# Pet Pigeon turned Mean



## Smidgeon

Hi everyone,

I have been putting off writing this post for a very long time b/c I am nervous that some will judge me for keeping my pet pigeon. I found her in the hay stack at about 4 days old, and hand-raised her into a healthy, beautiful girl. (I knew I could b/c I had always hand-raised parrots). I had all intentions of releasing her into the wild, but at the time she was so attached to me, and I read horror stories about them not knowing how to survive and either would starve to death or get eaten by a predator. I just couldn't do that to her.. I would be heartbroken if something happened to her. 

So she was the sweetest thing. Loved to play on my head. She would "ride" around on my back while I walked around feeding all the other animals. 

Then one day she discovered the curtain rod. That was when she started to discover her independence. It was all downhill from there. It's like she turned into a monster. I remember the first day she ran from me instead of running toward me when I entered the room. I cried  . The only thing I ever did to her was clip her wings (which I have a lot of experience with, can do it quickly, and had no adverse incidents with). Now she has hated me ever since. She attacks me whenever I feed her or clean her cage. I mean ATTACKS. Thank goodness she can't draw blood! She seems to be happy otherwise, she coos and talks to her stuffed animal. Now she has 2 eggs so that's keeping her content for the time being. The only exception is when she comes out of her cage, she'll sit on me, but I can't touch her or get near her with my hands or she attacks me. It breaks my heart to think she hates me so much, and that I have no idea what happened. I see so many stories on here of how wonderful they are as pets, and how sweet they are if hand-raised. Sometimes I regret keeping her, because she's not as happy as she could be, but then I tell myself that she'd surely die outside and I'd rather her hate me than be dead. I do love her so much, so despite her temper I will always keep her and love her. But I think I need to get a sign for her cage that says "attack pigeon" 

Does anyone have any ideas as to what happened to my little Smidgeon? What did I do wrong? I know there's no hope for her to ever like me, and I'm ok with that. I just am curious as to what would make her turn like that when she was so sweet before. Sorry for the long post, just wanted you to get the whole story.

Thank you,
Kelly


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## Dobato

Kelly, I think you made the right decision for your little Smidgeon, as you are correct that human bonded birds, in general, do not fair well if released to the wild. What you most likely are experiencing are the terrible "teens" period, there are a number of threads on the forum regard this sudden change from a bird going from the sweetest little thing, to an aggressive little devil bird, in time they do settle down, just be patient and loving with her.

Here is a recent thread from another member on this and there are others if you use the search feature of the site:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f24/whats-with-the-attitude-49790.html

Good luck with her,

Karyn


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## Smidgeon

Oh thank you Karyn! I will check out that thread and search for others. I am new to this forum and was not aware of the terrible teens. I am thankful as well that you think I am doing the right thing by keeping her. Thank you for the support!! I'm off to learn about the "terrible teens"


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## Kiko&Kalani

Smidgeon you are not alone. There are at least three of us that are or in the last months have gone through the same thing. After we vent to each other our "human" frustrations and come to the understanding that this is nature at work, we just don't take their little temper tantrums personally anymore. Your baby girl is indeed going through her hormone infused terrible teens. My own little devil, Kalani, was so sweet for months 1 through about 3 then sometime around month 4 (November) she started going through her "change" and became stand offish and cranky. Once she started laying eggs it got even worse. She even started wing slapping and pecking when I tried to get close. She is now 7 month+ old and I noticed in that last few weeks that she is starting to show more signs of her sweet self. Don't get me wrong, she can still be a little terror but I just blow that off now. 

You did the right thing by saving her life (cause that is what you did) and I do not believe for a second that she is not happy about that and having such a loving home. Hang in there!

Beth


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## EgypSwiftLady

Kelly, glad you saved your pij & it is wonderful that you have decided to keep her/him as a pet.

As for the terrible teens, I have 2 that are going through this! They do grow out of it... sometimes it seems like it's never going to end though!

Have fun & enjoy your feathered friend through all the stages of it's life, cause this is just the beginning!


