# Why don't we eat pigeons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 4, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-eat-pigeons/1029782 "2026-05-04T14:55:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-eat-pigeons/1029782/101 "2026-05-05T18:27:33Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I guess part of my problem is that birds don’t urinate – the goopy stuff that they’re constantly emitting is a mix of both solid and liquid waste. And I inevitably associate it with fowl. Part of human digestion is holding a few days worth of semi-digested food in there to extract all the nutrients and most of the water. Part of bird digestion is holding nothing in there; they jettison every milligram of partly digested food before every takeoff to lighten their weight. The result is a hundred deposits of pee/poop per day. Each tiny, but spread everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-eat-pigeons/1029782/102 "2026-05-05T22:09:50Z")
Puncturing a gallbladder can also ruin a carcass, even if it’s immediately washed or wiped off. Bile is designed to break down fats, and can penetrate muscles surprisingly fast. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-eat-pigeons/1029782/103 "2026-05-05T22:44:47Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Although AIUI, even free-range chickens are supposed to have specialized chicken feed (whether a homemade mash of some kind or commercial feed) as a large part of their diet. Forage by itself will not support the dietary needs of modern poultry breeds the way it does for their ancestors the wild junglefowl. Well… it could probably support some of the less specialized breeds, like those frequently seen in suburban backyards, but not at the expected production levels for modern commercial operations. Hens with less food lay less frequently, broilers gain weight more slowly, but to be profitable speed is part of the equation these days. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-eat-pigeons/1029782/104 "2026-05-05T23:02:50Z")
I buy pastured chickens over the summer, but the photos clearly the that they also have access to chicken feed. And they grow from chick to harvest really fast. I think 6-8 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-eat-pigeons/1029782/105 "2026-05-06T16:31:31Z")
We bought Buff Orpingtons, a meat breed last year. The hope was they’d be heavy enough to not fly over the rather short wall we have holding them in. It mostly worked – one with incurable wanderlust has learned how to get a running start and get to the top of the wall and thence jump to the ground. They lay fewer eggs than an egg breed like Leghorns but with six of them, the minimum we could get from Murray McMurray, we’re getting more than we use anyway. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Buff_Orpington_chicken%2C_UK.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Buff_Orpington_chicken%2C_UK.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-eat-pigeons/1029782.md?page=5)