It was a bit more than a week ago that the baby pigeons huddled together on the beam in the barn before they were ready to fly.
I have a feeling they were chased out of the nest early when Zip moved in.
I kept the door closed between the part of the barn where Zip lives and the old stables where the pigeons had found a safe place to roost.
Two days ago they moved from the barn beam to the the window. The next day they were flying. Now they are roosting in the rafters of the pole barn with the rest of the pigeons.
The pigeons have not gone back into the hayloft. It must be too much trouble for them, even though there is another way in, now that the windows are boarded up and Zip is in the barn.
Today Jon bought two fake owls. We’ll put them in the barn with the hopes they chase the pigeons away. I have a feeling the pigeons might leave anyway, now that the fledglings are flying.
I’ll also open the door between the two sides of the barn. If Zip is there that may be enough to encourage the pigeons to find another place to live.
I loved watching the pigeons grow up in the barn this summer. And I wish them no harm. But I also want the barn swallows to come back in the spring and if the pole barn is full of pigeons, they may not come.
When the spring comes I’ll make sure the door between the two sides of the barn is closed again, so Zip doesn’t chase the barn swallows away. They chose to come to Bedlam Farm when we had two healthy barn cats so I don’t think Zip will be a deterrent for them to come back.
But I’ll have to wait for the spring to know for sure.
