Pigeon Talk

[Fields Mountain Farm]

I saw it and I was dying hes not a bad boy...hes a girl! Super cute with Rosie and Olive. Are you gonna rename Rosie is she's a boy? Are pigeons always able to make babies or is it a once a month type thing? Once again, completely ignorant

The crying sounded just like a small child to me..
Im still learning .. but as far as I know, someone please correct me if im wrong, the hen will lay 2 eggs and if left to do their thing, both parents take turns sitting on the egg for 17 to 19 days, when hatch should take place. They both feed and raise the young, cant remember how long.. and shortly after the squeakers fledg, sometimes before, she will lay 2 more and the process begins again, year round, I think... Hope I got that right!
Have to wait for Serin to pop in for answers on Rosie and Olive..

 

[Serin]

I think her name is Rosie regardless, I had a male cockatiel named Gracie and a female named Todd... I tend to stick with the first name even if the sex proves opposite to initial thoughts.

Olive's behavior has been pretty universally female until this mounting and I am pretty certain she is a hen. And if *she* can play the male role and get on top, I suppose that Rosie could be a hen and do so too. Rosie puzzles me because she does a lot of male behaviors but less intense than I'd expect. She spins and inflates her crop and coos but it's a lot quieter and less pushy than the feral cocks outside do (but she is more noisy than Olive, and makes a wider variety of noises.) Her attempt at mounting was brief and she didn't try to get back on when she slipped off. She drove Olive pretty roughly for about 20 seconds 3 days ago, and it's been only snuggles since. She is either a very masculine hen or a very demure cock. Regardless, pigeons appear to be more varied in the expression of male/female behaviors than other birds I have worked with.

 

[cavemanrich]

Now Olive just mounted Rosie!!! Pigeons are very flexible apparently.

Like before (but in reverse) she kinda fluttered and fell off before they really made contact but they were trying, it wasn't just that she sat on top of her.

Hmm maybe they're both girls and are just demonstrating dominance?

Possibility you have 2 males

 

[backyard pigeons]

Great avy FMF! I love it!


Serin, I suspect your bird is a hen. If it were a male, i think it would be pushing the nesting behavior more so than it is... Either way, I think their pals!

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Great avy FMF! I love it!


Serin, I suspect your bird is a hen. If it were a male, i think it would be pushing the nesting behavior more so than it is... Either way, I think their pals!

Thank you

 

[Serin]

I've put both beds in the cage, one on the top shelf where Olive always had it an one on the floor. Rosie thinks the floor is the better nest site but Olive thinks the top ledge is. They're alternating sitting in both beds. Olive has become broody and has little interest leaving the cage the past two days, and Rosie only leaves if she does. Despite being a homer, Rosie is calm and low energy and seems content to rest inside or just on top of the cage when the it is open for most of the day.

When she comes out, she does a few flaps, flies to the door and back a few times, and sometimes goes to the back of the house if Olive does. But mostly they just sit together and preen in the cage. Olive climbs under Rosie until Rosie is literally sitting on top of her head, which she also likes to do under my hand. Rosie is fine with being touched now, and she lets me pick her up without running most of the time.

@biophiliac was right about homers being excellent observational learners. Rosie seems to have potty-trained herself by observing what Olive does. There have only been messes in the cage, 90% on the newspapers at the bottom. She seems to have figured out to aim over the edge of the shelves and hasn't had a mess out of the cage in a couple of days.

Snuggle photos below.

 

[memphis]

I'm impressed at how quickly Rossie has adapted! Love the snuggle pics!

 

[Serin]

I need input.

90% sure Rosie is a cock now. Lots of mounting today and some tentative billing/feeding where she sticks her face down his beak and gets some...goop.

But Olive has gotten very aggressive about being touched and is biting us, even off the nest.

I got Olive as a companion animal and she seemed to thrive in that situation and was extremely tame with all people. I was okay keeping two pigeons if both remained handleable. If having a bird mate makes Olive act out, that's kind of changing the dynamic too much.

