# male or female?



## sparrow (Apr 19, 2008)

ei guys!
am a pigeon newbie and i want to know how to distinguish a male pigeon or a female pigeon thanks!


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## Chilangz (Apr 3, 2008)

Below are some of the differences, but they can be wrong at times.
1. Males are bigger than the females
2. Males do drag their tails while cooing and while calling its mate
3. Males are more dominent
4. Males do bend their head while cooing
5. Males do have flat head when compared to females

Best way is put both the birds in a quite large area and observe their behaviour.


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Can you post a picture?*



sparrow said:


> ei guys!
> am a pigeon newbie and i want to know how to distinguish a male pigeon or a female pigeon thanks!


A picture might help but nobody could guarantee anything. Young birds are nearly impossible to sex unless you know the genetics. In some cases, you will know just by the color in certain pairings.

Having one bird of a breed is not so easy unless you know the breed fairly well and then you can often tell by appearance. Males tend to be larger (normally) and typically have a more powerful or masculine appearance within each breed. Behavior is still the best way to tell as males without a mate tend to chase and coo at just about every other bird.

Bill


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Then again, HENS lay eggs...never heard of a cock doing so...

(sorry, just had to post...couldn't resist)

Some say they can tell by the length of the toes. Squeaks "just looked" male to me when I found him and a racing homing pigeon man looked at his toes and confirmed "male." Toes even: cock Toes uneven: hen

There are other methods too...but egg laying is the best! 

Shi &
Squeaks (who says: I always knew what I was!)


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

mr squeaks said:


> Then again, HENS lay eggs...never heard of a cock doing so...
> 
> (sorry, just had to post...couldn't resist)
> 
> ...


Ummmmm, I think it's the other way around..........I THINK!!


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## Feather (Dec 8, 2005)

Chilangz said:


> Below are some of the differences, but they can be wrong at times.
> 5. Males do have flat head when compared to females
> 
> Best way is put both the birds in a quite large area and observe their behaviour.


I thought that the females had the flat heads.


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## Pegasus (Feb 6, 2007)

*Toes and flathead:*

thats how I distinguish them are as well, but if you look really close and I do this method too....(This is my own opinion) when the baby is about a week old you can tell from their head if that bird is a boy or a girl, another thing I noticed is the male baby ask for more feed to his parents than the femaleIm wondering if others noticed this...Yes I understand that sometimes both male when they are young they do all this kissing and try to mate but when they get older and mature, they will start cooing and fights like a normal cocks...


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Feather said:


> I thought that the females had the flat heads.


me too...........


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Head shape varies from breed to breed*

Males heads are normally larger and more powerful in appearance. As to one being flatter than the other, I'd say hens but I don't use this method. I look at them and try to decide which ones look masculine and which ones look feminine. After looking at so many, you do get used to it. I recently sexed over 100 rollers by appearance alone and only missed one.

Toes? That's a new one on me but who knows?

Ever heard of the cork on a thin wire? Some people used to use this and it seems to work but I wouldn't swear by it, although many did (I remember some old pigeon guys doing this for young birds for a show). If you hold a cork over a person or animal (suspended by a thin wire) and hold it very still, it will move in a circular motion for a female and a straight line for a male. You can try this and you might be surprised. I've seen them for sale but it's very easy to make one. You need to pull one wire from very thin stranded wire, almost like a human hair.

I decided to try this many years ago over the stomachs of pregnant women. I figured if we ever got the male indication that it might mean something. We did with one woman and she gave birth to a boy. I tried it with another and got the female indication and she had a girl. Sounds crazy but just wondering if anyone has heard of this or tried it. The cork seemed confused with the woman who had a boy as it probably was getting readings of both sexes but I figured if it did the male indication at all (and it did) that maybe it meant something. I bet the gal that she'd have a boy and I already told you the outcome. Strange, I know.

Bill


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## sparrow (Apr 19, 2008)

sorry for the late reply,

the reason why im asking this is,

everytime i return the pigeon to their cage,

the one left inside will peck the pigeon i returned,
it will chase and will not stop pecking it,

this caught my attention
and i want to know which one is male and which one is female

and do males normally do this to females?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

sparrow said:


> sorry for the late reply,
> 
> the reason why im asking this is,
> 
> ...


Well, when you return a pigeon to its cage, the one inside may likely be a male and trying to protect its turf-that is typical male pigeon behavior. But I have seen hens act like that, especially if the cage is crowded.

When a male pigeon is confined with a hen, yes they can behave this way.

Hens are usually submissive, but any newcomer introduced to the coop will also act this way.

Put your birds together in a big pen or aviary, and then you can see who is a male and who is a hen,that usually works.


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