# baby is less tame with weaning? should he be separated?



## Microraptor (Sep 29, 2017)

i have an exactly 1 month old baby pigeon (DNA sexed male)

for background, i've had his parents for a few months now. they are 2 years old and are unsocial loft birds. since i got them they are now living indoors but still don't like me at all.

i decided to let them hatch one baby to try and have a more tame bird. while he is raised mostly by the parents i made sure to handle him for at least a few hours every day and occasionally feed him to get him familiar with me.

when he was a small baby he of course couldn't run away and would beg me for food and even sort of preen me. but this week hes weaning and can now walk around but runs from my hand?
im scared his fearful parents will instill that same fear in him, should i keep them separate? is this a weaning thing? he still doesnt know how to eat yet so i can't exactly bribe him with food. i'm scared i might just frighten him more.

another question: when he becomes sexually mature, will he try to court his mother if that's the only hen in the house, or can he still bond to a human?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

In my experience, friendly babies come from friendly parents. Fearful or unfriendly babies will come from unfriendly parents. In my loft I will hand feed treats to the parents at the nest box, and the tame or friendly ones will, of course, come to my hand for the treat, or seed mix. Eventually the babies will learn from them and join them. They very early on learn that you are friend and not foe. But if you have parents that get upset at your being there, they will show this and the babies pick up on it. So they will view you with distrust. 
Chopped unsalted peanuts work wonders. All birds love them. They won't know what they are, but if mixed in with their feed for a while they will eventually try them. Then they will love them. I have had many fearful or unfriendly pigeons eventually come to me for the treat. Do you give them out of cage time for them to get exercise and get used to you? Just keeping them in a cage isn't going to get them any tamer. They need to learn to trust you.

Yes, if the mother is the only female you have, he will probably start going after her as he matures. The Dad will chase him off. They won't be able to be kept in the same cage. Are you planning on build a small loft or enclosure for them, or keep them in the house? If outside, they will still need and attached aviary to go outside in to exercise and get fresh air and sunshine. And maybe take a bath. Pigeons love to bathe. Pigeons should be kept in pairs. Singles just cause problems.


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

I have a young bird, DNA sexed male and he's now around two months old. His mum is a wild unreleasable feral and his dad is a feral I raised from an egg. He acts exactly like your boy and has learned to be fearful because of his mum. I handled him too and he was much more sociable when he couldn't fly. 
Just for the record I also hand reared three tumblers, two are brother and sister but the last one was a lone DNA sexed hen. The pair of chicks were very social and attached to me as babies but as one grew to fear me the other copied him. Whereas the younger lone tumbler (6months old) doesn't fear me and still spends most of her time either waiting at the door for me or following me around the room getting involved in what I'm doing. I hand raised three feral chicks individually, from different nests, and they didn't learn fearful behaviour by being on their own either and still trust me over one year on. 

I think a large amount of fearful behaviour is learned from birds they share the nest with and others around them.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

It would be easier to tame him if separated from the parents, but I hate to do that, as later they won't recognize him as their own. If kept together, they always seem to remember. Even if you do not separate them, he can still become tame, it just takes a bit more time and effort. Getting him to love chopped peanuts would be a great help. Peanuts have worked wonders for me over the years. You can probably even get his parents tame in time with patience.


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