# Incessant Cooing?



## Howard Nye

Hi all,

My pigeon, who is apparently male, has been getting both (a) more social with me (he likes to spend a lot of time on my shoulder) and (b) more aggressive - he's been doing a lot more puffing up, fanning his tail and dragging it on the ground, and pacing back and forth and cooing. Lately his cooing has been almost non-stop; the only time he seems to stop cooing is when he's on my shoulder. 

He's an only pigeon who I've had since October. I've tried responding to his cooing with everything I can think of, but the only thing that seems to quite him down is his getting on my shoulder. But he can't be on there all the time, especially when I'm trying to go to sleep. I'm worried that he might be upset about something. Also the cooing can be pretty loud and I'm a little worried my neighbors might hear him and complain (we live in a 1 bedroom apartment, and I'm not sure if I'm really allowed to have him in here). 

Does anyone have any ideas about what this behavior might be about or what (if anything) I could do to help quiet my boy down? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,
Howard


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## yopigeonguy

Hello and welcome to PT! Your boy is now at the stage where he is looking for a mate and wanting to breed. This is very common, and he is in your home, so it has longer periods of light and it is heated (which is really like spring).

The only thing I see is you could try getting him a mate and replacing the real eggs with fake ones.

I am sure other members will post with better ideas soon,

Kevin


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## naturegirl

Hi Howard... I havea young male doing the same exact thing, it almost becomes intollerable at time. Shorten his daylight hours by covering his cage at night and only giving him about 10 hours of daylight a day this will help. Let him out to during the daylight if your there with him to walk around... this next thing may sound really stupid but it works very well. If you have an old slipper the same color as him or get one...put it in with him and let him find his new mate... he may fall in love with the slipper and leave you alone. I tried this with my young male pigeon and it worked. Good Luck 

Cindy


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## Tamara21

Howard...I had the same issue with Petey.We are single bird owners and I suspect that if you aren't sure you can have one you likely won't be able to get a mate for him.If you can that is great and you will find plenty of adoptions available here.BUT if you can't and it's just going to be him do what I did and go to Michaels (Craft Store) and get some fake eggs.I got ones that almost look real because they are out for Easter decorations right now.They are about 1.5 long...I got two because that is what they usually lay.I made a nest bowl in his cage and one day placed them there.It took a few days for Petey to get interested but afterwards he has been sitting on them and not cooing.You see when it's just one pigeon they tend to bond and you are it's mate...so if you just provide the things he is expecting (in this case some action and resulting eggs) then you are good! By action I mean that my Petey will mate with pillows, a foot or the edge of a chair - just so you know!


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## Skyeking

He is lonly and looking for a mate, in a human world. Why not get him a friend/mate?


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## John_D

Along the lines of what Naturegirl said, when we had one of ours inside for quite a while before putting him in the aviary we found him a toy dove (Serenity, from Ty toys). Snowflake decided this toy dove was his mate, and even made a nest for it in his ever-open cage. Collecting bits for the nest and sitting on plastic eggs kept him well occupied for long periods.

Maybe your bird can eventually have a real mate, as does our Snowflake now.

John


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## TwinkieSlug

I got my male pij a mate as I understood that pijs like to live in pairs rather than alone. I wish I had tried the fake egg or fake mate idea first though. Ever since I got the hen, all they do is sit on the eggs. I hate to say it but they have become almost boring, and on top of that have the giant smelly poops they save up while on the eggs. I miss when the cock was more interactive with me, and more "out and about" in his cage. 

I read the post about the MickaCoo single pijs getting mirrors, not sure if that makes up for not having a mate or just makes it better until they get a mate? 

I had more luck when I got a hen mate for my male dove, for some reason they never lay eggs and are have remained active. 

What is the likelihood of a cock getting along with another cock as a companion instead of getting a hen?


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## TwinkieSlug

Another question: Since one pij is always sitting on the eggs, does that make the other pij lonely, standing around until it's turn to sit on the eggs? I guess they occasionally both sit on the eggs together, but for the most part it seems they don't get to interact much.


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## Biveon100

not really. they take turns. for me, my cock lays on the eggs in the morning and the hen lays on the eggs at night and day. while one bird lays on the eggs the other relaxes.