I don't know if it would be appropriate to split them again. Olive seemed happy before. She seems happy now. But she is not being nice anymore, and is avoiding me out of the cage.

Rosie is fully recovered - and being with another bird seems to have been important in that. His wing hangs a little but he flies well and seems to be a healthy weight again. As far as that goes, his rehab is complete. I took him in because I didn't think he had any other options and we were luckily close enough that we could arrange to meet but it was always on a trial basis. If they hated each other, it wouldn't work. I didn't expect the opposite, that they'd bond and that my bird wouldn't just be less attached to me (I anticipated that), but would actively dislike me!

I contacted the Chicago Pigeon Pets Rescue to get their input, and they offered to take Rosie in but it would not be possible for a volunteer to come and get him for about 10 days. They would have him checked by a vet, placed in a foster situation with someone else really into pigeons, and then adopted into another family, probably as a companion for another not so tame rescue bird. He'd be really well cared for. But I don't know if it's right to split the two birds just so Olive bonds with people again. She was with pigeons before I got her, and adjusted well. I'm feeling bad about all my options right now.

Maybe the biting is just a one-off thing, because she enjoyed snuggles this morning in her nest, but I have a bad feeling.

I guess a third option is rehoming them together to someone with more space or a loft, who doesn't need them to be tame and handleable.

Edit: I put Rosie in the other room to see what Olive did. Olive was immediately very affectionate with me, as in he wasn't out of her sight for a minute and she was preening my hand and wanting pets.

 

[backyard pigeons]

I need input.

90% sure Rosie is a cock now. Lots of mounting today and some tentative billing/feeding where she sticks her face down his beak and gets some...goop.

But Olive has gotten very aggressive about being touched and is biting us, even off the nest.

I got Olive as a companion animal and she seemed to thrive in that situation and was extremely tame with all people. I was okay keeping two pigeons if both remained handleable. If having a bird mate makes Olive act out, that's kind of changing the dynamic too much.

I don't know if it would be appropriate to split them again. Olive seemed happy before. She seems happy now. But she is not being nice anymore, and is avoiding me out of the cage.

Rosie is fully recovered, his wing hangs a little but he flies well and seems to be a healthy weight again. As far as that goes, his rehab is complete. I took him in because I didn't think he had any other options and we were luckily close enough that we could arrange to meet but it was always on a trial basis. If they hated each other, it wouldn't work. I didn't expect the opposite, that they'd bond and that my bird wouldn't just be less attached to me (I anticipated that), but would actively dislike me!

I contacted the Chicago Pigeon Pets Rescue to get their input, and they offered to take Rosie in but it would not be possible for a volunteer to come and get him for about 10 days. They would have him checked by a vet, placed in a foster situation with someone else really into pigeons, and then adopted into another family, probably as a companion for another not so tame rescue bird. He'd be really well cared for. But I don't know if it's right to split the two birds just so Olive bonds with people again. She was with pigeons before I got her, and adjusted well. I'm feeling bad about all my options right now.

Maybe the biting is just a one-off thing, because she enjoyed snuggles this morning in her nest, but I have a bad feeling.

I guess a third option is rehoming them together to someone with more space or a loft, who doesn't need them to be tame and handleable.

Edit: I put Rosie in the other room to see what Olive did. Olive was immediately very affectionate with me, as in he wasn't out of her sight for a minute and she was preening my hand and wanting pets.

Serin, I don't know... I can see how this decision is difficult. Perhaps wait another month? I know you are very attached to olive, so id hate to see her go. I don't Think she would mourn too much without rosie. She would probably jump right back in!

 

[memphis]

I agree with BP. I'd give it a bit more time. Maybe Olive is being a bit hormonal. If that's even possible. Rosie has been through alot lately, but so has Olive. Lots of changes in her life too.