Homing Pigeon nesting

[Donal2308]

Hello all, greetings from Ireland.
I'm fairly new to keeping homing pigeons and I have 3 pairs of stock birds. I've had them raise 6 youngsters so far.
One pair have raised one clutch for me and have been on their second batch of eggs.
Here's the problem. They kept adding twigs to their nest until it was one big tall pile and both eggs rolled off and smashed. Why are they doing this and how can I stop them. BTW, they didn't do this with their first batch.
Thanks in advance.

 

[sourland]

If you are using nest bowls, I would try a larger one. I don't know why some pairs do this. I had one pair that given the opportunity would build sky scrapers. Can't you limit their access to nesting materials ?

 

[Donal2308]

If you are using nest bowls, I would try a larger one. I don't know why some pairs do this. I had one pair that given the opportunity would build sky scrapers. Can't you limit their access to nesting materials ?

Thanks for your reply. I'll try the bigger nesting bowls next time, but I could see the pair working overtime to fill this one too. They have access to material because they have access to a covered chicken run from the loft. This is particularly for the stock birds, so they are not cooped up the whole time. They are getting twigs etc from the open ground.
The thing with these two is that they didn't build up their nest with their last clutch.

 

[Klutch]

A breeding pair needs two nesting bowls, introduce the second bowl before the young are fully fledged. The birds build a new nest on top of their old nest to start a fresh nest, without all the feces from the previous Klutch.

 

[Donal2308]

Hello and thank you for your reply. I thought I had cleaned out the nesting bowl from their first batch of young, but I didn't have it done. It makes sense that they would build it up to get the eggs as far away from the faeces as possible. I've scrubbed out the bowl and they're adding twigs to it already.

 

[cavemanrich]

My only suggestion,,,,,, get much bigger bowl, or remove some of the nesting sticks , once the eggs are present.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[Donal2308]

Hello, Thanks for your response. The pair have started building again and are getting all loved up. They have a substantial nest built already, so I think I'll be removing twigs for the duration of the incubation. Should be expecting the first egg Wednesday or Thursday of this week. I won't be taking my eye off them for a minute!

 

[Klutch]

Before the youngsters are fledged. My nest area is like duplex without the dividing wall, so I would provide a new nest bowl and the hen would start working on the new nest before the chicks could fly. You how gross the nest could get with those developing chicks. In the past experience the male would finish off the chicks while the hen would start on the new nest.

 

[Donal2308]

Before the youngsters are fledged. My nest area is like duplex without the dividing wall, so I would provide a new nest bowl and the hen would start working on the new nest before the chicks could fly. You how gross the nest could get with those developing chicks. In the past experience the male would finish off the chicks while the hen would start on the new nest.

So, they're on their new batch of eggs. It's a fairly large nest bowl and they're adding twigs every day. I'm taking some out every day. I've another pair who have about 10 twigs as a nest. Go figure!

 

[Donal2308]

Update. The pair who built the skyscraper have a pair of youngsters who are now about 14 days old. I scrubbed out their nest bowl before they went on their eggs. I also scrubbed out the surrounding area. They built a normal nest. Must have been something to do with the cleanliness of the nest box. All good now. Thanks to all who replied with suggestions.