Whereas chickens generally require food with plenty of fibre, pigeons have a largely low or non-fibre diet. Grains and seeds feature highly in the food taken by wild pigeons, with certain quantities of greenstuffs and grits being eaten also. Birds in the wild have a wide choice of different foods, whereas our pet birds must be content with eating what is given to them. A full-grown pigeon will eat about 500 grams of grain each week. Domestic birds do not have access to all of Mother Nature's gifts, so we must improvise somewhat to give our pets the best possible diet.
Grains make up the bulk of a pigeon's diet.
In fact, pigeons simply like their grain better than anything else, and will take a wide variety of most things on offer. However, some grains are better than others and some should be avoided altogether. Dried field peas make an excellent staple food and pigeons will do nearly anything to get them. They will usually pick all the peas out of a mix before eating anything else, and they sure do well on them too. Peas are high in protein and promote strong muscles, bones and plumage.