# Starting to Feel Aggressive?



## Howard Nye (Oct 14, 2009)

Hi all,

I've had my pigeon for about 12-14 weeks, the first 10 or so were spent healing up a broken wing (she's formerly feral, but the wing break left her permanently unable to fly very much and thus not a candidate for release into the wild). Now that her wing is healed I'm letting her spend most of her time outside her cage. She's been seeming very happy - finding lots of new nests & perches, climbing on my lap and shoulder, etc. 

But recently she's also been starting to feel pretty aggressive. She does a good amount of cooing, inflating her neck puffs, strutting around, and doing aggression displays by biting cloth or paper towels and shaking them back and forth in her mouth (incidentally I'm not sure if she's a girl; she just seemed a little more female when I found her). She's also started pecking and biting me more, including when she gets up on my shoulder and when I pick her up. 

I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas about why my pigeon might be feeling aggressive, and whether there's anything I can do to make her feel less so and / or teach her not to bite. (If she's just a naturally aggressive bird and there's nothing I can do to modulate her behaviors that's totally fine and I'll love her just the way she is; I was just wondering if there was anything to do to change the way she's feeling, since I'm a little worried that she might not be most happy this way and it seems like I'd be able to relate to her better if she were able to calm down a little.)

Thanks so much!
Howard


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

She is he I guess and this is mating behavior. Cooing and puffing neck and turning in the circles and pecking and tail dragging is actually courting in pigeons. Maybe it is not the gentlest way, but it works for them.
Don't worry it is normal for males, either get used to it and play along or find him a mate.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

Howard Nye said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I've had my pigeon for about 12-14 weeks, the first 10 or so were spent healing up a broken wing (she's formerly feral, but the wing break left her permanently unable to fly very much and thus not a candidate for release into the wild). Now that her wing is healed I'm letting her spend most of her time outside her cage. She's been seeming very happy - finding lots of new nests & perches, climbing on my lap and shoulder, etc.
> 
> ...


Hi Howard,
That is "normal" pigeon behavior.  Sounds like a cock to me, bowing, strutting and "puffing up". Means he's feeling comfortable with his surroundings and trying to claim it and you. I just go with it - he's communicating to you "in pigeon language"  Do you know how old a bird it is?


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## Howard Nye (Oct 14, 2009)

Hi plamenh and Msfreebird,

Thank you very much for your responses; it's very reassuring to hear that this is normal and it's likely just that Bird-Bird (that's my pigeon) is a boy who is starting to feel more comfortable with his environment. (If it is mating behavior does that mean that he's starting to feel lonely for other pigeons? I'm more than happy to let him think of me as another pigeon if he can - I'm an academic so I can work at home and be around him lots - but I wonder if I should be trying harder to find other pigeons around here who might need homes...)

I don't know quite how old Bird-Bird is. The vet said she thought that he was an adult when I found him in late October. He's gained a lot of weight since I've had him but most of that was in the first few weeks when he was recovering from being undernourished and dehydrated.

Thanks again!
Howard


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

Howard Nye said:


> Hi plamenh and Msfreebird,
> 
> Thank you very much for your responses; it's very reassuring to hear that this is normal and it's likely just that Bird-Bird (that's my pigeon) is a boy who is starting to feel more comfortable with his environment. (If it is mating behavior does that mean that he's starting to feel lonely for other pigeons? I'm more than happy to let him think of me as another pigeon if he can - I'm an academic so I can work at home and be around him lots - but I wonder if I should be trying harder to find other pigeons around here who might need homes...)
> 
> ...


This is really a call you have to decide that works best for you.
If you have plenty of time (working at home) to interact with him, and he gets alot of exercise - having 1 bird will keep him focused on YOU, making him a better "pet" and he would consider you his "mate".
OR there are plenty of birds out there that need loving homes. You could get him a little hen for company and watch their little antics, which are most amusing  2 birds are just as easy to keep as 1. And still easily trainable.
Hope this helps


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