# 2 black pigeons "nest" on my balcony



## tonylung (Jul 24, 2007)

I discovered that an egg was laid by a black pigeon 12 days ago, another was laid the day after.
There are a few problems about my new neighbors:
1.Another pigeon(white and grey), which originally roosts on my balcony is always disturbing and attacking the hen, and sometimes the cock too. It seems that both the parents are afraid of their enemy and they just fly away when it comes. The eggs are left alone without hatching. This happens from the beginning until now. The parents can leave their eggs as long as an hour or two at the very beginning, because of the white and grey pigeon. When the white and grey one is there, the parents never come back. To help them, I scare the white one away whenever i see it.( I hope I'm doing the right thing). But I wonder if the eggs have already gone bad because of the discontinuous hatching.

2.If the eggs have gone bad, do they know ?Would the parents keep on hatching them? Actually, the embryo must have been developed to a certain extent as I can observe something like blood vessel and some "shaded region" just underneath the shell.

3.The parents have been starting to build the nest in recent days, but yesterday I discovered that the nest was destroyed, probably by the white and grey pigeon in early morning.Is it noraml to build the nest so late? What can I do to prevent the white pigeon's attack?

4.The relative humidity here is not very high ( about 70-83%) but the temperature is very high (>30) and can reach up to 35 or above with the strong sunlight in the afternoon. It seems that the parent feels very hot and they keep gasping when they are sitting on their eggs. I wonder if the egg would dry out under this circumstances. 

I'm from Hong Kong and my English is not very good I hope you all can understand and answer some of my questions. 

Thanks a lot , Tony


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

Hi Tony and welcome to Pigeon-Talk. Your English is wonderful.

I really can't help you much on the pigeon territory disputes, but stay tuned. People will be coming on and offer their opinions. 

The pigeons may be a bit hot where they are nesting and it may not be the best place to raise their babies. Perhaps you can make a sunshade if they come back. 

One thing to be cautious about. Many cities have very strict rules about allowing any pigeons to nest. Pigeons are killed as pests in these cities, so be very careful about encouraging a pigeon family unless you know they will be safe from humans. 
Landlords may also feel the same way about pigeons. There are many stories about landlords coming into someone's apartment and taking away pigeons, eggs, and chicks that were on a balcony.  Do be very careful to know the "lay of the land" (the rules, and how the neighbors feel) before continuing to encourage your friends. 
The gray and white pigeon may see your balcony as its territory and will do its best to keep out the strangers. 
If it's not against the rules, you might consider putting in a couple of nesting boxes for both sets of pigeons. 
Good luck and hope you stay around!


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Your English is fine. Well, at those temperatures, the eggs are not going to have a problem staying alive with such long periods of not being sat upon. The humidity sounds good. The worst part is what might happen to them when they do hatch if the other bird scares the parents off and then tries to kill the nestlings. You might have a problem at that time.

Pidgey


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## tonylung (Jul 24, 2007)

Thanks for replying! 
As far as I know,in Hong Kong,there is no rules of restricting any wild birds inhabiting in our community but laws to protect wild birds as well as their eggs: any attempt to harm wild birds and to destroy their nests and eggs are considered illegal. And in fact, even during the period of H5N1, wild birds are not hunted, but thousands of chickens are slaughtered 
I think it is a good idea to put a nesting box, but my parents just wouldn't let me do so. My father does not really welcome the new neighbors.

Just now the white pigeon comes and is fighting with the father!!!!!!!!!


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

It doesn't sound like the ideal place for a nest, especially if your dad doesn't want them there either.

With the white bird around, it will be quite tough for them to raise a clutch and may be quite a heartbreak for all, as mentioned. If the white bird is DEAD set on claiming this area for his territory it probably would be impossible to chase him away, and possibly chase the parents away in the process.


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## tonylung (Jul 24, 2007)

*update*

The mom's behavior is strange this morning.. Without any disturbance from the white pigeon, she still flys away suddenly, but return in a very short time. What is the reason for going out for a short time(just about 1 min) ?


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## A_Smith (Aug 8, 2006)

tonylung said:


> I discovered that an egg was laid by a black pigeon 12 days ago, another was laid the day after. AND The mom's behavior is strange this morning.. Without any disturbance from the white pigeon, she still flys away suddenly, but return in a very short time. What is the reason for going out for a short time(just about 1 min) ?


Maybe the eggs are going to hatch soon and white pigeons knows, and MOM don't want leave for too long.


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## tonylung (Jul 24, 2007)

*bad news*

The white pigeon comes and fight the mother. The mother try to protect her eggs but unfortunately the eggs might be kicked by either of them and there is a small crack in one of the egg....
Is that egg dying? The eggs have been hatched for 14 days only, so the crack probably is not by pipping.


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## tonylung (Jul 24, 2007)

After 20 days,squabs have not hatched yet. The hen is still sitting on the eggs and even if I scare her, she won't leave the egg.
I saw an egg with most the area shaded, is it the baby squab inside or just an egg having gone bad?
I cannot see the other egg, as the hen is sitting on it so well. I may try to have a look when the cock takes the turn.


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

She'll leave the eggs in a few more days if they don't hatch. They're pretty self-regulating. Should she leave them for several days, then you can probably discard them. She may have waited a few days to start brooding them. If they still haven't hatched out in another week, you can safely toss them out.


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## tonylung (Jul 24, 2007)

The cock suddenly leave the eggs and has not return for quite a long time.
Are the eggs abandoned?
Here is a photo of the eggs.









(The cracks were produced a few days ago.)


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

Those look like pecks and damage from the outside. Leave them a few more days, but they don't look too good to me. You might want to take a sniff; if you smell something bad, then you know for sure. 
Many different animals eat eggs; rats, snakes, squirrels, and other bird species like crows. You can't get mad at animals that are just trying to survive as unguarded eggs (regardless of species) are a prime target for any animal that eats animal protein.


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