# Woah. Disturbing egg breaking.



## November-X-Scourge (May 12, 2011)

Well, I'm posting pics soon of fighter and wolfs feet soon because I just want your opinions on how release able they are (wolf is fine, but he's mated with fighter, and hers are weird) ( for who don't know fighter and wolf are two pigeons with string injuries)

The two are always laying eggs. Well, fighter is. Usually I don't get a chance to replace their eggs with plastic, because they break them open before I can. It's really weird. Fighter will break her own eggs, and then, the worst part, is that she'll eat them too D:
The title is disturbing egg breaking because today, she broke an egg strategically hidden in a corner where I couldn't see, but with and advanced embryo  and then ate the shell. The poor baby was just sitting all dead and it was really sad  fighter looks upset, although she's the one that did it. Why is she doing this?!

On a side note: yesterday, on my was to get an iced latte, I passed by one of my flocks. There was a string foot lying on the ground, finding it very difficult to stand. When I threw seeds he'd use one leg and use his wing as a crutch. Naturally, I caught him. I just finished his "surgery" and he's doing well. His name is Tenor. He's a big black pigeon with three whit spots on his rump and one white flight feather.


----------



## birdofthegauntlet (Jul 10, 2012)

My chickens sometimes will crack open their eggs and sometimes the pigeons will have a taste of it, too... but I've never had a pigeon that cracks its own eggs. 
I wouldn't release those guys, they sound pretty vulnerable.


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

November-X-Scourge said:


> Well, I'm posting pics soon of fighter and wolfs feet soon because I just want your opinions on how release able they are (wolf is fine, but he's mated with fighter, and hers are weird) ( for who don't know fighter and wolf are two pigeons with string injuries)
> 
> The two are always laying eggs. Well, fighter is. Usually I don't get a chance to replace their eggs with plastic, because they break them open before I can. It's really weird. Fighter will break her own eggs, and then, the worst part, is that she'll eat them too D:
> The title is disturbing egg breaking because today, she broke an egg strategically hidden in a corner where I couldn't see, but with and advanced embryo  and then ate the shell. The poor baby was just sitting all dead and it was really sad  fighter looks upset, although she's the one that did it. Why is she doing this?!
> ...


Why are you letting these pigeons sit and incubate their real eggs? get some fake ones and use them.


----------



## GimpieLover (Dec 18, 2005)

Eish! That is pretty disturbing. 
My first thought if she is eating the shell is that she needs the calcium. Does she get enough oyster shell? Lack of calcium might also explain why the eggs are breaking so easily. 
Perhaps needs a higher protein feed if eating the yolk? Just guesses. I have never had to deal with something like that. 
Can you post pictures of their feet so we can get an idea of how bad they are? 
Can they walk just fine? Fly strong? Do they even have perching or grasping troubles? I have seen pijis living in the wild walking on a nub of a leg, but I can't vouch for how successful or happy they were.


----------



## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

Maggie sometimes breaks her eggs -- I don't think she eats them, she gets lots of oyster shell -- but hers aren't fertile. Breaking an egg with a baby inside is odd, though. Maybe something was wrong with the baby and she sensed it?


----------



## November-X-Scourge (May 12, 2011)

spirit wings said:


> Why are you letting these pigeons sit and incubate their real eggs? get some fake ones and use them.


She hid it in a corner. She didn't seem to be up to anything.
----------------
I've been kinda busy, but today I'll post them. Wolf kept all his toes, he's fine. Yes, they are puffy and paralyzed, but he's been with me long enough for me to tell hes not getting better. Fighters feet are strange, deformed with the string. She can walk (with a bad limp) and she's actually good at getting around. Her back toes sit under her foot, a bit to the side. She's missing two toes. The rest are also swollen and paralyzed. Wonderful fliers. No perching difficulty.

It's a sweet story. I got them at the same flock, they hated each other. They healed in separate cages, and one day I put them together and... INSTANT LOVE!! So cute ^-^


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I think they need more calcium. Oyster shell only helps if they eat it, and some don't eat enough. Try a liquid calcium supplement that you put in their water.


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

spirit wings said:


> Why are you letting these pigeons sit and incubate their real eggs? get some fake ones and use them.


Good question. They obviously aren't breaking them before they could be changed out if there was actually a baby in one of them.


----------



## November-X-Scourge (May 12, 2011)

Jay3 said:


> Good question. They obviously aren't breaking them before they could be changed out if there was actually a baby in one of them.


She had it in a corner, actually, behind a brick she usually slept on. I didn't suspect anything when she shifted her position behind the brick and sat there.


----------



## tipllers rule (Aug 2, 2010)

why wouldnt u let her incubate it why let it die


----------



## November-X-Scourge (May 12, 2011)

tipllers rule said:


> why wouldnt u let her incubate it why let it die


She's waiting for me to release her, a baby would postpone it and she's been here long enough.


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

November-X-Scourge said:


> She had it in a corner, actually, behind a brick she usually slept on. I didn't suspect anything when she shifted her position behind the brick and sat there.


oh the ol sneak one in.. have had it happen to me too.. it is my own fault though for not checking well enough and also letting them sit fakes for too long and not noticing they are sitting longer than normal and then they layed eggs with the fake ones...but I usually get to the eggs when they are only a few days old even then.. you have to look under any hen sitting for long periods of time.. they don't usually do that unless they are incubating eggs.


----------



## Phoenix5 (Feb 16, 2012)

Wow, This kinda reminds me of my fantail pigeon.

She didn't break her eggs though, she just waited for them to hatch so she could kill the chicks. I never understood why she did this though, she had TONS of space to move around and every 3-4 months she would build a nest elsewhere and incubate her eggs there til' the chicks hatched then she would kill them. At first, i thought a different pigeon was killing these poor chicks so i placed her in a big cage were she could raise the chicks in peace, but they were also killed hours after they hatched.


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Phoenix5 said:


> Wow, This kinda reminds me of my fantail pigeon.
> 
> She didn't break her eggs though, she just waited for them to hatch so she could kill the chicks. I never understood why she did this though, she had TONS of space to move around and every 3-4 months she would build a nest elsewhere and incubate her eggs there til' the chicks hatched then she would kill them. At first, i thought a different pigeon was killing these poor chicks so i placed her in a big cage were she could raise the chicks in peace, but they were also killed hours after they hatched.


How do you know if it was the hen or the cock killing them?


----------



## Phoenix5 (Feb 16, 2012)

Jay3 said:


> How do you know if it was the hen or the cock killing them?


The Cock has raised 6 other chicks before with no problems at all but his first partner was killed by a cat. 

He mated with the fantail pigeon 3 days after his first partner was killed.


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Phoenix5 said:


> The Cock has raised 6 other chicks before with no problems at all but his first partner was killed by a cat.
> 
> He mated with the fantail pigeon 3 days after his first partner was killed.


I think she meant did you see the hen doing it.


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's really odd, isn't it?


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Jay3 said:


> That's really odd, isn't it?


yep, never heard of it, but I guess it is possible..maybe the hen gets confused and thinks they(hatchlings) are something else in her nest.. or they are dieing because of another reason and they are mistaken.


----------



## Phoenix5 (Feb 16, 2012)

spirit wings said:


> I think she meant did you see the hen doing it.


No i didn't see her killing the chicks or else i would've stopped her. The chicks hatched around 7:30am and were killed approx 8:30am on the same day. The cock was flying at this time...Once released, he would fly for a very long time and hang outside for about 2-3 hours before coming in. 


By the way, this has NEVER happened to any of the other chicks before. i also saw blood on these chicks so i knew straight away that the hen killed them. 

It's very strange. :/


----------

