# My pidge is laying eggs...?



## Jivu (Feb 1, 2010)

Hey guys, I'm April, new to the forum, but I definitely think I'll stick around! 

Anyhow.. I have a pet Pigeon, Stuart, who I've recently discovered is a lady! I raised her from a baby when she was found in traffic, and have had her for over a year and several months now, and I love her dearly.

Around Christmas, she surprised me with an egg (and the second egg the next day). It was a shock- we'd assumed she was a he, even after a year, no eggs, and most of her behavioral traits were male. She'd puff up and strut and coo and bow and dance. But here we are, and Stuart is in fact female.
She has no interest in other pigeons, despite being raised with the constant presence of an adult rescue pigeon I had at the time... she just seems to prefer people.

I don't mind the occasional eggs so long as she keeps healthy- but she is on her sixth egg in a little under a month and a half. The latest eggs also seems to be fairly thin-shelled, and I'm concerned. I've given her 2-3 weeks on the two previous clutches, and added oyster grit along with her usual diet of wild bird seed mix (she won't be bothered with pigeon mixes or peas or anything bigger than a seed, which is also frustrating. I've tried from day one). Luckily, she's been picking at the grit ok, but I'm still very concerned for her.
I've rearranged the cage in hopes that it would deter her from laying, but it hasn't.

She seems to forgo her food and water to sit on them, and is no longer an active member of the family due to her desire to create her own. She has also become somewhat aggressive over her cage, and instead of being plucky and cheerful as usual, she'll bite anyone who comes near. When I do remove the eggs, she'll have several days to a week of being her usual friendly self, and then she'll lay another egg.
Is there any way to break the cycle?
If not, I'm fine with dealing with an eternally hopeful little mama, and I'll continue to love her as much as I do. But I would really like to figure out what I can do that would be in Lady Stuart's best interest.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. It's pretty awesome to have stumbled upon this site. Nice to find other pigeon fans out there


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

First of all, just wanted to say what an adorable picture! 

You may want to put the oystershell in a separate dish, and have it available at all times (if you're not already). Is her cage in a spot where she can get natural sunlight? Vitamin D is very important in absorbing calcium. I would let her sit on her eggs as long as she wants, so she'll have as much time to recover between clutches as possible. I know it's nice to have her out and about all the time instead of just sitting on her eggs, but a lot of pet pidgies are egg laying machines. Usually pigeons won't lay eggs much unless they see someone or something as a mate, which gives them the motivation. So I'm think she sees her human friends as that, but just be glad she doesn't fuss at you to come share the egg sitting duty  Haha.

Wild bird seed doesn't seem like it'd be the best nutritionally, but I don't know. It can be really tough to get birds used to eating something different than they're used to. It'd be nice if she'd be willing to eat a pellet, which would be a complete diet everytime she ate.

I have _heard_ that barley helps keep egg laying down. Might be worth a try to add a little bit to the feed. It's basically a filler food and doesn't have a lot to it, so you wouldn't want to put in too much in.


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## Jivu (Feb 1, 2010)

Her cage is in a good well-lit spot, and she gets plenty of supervised outdoor time, as well as free flight of the house for most of the day.
I've tried soooo hard to get her to eat pellets. For some reason, she adores Rice Krispies cereal, but no matter how I try to make pellets look just as tasty, she's not convinced. I've been trying for forever to vary her diet, and now that she's sitting on eggs, is seems as though she's gotten even MORE fussy, and will only pick out certain seeds to eat.
She does have the oyster shell in a separate dish, and at least seems to deign to eat that for me.
I'll definitely try the barley, thanks! 
And if she's a layer and a sitter for the rest of her life, it's all good. Like I said, I'll love her all the same. I just want what's best for her.


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## valeri (Sep 6, 2009)

I second the comment on your photo of Stuart. Fantastic! What a lucky pij!

btw: We also thought our Chauncey was a boy! Until she mated with our second rescue, Clive. (We're relatively new here, having rescued Chauncey back in late August.)

Chauncey has been an exceptionally picky eater since we got her. I didn't realize how picky until Clive showed up (her new mate) -- who eats just about anything.

Have you tried adding a variety of grains to her mix? I buy a base pigeon mix (with peas, etc) but then add some of her favorites, which include a bit of millet, flax seed and rice. I've been told here several times (when I had diet questions) that pigeons will ultimately eat the rest of their pigeon seed/grain mix if they're hungry enough. What's been suggested to me is limited feedings, and then removing the food once they've eaten. 

