# A Proper Nest



## Garye (Feb 20, 2005)

I woke up this morning to all this noise coming from Maggie's condo. I looked inside and she stopped in mid-step with a feather in her beak. She had been rigoriously trying to pull pieces of newspaper into scraps but to no avail so she had gathered the two feathers she had managed to scavenge from her own body. She was piling them on the nest bowl (the store-bought nest) for her eggs (she layed another 2).

A store-bought nest isn't good enough.

I went out this morning and gathered some twigs and placed them inside her condo. Little by little, she took a couple of twigs to place with the feathers. 

A proper nest must be hand-made and not store-bought. It must consist of feathers, sticks and other scraps in order for it to be proper.

I now know that.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

What a sweet looking girl. Yea, they've got to have that nest just so so,......sometimes they'll build a BIG nest and sometimes just a few twigs and such is enough as far as they are concerned. 
I'll have to get picture of a nest in my loft. Hubby says he doesn't have to rake up leaves.........the birds are picking them up and building nests with them. LOL


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## little bird (Aug 11, 2006)

What people will do for their indoor pijies!!!  
Edgar's mama/keeper/slave makes frequent trips to New Jersey to a friends house to cut a branch from the friend's pine tree, plucks off all the pine needles and gathers them in a large plastic bag to bring home to Manhattan. In a spaghetti pot full of boiling water she throws a goodly handfull at a time and sterilizes them then drains and dries them. Edgar gets a pinch of the ''clean'' needles to give to his Elaina for a comfy lining to their doggie bowl nest bowl. Ed takes them, needle by needle, to her and she carefully tucks them in just the right spot......it takes them hours and they are happy little campers for the activity.


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## Garye (Feb 20, 2005)

I'll have to try the pine needles for Maggie. See if she'll take to them. Right now she seems satisfied with a couple of twigs and feathers. Just to make it seem more like "home" instead of store-bought I guess. And here I was thinking I was making her life easier by just buying a nest for her.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

I tried pine needles for Squeaks but they ended up all over the place...too messy.

Now, I just take a handful of shredded paper and drop next to his basket. Within 5 minutes they are gone...under him. Sometimes, for fun, I'll give him another handful or two and they always disappear under him! What a riot!

Watching the pijies built their nests is a fascinating activity. The pij who I voted the Frank Lloyd Wright of the Pigeon World, was Peter Pied Piper, my ASU pij. He and his mate built a nest in a window ledge that was at least a foot high. It was so big that I sent a picture to Cornell's Lab of Ornithology. They were quite impressesd and said that pigeons are not known to be big nest builders! 

Peter raised the only baby who lived, by himself, because something happened to his mate. When Peter found a new mate, the baby absolutely refused to leave the "mansion" nest no matter how much Peter and his new mate pushed and shoved! They ended up building another nest, almost as large two windows away!

Wishing you and Maggie the BEST with Hugs and Scritches

Shi


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Garye,

That is a darling picture of Maggie and her nest. Yes, they love to build their own nests out of stuff they find. As Nona described, they love pine needles. I give them to mine, but don't go through the sterilization process. They get them right off the tree. I think the aromatic resins in the fresher needles also serve to keep bugs at bay. They sure do love them. Some will just pile them in willy-nilly, others will weave them into these lovely circles around themselves.
It is so wonderful to watch. Maggie is a love.

Margaret


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

How cute! My indoor nesters like to use Q-tips; they're a big favorite. Just the right size and soft too.  Timothy or alfalfa hay makes good indoor nesting materials. Of course, the shredded newspaper! Shoelaces are unfortunately often attached to a shoe (and possibly a person) but are a favorite. Watch your rubber bands and garbage ties. I've heard not even paper money is safe.  I have a big roll of hemp garden twine, the thickish kind, and cut pieces off of that. It's too thick to be wound around a leg or toe, but nice for nesting apparently. Mine have also stolen dried flowers, pieces of house plants, necklaces, hair ties, computer wires (Bernadette would sit by my feet for hours and yank on my headphone wire), and the little plastic ring you pull off the milk carton when you open a gallon.


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## Garye (Feb 20, 2005)

I tried the newspaper shavings - no luck. I tried bits of string - no luck. Then I brought in 2 leaves and left them overnight. The next morning they had disappeared - and magically appeared in the nest! Today I put in some pine needles. Those too magically appeared in the nest. I guess Maggie likes natural things.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Garye, I had missed this thread until today. Your Maggie is such a sweet looking pigeon. I'm still so very happy you have her. I realize she is by herself but one of my great pleasures is to go to the aviary and watch our homing couple build a nest. They are so sweet because he will carry a pine needle, or pieces of bark to her, drop them on her back and then go to the front of her and kiss her! I swear that is what he is doing - kissing her. It is the sweetest thing I ever saw.  You might try dropping a needle or two on her back....


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Lady Tarheel said:


> Garye, I had missed this thread until today. Your Maggie is such a sweet looking pigeon. I'm still so very happy you have her. I realize she is by herself but one of my great pleasures is to go to the aviary and watch our homing couple build a nest. They are so sweet because he will carry a pine needle, or pieces of bark to her, drop them on her back and then go to the front of her and kiss her! I swear that is what he is doing - kissing her. It is the sweetest thing I ever saw.  You might try dropping a needle or two on her back....


and kiss her................


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## the bird man (Jun 18, 2008)

maggie is a good looking bird and as far as nesting materials you might want to try a handfull of hay most pet and feed stores will give you free loose hay my pigeons will pick hay and alfalfa over every thing else


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Lovebirds said:


> and kiss her................



LOL, I decided I'd leave that off and let Garye decide what he wanted to do.  A kiss on the back is nice.


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## Garye (Feb 20, 2005)

> Garye, I had missed this thread until today. Your Maggie is such a sweet looking pigeon. I'm still so very happy you have her. I realize she is by herself but one of my great pleasures is to go to the aviary and watch our homing couple build a nest. They are so sweet because he will carry a pine needle, or pieces of bark to her, drop them on her back and then go to the front of her and kiss her! I swear that is what he is doing - kissing her. It is the sweetest thing I ever saw. You might try dropping a needle or two on her back....
> 
> and kiss her................



Uh... guys... I like Maggie a lot, but _NOT THAT MUCH!_

Anyways, here's a pic of her renovations.


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## Dezirrae (Oct 6, 2007)

Awwww Garye - Maggie is just adorable! And there's some great ideas here to try for nesting material. My ringneck's just like the plain old hay - won't really go for anything else. But since Hope & Pidge have just embarked on the nesting phase I'll have to try some of these suggestions.

You should try Maggie's (the person ) suggestion of placing a piece of something on her back and see if she takes it. Hope does that with Pidge and it is just the cutest thing to watch. He'll throw away lots of twigs before finding "just that right one".

Good luck - and keep us posted on Maggie's (the piji  jez that's confusing) interior decorating.


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