Pigeon Talk

[MGG]

That box is somewhat small. Not what pigeons search out. You can just make a shelf a little wider, and place a nesting bowl on top. Then spread out some nesting material on bottom of loft. The pigeon will pick their choice sticks, twigs, and hay/grass pieces, and build their own nest in that bowl. You could encourage them to use bowl with a couple of twigs you place there yourself.
Pigeons are different from chickens in their choice of nests.
The pigeons will also choose their own time when to lay eggs. With spring coming soon,, expect that to happen soon as well.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Hm, ok. A friend of mine says his nest in his wood duck boxes so I thought they'd like something box shaped, I don't know.
I'll try something like that, thank you!

 

[MGG]

I agree with caveman. I’d cut that flap down to about 2/3 the size it is, leave it maybe 2-3” tall. Stick a dog food bowl in there with just a few leaves and a couple twigs. Cheap dollar dog food bowls from the dollar store work great for me. Give them more leaves and twigs to carry in themselves and they will do the rest.
I get a lot of leaves build up in front of my pigeon gates. Every so often, I kick them inside. They do with them whatever they want. Lol

I have 3 new squabs at the moment
View attachment 3018765View attachment 3018767

I'll try that. I had a bit of hay in there, but I can put that in a bowl. I'll see what I can find, haha.
That looks great! Do you have a pic of your whole nest box? I might just try to build something different for them.
They're also in my duck pen at the moment so I didn't want anything too permanent.

 

[MGG]

Also, is there any way at all to sex adult pigeons besides a DNA test?
Does vent sexing work on them? I can't imagine why it wouldn't.

 

[WVduckchick]

I'll try that. I had a bit of hay in there, but I can put that in a bowl. I'll see what I can find, haha.
That looks great! Do you have a pic of your whole nest box? I might just try to build something different for them.
They're also in my duck pen at the moment so I didn't want anything too permanent.

Well, I have a few lol. They are in a pen that was originally built for chickens. So the coop box got claimed by one of my oldest couples.

Then I added a smaller box on top of that for another couple.
This is the back side of the one in the first pic. I cut part of the front off, and gave them a ledge.

Then I had a double decker box that chickens didn’t use, so I moved it in there. I don’t have a good pic of it.

This is the last thing I cobbled together for them. There are 4 bowls in it. It’s ugly, but the most practical for them.

 

[WVduckchick]

Also, is there any way at all to sex adult pigeons besides a DNA test?
Does vent sexing work on them? I can't imagine why it wouldn't.

As kind of a general guide, you can try feeling the base of the pelvic bones. If it’s wide (like the width of your finger, wide enough for an egg to pass thru) it’s usually a female. If the bones come to more of a point and stay close together, it’s a male. That method works decently for me, since mine are all the same. I can tell mine more by appearance.

I’m sure there are more dependable, scientific methods though. Lol

 

[MGG]

Well, I have a few lol. They are in a pen that was originally built for chickens. So the coop box got claimed by one of my oldest couples.
View attachment 3018824
Then I added a smaller box on top of that for another couple.
This is the back side of the one in the first pic. I cut part of the front off, and gave them a ledge.
View attachment 3018816

Then I had a double decker box that chickens didn’t use, so I moved it in there. I don’t have a good pic of it.

This is the last thing I cobbled together for them. There are 4 bowls in it. It’s ugly, but the most practical for them.

View attachment 3018817

Oh those look great!!! I'll try to do something like that at some point I think.

I changed it some. Does this look better?

They just really show no interest. I even tossed some seeds in the corner in there to try to get them to at least go in. The feral tried to go in then but still seems scared.
They're such dummies, lol.

 

[Pyxis]

Does vent sexing work on them? I can't imagine why it wouldn't.

If you're thinking vent sexing like you can do with waterfowl, it wouldn't work, because pigeons don't have a phallus. They're more like chickens, and those are hard to vent sex. I'm not actually sure what you'd be looking for with pigeons, if you tried to vent them.

I go by behavior. Males do a lot of bowing and cooing to try to impress the ladies. I've also tried the pelvic bone measuring that WV described and found that to be fairly accurate.

 

[WVduckchick]

Oh those look great!!! I'll try to do something like that at some point I think.

I changed it some. Does this look better?
View attachment 3018872View attachment 3018871


They just really show no interest. I even tossed some seeds in the corner in there to try to get them to at least go in. The feral tried to go in then but still seems scared.
They're such dummies, lol.

Looks inviting, except it might be a little hard for them to maneuver into. Will it fit on top of the shelf that it is under? Like on one end, facing toward the center? Then they could land in front of it and hop in.
Or is there any way to add a landing board underneath it where it’s at?

Also sometimes they have to inspect new things for a couple days to be sure it’s ok. I recently added a new shelf and they didn’t use it for a while, but they finally do now.

 

[MGG]

Looks inviting, except it might be a little hard for them to maneuver into. Will it fit on top of the shelf that it is under? Like on one end, facing toward the center? Then they could land in front of it and hop in.
Or is there any way to add a landing board underneath it where it’s at?

Also sometimes they have to inspect new things for a couple days to be sure it’s ok. I recently added a new shelf and they didn’t use it for a while, but they finally do now.

That's what I think the issue is.
I tried to put it on the shelf, but the shelf is about head high for me and I can't see in then. Which isn't a huge deal, but I don't think it would be much fun if I couldn't at least watch without standing on a bucket. It didn't really fit up there either, it would have to be on a bit of an angle.

I can possibly add a board under it. I'll try that tomorrow maybe. It would have to be toenailed into the stud though I think. I'll see what I can do to fix it for them.

I've noticed that, haha. They're so wary with new things.

 

[MGG]

If you're thinking vent sexing like you can do with waterfowl, it wouldn't work, because pigeons don't have a phallus. They're more like chickens, and those are hard to vent sex. I'm not actually sure what you'd be looking for with pigeons, if you tried to vent them.

I go by behavior. Males do a lot of bowing and cooing to try to impress the ladies. I've also tried the pelvic bone measuring that WV described and found that to be fairly accurate.

That's what I was wondering.
That's interesting. I have vent sexed chickens/chicken chicks with good accuracy.

Maybe I'll try vent sexing my suspected male. I'm interested in seeing what I can tell.

My Homer (suspected male) does a lot of cooing and bowing like you're saying. None of the others do. He seems to be the dominant bird too though.

I'll try that as well.