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## YaSin11

Kelly,
I dont think he/she loves you any less. It's just that when the grow they develop different instincts, so it has nothing to do with your actions per say. Relax and enjoy. Peace,
YaSin


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## cwebster

Kelly,
I agree with what others have written about your bird becoming "hormonal," especially since you mention that she has laid eggs. You may have to "wait it out" until the phase that she is in ends. Phoebe, our pet pigeon, started acting weird when she reached the "terrible teen" age, around the time she laid her first eggs. We have discouraged any further breeding now due to her health problems. Part of what we have learned from two vets and from reading lots of posts and books is that some birds get a "superiority complex" when they can sit higher than you. Also, when a bird is "broody" (getting ready to lay eggs), they often pick out an object or person to "love" and treat other objects or people as "enemies." Our bird picked me out as her love object and my significant other as the "enemy." We have learned to discourage any breeding behavior, by not letting her pick a favorite person, by moving objects around in her cage, by keeping her room dark 12 hours per day, and by removing her pellet dish except for brief periods during the day when she eats (to discourage her from feeling food is plentiful and that it is therefore time to breed). Also, we have both stopped petting her back and just minimally pet her head and minimize letting her "play" with our fingers. We have removed any materials from her cage that she might be tempted to "nest" in and I don't lie down and let her "nuzzle" in on my stomach or chest any more. You might want to try some of these things. Also, if she starts trying to "bite" my significant other (the nonpreferred person), he holds her beak gently, until she stops. She doesn't try to bite him when she is alone with him; she only tries to bite when she knows I am nearby/around. We have also redirected her occasional feistiness and aggression by playing with toys with her (she likes to bite one toy that has bells on it, so we let her sit on a shoulder and bite the bells, or I play "slipper" with her, letting her attack an old bed slipper). She seems to enjoy "dominating" the slipper. Anyway, I'm glad you adopted her and hope she stops the "hormonal" behaviors soon!--Cindy


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## pigeonmama

hormones are a terrible thing !!! Your pigeon is just becoming a grownup.
Daryl
And be glad you kept your kid. She never would have known how to survive on her own, and possibly could have gone looking for a human to help, and could have met up with a person who didn't like pigeons, or understand she was asking for help. This way she is safe and healthy.


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## Siobhan

I'm sure it's just the eggs and her age, too. Particularly the eggs. All birds get a bit aggressive when they have eggs. Hang on and it'll pass.


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## spirit wings

I do believe that birds do not feel hate like humans do.. we are the ones responsible for that emotion not an inoccent bird.. so human emotions can get in the way of seeing what the natural way a pigeon would defend herself and her nest and her stuffed animal which sounds may be her fill in "mate".. all my birds act this way when on the nest.. nothing wrong with them..hand raised or not..they are pigeons and they will act like them.. hookbills are different in many ways from pigeons.. they are more needy and child like... not saying pigeons can not be that way, it is just usually they are just as you described which is normal...and one does not need to fix normal.... she may be more at ease if she were to have another pigeon as her mate.. they are flock birds so that may benifit her.


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## cwebster

Hi, Smidgeon! Hope your pet bird is getting friendly again! Our female, Phoebe, started biting us the past two days (she never bites me!). So I guess not only did the groundhog not see his shadow, but the birds and bees know it is spring and time for reproduction! We're asking the vet to consider a hormone implant for her due to her health problems plus behavior. She has always been a totally sweet, loving bird. She hasn't laid an egg but has been acting "broody" and aggressive. She doesn't seem to be defending any part of her cage, just biting particularly late in the day.--Cindy


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## Podgy's Mum

Hi Smidgeon, I doubt you would find anybody here that would condemn you for saving a pigeon and keeping it as a pet - must admit, I was concerned at first too but have had nothing but support on this site. So cool to see one of my previous posts mentioned - thanks Dobato. 
As soon as I saw the title of your post it caught my interest because we had a similar problem with Podgy about a month ago. He went from being a cuddle pie to a killer pigeon!  You will be pleased to discover that the last week or so he has been quite pleasant again. He still doesn't like to be petted as much and hands are not welcome or he will try to bite unfortunately but he is back to being fun again. We have learned to read his signs - easy really coz he will strut and coo and puff up when he is getting ready to have a snap. Then we either back off, or gently grip his beak until he gets over himself - if that doesnt work and he is really cranky we pick him up and hold him gently to soothe him. I don't know if that is a dominance thing, for him to be subdued like that but it seems to work. When we let him fly off he will sulk for a little while, puff and preen, stamp his feet (like tap dancing ) but then he is willing to socialize again. 
Podgy has the run of our house for a few hours, twice a day. He walks and flys around like he owns the place, gets into the kids pencil boxes while they do schoolwork, hangs out with me while I shower etc. He is a delight but has decided he also likes his independence - "No touchy unless I say so" kind of thing. We respect that and enjoy the occasional snuggles when he is in the mood. 