I do remove the food for the day, once they've had breakfast. And they're definitely anxious to eat when they go back inside in the evening. They're less picky. But I'm not as stringent about quantities and such as I should be.


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## missmadison (Jun 19, 2009)

I had to laugh when I read this because you just described, down to the last detail, exactly what is going on with our pigeon (Pidge, who we also thought was male...until the eggs started!) We also couldn't get her to eat anything too big, but have had good luck with 'candy corn' pigeon mix mixed with milo (tiny!) which we ordered from Jedds. Also, you might try a mix for smaller dove varieties. Good luck, and if you come up with a way to stop the eggs...please share it!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

just a thought, usually the hen will lay if she thinks she has a mate, even a human one. I would not hold and pet her on her back, she may see that as "mating" and stimulate the laying. If she is petted and held alot between clutches this may be the reason she is laying so much....


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## Jivu (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks for all the feedback- this place is golden 
Stuart's finally given up on the last two eggs, but she looks like she's considering more. She has managed to pick at the barley, a bit- we'll see if it helps.
I've also tried adding in split peas to her diet, and tried the famous pigeon snack of peanuts. She won't have either, even if I chop it into teeny bits. As far as her nutrition goes, I'm thinking of buying some food from Foy's....? Would the mix without corn be appropriate? I don't know if she'd eat the corn at all, so I was thinking of trying her first with some popcorn, since it's smaller.
She was on the Kaytee Dove food for a bit, but was still picky, and I also didn't like the addition of ethoxyquin into the mix- so I've been going with mostly finch mixes that the Petsmart employee suggested, as they used it with their doves.
Does anyone have any tips on transitioning? My usual trick of pretending to eat her food seems less convincing, clever pidge. I'd at least like to get her to eat more. I know I ought to start limiting her food- I just fear that she may eat even less and get worse.

I'd really like to get her to gain some weight. She was a little tank, but since the egg business, she's been getting rather skinny. Her fussiness with her food doesn't help. When she's on her eggs, she gets even worse about it, and forgoes a lot of food to sit like a good mom. Even if she's got food right next to her, she'll have none of it. At least right now, her appetite is back and I'm stuffing her with whatever she'll eat.
I definitely no longer pet her on her back at all anymore- not since the first egg, ha... we're just doin' little head skritches if anything. But I'm pretty sure she sees me as the love of her life. Even when I change the papers in her cage, she seems to think I'm just 'adding to the nest' and sits there and wing-ticks away and thinks it's wonderful. 








Man, it's tough to type with a pigeon dancing around on your fingers, ha.

And for Stuart, here is a mini biography just for kicks.
I got her in October when my brother found her outside of his work in traffic, when she was a little squeaking ugly-but-cute baby. Got rid of her mites, and picked off at least five louse flies (UGH). I raised her in the company of a rescue pigeon I'd had at the time, Archie, whose wing feathers were pretty mangled and he couldn't fly, but they didn't really care for each other at all. I'd hoped that I'd be able to release Stuart with Archie and that she'd be better off. ...While Archie practically flipped me off when I released him and took off towards wherever his home was without a look back, Stuart decided to stay, and has been my pet (and my baby!) ever since.
When I got a tiny kitten that was only a day old and had to hand raise her, Stuart somehow got the idea that the kitten was our baby. She would constantly try to sit on her, preen her fur, and even tried to feed her. Dinghy the cat is nearly a year old, and they're still good friends,despite their differences. They did get in a dispute recently, however, when Stuart decided that Dinghy's favorite string would make a fine addition to her nest. She had one end, and the cat had the other, and they were pulling furiously. Stuart won, and added the string to her nest and was proud as could be, but Dinghy was so dejected about it (it's her favorite toy, after all) that I had to give it back.
When I tried to replace an egg with a fake one, she rolled it to the middle of the cage and left it there.
Stuart loves technology and typing, and randomly calling people on my cellphone. She loves making nests behind my knees when I lay on the couch. She loves tall people, and long hair. She loves the rain, unlike every other animal I've shared my life with so far.
She is currently "wooOooOoo"ing at me.


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## Pawbla (Jan 6, 2009)

Nice Bio . She's certainly a gorgeous pigeon.
Pigeons do like rain, from what I've seen here.

I changed my bird's diet abruptly and there was no problem. Since their options were the new food, or the new food, they ate it fine and got used to it quite quickly.
But people here suggest to mix it gradually with her current food. If she's low on weight I'd suggest that, but make sure she doesn't have enough seeds of the old mix to make "one serving", or she'll eat those.


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