# Why is my pigeon so territorial?



## Pige0nL0ver (Mar 4, 2010)

-PigeonTalk- 

Okay so i am posting this thread because i have a 1 year old pigeon(nearly 2) who is so territorial. 

I named him Bart because he reminds me so much of Bart from The Simpsons Cartoon. 

So anyway, Bart is very territorial, He is always fighting with my 4 other pigeons for territory. At First the Dad was the Alpha male here til' the day Bart hatched which i assume was the dad's worst nightmare. He is a very happy spoiled Pigeon and he loves resting near me when im sitting outside. He attacks his sister, his parents, my favorite high flier pigeon and my albino budgie for territory, I let the budgie out freely and he loves hanging out with the pigeons with no problem at all, but Bart attacks them all for territory and only his dad fights back and if i don't stop them, they will bite eachother to death. If i could take a picture from above and highlight Bart's territory, you would be amazed at how big his territory has become. He once attacked a crested pigeon when she landed here and made her bleed.

Why is he so territorial? does this have anything to do with him growing up? 

I might have to change this cheeky pigeon's name to 'The Conqueror'. lol


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

He is a typical healthy normal young male pigeon. He may settle a bit once he has a mate and babies.

Also, male pigeons will claim any territory you allow them access too.

If he is a pet and allowed in the house, he will bite all ankles that enter his territory of those he is not bonded to, this has been the case with many spoiled pet pigeons.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If Bart is fighting all the time with everyone, then I would say that he could be turning into a bully. True that males will fight for territory, but one that is constantly chasing all the others from all the perches or whatever just causes stress for the others. Often if he is removed from the group for a week or so, somewhere that he can not see or hear the others, then brought back in, it might calm him down.


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## Bird Crazy (Aug 9, 2011)

Pige0nL0ver said:


> The Dad was the Alpha male here til' the day Bart hatched which i assume was the dad's worst nightmare. He is a very happy spoiled Pigeon and he loves resting near me when im sitting outside. I might have to change this cheeky pigeon's name to 'The Conqueror'. lol


LOL - The Conqueror - Love the title. Your Bart sounds so much like my Chance!  He's four years old now. I got him from "the wild" in a rescue that saved his life when he was just a bit younger than two. While he has learned many things about being a house pet pigeon, the one thing has not forgotten from his wild days is how to peck for territory - and he pecks hard  it can be very painful. So I do feel for your other birds and Bart's sister. That poor crowned pigeon must have gotten quite a surprise too. Poor girl. My Chance is very, very territorial like Bart. Usually about his cage, his food dish, our living room where he flys for exercise and also oddly, my hands. He will land on them, hump them , step up on them and let me carry him around. But - he never misses an opportunity to peck them to death. Not sure if this means he loves me or hates me handling him. Over the years that hes' been here, I've actually gotten scars from being hand pecked, but I refuse to give up handling him. So I know where you are coming from with the pecking issue. I have to agree with the other post. He does sound a bit like he's turning into a bully though.


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## Pige0nL0ver (Mar 4, 2010)

Bird Crazy said:


> LOL - The Conqueror - Love the title. Your Bart sounds so much like my Chance!  He's four years old now. I got him from "the wild" in a rescue that saved his life when he was just a bit younger than two. While he has learned many things about being a house pet pigeon, the one thing has not forgotten from his wild days is how to peck for territory - and he pecks hard  it can be very painful. So I do feel for your other birds and Bart's sister. That poor crowned pigeon must have gotten quite a surprise too. Poor girl. My Chance is very, very territorial like Bart. Usually about his cage, his food dish, our living room where he flys for exercise and also oddly, my hands. He will land on them, hump them , step up on them and let me carry him around. But - he never misses an opportunity to peck them to death. Not sure if this means he loves me or hates me handling him. Over the years that hes' been here, I've actually gotten scars from being hand pecked, but I refuse to give up handling him. So I know where you are coming from with the pecking issue. I have to agree with the other post. He does sound a bit like he's turning into a bully though.



