# One of my hybrids is female!



## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

The hybrid who flew away and came back was laying on eggs this morning. I didn't realize it was the hybrid, so I took the eggs as usual, but then noticed her leg band and put them back as they are almost always sterile, I understand. I also have heard it is rare to have a female hybrid (my other two were males and most I hear about are males). So that is pretty exciting.  

On a side note, I have found a great and easy egg system. I take newly laid eggs, set them aside in a box, and after two weeks, rotate them with eggs that are just laid. Leave them for a few awhile with the parents and then when they lose interest, toss them. Good thing since my "dummy" eggs are getting rather worn out lol. And I never seem to find the time to hard boil them. So this way they get to lay on eggs, but they don't hatch. Recycling!


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

On a side note, I have found a great and easy egg system. I take newly laid eggs, set them aside in a box, and after two weeks, rotate them with eggs that are just laid. Leave them for a few awhile with the parents and then when they lose interest, toss them. Good thing since my "dummy" eggs are getting rather worn out lol. And I never seem to find the time to hard boil them. So this way they get to lay on eggs, but they don't hatch. Recycling! [/QUOTE]


What a great idea Maryjane.  I try to recycle as much as possible, I will be adding this tip to the list.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Sometimes I do that too with the eggs. I have a couple of pair that can tell the difference between real and wooden.


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## zimmzimm3 (Aug 17, 2007)

maryjane said:


> The hybrid who flew away and came back was laying on eggs this morning. I didn't realize it was the hybrid, so I took the eggs as usual, but then noticed her leg band and put them back as they are almost always sterile, I understand. I also have heard it is rare to have a female hybrid (my other two were males and most I hear about are males). So that is pretty exciting.
> 
> On a side note, I have found a great and easy egg system. I take newly laid eggs, set them aside in a box, and after two weeks, rotate them with eggs that are just laid. Leave them for a few awhile with the parents and then when they lose interest, toss them. Good thing since my "dummy" eggs are getting rather worn out lol. And I never seem to find the time to hard boil them. So this way they get to lay on eggs, but they don't hatch. Recycling!


What is a Hybrid?


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

A dove, pigeon mix.

I can drop a fake, unpainted wood egg from a height of 2 feet onto the basket while the bird is watching, and he will STILL sit on the wooden egg for 2 weeks.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

That's funny, I have some birds who will lay on ANYTHING and a few who won't lay on the dummy eggs, but rather give me a dirty look and walk off to find a new nest. So this works great for them.

Zimm, if you search for the thread called "Guess who's back?" started by me a few weeks ago, there is the story of my hybrids on the second page of the thread as well as pictures. My first hybrids were from a male pigeon and female dove, and these ones are from a female pigeon and male dove. Asadj, one of our members here, told me that with a male pij/female dove, they are always born male. With the female pij/male dove, almost all are male, but a few are female. Interesting, isn't it?


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## Fever (May 28, 2007)

Are you sure a female hybrid would be sterile? I'm not sure how it works in pigeons (and can't find much information). A mule is always sterile, because it's parents, though both in the genus Equus, have different numbers of chromosomes. Lions and tigers, both in Panthera, create offspring that are always sterile if male, but fertile if female.

You've totally appealed to my nerdy side with your hybrids! Pigeons and doves are in the same family and subfamily, but different genus. But they're so similar... pijdoves must be fertile sometimes...


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

I'm not sure, Fever. What you say makes sense. I don't think we'll get to find out right now, as I went out today and the eggs were off to the side and she was still sitting on the nest.....just not on the eggs.  Those first-time moms and dads have a lot to learn. I'm always interested in any hybrid info, thanks for sharing your thoughts with me, they're not nerdy at all.


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## ezemaxima (Jan 12, 2008)

maryjane said:


> I'm not sure, Fever. What you say makes sense. I don't think we'll get to find out right now, as I went out today and the eggs were off to the side and she was still sitting on the nest.....just not on the eggs.  Those first-time moms and dads have a lot to learn. I'm always interested in any hybrid info, thanks for sharing your thoughts with me, they're not nerdy at all.


Do you have other birds that you can use as pumpers for the eggs? It would be nice to know if the hybrids can be fertile....


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Mine were always males*

I only had a couple of dove pigeon hybrids over the years and both were male. It never occurred to me that they are always or nearly always male. 

I would not expect a hybrid female to lay eggs so that much is surprising. I would try to see if these eggs are fertile. I would be very surprised if they were but the fact that you have a mule that lays eggs is already a surprise. The egg is the egg, so why can't it be fertile?

I'm pretty baffled. Do you have a picture of the bird and are you absolutely certain that it is a hybrid?

Interesting stuff.

Bill


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Hi Bill, that is great to know you have also had hybrids. Yes, my original pair were both males. These two seem to be a male and female. I am 100% they are from a dove/pigeon mated pair. Ivan, my male ringneck dove, was raised with Genevieve, a female pigeon, and they both live in a large cage inside my aviary. At that time they were completely separated from the other pigeons at all times, as I have a dove-hating pigeon.  They laid eggs before but didn't sit on them, so this time I switched their eggs with eggs laid by a good hatching pair I have. They raised the babies and I banded them early on. They both look like pigeons at first, but you can see in their heads and eyes some dove characteristics. They have smaller feet as well and the male bows like a dove to females around him when he's showing off. Neither of them coo at all, as far as I've seen. They are plenty old enough but I've never heard a sound from either of them. They do have some "pigeon homing instincts" as one got out a few weeks ago and returned the next afternoon. The female took a large red male for a mate recently and laid these eggs. Unfortunately, they haven't been laying on them very well, you know how new parents are. With the next round I think I'll give them to one of my good-parent couples, just to see if it's possible to have a baby, though I know it's not likely. 

Here is a picture of my first hybrids (black male pigeon/ringneck female dove mix); they are the two gray ones:









And here are pictures of the newer hybrids when they were younger:



















I would love to see pictures of your hybrids if you have any, and hear their stories.


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*last pics are pigeons*

Those young birds are pure pigeon. This might explain the egg laying etc.

What made you think that they were hybrid?

Was there a dove in the pair that raised them? If so, there was some infidelity going on and you wound up with two pigeons. Infidelity is more common in pigeons and birds than most people think.

Your first pics clearly show a couple of hybrids and a blue check pigeon. Hybrids have a very distinctive look and the first ones have the look.

Bill


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