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## Howard Nye

*Disabled Pigeons Who Need Homes?*

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for your very helpful advice. I'm doing what I can right now in terms of artificial mates, but I'm thinking that the permanent solution should probably be my getting another pigeon.

My boy pigeon, Bird-Bird, is permanently disabled and has a forever home with me. He had a badly broken wing when I found him, which healed comfortably but is such that he can't really fly (though he can use his wings to get enough lift to jump up on things). 

Does anyone know of any other permanently disabled pigeons who can't be released into the wild and who thus need a loving forever home? I'm assuming that Bird-Bird would prefer a girl pigeon as a companion, but maybe he could also learn to get along with another boy? 

Bird-Bird and I live in a 1 bedroom apartment in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I've been put in touch with a local rescue foundation (The McDonald Family Animal Rescue) who might know of pigeons who need homes, but I haven't yet heard back from them and I thought I'd check here too. 

Thanks again!
Howard


P.S. 
I'm getting the sense that the only feasible method of pigeon birth control is taking away the eggs and replacing them with false ones. (I'm getting the sense, in particular, that with our current medical technology it's either impossible or too dangerous to spay and neuter pigeons). Is that right?


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## Victor

Howard Nye said:


> P.S.
> I'm getting the sense that the only feasible method of pigeon birth control is taking away the eggs and replacing them with false ones. (I'm getting the sense, in particular, that with our current medical technology it's either impossible or too dangerous to spay and neuter pigeons). Is that right?


Last Spring my avain vet told me it was a dangerous procedure, so I opted *not *to.
My answer to your question, is right.


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## Elizabethy

TwinkieSlug said:


> I got my male pij a mate as I understood that pijs like to live in pairs rather than alone. I wish I had tried the fake egg or fake mate idea first though. Ever since I got the hen, all they do is sit on the eggs. I hate to say it but they have become almost boring, and on top of that have the giant smelly poops they save up while on the eggs. I miss when the cock was more interactive with me, and more "out and about" in his cage.
> 
> I read the post about the MickaCoo single pijs getting mirrors, not sure if that makes up for not having a mate or just makes it better until they get a mate?
> 
> I had more luck when I got a hen mate for my male dove, for some reason they never lay eggs and are have remained active.
> 
> What is the likelihood of a cock getting along with another cock as a companion instead of getting a hen?



Hello TwinkieSlug-

One way to look at this is how nice it is for your pigeons to have each other. Now they aren't lonely and waiting for you. A pigeon alone is very dependent on your attention and is lonesome without you. You can still develop a relationship with your pigeons, even though they're in a mated couple and can spend time interacting with the pij that is "off duty". And those big nesting poops can be handy in the sense that there are fewer too pick up! I wish my pij always made just a few of those big poops instead of so many little ones! 

In any case, I just wanted to say- good for you in doing what's best for your pet pigeon and getting him a mate. Pij really LOVE to have a mate and yours, while maybe not so fixated on you now, can still be a wonderful companion- in his own way.

P.S. Two cocks can be friends (or not) but for sure they'll both be constantly wanting to find a hen. And mirrors I think are like TV for pij- better than nothing when you're alone but no substitute for really having a partner that loves you.


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## TwinkieSlug

Elizabethy said:


> One way to look at this is how nice it is for your pigeons to have each other. Now they aren't lonely and waiting for you. A pigeon alone is very dependent on your attention and is lonesome without you. You can still develop a relationship with your pigeons, even though they're in a mated couple and can spend time interacting with the pij that is "off duty". And those big nesting poops can be handy in the sense that there are fewer too pick up! I wish my pij always made just a few of those big poops instead of so many little ones!


I understand, and I know it's not fair to the pij (to keep it as an only pij when I have limited time.) But I'd like to tame one or both. They fly around all crazy like when I try to catch one. I know I'm scaring them, so I don't do it too often. I read capuchines tame easily, that's what the hen is. Do I just keep catching and handling her to get her used to it? Or do I feed less and try to get them to eat from my hand? Or is this not a realistic goal for a pij acquired as an adult? They don't seem to want to come out of their cage when I leave the door open. My doves love to fly around periodically, then return to their cage when they're done.


