Pigeon Talk

[WVduckchick]

Does anyone use the snap style plastic bands? How do you put them on??

Until I join a club or something, I decided to go ahead and band Bonnie, Clyde, and Bugsy with the snap bands. Red for Bonnie, blue for Clyde, and red+blue= purple for Bugsy
I etched 2018-1, 2018-2, 2018-3 into the plastic for my records.


Putting them on was a bit of challenge alone. Holding the band open with one hand isn’t easy, so I was looking for a tool to help. I was thinking snap ring pliers from hubby’s garage. These blunt end scissors ended up working great.
I only had to open them a slight amount, and no danger of stabbing or cutting myself or the bird with a sharp tip.
I stretched the gap, and pressed upward from below the birds leg, and slid the scissors out. Then turned it so no leg feathers were in the way, and snapped the ring.




Bugsy and Bonnie sporting their new bands.

 

[CCUK]

Does anyone use the snap style plastic bands? How do you put them on??

Until I join a club or something, I decided to go ahead and band Bonnie, Clyde, and Bugsy with the snap bands. Red for Bonnie, blue for Clyde, and red+blue= purple for Bugsy
I etched 2018-1, 2018-2, 2018-3 into the plastic for my records.
View attachment 1642013

Putting them on was a bit of challenge alone. Holding the band open with one hand isn’t easy, so I was looking for a tool to help. I was thinking snap ring pliers from hubby’s garage. These blunt end scissors ended up working great.
I only had to open them a slight amount, and no danger of stabbing or cutting myself or the bird with a sharp tip.
I stretched the gap, and pressed upward from below the birds leg, and slid the scissors out. Then turned it so no leg feathers were in the way, and snapped the ring.

View attachment 1642015 View attachment 1642017
View attachment 1642016

Bugsy and Bonnie sporting their new bands.
View attachment 1642019

They look cool with their new bling! I just bend them open with my fingers and snap them on. Getting them off if you need to can be a bit more tricky. You have to slide them apart and can catch them slightly if you not carefull.

 

[WVduckchick]

They look cool with their new bling! I just bend them open with my fingers and snap them on. Getting them off if you need to can be a bit more tricky. You have to slide them apart and can catch them slightly if you not carefull.

I did snap one closed in my hand, to see how to re-open. I could see it being a hassle if it’s already on a bird. I’d even consider cutting it off, if I needed to remove it.

I’m home today and decided to move the rest of the birds. The males seem to be trying to figure out who is top dog, while the girls and youngsters just chill outside. Can males kill each other, or will one finally accept defeat?? So far, Clyde is blocking any and all advances toward Bugsy, which was nice to see. I’m pretty sure i have 4 and 4.
I moved the Parlor pair over to the small cage so they can be away from the 8 and get some peace and quiet. Lol

 

[biophiliac]

I did snap one closed in my hand, to see how to re-open. I could see it being a hassle if it’s already on a bird. I’d even consider cutting it off, if I needed to remove it.

I’m home today and decided to move the rest of the birds. The males seem to be trying to figure out who is top dog, while the girls and youngsters just chill outside. Can males kill each other, or will one finally accept defeat?? So far, Clyde is blocking any and all advances toward Bugsy, which was nice to see. I’m pretty sure i have 4 and 4.
I moved the Parlor pair over to the small cage so they can be away from the 8 and get some peace and quiet. Lol
View attachment 1642118 View attachment 1642119

I doubt they can kill each other with those short beaks. They look so docile with their big teddy bear eyes.
I would make sure you have a nest box for each cock to claim and plenty of perches so they can get out of the way.
Thanks for the fotos!

 

[cavemanrich]

I did snap one closed in my hand, to see how to re-open. I could see it being a hassle if it’s already on a bird. I’d even consider cutting it off, if I needed to remove it.

Snaps being hard to remove is a GOOD THING. They will not be falling off on their own. I just used my two thumb nails to spread apart and it was on. I purchased a quantity of them (which I still have) Used the blue for boys, and the pink for girls. This was addition to the permanent band on the other leg. I had all whites, so needed to EZ identify the two genders if I was flying them separately. I also did something probably not very necessary, but because I my birdies. I took 400 grit sandpaper, and sanded the sharp edges of plastic, to be DULL. It was quick and simple. This way my mind was at peace that the edges would not cut into leg.

Can males kill each other, or will one finally accept defeat??

I agree with Bio. I never had much vicious fighting. It was similar to pecking order in chickens. I did see a slight bleeding on the cere of a pigeon occasionally, but the fighting did cease. This usually happened (in my loft) when newcomers were introduced.
Fancier near me has a loft that is housing approximately 100+ pigeons They have free-range inside loft. Next day his numbers as same unless has additions with new-hatched, or losses due to other reasons, that occur naturally. No significant fighting there.

I doubt they can kill each other with those short beaks.

 

[biophiliac]

and came back but not much water so I don't know if they jumped in.

You can tell if someone bathed by the white powder coating the water surface.

 

[WVduckchick]

I doubt they can kill each other with those short beaks. They look so docile with their big teddy bear eyes.
I would make sure you have a nest box for each cock to claim and plenty of perches so they can get out of the way.
Thanks for the fotos!

I still have to add more stuff, still deciding what to do in the long term. Was working on it when I found a sick hen, so I had to leave it to take care of her.

The fighting was interesting. A lot of wing slapping and hard! One would try to pin another in a corner, then turn sideways and try to smack the snot out of him with a wing. They tried pinning each other down to the ground too, but they seemed pretty evenly matched. By the time I got back home, everything was peaceful.

 

[biophiliac]

I still have to add more stuff, still deciding what to do in the long term. Was working on it when I found a sick hen, so I had to leave it to take care of her.

The fighting was interesting. A lot of wing slapping and hard! One would try to pin another in a corner, then turn sideways and try to smack the snot out of him with a wing. They tried pinning each other down to the ground too, but they seemed pretty evenly matched. By the time I got back home, everything was peaceful.

That IS VERY interesting. Makes sense that with less beak they would use their wings more.

 

[sourland]

In my experience wing slapping has been the main form of pigeon aggression.

 

[WVduckchick]

So far, I'd say the integration is going well. Clyde is still blocking the door from any of the others to get "inside", but they don't seem to mind hanging out outside. They aren't challenging him anymore, as far as I've seen. I'm pretty happy.
And the parlor rollers seem happier in the smaller cage too. They were actually sitting in the nest bowl together this morning.