pigeons

[TheClash]

was out on a farm shooting some clays pigeons the other day...but there were a lot of real pigeons flying around as well.....what are folks thoughts on taking a couple of these birds?.....are they ok to eat? i would never think of eating one in the city...but this is waaaay out in the country...grain fed birds......and if so...are they open to shoot or do i have to have a permit?

sorry i guess i could look in the regs for the permit answer..but i am at work.....and have to leave my desk for an hour or so now..thought i would just ask it on here...

[Scott N]

It's legal to shoot them, so why not? They don't seem very appetizing to me personally, but if I'm not mistaken, they are quite popular to eat in the US in certain states. I think they may refer to them as squab or something like that. What ever floats your boat! And no, you don't need a license or permit.

[Redfrog]

I've shot and eaten lots of pigeons. They are no different than doves.

No permit or season. Some times referred to as rock doves. If you get a few, toss them on the ground with the wings spread the rest decoy well.

[TheClash]

thanks guys..i may have to try some...

[Gunner22a]

Have used pigeons to train every dog that I have had. Catch the same birds time after time (the ones I didn't shoot). Not exactly the brightest creature put on the planet. They call them Wood pigeons in England and they are shot for sport by almost every hunter over there and you will find them on the menu's of some of the most notable restaurants in the country. I'll stick to grouse.

[Donny Bear]

Have ate them on occasion the Term Squab I believe reffers to younger birds I guess preffered to older birds I don't mind them at all it is good retriever practice in the off season lol. Most farmers are more than happy to have numbers reduced and it can be an in for other hunting oppertunities:D

[nekred]

yes in restaurants, many people may have eaten them....

Known as squab or Cornish game hen!....:D

[nekred]

Just kidding about the Cornish game hen!....

but they are same size.... makes you wonder where they come from!...

my brother hadthem at his wedding so when i toasted him i asked how eveyone liked eating Pigeon!... Since they are same size....

Almost everyone believed me!.....

[Donny Bear]

Not to be difficult but Cornish game hens are of the chicken family not a pigeon.

[nekred]

Correct!...

But Order Galliformes....which contains, chickens, grouse, pheasants, quail, pigeons etc. (galliformes) is Latin for "Chicken-like"

Gallinacious birds quite often are refered to as the "chicken family" even when it is a misnomer.....contain most of our upland birds!...and are considered edible!.....

Order Anserifirmes is waterfowl....

[Versatile]

Or you could catch them to train your dog :) whatever you dont shoot I would be interested in myself.

[TheClash]

true...but i am not interested in keeping pigeons.....would be good i know. but just not something i am going to do. more than anything i just didn't want to "waste" a bird if it is "safe" to eat and does not taste like the back end of a rhino.....

i know that when i lived in phoenix there were a bunch of homeless people the dies from eating city pigeons. just did not want to end up that way. i figured these "farm" birds would be ok...just wanted to make sure.

[nekred]

have you seen chickens... probably much dirtier!....

[shootermcgavin]

sounds like fun!

Anyone know any spots with alot of pigeons around calgary?

[lippy]

Pigeons are a common name for Rock Doves. In the "olden" days - late fifties..sixties a lot of people raised pigeons and on occassion ate them.

[BlueNorther]

I kept a coop of 40 birds for training my pointers.It was great to set dizzied birds for the dogs and know most would be home in the coop before we got home from training.We'd shoot some younger birds every year and I couldn't see wasting them,so I'd take them home and breast them out and cook em like I would a grouse or a partridge,IMHO it was some fine eating.

[buckmaster]

they taste very similar to snipe!

[Andrzej]

they taste very similar to snipe!

I have to disagree with this statement. Sorry Buck.

Ate lots of both and particular taste of snipes makes them very unique...
Pigeons taste more like other mention grouse, Huns, chickens...

Young pigeons were consider excellent for chicken soup...

But than Chinese like to eat rotten eggs...

Andrew

[Sputnik]

Shot and ate lots of pigeon in Europe. Good on the BBQ or as a pie filler.

We used to do pest control duty on the airfield in Lahr, Germany.

A pest was classifed to be anything that flew or walked on the airfield that would be a hazard to planes. Less people and their pets.

The edible "pests" included:

Pheasants
Ducks
Hungarian Partridge
Rabbits & Hare
Pigeon

Of course you also had to shoot the non-ebible wildlife as well, tweety birds, crows, magpies, weasles etc.

There was even a report of a deer taken once, but nobody owned up to it in person.

To maintain your status on the pest control list you had to do at least 3 patrols a month and the base supplied all the ammunition (12 gauge #4) that you could shoot. No seasons, No limits, could shoot dawn to dark!:D

You got to be a fairly decent wing shot after awhile.

