Pigeon Love

The young birds I brought in from friends last May have been with me about 3 months now, and I've been told that squeakers (babies) will most likely stick to the loft after they've lived in it about that long. So we're at the point in time now where I'd like to begin letting them fly free. I've got them trained to dinner time, they know the whistle means food is coming, and they've learned to negotiate the trap, so I should be able to commence. I'm going to be learning how to vaccinate in the next few days, thanks to two friendly local pigeon keepers, and once they've all had their shots I'll feel better about letting them out. Of course...I'm worried they'll leave and never come back, or spend their time lounging around the neighborhood on other people's rooftops like the first pair of adults I had did, so I stress over keeping them as prisoners or letting them out to play. I don't want complaining neighbors, and I don't want lost birds. Conundrum.

To complicate matters...my loft full of 6 boys has turned into a trio of couples!

During the past week, bonding and nest building have taken over the imaginations of these youngsters and though I'd put it down to age/hormones and thought it precious that they had begun to play house, one pair produced two eggs this week. They managed to knock them both off the precarious perch they've selected for nesting, prompting me to first add a wider board and later a square plastic tray for their use.


It drove me crazy...it's something like trying to get kids ready for a new school year. There's nothing readily available for nesting materials in their loft/aviary, and what do they need/want?? Once I began to suspect what was going on I grabbed handfuls of dried grass and twigs and put them inside to see what would happen. Those were quickly whisked away and turned into very spartan nests. One pair who apparently didn't pounce quickly enough has resorted to discarded tail and wing feathers (it's molting time in pigeonland) which I find especially endearing and sweet. Scraps of loft building materials are also incorporated here and there, the poor things grabbing anything they can carry and trying earnestly to obey their nest-building instincts. I hope I'm not warping their skill buildng by not having a proper environment at hand!

Of course we entered a week long episode of monsoonal rain so there was no more dry grass to offer. On a visit to Small*Fart, (where I found the $1.44 plastic tray and a perfect bathing pan for $2.97) I found an item in the craft section that's long strips of natural wood (oak) fibers, similar to exselsior but softer, almost grasslike. I bought two bundles for $0.97 each and cut one into ~12" strands which I scattered around the loft for them to forage in. I also collected a few more bits of twig and grass. That was last night, and this morning I noted quite a bit of additional material has been added to the existing nests! Success!

The 2nd pairing up, to my delight, are my own 'Beauty Bird,' born here winter '06/'07, and the young Tippler/Mookee cross I adopted from a friend in May '07 (I'm inclined to calling him 'Walter'). They are about the same age and size, and have a very similar head/body shape which is distinct from the homers. I am not sure what sort of pigeon the person who did the (presumed) symbolic release of BB's parents is using, but as I've learned more about these birds I now know they aren't typical homing pigeons. Which perhaps accounts for why they were found living as lone ferals...maybe they don't home well!? That is a puzzle that will never be answered.

I'd have chosen these birds for each other so I'm glad they seem to find each other appealing. Last night I observed them feeding each other which is a true bonding behavior and quite charming to witness. I've seen "Walter Pigeon" 'driving' little BB, a typical male behavior. And I was so sure BB was a boy!


Beauty Bird




Walter

Since I'm just learning too, I experiment with different objects to see what works, and I bought 3 large plastic bowls for $1.00 to offer as nest bowls but they are too lightweight and the birds manage to send them to the floor. They'll need to be attached with a screw or something. They did try sitting in them at least, judging by the contents. As I've read where pigeons generally produce a 2nd pair of eggs about 2 weeks after hatching a first pair, they actually build TWO nests, so I also bought an inexpensive double pet bowl at Tractor Supply Company, which BB and Walter have moved in to. I am very curious to learn whether such an item will accommodate the 2 nest situation well. They built their nest in the right side bowl (I can't resist taking it down and peeking when they're out excersizing!) and to my surprise, dismantled it and moved it into the left side a day later! They seem settled on that one, now. :)

At this point, I'm trying to determine who the boys/girls are by observing who sits on nests at different times of day, assuming of course there is a male/female coupling in each case. The likelihood of my having ended up with 3 girls and 3 boys I would have thought zero. So far it seems BB is a lady, as is my sole blue (really grey) homer, who has taken one of the pure whites as a partner.

The 3rd pair have moved into a cubicle and are building away like the others, and cooing and twirling etc., but this pair I wonder about. It may be they are two males and have nothing else to do and no one else to do it with...everyone else is nesting! They acquire the biggest bits of twig, ones I would have thought difficult to use for construction, but definately noteworthy and trophy-like (how masculine!) These are brought into the cubicle, along with feathers and whatever else they find, but no real assembly seems to take place. Since it's the males who gather materials and the females who are the architects, and gathering seems to be all they're accomplishing, are they both male birds? They also don't spend much time "nest"-sitting. I affixed one of the white plastic bowls to their cubicle but they're ignoring it so far and just seem to prefer piling their booty in the opposite corner.


Woo in foreground


Switcheroo

These birds continue to fascinate me, I could spy on them for hours. Bless their little feathered buns.