Enjoy your bird, respect her space and share your stories - they are great fun to read!! 
All the best,
Dana


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## g-pigeon

when the moms are on eggs they fiercely defend them

do not worry it will past


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## Dobato

Dana, something I thought I would mention to you, and Kelly as well, is that when you let them "free roam" like you do to "pigeon proof" things around the house. This means being careful/aware of hot stoves, ceiling fans, open toilet seats, open windows, kids running in & out leaving the door open, harmful plants and errant small pieces of metal or wire they can swallow, especially used/old staples that pull off from office/school work. It's in their nature to swallow small "hard" things to act as grit and if they do swallow a staple it can cause what is know as "hardware disease" and can be deadly to them.

Karyn


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## Smidgeon

*Thank You!*

Thank you all so much for the encouragement and advice! Cindy, I do think I will DEFINITELY be incorporating some of your practices. Smidgeon definitely has a love object - it's her stuffed teletubby. She acts like a teenager with it for sure.. infatuatingly in love with it one day, beating up on it the next. It's really quite cute. I am definitely the hated one. I will try the food thing too for sure.
Spirit Wings, I think you are right. I know she is just acting on instinct now that I hear what everyone has to say, and that it's not something I did to her. I am happy as long as she is living as happy and healthy life as she can be. I have thought about looking for a buddy for her..especially since she is not fond of me. I want her to have companionship. I don't want any babies, though, so is it possible for two females to live together? Or do I just have to take the eggs away from a pair when they lay them?
Dana, thank you for the encouragement! Podgy sounds adorable and entertaining. Much like my little Smidgeon. She makes me laugh all the time, and she's always listening and is very entertaining. My husband "coos" at her all the time and she LOVES it. She probly just thinks he's ridiculous, but it's cute to see her stop what she's doing and pay attention to him. I too pick her up when she's being particularly nasty, and I actually turn her around and hold her back to my chest where she can't struggle and she just sits there and chills out a bit. It also lets me sneak in a kiss whether she likes it or not! 
I would like to pig-proof my office so that she can fly around in there. but I am worried about the pooping thing.. what on earth do you all do to keep everything clean?!
All in all, my Smidgeon seems like she got mean earlier and it has persisted longer than the stories I see here. Hers started as soon as she was able to fly. She just recently started laying eggs and that has made it worse (naturally) but the problem was there before. I don't expect her to ever be nice, and it would be soooo wonderful if she was, but I love her anyway and she'll have a forever home with me.. and maybe I'll adopt a buddy for her if the opportunity arises. 
Again, thank you all so much! It is wonderful to hear that it's "not my fault" and that I did the right thing by keeping her. 
Love from Kelly and Smidgeon (in her own way, of course  )


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## Podgy's Mum

Hi Kelly, I was interested to hear of Smidgeons tellytubby doll. Did you give her that when she was tiny? I am wondering if Podgy would 'take' to a teddy? Might give it a go. I have decided Podgy is definately a boy because he has fallen in love with my foot! He has tried to 'do the deed'  a couple of times, much to my chagrin! 

