Pigeon Talk

[slorider18]

Lost quotes.. likes wont stick.. my wifi is wonky..its snowing.. life is not goin my way today ...
Beautiful birds everyone!
Congrats on the littles WV!
Congrats to all who have eggs under pigeons!

Whoa, the quote things seem different. Was that an update? I had to click "insert quote" on the bottom left of the dialog box. Maybe that's where they went. Hope the wifi gets better too. That would be the end of me. lol.

 

[slorider18]

As promised, a new video with Ethel and her egg. Still no second egg. Hoping for one today. I know the kids kept checking. I wonder if that's stressing her out.

 

[backyard pigeons]

As promised, a new video with Ethel and her egg. Still no second egg. Hoping for one today. I know the kids kept checking. I wonder if that's stressing her out.

Very egg-citing! Just to let you know, that new waterer probably won't work. Pigeons slurp up water like a horse in a way, so the water needs to be 1 inch deep. They likely will be able to get a little water from it, but not like they could with a bowl of something. Also, that eggs seems really small, how big is it? Quarter size? Or less? And sometimes the first batch of eggs are infertile, so you may want to candle the eggs in day 7 or so to see if they are developing. And that is funny how they choose the smaller box. Keep us updated!

 

[Hokum Coco]

As promised, a new video with Ethel and her egg.

that new waterer probably won't work.

I am inclined to agree. In addition they will continually poop in the tray.

Just a tip I find putting the hole 1" from the cover for the waterer serves me better as it makes handling the reservoir that much easier. It also gives extra space for the pigeon to insert their heads into the base. One draw back to this approach is they tend to perch on the water with the flat bottom if space allows which in my case it does not. Birds perching on the water could cause it to be toppled over.

I would also recommend a nest bowl similar to this. I picked these up at the Dollar Store.

 

[CCUK]

Lost quotes.. likes wont stick.. my wifi is wonky..its snowing.. life is not goin my way today ...
Beautiful birds everyone!
Congrats on the littles WV!
Congrats to all who have eggs under pigeons!

 

[Serin]

Pigeons slurp up water like a horse in a way, so the water needs to be 1 inch deep. They likely will be able to get a little water from it, but not like they could with a bowl of something.

I have read that pigeons need one inch of water to drink and from my observations of both wild doves and my pet birds (a ringneck dove I had for several years and Olive), it's not correct. Being able to suction water actually gives them an advantage over most other birds in that they can drink from especially shallow water sources (I believe that the trait evolved in the ancestors of pigeons which lived in very arid areas where it let them drink from dew and very shallow puddles.)

Olive drinks from a parakeet/canary type water tube that hangs outside her cage. The water basin that goes through the bars is half an inch wide and deep and she sucks water up from it with no issues. She is short-beaked, which may affect it, but I used these same drinkers when I had my dove and he had a much longer bill.

 

[WVduckchick]

As promised, a new video with Ethel and her egg. Still no second egg. Hoping for one today. I know the kids kept checking. I wonder if that's stressing her out.

Love the names! Ethel & Fred, Lucy & Ricky. . Looking good!

In my limited experience, it is sometimes an extra day between the 2 eggs, so don’t be surprised if you don’t see one right away. From what everyone told me, it’s perfectly normal for them to skip a day between laying.

I ordered both these types of waterers from Foys. While it’s probably just as easy to make them, these were inexpensive enough that I went ahead and ordered them. I prefer the blue dome type, they seem fine with either. The green one can be inserted from outside though, and roped to the outside of the cage, so that’s nice to keep them out of the way and not have to open the gate to replace. I also ordered the little cage cups for smaller areas. I used a chicken drinker until these came in and they did ok, but I’d suggest at least elevating it onto a platform so the bedding and crap stays out of it. Lots of viable options suggested, just thought I’d toss these out to you too.

 

[biophiliac]

have read that pigeons need one inch of water to drink and from my observations of both wild doves and my pet birds (a ringneck dove I had for several years and Olive), it's not correct. Being able to suction water actually gives them an advantage over most other birds in that they can drink from especially shallow water sources (I believe that the trait evolved in the ancestors of pigeons which lived in very arid areas where it let them drink from dew and very shallow puddles.)

This is my observation as well. I think I mentioned recently that I have seen mine drinking droplets of rainwater from the steel wires of the aviary and also sipping from shallow puddles less than 1/4 in.

 

[backyard pigeons]

I have read that pigeons need one inch of water to drink and from my observations of both wild doves and my pet birds (a ringneck dove I had for several years and Olive), it's not correct. Being able to suction water actually gives them an advantage over most other birds in that they can drink from especially shallow water sources (I believe that the trait evolved in the ancestors of pigeons which lived in very arid areas where it let them drink from dew and very shallow puddles.)

Olive drinks from a parakeet/canary type water tube that hangs outside her cage. The water basin that goes through the bars is half an inch wide and deep and she sucks water up from it with no issues. She is short-beaked, which may affect it, but I used these same drinkers when I had my dove and he had a much longer bill.

Yes, I didn't say they COULDN'T, I said it's better to have one inch or more. But it's kinda like this, pigeons prefer flat perches, but they can live with round ones. It is possible for them to drink out of water shallower than one inch, but I think we would all agree that one inch is best. And don't we all want what's best for our birds? And also like you said, olives beak allows for her to drink in shallower water. So because of having homers, I would recommend for slorider to get a waterer with more depth.

 

[WVduckchick]

This is my observation as well. I think I mentioned recently that I have seen mine drinking droplets of rainwater from the steel wires of the aviary and also sipping from shallow puddles less than 1/4 in.

Remember seeing mine drink from the chicken nipple system?
I guess when they are thirsty, they figure it out.