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## feathers111

Howard Nye said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> Does anyone know of any other permanently disabled pigeons who can't be released into the wild and who thus need a loving forever home? I'm assuming that Bird-Bird would prefer a girl pigeon as a companion, but maybe he could also learn to get along with another boy?


Howard--
It depends on where you're located, but in addition to the PT adoption forum and Elizabeth's MickaCoo Bird Rescue, I'd suggest searching Petfinder.com and contacting rescue groups in your area. It seems to me I recently saw a disabled pigeon at Petfinder that needs a forever home. Good luck!


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## Startail Fan

Howard Nye said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> Thank you so much for your very helpful advice. I'm doing what I can right now in terms of artificial mates, but I'm thinking that the permanent solution should probably be my getting another pigeon.
> 
> My boy pigeon, Bird-Bird, is permanently disabled and has a forever home with me. He had a badly broken wing when I found him, which healed comfortably but is such that he can't really fly (though he can use his wings to get enough lift to jump up on things).
> 
> Does anyone know of any other permanently disabled pigeons who can't be released into the wild and who thus need a loving forever home? I'm assuming that Bird-Bird would prefer a girl pigeon as a companion, but maybe he could also learn to get along with another boy?
> 
> Bird-Bird and I live in a 1 bedroom apartment in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I've been put in touch with a local rescue foundation (The McDonald Family Animal Rescue) who might know of pigeons who need homes, but I haven't yet heard back from them and I thought I'd check here too.
> 
> Thanks again!
> Howard
> 
> 
> P.S.
> I'm getting the sense that the only feasible method of pigeon birth control is taking away the eggs and replacing them with false ones. (I'm getting the sense, in particular, that with our current medical technology it's either impossible or too dangerous to spay and neuter pigeons). Is that right?


I live in Edmonton to !!!!

I know its not on topic ,buts its nice to have anothere canadian members ,and one in the same city as me to !!


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## cvarnon

I am hand raising a bunch of pigeons for some research I am doing about imprinting. My oldest one is 5 months now. She coos and moans constantly. I call her coopigeon.
If I take her out and sing to her, she will crouch for me. Not sure what exactly it is about the singing, but she seems to like it.
The rest of the time she is so mean though. Pigeons are fun.
I'd much rather have a pigeon that coos all day than a parrot that screams all day, thats for sure.


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## valeri

Hi, Howard --

We're in a similar situation to yours with respect to the one-bedroom apartment -- and I do worry a bit about loud cooing. I know what you're saying. We came upon a couple of racing pigeons (not wanted by their owners), rescued them, and thought we'd be able to re-home them. We didn't realize at the time how tough it was to find good homes for pigeons. And we could never abandon them, we care too much. It's just that, like you, we're not sure if pigeons are okay in our place. (Our cat has permission.) So, I feel like I've got fugitives in my dining room. 

Our male is very vocal at certain times. His pattern has been to strut and coo during the wooing phase with his mate, and then, once they lay eggs (and I replace with fake eggs), he settles down. Basically, we've been dealing of one week with rambunctious, frenetic, cooing behavior. And then it's been three weeks of mellow time on the nest, with time shared between him and his mate.

This last nesting cycle, he did what you're describing. He just wouldn't stop cooing. Even after his mate laid her eggs. He was showing lots of restlessness, increased interest in mirrors, maybe feeling bored while his mate was on the nest. I posted about it, wasn't sure what to do.

That nesting cycle is done and I'll see how he is on this next go-round. They should be laying new eggs within a week. But for the most part, having a companion has been a good thing for both of them. Our girl (rescued first) was so happy to have another pigeon in the house. It's endearing to watch them both. Our relationship with our girl DID change, as others have suggested. But she had a new spring in her step that we couldn't deny. Two pigeons is definitely more work and more poop. Especially in a small space. We weren't totally prepared for the change and went through a bit of an adjustment crisis.

The fake eggs, slipper, and fake-mate methods others have mentioned here might be worth a try before you commit to a second pigeon. But adopting another disabled pigeon is such a lovely idea, as well.


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