A woman from the Midlands has earned £1,200 by selling one-of-a-kind artwork on Vinted, created by her pet pigeons using their feet.
Unique Side Hustle
Sophie James, 21, grew up surrounded by racing pigeons, having been raised in a family that breeds them. The inspiration for her unusual venture came after her friend Ella Woodland, 19, encouraged her to try it out, following the success of Ella's own artwork produced by her pet rats.
Sophie bought paints and applied them to the feet of her birds – Blizzard, Brock, Pip and Seagall – coaxing them to stroll across miniature canvases she purchased from Amazon. The adult support worker began listing their creations on Vinted in March 2025, and now posts up to five pieces weekly, selling them for £8 each.
Savings and Costs
The venture has allowed her to set aside some savings, though she admitted that the majority 'goes towards the pigeons' to cover food costs and entry fees for races.
Sophie, from Ellesmere, Shropshire, said: 'I try and do it when they are babies so they get used to it and kind of grow it once they begin racing. Brock - he was 20 days old when I started it.'
She added: 'It was just my friend with the rat paintings, she said "do it with the pigeons" so I gave it a go. Last year I started selling the paintings. I think I started at £6 to see how it takes off and now it's £8. I put five up last week on Vinted and they sold within a day.'
Process and Reception
Sophie establishes a workspace 'wherever she can' at home for the pigeons to create their artwork, and has now transformed seven of them into miniature artists. She keeps and races four breeds of pigeon – grizzle, check pied, blue bar and mealy.
She explained: 'I get Brock or whichever pigeon it is for that day and hold them, put paint onto their feet, put them on the canvas and let them walk around basically. I keep switching out the colours and that's it.'
Her friends and family follow along with the venture. 'They're asking me every time how it's going. They're like "you should have thought of this before". I love it. I've done it with more than four pigeons but I can't remember all their names. It connects me to them in a way.'
Sophie has received messages from people ordering multiple paintings, saying they love them and plan to surprise others with the unique gifts. She intends to see how long the trend lasts and continue exploring this creative side hustle. Discover Sophie's creations on Vinted @s0ph.jam and on Instagram @pigeons_paint.
