# How many? Keeping Together? Ugh!



## tiffanyh (May 30, 2008)

I am embarrassed to ask these questions since I have done many hours of research here and throughout the internet, am a certified vet tech, owned chickens and doves for years, but I figure better to ask you experts than to hurt the birds at all....


So I am a pigeon collector of sorts. I have just a few now, but I end up with ones from the vets after care. So now I have 2 german owls (females) and a racing pigeons (one band, no numbers, came in with horrible eye infection and now seems to have lost some vision in one eye). I want to adjust the current housing situation as the racer lives with a lone dove (male) in a large cage that can not be wintered and the two girls live together in a small loft that can be wintered. I would like to get them into matching cages or one cage that look nice in my yard.

So here are my questions:

1. The girls beat up anyone I try to add to their small loft? Is that normal and would they stop eventually if I gave it time?

2. Can I mix these bird together (maybe minus the dove-I dont want him to get hurt) without trouble? 

3. If I mix them together in one larger cage and I create an indoor section for winter- does it need separate compartments for each bird potentially?

4. I am looking for a smaller loft/flight cage set up, maybe 4x6x6 if I can do one large cage or should I break this space up into smaller separate sections and pair off birds?

5. I have three male doves and I would like to work there living space into the same situation so all the birds are in one area-even if it is a separate part. 
If I break them up into 3 pigeons and 3 doves in separate cages am I asking for trouble with the "one extra" situation?

My fantasy? To put all 6 of them in one "flight cage" that is 4x6x6 with small indoor part and everyone lives in harmony. Not possible? Right?

These are birds that would live in cages permanently- no free flight around here due to large hawk population.

Just want to give them comfortable lives!

Thanks everyone!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

tiffanyh said:


> I am embarrassed to ask these questions since I have done many hours of research here and throughout the internet, am a certified vet tech, owned chickens and doves for years, but I figure better to ask you experts than to hurt the birds at all....
> 
> 
> So I am a pigeon collector of sorts. I have just a few now, but I end up with ones from the vets after care. So now I have 2 german owls (females) and a racing pigeons (one band, no numbers, came in with horrible eye infection and now seems to have lost some vision in one eye). I want to adjust the current housing situation as the racer lives with a lone dove (male) in a large cage that can not be wintered and the two girls live together in a small loft that can be wintered. I would like to get them into matching cages or one cage that look nice in my yard.
> ...


It is best to keep the doves and pigeons seperate.. not sure of the sex of the doves so that may be a problem if you have two males and one hen. A trio can work.. two hens one male.. which brings me to the pigeons... they can be housed together as a trio.. the male pigeon would be happy.. in time..as these two hens have paired up.. it may be tricky at first but one of them may pair up with him or both.. or you may just have to get him his own mate another hen and that would even things out in there.


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## NayNay (Mar 16, 2011)

The only bad question is the one you don't ask because you are to embarrassed.


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