My Stupididty Amazes Me

[Hokum Coco]

My best breeding pair of white Homers had squabs that were about a week old. The nest bowl was not being employed. They had instead built a horrible looking nest out of pheasant feathers and debris held together by a layer of pigeon poop.

I decided today enough is enough I cleaned out their nest box and placed the squabs in the nest bowl properly. The male bird was on the nest when that happen.

Long story short both squabs perished due to the cold. The birds would not incubate the young after my disturbing the nest.

I hope someone learns something from my stupidity.

 

[wildflights]

Sorry to hear that. I have two pairs that are doing the same thing on the ground. Drives me nuts that I can't clean those two corners.

 

[miss hen]

I am new to most birds but one thing I learned quickly was not to mess with nature, it always seems to backfire

 

[Hokum Coco]

Just to show that all birds do not act the same. I moved these squabs into this Styrofoam cooler around Christmas 2012 with no problem.

 

[laughingdog]

ove moved days to week old eggs, and two to three week old babies and no prob, but other than that they get flighty and take minutes to hours to settle back in, and i just killed off my week or two pair of white racer eggs due to doing that, which they seemed fine with, but then just later tried to take up in other corners and eventually let the eggs get cool. on the up side necropsy revieled i have at least one good strong gened female white homer, as not sure the eggs layed a week after brought these birds home were the males that i paired her with, as she was brooding and nesting by herself in a corner right from when put them in the coop and chasing others away before took all out except the oldest looking male, as she looks young, and thought maybe he would know what to do with them, though the eggs were tiny and odd shaped, so guessing if the young were that godd of shape in them, theyll be great once she layes some good sized and shaped eggs. my first thought was to foster them under my known great female flight hen (only have one left as downsized rest unfortunately), and a young but seemingly greatly fit and compitant cock i kept to breed with her later down the road hopefully, but i hesitated and decided to give it till morning.. so your not alone in the dunce corner at least!

 

[Hokum Coco]

My best homers are now making a nest in of all place on the floor! This gets me mad when I consider all the time I invested in making more than adequate nesting boxes. Well I finally come to realize one thing they can make there nest where ever they want and I will not interfere ever again at least until the young are fledged enough to survive. Well hopefully you and I will not end up in the dunce corner twice for the same thing laughingdog.

 

[jak2002003]

Its interesting to read these posts. Pigeons don't always play by the rules and do what we want them to do (and what probably is best for them).

At my old house I had one neighbour who HATED my fantail doves. I only had one pair of them - and they seemed to know he did not like them!!! They had all the roof tops to land on in the street - all the gardens to walk about in to, but they targeted this guys house.

They seemed to like to annoy him - maybe it was a game for them. They would land on his window sills and peck and fly at their reflections in the glass, they would land on his conservatory roof and walk about up there. They would even go in through his open back door! They even found a small gap in his roof and started to go in and out of his attic!!!!!! I dont know why they did all this. They had their own big dovecote which they made their nest in and sat on their fake eggs.

They never did this to any of the other houses - even ones that were closer. He would come running out with a broom shouting and waving it about and throwing rocks at them - but they would just go back when he went inside.

I did not feel bad for the guy because they did not do anything to damage is house - I never even saw them poop on anything.

I made them a big aviary and they lived in there after I thought they might get hurt by the guy. I would only let them out when I was there to supervise them - and I would wave my own garden broom about if they got onto his conservatory roof before he noticed.

 

[Hokum Coco]

My best homers just laid their first egg today. I will not touch that nest until the squabs are mature. I do not care how bad things look. Like I said before they are on the floor of all places!