Pigeon Talk

[cavemanrich]

I'm not totally knowing about peregrine falcons,,,, but assumed they were mainly after fish ??? I might have that crossed with another predator
No peregrine falcons in my area.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I'm not totally knowing about peregrine falcons,,,, but assumed they were mainly after fish ??? I might have that crossed with another predator
No peregrine falcons in my area.

I think they are still fairly uncommon away from the coasts and mountains. We have a lot of them stretching from NY to New England because they use the cities as artificial nest sites.

Luckily I don’t see too many of them where I live, some here and there in the fall which I assume are young falcons dispersing from their parents territory.

Maybe you are thinking of the Osprey which eats almost exclusively fish. The falcons hunt a lot of birds including feral pigeons and waterfowl (they used to be called the duck hawk a long time ago)

 

[cavemanrich]

Maybe you are thinking of the Osprey which eats almost exclusively fish.

You hit the nail directly on the head...

 

[avjudge]

Well, I lost my first pigeon a couple weeks ago. At least, the first one I found dead in the aviary – in her nesting box. (I did lose one of my first “oops“ babies when they went off on their first flight and only one returned.) She was one of a pair I got from the Animal Rescue League outside Boston. One wing drooped slightly, and though she seemed to have no problem flying up to her box she never ever left the aviary when I left it open for any who wanted to loft fly.

I cleaned out the aviary last month, removing all nesting material to clean the boxes. Since they would need to rebuild their nests I removed the (fake) eggs so all four pair were expected to lay the next week. Two had and I checked on the other two and there she was lying dead. So I wonder if it had something to do with a laying problem. Since she spent much of her time in the nesting box I didn’t keep tabs on her as much as on the other three girls who will fly around the backyard afternoons, but I hadn’t noticed anything unusual when I did catch a glimpse of her.

What is really notable is the behavior of her “widower.” Like her, he never left the aviary to fly around the yard. Even in the evening, when the girls return to the nest and the boys fly until suppertime/door closed. Until now. Now he is out flying during the day with the girls, then late afternoon with the boys. I am just so happy to see him out, flying, seeming to enjoy himself.

I am really wondering if I want to get a mate for him. I won’t breed for my own pigeons because I don’t want a fifth male — I have four nesting boxes (old kitchen wall cabinets that form the only fully indoor space in the aviary) and everything fits nicely; I don’t want to have to figure out how to add a fifth or sixth. So far he seems perfectly happy flying around and enjoying his freedom, and he isn’t putting the moves on any of the other females. I think I’ll leave things as they are unless/until I see signs of discontent.

it really is lovely to see him fly. With his black body and bright white wing tips he is wearing a tuxedo!

(ETA: Picture at the feeder to show his pattern because I am totally incapable of getting a good one when they are on the wing!)

 

[cavemanrich]

Well, I lost my first pigeon a couple weeks ago. At least, the first one I found dead in the aviary – in her nesting box. (I did lose one of my first “oops“ babies when they went off on their first flight and only one returned.) She was one of a pair I got from the Animal Rescue League outside Boston. One wing drooped slightly, and though she seemed to have no problem flying up to her box she never ever left the aviary when I left it open for any who wanted to loft fly.

I cleaned out the aviary last month, removing all nesting material to clean the boxes. Since they would need to rebuild their nests I removed the (fake) eggs so all four pair were expected to lay the next week. Two had and I checked on the other two and there she was lying dead. So I wonder if it had something to do with a laying problem. Since she spent much of her time in the nesting box I didn’t keep tabs on her as much as on the other three girls who will fly around the backyard afternoons, but I hadn’t noticed anything unusual when I did catch a glimpse of her.

What is really notable is the behavior of her “widower.” Like her, he never left the aviary to fly around the yard. Even in the evening, when the girls return to the nest and the boys fly until suppertime/door closed. Until now. Now he is out flying during the day with the girls, then late afternoon with the boys. I am just so happy to see him out, flying, seeming to enjoy himself.

I am really wondering if I want to get a mate for him. I won’t breed for my own pigeons because I don’t want a fifth male — I have four nesting boxes (old kitchen wall cabinets that form the only fully indoor space in the aviary) and everything fits nicely; I don’t want to have to figure out how to add a fifth or sixth. So far he seems perfectly happy flying around and enjoying his freedom, and he isn’t putting the moves on any of the other females. I think I’ll leave things as they are unless/until I see signs of discontent.

it really is lovely to see him fly. With his black body and bright white wing tips he is wearing a tuxedo!

Personal view,,,,
If you don't want to have a breeding program,,,, (I assume you switch eggs with plastics).. SKIP getting a hen for him. Let him just enjoy the company of the rest of the loft pigeons.

 

[avjudge]

Personal view,,,,
If you don't want to have a breeding program,,,, (I assume you switch eggs with plastics).. SKIP getting a hen for him. Let him just enjoy the company of the rest of the loft pigeons.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts. I did get girls two years ago for my younger males, as they were strutting their stuff and it has in fact seemed to make them happier. But so far this guy seems to have a new lease on life. He is definitely in a different place in his life than the youngsters were.

It sounds like I am anthropomorphizing, but everything I see in all my animals tells me they change with age like people do!

 

[Qwerty3159]

It sounds like I am anthropomorphizing, but everything I see in all my animals tells me they change with age like people do!

It is definitely true!

I have two male homers that are 9 years old, one is still breeding like a champ with a 4 year old hen but the other one is also 9 and mated to a 16 year old hen. That pair doesn’t mate anymore or spend any time in the nest bowl but they still are attached at the hip. They have a nest box but I ended up taking the bowl out, they just lounge in the empty box.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Back again today looking for advice,

I’ve actually never had this happen before but I have a pigeon with a sore/injured wing. The 4 y.o. hen I mentioned in my previous post. She can fly up and down to the perches and her nest box with some effort but the wing definitely is bothering her. It’s drooping slightly but not hanging down at an awkward angle. No blood or anything and no collisions with power lines as far as I know, I noticed the injury today, she hasn’t been out of the loft in about a week as she is currently feeding squabs.

Will it heal on its own, or time for the vet?

 

[Pyxis]

How old do we think this one is? He was found alone and the people grabbed him and gave him to me. Doesn't seem interested in offered food, wondering if he's young enough to still need hand feeding.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Looks like a 3 week old, he should be learning to eat seeds but still needs to be hand-fed right now.