Pellet gun, bird, dinner...

Pigeon, it's what's for supper!

-Blast

you forgot a dash of salt and pepper.

I was always told that pigeons were very disease ridden birds and just maybe a bad idea to eat. Don't have anything to support this but I guess as a last resort they would do.

They don't seem to carry any more in the way of disease (etc) than any other animals, according to the New York City Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene [ http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/epi/epi-pigeon.shtml ]

They say that diseases that humans can get from them (actually, their droppings) is mostly histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, and psittacosis, and there aren't many cases of them.

I've never heard of them coming down with Mad Cow Disease (BSE) or that 'hot' E-Coli 0157:H7, both of which show up in animals that we deliberately pay to eat. They're not even free.

And I'm not sure, but I think pigeons are mostly dark meat.

Just keep in mind that people ate passenger pigeons right into extinction in slightly less than 100 years.

Sue

Gotta be better than city Seagulls. They're always hangin out on dumpsters and trash heaps. But then again, I suppose if you're hungry enough, "a rat that flies" as Izzy put it, might start to look like flying fillet mignon.

Out in the country they can also have salmonella, shisto-somaiasis, and fleas, ticks, mites, and lice.

Squab has been on the menu for a long time. Not much different to eating quail; maybe a bit more lean and less meaty, but certainly more than doves.

If the animal looks healthy, eat it. If it looks sick, leave it alone, or else put it out of its misery. I do the same for most rodents.

Even a healthy armadillo ain't worth chowing on in my book.

That is a given. Tabasco is optional...

I just watched an episode of Survivorman where Les is on a tropical island. I think he was on the Cook Islands. Anyway on this episode he catches a bird called a "brown boobie"(sp?) which he plucks, guts, cooks and eats.

As he was doing this he made a comment to the effect that any bird is safe to eat in a survival situation. I agree however, that if the bird looks sick or unhealthy it should not be eaten.

Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer turkey or chicken, but if I was starving, boobie or pigeon or seagul might look pretty good.

Yea, Les pointed out the irony of . . . "eating boobie breast" during that scene, too.

I wouldn't be so worried about eating birds as with the handling. That is where you would be more likely to contract something from them, unless you eat them raw.

If you want pigeon in a restuarant, in my experience, it is going to be called squab and it will cost you a few bucks. I guess it can be considered gourmet cuisine.

As a source of food in a survival situation, I think it all depends on how hungry you are and waht you aversions are to the particular dish. I've had squab, but if you told me if came from the NYC streets, I might not have wanted it for the price I paid. If hungry enough, it would look like dinner to me.

However, piegon as a food source might not be something you want to go out, hunt, kill and roast. You might be much better off catching them, confining them, feeding them and giving them a hone, to which they will return, in essence raising them as you would chicken. I've read that if you do catch them, confining them and feeding them for a few weeks can get them to consider the new digs home. I don't think the egg production is as good as for chickens, and the meat may not be either. But pigeons are birds that can pretty much care for themselves, as that is what they do anyway.

Domesticating a flock of pigeons thus gives you a good stock with which to train bird dogs. They are easy to plant in the field (just tuck their head under their wing, hold them at arm's length, and spin your arm around a few times like a propeller. Puts em right to sleep). They will lay their till the pooch gets up on them with his nose, then they roust and flush.

Grandad used to put me after hunting squab with a slingshot in the grain barn out at the feedlot when I was young. I never did get one, but did get a lot of practice.

Some Pigeon Recipes;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/food/recip...p;submit=Search

Those are some good recipes. I like the idea of pigeon and lentils. They ought to complement each other well.

Have you tried any of these recipes, or do you have any of your own that you would recommend/share?

My mom used to bake dove breasts with white rice (cooked first of course) and a can of mushroom soup, they were great. Should work with pigeons too...

Since armadillos in the U.S. can carry leprosy, I think I would have to be really hungry to eat them. Yes, I know it's only 2-5%; yes, I know it usually takes repeated contact, but.....
[ http://svm369.vetmed.lsu.edu/images/truman/Human%20and%20Armadillo%20Leprosy.pdf ]

I would suspect that pigeons are susceptible to most of the same diseases and parasites that chickens are. Sloppy gutting and incomplete cooking tends to be the basis of many of the bacterial/parasitical diseases from meat.

Shistosomaiasis is a tropical parasitical disease, and I don't believe it is found in the U.S..... today.

I saw squab on a menu once, and it did cause me to wonder if they had snares on the roof.

Sue

I'm not sure squab are the same as the English Rock Pigeon, which is the common urban bird most people think of when the term "pigeon" is used. I believe they are separate member of the family. Susan, with your background, can you shed any light on this?

Same bird according to the evil wikipedia;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_pigeon
Bill

Not to put to fine a point on it, but it seems squab is a stage of life. So, I'm thinking any pigeon in this pre-flight stage is eligible to be "squab" in the consumption arena. Basically, I stand somewhat corrected; I think; maybe; not sure.

Is there enough fat in the meat? I know that you can't live off rabbits for an extended time due to it being too lean, I wonder about pidgeon.

A one-pound squab (1 serving):

Calories: 873
Total Fat: 71g
Saturated Fat: 25g
Cholesterol: 282mg
Sodium: 160mg
Protein: 55g
Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Calcium and Iron

It's high in fat and cholesterol, but the info above includes the skin, where I suspect most of that is. Cook it in the skin to keep it moist, then discard the skin before eating.

Depending on the breed, some can get to be 3.5 lbs live weight.

Sue

It does seem to appear that commercially raised squab is a young bird when they kill it.
Bill