# Troublesome "teenager"?



## TheMcGoos (Oct 21, 2010)

Hi There! 

I am a new member and proud first time "parent" to two youngsters currently aged just on 5 months and approximately 6 months old. Owing to our situation being in the city and currently having no garden to put an aviary (yet) they have been raised as house pets. 

The 5 month old - Piglet (owing to his larger than bird appetite as a squab/squeaker) - has been hand reared by me since he was rescued by my husband from building rubble aged approximately 3 weeks old. The other - Bigoo - we adopted rather incidentally from an animal sanctuary when (s)he was about 2 months old.

Pigoo has always been a very boisterous bird and generally very friendly, although has always shyed away from being patted or held. Over the 2 months he has become very bossy to our other bird - who is a much smaller bird. I say he as I have assumed such behaviours are "male". This bossy behaviour extends to any part of the zone in our house they are allowed to go and it has started to really worry me as this behaviour seems excessive - around food or favourite perching places I can sort of understand, but blocking entry to an area 15m away from his roost by cooing chasing and biting I cannot. Given the have generally got on well, this increasingly aggressive behaviour has started to worry me. 

More recently over the past 2 weeks he has started to make a softer "hooing" sound when sat on top of his cage or in nice comfy dark nooks. This sound is coupled by gently twitching his wing tips and bending his body forward with a puffed up crop. I am assuming this behaviour is associated with calling a mate. 

Until 3 days ago Bigoo, our other bird, would watch this behaviour from a distance (to prevent being biten/chased when (s)he did approach) and didn't seem too interested in it. However, I have seen a change now where Bigoo will go to Pigoo and make the same gestures Pigoo makes described above - and more often than not without being bitten/attacked. They then regurgitate food and feed eachother - which they have done since they were very little anyway. Does this mean that Bigoo is a female? Or are they both just very confused teenagers trying out their courting moves given there are no other birds around? 

Pigoo today has now started collecting hay from their zone upstairs and bringing it down and into their cage. Again, from my reading, this is a male behaviour? 

Today he has also now started to attack my hands very aggressively something he has not normally done in the cage (although if I have tried to move him to his cage off a place he has roosted after dark he has). I accept that he is probably getting very nesty, but is there any way to stamp out this aggressive behaviour particularly since I have seen a video on YouTube of a fancier putting her hand in the cage of a calling 7 month old male and even touching his feathers without being so much as even pecked or "wing beaten"? 

Given the above behaviours and their age, when, given I have a potentially mating pair, would they start to produce eggs? 

Absolutely any advice on the above would be gratefully received particularly on how to manage Pigoo's aggressive behaviour whilst allowing them to be normal adult birds behaving as nature intended. 

Thanks!

Cat & Dave


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yes they are at the age when they know what sex they are and can mate and produce eggs. you will have to get some fake eggs for hatch controll.


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## TheMcGoos (Oct 21, 2010)

Hi Spirit Wings. Thanks so much for your prompt reply. So, you think yes, they are a male and a female then? From when do you think they will start producing eggs? In a few weeks or more like a few months? Will this aggressive behaviour reduce over the course of time? Sorry so many questions! Cheers, Cat


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

The aggressive behavior can depend upon the individual pigeon. I have pairs that wont mind what I do around the nest bowl and pairs who will give good firm wing slaps if i try to put my hand towards the nest bowl  Usually its better to leave them alone while nesting, evetually they will get more accustomed.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

TheMcGoos said:


> Hi Spirit Wings. Thanks so much for your prompt reply. So, you think yes, they are a male and a female then? From when do you think they will start producing eggs? In a few weeks or more like a few months? Will this aggressive behaviour reduce over the course of time? Sorry so many questions! Cheers, Cat


if anyone lays eggs then you have a hen and if the eggs are fertile you have a pair, if you have 4 eggs you have two hens.. no eggs then you have two males.. time will tell, and yes they can be aggressive as teenagers.


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