Three of us went out one weekend and shot enough "pests" to feed 20 people at a BBQ the next weekend! Yum!:lol:

[Bobby B.]

I've eaten a fair number of pigeons and, from my experience, they are much like eating ruffies or pheasant. We eat only the breast meat. I'd never hesitate to eat farm pigeons. More important tahn the pigeaon meat itself is the selection of wine to enhance the meal. I personally lean towards a pinot grigio chilled to a very low temp.

Bobby B.

[BUD]

they taste very similar to snipe!

Which in turn is very similar to Crows .

[TreeGuy]

Which in turn is very similar to Crows .

Ummmmm.........crows! Not as good as Bald Eagles or Whooping Cranes though! Any recipies?:lol:

Tree

[willy]

We shoot lots on the farm here cats love to eat them makes for cheap cat food lol

[TheClash]

I've eaten a fair number of pigeons and, from my experience, they are much like eating ruffies or pheasant. We eat only the breast meat. I'd never hesitate to eat farm pigeons. More important tahn the pigeaon meat itself is the selection of wine to enhance the meal. I personally lean towards a pinot grigio chilled to a very low temp.

Bobby B.

will try the same cooking methods...but will stick to a nice ice water for myself...haha

[Jamie]

I have to disagree with this statement. Sorry Buck.

Ate lots of both and particular taste of snipes makes them very unique...
Pigeons taste more like other mention grouse, Huns, chickens...

Young pigeons were consider excellent for chicken soup...

But than Chinese like to eat rotten eggs...

Andrew

All this coming from the guy who made me eat TRIPE!!
(Good BTW)
Then he wanted to cook up the lungs......
ANDREW ANDREW ANDREW!!!

You coming this year?
You have to promise to bring more of that Polish hamburger....
Screw Snapple.. That was the best stuff on earth

Jamie

Jamie

[BUD]

Ummmmm.........crows! Not as good as Bald Eagles or Whooping Cranes though! Any recipies?:lol:

Tree

We,ve all ate Crow at least once in our lives , haaaaaaaaa.

[gunslinger]

We,ve all ate Crow at least once in our lives , haaaaaaaaa.

hahha yup im sure we all have.

[Deemoss]

pigeons taste great... i know a lot of people see them as dirty rats, but i've eaten them a lot, and love'em... they're great to bbq... or even roast, but i'd rather have them bbq'd :-))
if you're in southern alberta within 2 hours diameter from calgary, i'd love to join you for a pigeon hunt one day... pm me and i'd be there :-))

[Nerdapres']

Kill as many as you can, their shi* is disease ridden, expecially dangerous to children and pregnant women. Damn dirty flying rats.

[4thredneck]

I work in a feedlot. The pigeons that we have don't even hang around the grain, they stay in the pens with the cattle. I know exatly what they are eating so when the 22mag hits them they stay exatly where they fall. I think they are horrible filthy birds on par with a magpie.:sick:

[Nerdapres']

Magpies are gangsta though.

I hate pigeons, magpies are cool.

[T-Bone]

By trade I am an executive chef (red tag and all) But I actually work in the oil sector anyway pigeon is great prepared the right way. Dip them in boiling water with drop of dish soap and put them in cold water while plucking. Basically the same as duck,pheasant or goose. This way you have the whole bird and skin intact. They may not be big but they have leg meat and back meat. Pat them dry, roll in oil and either shake and bake or make up your own breading throw in the oven for 30-40 minutes Yummy. I imagine you could also do the wild rice and mushroom stuffing too. By the way I dont think you should use city birds just the ones you see in the country. The oil is vegetable not diesel. They are fun to shoot and believe me they are also good to eat.
Thats why they call me
T-Bone

[Spellow]

I'm not sure what part of the province you are in, but if you are in the Edmonton/Stoney Plain area and want to make some easy money. Casey Butz is always in the market for pigeons and usually pays $3.00/bird for them.

I have a whack of places down here in the south, but I usually catch them for club members that need them for their dogs.

[Hunter Trav]

So how do you go about catching them damn things??? I have a bunch that roost in my steel shop, and no matter how many me and the boy take out, they just keep multiplying.

[jrHunter]

I think they are horrible filthy birds on par with a magpie.:sick:

x2 shoud shoot as many as posible

[Spellow]

So how do you go about catching them damn things??? I have a bunch that roost in my steel shop, and no matter how many me and the boy take out, they just keep multiplying.

catching them is easy enough...you could set up a trap with a one way door...or simply wait until night when they are roosting, walk up and throw them in a sack or a crate...so long as they can't see you, they won't fly for the most part...just make sure that whatever escape holes in your shop are blocked off. I have places where I have caught upto 1000 pigeons in a night and it only took me a couple of hours (with help from friends of course).

[sharrozap]

Use WD-40, pigeons hate the smell.