# DO pigeon parents recognise their young after a few months?



## Flying_Pidgy (Apr 26, 2006)

Lets say the father raised the baby since an egg and until about 2-3 months. Then they are seperated for about 1-2 months.. can the father still know its his child? How old can the pigon be before the father cant recognize it?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Flying_Pidgy said:


> Lets say the father raised the baby since an egg and until about 2-3 months. Then they are seperated for about 1-2 months.. can the father still know its his child? How old can the pigon be before the father cant recognize it?


Why do you ask?

I have had the fathers recognize their babies for several months (2 to 3 months or a bit longer), after weaning, but they were never seperated, and those babies were hens. Since the father usually becomes the caregiver of the older youngster he will tend to their needs for quite some time, if food is plentiful and there are no new hatchlings that demand of his time. It also depends on the personality of the baby and the gender. If it is a male and becomes dominent and independent then the father will have some confrontations with him. Some little hens seem to be more passive and will be more dependent and allow longer contact with the dads.

I would think after an absence the father may not recognize the older baby, but he may still be drawn to it if he senses it is a hen, as any other male pigeon would.


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## Flying_Pidgy (Apr 26, 2006)

Reason being is because i seperated them and i re united them 2 days ago and they dont fight at all. the baby is now about 6 months old i think and He is very dominant. However, when i put him with his father the father doesnt attack him at all which really surprised me beacuse The father is VERY very dominant of his teretory. the baby is new to the house that the father is in. But the father has lived there since he was a squab. with 2 months of not being there.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

We have a mother, Frosty, who had a baby, ******, about 4 years ago and they still like to be near each other. Also, we had a "oops" baby, Comet, this summer and even after he was weaned he still hung around his parents. When we brought them in to worm them several weeks ago, we put him in the cage with them and all 3 cuddled just like they used to when he was a baby.


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## Flying_Pidgy (Apr 26, 2006)

ooh sounds like they do know their young after all


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Probably all boils down to the birds.

When Peter Pied Piper at ASU had to raise Alberta by himself, she ended up sitting by his new nest for hours when he was on "duty!" Alberta also HATED her stepmother, the new mate that Peter brought back to continue his "dynasty."

Peter and the stepmother, Ms. Nu, tried to get Alberta to leave the original "mansion" nest because they wanted to lay more eggs. Alberta absolutely refused! She pecked and wingslapped any and all efforts!

Finally, Peter and Ms. Nu built a smaller nest a few windows down and laid 2 eggs. Once Peter was on egg duty, THEN, Alberta flew the nest.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*Pigeon intelligence; pigeons recognizing their own young*

We consider pigeons to have a somewhat limited intelligence. They know things we don't know, and remember things that will be useul to them (as do we humans).

Thirty years from now, if you say "9/11" to an American teenager, he will probably look at you and go "huh?" He will probably eventually learn about it in school because there will be those of us who lived through it who will still be alive, and will be overseeing the school curriculum.

However, how many know the year of the fall of the Roman Empire? What was the Byzantine Empire? Who was Herodotus? What was the Han Dynasty? Bet you the pigeons don't know. 

Do you remember any of the infants who were with you in the pre-school nurseries (or whatever they call them)? Do you need to know?

I think if we ask ourselves these types of questions, we will see that we tend to remember that which is helpful and useful to us. Do you remember your great-great-great-great-great grandfather's birthday? Or even his name? (It doesn't count if you remember only because he was a famous or infamous historical figure). He was there. He existed. If he hadn't, you wouldn't be here. But do you need to know?

You may think I am being facetious, a bit wordy and garrulous. Perhaps. But I find it fascinating to ponder the intelligence of pigeons and insects and othe species, and even the intelligence or lack of it in humans. We seem to know something we can touch and eat, and not much otherwise.

I came across an interesting web-page on the topic, b followng some threads and links in the RESOURCES forum:

http://www.psyeta.org/hia/vol8/barber.html

Larry


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## Pige0nL0ver (Mar 4, 2010)

*Do pigeons attack their older babies?*

I have 2 pigeons that had 1 baby pigeon only, the other egg didnt make it .
Anyways, the pigeon that made it is 5 months old now and he gets attacked by his dad when he gets near their cage and he also runs after his son around the balcony. the parents have another baby that is 1 month old.

Right now im keeping the 5 month old boy in a different cage until his younger brother that is 1 month old to grow up.

