# Welcome the 3rd pigeon or not?



## feralfeeder (Nov 30, 2008)

Dear Pigeon-Talkers,

I have a dilemma. We have a semi-covered skylight area and for the past five months or so, two feral pigeons (mates) have been coming every day to eat (you can see them in my album). Yesterday a third bird came by and we became concerned because it seemed to have followed "our" birds to their secret feeding location and they did not seem happy. They would peck at him if he flew near them where they were perched. When they stopped by yesterday, there was very little food in their bowls (it was their second visit of the day). Our birds perched above the food bowls and seemed not to want to want the interloper to get near them. This morning, all three birds are there again. I was wondering if I should put food out for them or wait. "Our" birds will always come back, but I was thinking that if we refrained from putting out food, the interloper would not come back because it would not be convinced that this is a regularly refilled feeding location? My main concern is that word does not spread so that we get overwhelmed by other birds so that our lovely birds, Walter and Lily, have to fight with them for their daily feed. Please advise.

Feralfeeder


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

The intruder pij looks young to me and needs food. I'm sure it's cold in Chicago because I'm freezing in AZ and the cold may be a problem for him especially if he not getting enough food.


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## rainbows (Aug 19, 2008)

Perhaps the third bird is the original pair's off-spring? Maybe it is just following Mama & Papa and learning how to survive out there.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I agree with both Kippy and Rainbows. The third bird looks way too thin to me. Personally, if that bird were here, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't feed it.
I understand your concern about the 'word getting out',though.
Just feed enough so that they will consume all the food with nothing left over.


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## feralfeeder (Nov 30, 2008)

Thanks for your responses, though I did not include any pictures of the third bird in my album. He/she actually looks pretty healthy, though I'm not sure how young s/he is, or if it could be Walter and Lily's offspring because I did not notice any of those neck feathers that stick out of a young bird's neck. Also, they pecked at him/her in a seemingly hostile manner when s/he tried to perch near them.

In any case, s/he left a little while ago and we went ahead and fed Walter.

What is the possibility that it is their offspring? As my album captions point out (though they are out of order), we rescued Walter five months ago. He took a month to recover and then flew off and brought back his mate. Don't know if he had the mate before we took him in. Don't know when they might have nested. Do they only have offspring in the spring?


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## feralfeeder (Nov 30, 2008)

oh, just to clarify, the third bird in one of the album pictures is not the one I am asking about in this post. The one pictured (to the right of the pair) came by shortly after Walter brought Lily around. We thought that maybe she was Lily's mother and she had come to give her approval of the union. She was clearly a very old bird. We only saw her once.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

feralfeeder said:


> Thanks for your responses, though I did not include any pictures of the third bird in my album. He/she actually looks pretty healthy, though I'm not sure how young s/he is, or if it could be Walter and Lily's offspring because I did not notice any of those neck feathers that stick out of a young bird's neck. Also, they pecked at him/her in a seemingly hostile manner when s/he tried to perch near them.
> 
> In any case, s/he left a little while ago and we went ahead and fed Walter.
> 
> What is the possibility that it is their offspring? As my album captions point out (though they are out of order), we rescued Walter five months ago. He took a month to recover and then flew off and brought back his mate. Don't know if he had the mate before we took him in. Don't know when they might have nested. Do they only have offspring in the spring?


Pigeons will nest all year long. That's why there are so many of them.
When a couple is preparing to nest, they will drive their young pigeons away so this could indeed be their off spring.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Do please take a chance with this 3rd pigeon. It is so cold, particularly where you live, and birds need all the help they can get. It is very likely Walter's and Lily's offspring.


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