Haha Chance seems so cute, I think Chance and Bart will make a great team when it comes to conquering.  My Bart is very mean to my 4 other pigeons and my budgie, he is very sneaky too...The Crowned pigeon landed here in search of food, while she was eating the seeds that had fallen on the ground, Bart attacked her unaware and blood came out within seconds. His bite is VERY painful. The only pigeon that could stand up against Bart is his dad lol. They can fight for hours. This whole area belonged to Bart's Dad, he was the Alpha male here and many pigeons were badly hurt when they landed here. I live in an Apartmant with a very big Balcony and Homer (Bart's Dad) protected this area with his life. lol BUT things changed when Bart hatched, At first he was cuddly and friendly, Now he has taken half of his Dad's territory and still wants more. The Balcony is not the only place that belongs to my pigeons lol. The field downstairs, The building across the street, The building to the left of my Balcony and a big tree that is in front of my balcony belong to my pigeons. When i bought my first pigeon in 2006, He became the Alpha Male of this Area and no pigeon was able to stand up against him, When i brought Homer, The Previous Alpha male was beaten and Homer become the Alpha Male but now, Bart The Conqueror has arrived, He has taken more territory than Homer and the first Alpha male pigeon combined. I must admit, I love watching Bart conquer, its like watching a Hollywood movie.

I think Bart is the Last Alpha male here, No pigeon can beat him. lol


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## LizBerg (Dec 1, 2010)

I had one like this, he was a king and took off one day without returning (they're not great at the homing thing). I never could understand him, he had the top two nest boxes and would defend them from everyone, even the females who wanted to check him out.


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## Bird Crazy (Aug 9, 2011)

Chance can be cute and downright funny sometimes. Like when he tries to land on me when my back is turned. Of course I can hear him coming and manage to turn around just in time to see him with claws extended ready to land. As soon as he sees that I see him, he does an about face and flys in the opposit direction, all innocent like - talk about sneaky LOL And funny, I remember once when he landed on my husbands, um, follically challenged head with claws holding on and Chance giving him a peck or two to check out the lack of hair. Hubby just looked at me like...Get this this blankety blank bird off my head! NOW! THAT, I must say was hillarious. LOL But as far as territorial goes, Chance is definitely an all male pigeon and I'd be willing to bet that he'd give Bart a run for his money once he sized up his competition. Chance can peck with the best of 'em I imagine. Even my family refuses to handle him unless they absolutely have too because they're afraid of his penchant for pecking. LOL That makes me his primary caregiver and that's okay. But Bart needs to watch out, sooner or later another "tougher" pigeon is going to happen along and give him a good whopp'n before taking over his territory. That's not to say that Bart wouldn't get a few well placed pecks in of his own first. 

I know you get a kick out of watching Bart because I get the same kick out of observing Chance. The first year he was making the adjustment to being an inside bird, he actually mangaged to attract a very pretty pigeon hen from the wild flock that feeds in my yard and enticed her to work up enough courage to walk along the fence and up to the living room window, standing on our window ledge, to "bill and coo" with him while he struted back and forth on the sofa, dragging his tail low, all fanned out and all puffed up. He was soooo proud of his accomplishment. I got lots of chuckles out of the whole thing but felt sorry for her falling for a captive bird she couldn't have. Amazingly though, she loved him so much that it lasted all spring/summer that year. She sat on the other side of the window on the ledge and waited for him to appear morning and evening, then got all frustrated that she couldn't figure out a way in to join him. Poor dear - LOL too funny. Best of luck with Bart.


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## Pige0nL0ver (Mar 4, 2010)

LizBerg said:


> I had one like this, he was a king and took off one day without returning (they're not great at the homing thing). I never could understand him, he had the top two nest boxes and would defend them from everyone, even the females who wanted to check him out.


King pigeons are poor fliers, Your king pigeon might of been caught when it flew away. They depend on humans to take care of them because King Pigeons are mainly used for food in restaurants. They can't take care of themselves out in the wild. 

Its so sad to hear that his gone, Pigeons make great pets.


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