Regarding flight time - we have floorboards in the area where he spends most of his time which makes it easier to clean up after him and my kids are all trained to being on "poop Patrol" I even have my 2 year old running to me crying 'Mama - poo'clock" Which in his language means Poo O'clock - one of the funny sayings we have all begun using - which means 'it's time to pick up poop!' Another Pigeon pun we have adopted is Sun O'clock. This is the time of day when the afternoon sun shines on our floor and Podgy goes crazy, sun bathing, tap dancing, flapping on the spot etc. We all enjoy Sun O'Clock 

Anyway, back to free flight, another solution we found from this forum is using Pigeon Diapers (Boni from Birdwearlady can help you with this). We ordered a pair and Boni shipped all the way to Australia - we were both amazed though, to discover that Podgy has worked out how to take one of the back straps off! (I am going to sew a press stud on the offending strap and that should take care of that little problem!) He also made short work of the little bell attached to the front - I think he was highly offended at being made to wear a diaper but the bell was definately the last straw !!! Very funny to see him with his little "Podgy Pants" though, and they work really well. I wasn't sure if we would be able to use them because they arrived just after he changed into Killer Pigeon - but we perservered with nipped fingers and cranky bird and he gave in at the end. He still doesn't love them but suffers the indignity after 15 minutes or so of sulking.

PS - I know what you mean about the 'sneaked kisses' - I love the smell of his feathers and sneak a cuddle, kiss and smell whenever I can! 

Regards,
Dana


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## Podgy's Mum

Hi Karyn, thanks for your warning - 



> especially used/old staples that pull off from office/school work. It's in their nature to swallow small "hard" things to act as grit and if they do swallow a staple it can cause what is know as "hardware disease" and can be deadly to them.


I hadn't even thought about staples etc as being a hazard - if I had given them any thought I would have figured he wouldn't be interested in them coz they weren't food!

Podgy thanks you!
Regards,
Dana


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## Smidgeon

Dana,

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond! I gave Smidgeon her teletubby when she moved into her big-girl cage. It is clipped to her cage on her flat perch. I can't remember the exact time she moved into her cage, but that was the point at which she had full flight and was starting to become very independent. 

I am thinking of getting her a bigger stuffed animal. Something that she can actually cuddle up to. She tries with her tubby, but it's so small. I have been thinking of trying to find a bird-like stuffed animal, something with wings  Oh, the things we do for our babies!

Thanks for the poop-management advice! I don't have a room that isn't carpeted except for my kitchen, but my kitchen has a cathedral ceiling and high ledges all the way around and I would NEVER be able to get her down! My poor cats would have to remain locked in a room for who knows how long.. maybe I will look into the diapers. I'm imagining them and it brings a very huge smile to my face! It's so cute your little pigeon terms and that your kids are involved 

It's so interesting that you say you love the smell of his feathers because I am obsessed with that smell too! My husband thinks I'm crazy because I rave about how I love love love to kiss her b/c she smells so good!


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## Kiko&Kalani

Hey,

Just checking in to see how you and Smidgeon are doing these days. 

Beth


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## Spencer

Hi there I came across your post today regarding your little Lady pigeon smidgeon I found it so heartwarming and quite relevant to my situation as well I have a little rescue pigeon that I rescued from a bucket of used engine oil when he was just a fledgeling I hand reared him he's about eight months old now and his name is Peter he used to be so sweet and loveing until the hormones kicked in and boy did he change but it's all part of them coming into maturity so I was reassured by the amazing people I've come across on this website I just can't help wondering how your little one is doing I really would love to know as your post really hit a chord with me
Best wishes


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## Ladygrey

Pigeons in a flock can be nasty to each other.. it is what they do, your just another pigeon to her and her mate is the stuffed animal .

as you are finding out they are different than say a cockatiel or other hookbill that crave attention and if hand raised are very needy.. not so much for pigeons.


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## Kooks the pigeon

Dobato said:


> Kelly, I think you made the right decision for your little Smidgeon, as you are correct that human bonded birds, in general, do not fair well if released to the wild. What you most likely are experiencing are the terrible "teens" period, there are a number of threads on the forum regard this sudden change from a bird going from the sweetest little thing, to an aggressive little devil bird, in time they do settle down, just be patient and loving with her.
> 
> Here is a recent thread from another member on this and there are others if you use the search feature of the site:
> 
> What's with the ATTITUDE?
> 
> Good luck with her,
> 
> Karyn


ive had a fe similar issues lately! 
same story found a baby about to be eaten by a cat and rescued him, with the intention of releasing him, but 2 months later he was so attached and bonded I read it wasn't safe.
All of a sudden he will be sitting on mu shoulder letting me pet him, and suddenly he's fluffed up making his pigeon noises and attacking me! Hope this passes!


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