Pigeons make pub their home

Staff at a Black Country pub have been getting used to serving some regulars with a difference.

The Dovecote in West Bromwich has been serving up a tasty Chinese menu since new owners took over a year ago. But staff have also had to get used to feeding some other hungry punters, with around 15 doves and pigeons calling the place home.

White doves, traditionally a symbol of peace, first winged their way into the Hill Top pub years ago when a special dovecote was set up in the garden.

Other birds, mainly pigeons, have since muscled their way in and now live in harmony alongside the doves, nestling in the bird box and tucking into the tasty seeds served up by staff every day.

Current manager Ming Li, who has been working at the pub for around a year, said it was an unusual thing to get used to and not what you would normally expect in a pub.

But he said the feathered friends were a popular feature among the customers and staff were very happy to look after them. He said: “The doves belong to us and we feed them everyday.”

Barman Andrew Fisher, aged 19, said he had been working in the pub since last June and now saw it as part of his everyday work to go out and throw some feed for the birds.

He admitted it was a strange task for a barman but said his family had been customers in the pub for years so he was used to the birds being there.

“It is just up to whoever is on at the time to come out and feed them, usually before hours when the customers arrive,” he said.

“It is quite unusual to have to feed the birds as one of our duties but I’m used to it now.”