Stopping more hatching

[CCUK]

At the moment I have two pairs that have had three squabs between them. In total now I have 8. 5 adults 3 squabs. The squabs are 3 weeks old and are in amd out of the bowls. The parents have both layed another two eggs in the bowl with the squabs. So that's four more eggs. I'm happy to let another 2 hatch but I'm not really wanting any more than that at the moment. How would be best to stop them laying more eggs and sitting on them? I have plastic eggs I can replace them with but will they stay sat on them? My loft isn't all that big and I don't want to overcrowded it. I only have one I can fly at the moment, so I want to concentrate on the squabs before hatching any more.

 

[LamarshFish]

Keeping your loft from becoming overcrowded is smart. It prevents most problems in lofts, such as diseases, stress, etc.

The best way to control reproduction is to have at least two sections of your loft, where you can separate the sexes. Ideally, 3 sections is best--during breeding season you have a breeder section with nest boxes and all the pairs you want to breed, then you have a section for males and females (and if you can't fit more sections, you can keep your young birds in with the single sex birds for training). In the off season, or when you don't want breeding, you simply separate the sexes. You want to keep the young birds separate from the breeders since you don't want your breeders out flying. So this serves to solve several problems.

The other way to control reproduction, which is the way I use since I built a one section loft at a time I did not understand how important several sections are, is to use fake eggs, as you have mentioned. Yes, the birds will continue to sit on the fake eggs. I notice they give up at about the 25 day mark, and abandon the egg, and unfortunately they get right back to laying within 3-7 days.

I will seek to build a larger, multi section loft not only to solve the aforementioned problems, but to also keep the stress down. Constant laying makes the birds more sensitive to health problems, and the hens do get stressed by the cock birds constant desire to drive them. And, in the case you own an absolutely stunning bird (be it performance, looks, parenting skills or whatever), you need to understand that like humans, hen pigeons have a fixed number of eggs, and once they're used up, they're gone.

Keep one thing in mind, if you start flying your birds, you will lose some. It is sad, but just part of owning homing pigeons. One hand, you want to keep the in a cage to keep them from hawks and getting lost, yet on the other hand you want them to have their freedom.

 

[Hokum Coco]

How would be best to stop them laying more eggs and sitting on them? Short answer do "NOT". I personally hard boil the first egg when the second egg arrives then dispose of the second egg and let them incubate the first hard boiled egg. I have plastic eggs I can replace them with but will they stay sat on them? Yes in a perfect world.

@LamarshFish really has the best solution.

 

[CCUK]

I don't have the space in my loft to make separate areas. It would be best to keep them apart but unless I get a larger loft I'm stuck. I'll replace two eggs with fake ones and let them sit on the other two.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I don't have the space in my loft

It is not a perfect world you have to do what best suits your loft and conditions. Taking the eggs away and not replacing them will cause the cock bird to drive the hen to its nest. This causes the hen to lay again in approximately 10 days which stresses the bird to the breaking point eventually.

 

[CCUK]

I'm beginning to see how alot of pigeon people end up with so many! I wonder if there's much market for selling youngsters?

 

[Hokum Coco]

I wonder if there's much market for selling youngsters?

In my area people are not willing to pay much more than $10.ºº a bird which is no where near what my Belgium blood line is worth. Therefore I will only give my birds away or dispose of their eggs rather than undervalue them.

 

[CCUK]

I've seen some that are literally worth hundreds! I'm sure that some are worth more but that's top level pedigree birds. I'm definitely not anywhere near that league!

 

[CCUK]

Well I've left two eggs and switcherood the other. See what happens!

 

[biophiliac]

....taking notes ....