Pigeon sitting on THREE eggs...

[chics in the sun]

I read here they usually only sit on two at a time. Is it common for them to sit on three, or is she just an overachiever?

 

[sourland]

A hen only lays 2 eggs in each round. If a fourth egg shows up, you have 2 hens mated together. Otherwise, another hen sneaked an egg into the nest.

 

[shelleyd2008]

We had a hen on 4 eggs a couple times but it was because we had 2 hens and only 1 male. I guess he didn't want the other one to feel left out so courted them both and called them to the same nest. 3 of the 4 eggs hatched

 

[chics in the sun]

Interesting. I have only two pigeons, sexed by the guy that gave them to us. One coos and carries on, and pecks my hand when I reach in to refill the feeder. The other he said has hatched/ raised babies last year. The "boy" is young, this is his first season.

 

[larrylofts]

until they lay and raise young you can not be sure what sexs they are in most cases i believe you have two hens paired one will act like the male

 

[chics in the sun]

Fascinating..... The guy that gave them to us is coming to my swap on April 2nd, so I'll have him sex the younger one again. "he" was cooing right off the bat, though.
Or I guess we'll know by next weekend when the eggs don't hatch.

 

[chics in the sun]

And now there are FOUR eggs. Poor girls - all that work for nothing! Now I'll have to get a male one at the swap.
"Girl pigeon" on the nest:

"Boy pigeon" free ranging for a few minutes:

I guess 'he' needs a new leg band color.....
I'm having a hard time with this gender identity crisis. He worked so hard to "woo" her when we introduced them. Maybe that's why she ignored 'him' for so long...

 

[chics in the sun]

Candled the eggs Sunday night, even though I pretty much knew they would be duds. Yep, duds. I guess we should take them away before they explode or something.

I filled out the application for that rescue place with all the pigeons. They mostly have King pigeons, but I found an eligible single male racer for one of the girls. What will happen when I introduce them? Will the girl that has taken on male role fight with him?

I also said I would take a pair of the Iranian High Flyers - they just seem so neat!

 

[larrylofts]

Take The Hen You Want To Mate To The Male You Are Getting And Seperate Her . What Are You Going To Do With The Other Hen Single Birds Do Not Belong With Pairs . Will Cause Fighting And Other Problems . The Pic Of The Bird Banded Looks Like A Homer With A Raceing Homer Band. And Long As Air Does Not Get In The Egg They Are Good Foe Awhile. Toss Them And Get The Hens Seperated . So The Hen Will Be Looking For A Mate.

 

[chics in the sun]

I was planning on getting two males - I only found one on the web site. If we have two males can we put them in all four together and let them 'pair up'? And yes, they are both racing pigeons from a breeder near here (right? or are you saying they are homer pigeons - I thought that was esentially the same thing?). Thanks for the advice. I'm working on my new aviary, and will separate them for a while before I put them in with new suitors.
The one in the bottom picture is the one he thought was a male.