I have 2 questions and i hope you guys can answer them.

1) When the 1 month old grows, will the dad continue attacking the 5 month old boy?

2) will the parents attack their children at any time after they both become older or will they only attack them when the parents lay eggs?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Pige0nL0ver said:


> I have 2 pigeons that had 1 baby pigeon only, the other egg didnt make it .
> Anyways, the pigeon that made it is 5 months old now and he gets attacked by his dad when he gets near their cage and he also runs after his son around the balcony. the parents have another baby that is 1 month old.
> 
> Right now im keeping the 5 month old boy in a different cage until his younger brother that is 1 month old to grow up.
> ...


he wants to get him away from his hen and nest. he's not a "boy" any longer, but a cock bird.
, the son and father may be fighting for the hen/mother bird, so it is not wise to have single birds in a breeding area, as it only causes trouble, the son and younger squab should get along in their own area together, and yes the father and son will still fight if they see a reason too, which is normal pigeon behavior, as if they were not even related. they are birds not people.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Good question! I don't know the answer, but since adult birds can recognize their old mates, I would conclude that they can remember their kids as well. But they wont treat them as such.


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## Pige0nL0ver (Mar 4, 2010)

Oh okay, thanks for letting me know!

but will they EVER stop fighting? because i dont want to sell one and leave the other


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Pige0nL0ver said:


> Oh okay, thanks for letting me know!
> 
> but will they EVER stop fighting? because i dont want to sell one and leave the other


they may stop fighting when the young cock bird settles down and matures...and they will stop fighting if you put them in seperarte areas which I suggest if you are going to let eggs hatch where he is housed with the sire cock bird.


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## Pige0nL0ver (Mar 4, 2010)

OH okay, so they will stop fighting if there are no eggs?

I wont let them have anymore eggs, im just waiting for the 1 month old pigeon to grow up.

So when the 1 month old pigeon grows up can i put the 5 month old pigeon with his parents in their big cage or will they continue attacking him?

I wont let the parents have more eggs because i dont want the other 1 month old to be attacked, so will everything settle once the 1 month old grows up?

THANKS ALOT for the information your giving me, i dont want to lose my babies


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## jameswaller (Nov 4, 2008)

*pigeon hood*



Flying_Pidgy said:


> Lets say the father raised the baby since an egg and until about 2-3 months. Then they are seperated for about 1-2 months.. can the father still know its his child? How old can the pigon be before the father cant recognize it?


sqabs,are full grown and flying at 30 days,,after that-the beatings start,,so recognition--i believe goes out the door,just like the new fledglings,..this has been my experience,..sincere;ly james waller


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## jameswaller (Nov 4, 2008)

*never stop fighting*




Pige0nL0ver said:


> Oh okay, thanks for letting me know!
> 
> but will they EVER stop fighting? because i dont want to sell one and leave the other


the problem is that we can reason,,but our friends in the wild kingdom cannot,,they feed off instinct,,,if they could-as millions-of years ago,did--hunt mamals and eat them,,they are descendents of dinosaurs called veloca raptors...sincerely james waller


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## Pige0nL0ver (Mar 4, 2010)

Sorry i dont understand what you mean by your reply..
But do you know what month of year do pigeons go through their heavy moult?


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## Pige0nL0ver (Mar 4, 2010)

OH okay, so they will stop fighting if there are no eggs?

I wont let them have anymore eggs, im just waiting for the 1 month old pigeon to grow up.

So when the 1 month old pigeon grows up can i put the 5 month old pigeon with his parents in their big cage or will they continue attacking him?

I wont let the parents have more eggs because i dont want the other 1 month old to be attacked, so will everything settle once the 1 month old grows up?

THANKS ALOT for the information your giving me, i dont want to lose my babies


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

the parent pair will not stop trying to have more young, they will lay and then you replace the real eggs with fake ones so they can sit those. the cock bird will always try to keep intruders away from his nest and mate, so a pair that is mated up and mating and making a nest will not do well with other birds in their way... they may always be in a squabble esp if there are two cock birds in the same pen or cage..so I would house their young away from the pair together in a seperate place, if you can, if not then the fighting will happen from time to time, at that point you may want to find the young cock bird a mate so he can have his own nest and eggs, fake eggs of course.


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## Leopard (Jul 6, 2009)

http://petsforumbiz171.createaforum.com/pigeons-and-doves/21-amazing-facts/

off topic...


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