the exercise from flying would make them lose weight and become tougher and less juicy, although I don't remember anyone ever running any experiments to prove it.

I do know that slow-simmered compressor building pigeons are plenty tender and tasty... And I didn't need flashlights for them, They reliably came flying in each evening, starting about an hour before sunset.

 

[Brazos John]

Troy 2000 said, "We raised pigeons for eating when I was a kid, and ate them as 'squabs,' usually marinated and baked whole like small Cornish hens. Squabs were plump, over-fed young pigeons, who were nearly full-grown but hadn't started flying yet. The theory was that the exercise from flying would make them lose weight and become tougher and less juicy, although I don't remember anyone ever running any experiments to prove it."

On a trip through Louisiana this summer, we stopped at a plantation that became a state park. The plantation had a couple of houses for raising squab, which was a common practice back in the plantation days. The pigeons could come and go as they pleased, but the squab were Sunday dinner.

 

[hanshi]

I no longer have an outlet for many shot birds feltwad. My gamekeeper closed years ago. If I do get many coming in I offer them to a friend that freezes them in many freezers until he has enough to make the long trip to a game dealer viable.
He is am avid pigeon shooter. I got him on an arable farm near me a few years ago. He had 110 pigeons a couple of weeks ago on there, they were feeding on chick weed.
That is why I prefer crow shooting now, I don't have to have a conscience with them things.

Now, I've had to eat crow a few times in my life, so don't tell me you never eat crow.