# Pigeon nest on balcony ... how to entice them to stay



## flapflap (May 15, 2007)

Hi all,
A pair of pigeons built their nest on my balcony about a month ago. There were 2 eggs ... they hatched. The babies are now starting to have adult feathers.

I'd like to keep them in the most humane way possible. Is it possible to entice them to stay by providing food, water, and perhaps a box as their home? If so, how?

I thought it would be cool to take care of a few birds, and test their homing ability. I don't have pets. I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment complex. So on the floor of my covered balcony they are relatively safe from predators as well as any harsh weather. I don't want to cage them though. Any tip??

Thank you in advance!
-flapflap


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

If you provide food and water, there is a chance they will stick around. Especially the parents might start building another nest, have more babies and so on.
My only concern would be your neighbors. In a short time you might have a bunch of pigeons on your balcony as they will bring friends for a good meal and your neighbors might not appreciate it. Been there done that. I had a pair of pigeons that lived on my balcony and in no time I had about 30-40 visitors and several of them were permanent residents. The building management called a pest control company. I was able to save most of them by shipping them to safety, but a few didn't make it (the ones I couldn't catch). 
So, please be careful.


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## flapflap (May 15, 2007)

Reti, thanks for the tip and the warnings.

So if you have to do it again, what would you do differently to limit the number of birds that hang around your balcony? Also, given a few weeks time, do you think it's possible to gradually and "politely" let the pigeons go by providing less and less food and water, and eventually none?

Thanks!


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

If I had a couple of pigeons nesting on my balcony again, I would not feed them, I wouldn't even give them water. It would be incredible hard on me but far better then what we all went through four years ago.
It is the food that attracts a whole flock and they stick around until the food is gone.
It is better not to even start feeding them since they get dependent on you and if you have to quit it will be much harder on them (and you too).
If you have started feeding them already, I think gradulally reducing the feedings will work. They will have to go and find food somewhere else and teach their young ones also how and where to look for food.

Reti


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi,

Like Reti, been there, done that, etc.

I started off with one pair having already half-raised a youngster before I even spotted them. Well, my neighbors certainly did not like the accumulation of pigeons I ended up with and I had no end of trouble with the managing agents. 

That was years ago, but pigeons have always visited in varying numbers ever since.

Right now, I have a pair who have been here for three years, and managed to raise two broods when I hadn't been around to change the eggs for plastic ones. In addition, I have a little bunch who roost here every night. I do provide them with a bath and some food, though if I'm away they go without, so they cannot rely on me all the time.

I think now, if it weren't for my resident pair, I would probably have found kind ways of deterring them, since numbers do increase just because pigeons attract more pigeons.

I just try to ensure that 'my' two are not in plain sight and neither is any food.

John


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## Matt D. (May 12, 2007)

If you really want to keep a pair of pigeons you can always build a kit box and train them to that and then they would be yours and you could raise a few sets from them and then you would not have to worry about attracting wild pigeons.


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## docbjb (Apr 14, 2007)

I, too, became "home" to a couple of nesting pigeons on the balcony of an apartment complex. Shortly after that, the building management called in an extermination service (because of the large number of pigeons generally, not just mine). My pijies escaped the first round because, I think, I provided food for them so they didn't have to eat too much, if any, of the poisoned seed. I am lucky enough to have a seldom-home next door neighbor, so that wasn't much of a problem.

My pigeons have raised one baby and the hen had laid two more eggs, which I've boiled and replaced in the nest to avoid more babies. I am trying to be as circumspect as possible, but I agree with the others...I am slowly winding down on what I feed them and hiding the feed dish as much as possible as the building management is getting suspicious. I don't want to initiate another round of pigeon poisoning. 

Sad to say, many of my neighbors and co-residents look at pigeons as the proverbial feathered rats that carry disease, and even with education, they still want them gone.


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