Living with a hand raised pigeon

[Penny333]

A friend hand raised a baby pigeon in her bathroon until it was about 9 months old. The female pigeon started to lay 2 eggs each month and I think took my friend to be her mate. It became very difficult for my friend to spend enough time with the pigeon and so she asked me to look after her as I also have had experience of raising pigeons. Penny is now just over a year old and is becoming very attached to me although she has not produced eggs since being here (3 months). At the moment she is living in my house whilst I am building an aviary (3m x 2m) on the terrace. I intend buying a male pigeon to keep Penny company but am afraid that as she doesn't probably know that she's a pigeon she may fight him off and both of them get wounded or worse! Does anyone have experience with this kind of problem.

I would also appreciate some help with designing their living quarters, size, openings etc. It can't be too big as it would take up too much flight area.

Thank you to anyone who could give me some advice.

 

[biophiliac]

There are quite a few pigeon lovers on the forum and I'm sure you'll get some good advice.

If a pair doesn't take to each other right away they are often housed with a divider in the cage so they can get to know each other.

If you put a general location in your profile it will help get you advice consistent with your climate, etc.

 

[Penny333]

There are quite a few pigeon lovers on the forum and I'm sure you'll get some good advice.

If a pair doesn't take to each other right away they are often housed with a divider in the cage so they can get to know each other.

If you put a general location in your profile it will help get you advice consistent with your climate, etc.

Thank you for your very quick reply. I am new to forums so I will complete my profile with my location which is in fact the S. France near to Carcassonne/Toulouse.

 

[LamarshFish]

Getting another pigeon for this bird is smart on your part. If the bird is mated or attached to a human, it is still tough on the bird when human is gone, even for short periods.

I would consider getting another hen for her, not a cock. You will have 4 eggs with two hens paired, but there will be no cock bird constantly driving your hen, and you won't have actual reproduction, which can be a problem, most pairs raise at least 8 squabs per year.

As for living quarters, even with two birds you want at least 4 feet for them to fly about indoors. You'll want 2-4 perches, and at least one nest box that is 24 inches in width (enough for two nest bowls). The size of the aviary IMO is less important, just needs to be large enough for them to get out and look around and get some sun.

 

[Penny333]

Thank you LamarshFish for your very informative reply. Penny seems to me that she really wants the attention of a mate, she is always flattening herself and calling. I didn't think that she could be actually harrased by a male and I certainly hadn't thought about getting a female bird but that does seem a good idear. I thought that I would just replace the aggs by fake ones.
I have obviously got it all wrong, as I wanted to make the aviary as large as I could with just a small cosy coop fixed high up. So should it be 4ft square, and how high? It doesnt seem much to fly about in if they are to spend a lot of time inside. I assumed that the pigeons would be out all day and I would close them up at night. I supposed I was influenced by where I see town pigeons nesting. I will have to really re-think the whole thing.

 

[LamarshFish]

Thank you LamarshFish for your very informative reply. Penny seems to me that she really wants the attention of a mate, she is always flattening herself and calling. I didn't think that she could be actually harrased by a male and I certainly hadn't thought about getting a female bird but that does seem a good idear. I thought that I would just replace the aggs by fake ones.
I have obviously got it all wrong, as I wanted to make the aviary as large as I could with just a small cosy coop fixed high up. So should it be 4ft square, and how high? It doesnt seem much to fly about in if they are to spend a lot of time inside. I assumed that the pigeons would be out all day and I would close them up at night. I supposed I was influenced by where I see town pigeons nesting. I will have to really re-think the whole thing.

Yeah, I had thought similar things when I got my birds and built a small one section loft, that I could just replace with fake eggs. I learned it's not that simple. The cock birds don't necessarily "harass" the hens, but they constantly drive them. Egg laying I think eventually becomes hard on them as well. I'm not sure how often hens would lay even if paired as lesbians, but I just can't imagine it would be as much. On the other hand, I have seen one of my cock birds stop mating his hen after 5 clutches, but the hen wanted to keep going so she paired with the single cock bird that occupied the nest box above.

With only reproduction in mind and these other issues aside, I'd think that is enough of a reason to strongly consider trying to get her a hen.

 

[Penny333]

Thinking about the house I will have to build,, would a 4ft cube placed high in the avairy be sufficient for the two birds as at least it would leave more space underneath, or should it be even taller than 4ft.
Thank you for your advice I'm finding it really helpful.

 

[LamarshFish]

Thinking about the house I will have to build,, would a 4ft cube placed high in the avairy be sufficient for the two birds as at least it would leave more space underneath, or should it be even taller than 4ft.
Thank you for your advice I'm finding it really helpful.

What is the climate like where you live?

 

[Penny333]

At the moment very hot, long summers and good weather up until Christmas but winters can be cold but mostly around the 10 or 12° with many bright sunny days. On rare occasions the temperature goes down to a bit below freezing but that doesn't last long.

 

[biophiliac]

At the moment very hot, long summers and good weather up until Christmas but winters can be cold but mostly around the 10 or 12° with many bright sunny days. On rare occasions the temperature goes down to a bit below freezing but that doesn't last long.

Lovely weather for pigeon keeping! We get to -10 to -20 in winter, that is cold. lol