# Will they have babies all winter?



## Fever

I can't find any consistent information online about what the breeding season of feral pigeons is. I've read that they stop laying eggs in the winter, that they lay year-round, that they only stop when they are moulting... I live near Ottawa, ON, there are no leaves left on the trees, and it's very cold but there's been no frost yet. One pigeon has just laid eggs, and another has chicks that hatched within a week (they're still yellow). Both are moulting. 

Can anyone tell me what happens to these winter generations?


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## wildlife-rehab

lets just hope that they can keep warm enough at night, we lost one at the wildlife center where i work the other day, there in a outside aviary where they can come and go when they please and one decided to hatch out an egg, but he only lasted a week ive watched him grow making sure his mum was feeding him and then when i checked on him the next day it had just got to cold for him  
i think im going to remove anymore that hatch and rear them as it is far to cold now.
im in the UK and October is normally stupidly cold yet on friday we had a new group of mallard ducklings hatch and were still getting orphaned hedgehogs in which is just mad this time of year!

pigeons are usually one of the last to stop breeding but oct/nov is madness!


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## Maggie-NC

Ferals breed year round. We have noticed that breeding diminishes somewhat from around September through February but we have picked up squabs, fledglings and juveniles in every month of the year.

We have noticed that the babies born during the winter months are not as healthy as those born in the spring/summer. Matter of fact, I really dread sometimes getting one in the fall/winter months. On the other hand, some of the tamest we have ever had were born then.


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## warriec

yes they will breed provided that there is adequate foof, water & heat although the mortality rate will be high for the young. most will die in the egg.


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## minimonkey

*some do, some don't*

I've done a lot of feral watching, as I used to live in an old warehouse, and there was a flock that lived/roosted right outside the window (that's how I ended up with two babies to raise, when the building owners went on a de-pigeoning frenzy). They pretty much stopped laying altogether when the rains started to flood nests. They still inhabited the same ledges, but didn't next or lay again until spring.

My own little coterie of pet pigeons (yes, the babies were only the beginning!) are indoor, and they lay all year round. Gotta keep up with the egg pulling and the calcium and vitamins! They *do* lay while moulting, from my observation, but often don't sit the eggs. (Sometimes they even puurposely break them right after laying.)


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## Fever

Poor pigeons, they never get a break! I'll keep an eye on the new generation. I haven't seen anyone feeding these new chicks, but I've been busy with school and not pigeon-watching as much as I did in the summer, so maybe I've just missed it.


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## Fever

We had our first frost this morning, and it looks as though one of the squabs has died. There is only one pigeon sitting on the nest; I never see another come and take her place. She (or he) was walking around off the nest this morning, and there was only one little yellow chick.

I'm going to start secretly feeding them again. I'm sure that if I mix in some winter bird seed that has a little extra fat, they will have a better chance. Now if I can find a ladder to get to their roost and some dummy eggs, I think they'll have a much better winter.


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## mr squeaks

Wishing you the BEST, Fever! Thank you for taking the time to help them!

Here, our temps stay pretty high, so pijies could reproduce all year round...

Personally, any temps going below 70 practically puts me in hibernation! 

Shi


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## maryjane

All year round, here!!  But we don't get terribly cold temps in N. Cali. I know the ferals breed all year round, as Gonzo (my first pij) was found in the river as a November baby who fell out of his nest. We had several other winter babies found too over the years. Silly pigeons.


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## for_the_birds

It's funny I was just thinking of this same question this morning while walking to a class. The campus I'm on has these small square cubby-hole windows that protrude out of the buildings. Sadly, they installed sharp looking sticky-uppy (sorry don't know how else to describe them) wires because apparently the pigeons are inconveinant  The funny part is pigeons still roost in them and build nests (resourceful lil guys). I can always hear the little babies squawking in them, it's cute


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## mr squeaks

for_the_birds said:


> It's funny I was just thinking of this same question this morning while walking to a class. The campus I'm on has these small square cubby-hole windows that protrude out of the buildings. Sadly, they installed sharp looking sticky-uppy (sorry don't know how else to describe them) wires because apparently the pigeons are inconveinant  The funny part is pigeons still roost in them and build nests (resourceful lil guys). I can always hear the little babies squawking in them, it's cute


To keep pijies from nesting in the recessed windows, ASU installed screens. No more nests...no more pijies... 

Shi


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## Fever

for_the_birds said:


> It's funny I was just thinking of this same question this morning while walking to a class. The campus I'm on has these small square cubby-hole windows that protrude out of the buildings. Sadly, they installed sharp looking sticky-uppy (sorry don't know how else to describe them) wires because apparently the pigeons are inconveinant  The funny part is pigeons still roost in them and build nests (resourceful lil guys). I can always hear the little babies squawking in them, it's cute



I hate those sticky-uppy things, I know exactly the ones you mean! I live near downtown Ottawa, and there's a lot of fancy old stone buildings and statues and those spikes are everywhere. They're so hostile-looking; I prefer the pigeons.

I was downtown feeding pigeons some bagel (I know bread's a no-no, but it was wholegrain!). I got a few to take it from my hand even. The funniest thing was, no one gave me a dirty look for it or told me to stop. A lot of them actually smiled, especially older people. One man told me he never sees anyone take the time to feed the birds anymore, and that they sure looked happy.


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## TAWhatley

Those sticky-uppy things are called bird or pigeon spikes. While I don't like them one little bit, I do find it interesting how the pigeons often just take them in stride or actually use them to their advantage in nest construction and housing in general  

Terry


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## for_the_birds

Awh, yeah I don't like them. They _are_ hostile looking...as if pigeons are such horrible animals. When I first saw them in the windows I was a little appalled. 



> A lot of them actually smiled, especially older people. One man told me he never sees anyone take the time to feed the birds anymore, and that they sure looked happy.


That's really cute  

I actually saw a really adorable thing yesterday, I was at a stop light and looked over to the side where there's this gas station. A lone pigeon was waddling around near the entrance and I got really scared he/she was going to get run over. Then I see him/her grab something off the gravel and fly up on top of the gas station, it was a long dried piece of grass! They were building their nest


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## Fever

I have bad news. I checked the nest today, and it has been abandoned. I don't know if it's because the other chick died, or if something happened to the parents.

I'm really upset by this, but I guess nature can be cruel sometimes. I wonder if I should have stepped in after the first one died, and removed the sibling. And now I wonder about the other pigeon and its nest. I can't tell if the babies have hatched or not, but are they doomed as well? Should I step in? Or is this just the way things have to be?


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