# How does dummy eggs work



## carolbird (Apr 26, 2013)

Hi everyone,
Can you leave a dummy egg in a pigeon's nest instead of changing it out after the pigeon already laid one? I am trying to avoid my pigeon laying eggs herself as I don't want her to face any of the issues that can come with it. If so, what is best plastic or wood eggs?


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Put dummy eggs in and a hen will still lay when she is ready to, regardless.

The idea is replace the real ones with dummies within 2 or 3 days of laying.

We have a hen pigeon who developed problems associated with egg laying, and our avian vet gave her an implant designed to prevent ovulation, which needs to be renewed every six months. It is called Suprelorin, and was initially used in dogs, then found to work with chickens. It is not 100% guaranteed in every case, but our hen has been fine so far, after three months.


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## Jason Heidlauf (Apr 2, 2012)

no it won't work to just leave it there they will just leave it after 20 days or so and go lay again . if you don't want her to lay eggs take the male away .


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

*Dummy Eggs*

Hey CarolBird, 
Pigeons can't do maths means they can't count that its already 2 eggs so let's not lay the 2nd egg further...
If u dn't want more eggs then simply separate the pair. If you take the real eggs out and put dummies then they will incubate the dummies for 20/25 days then they will start to lose interest in eggs and will start mating again. This happened in my case...
If u don't want to separate the pair then make a partition in their pen if its big enough so that they can see each other and bill but can't mate


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## DoveSvN (Apr 4, 2013)

Yes, you can leave it in the nest, But the female will abandon it after 2 weeks. That's what my female pigeon did. In fact, My pigeon pushed out the fake egg herself.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Taking the male away or even separating them will not necessarily stop the hen from actually laying.
A hen does not need to physically mate in order to produce eggs, although does to produce fertile eggs.
Best scenario is to make sure they have plenty grit, calcium, and vitamin d3 (THIS IS REQUIRED TO PROCESS THE CALCIUM) then replace an egg with a dummy as soon as it has been laid, this allows the birds to sit for the required period of time without fear of hatching, giving the bird time to replenish her calcium levels before laying again.


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## carolbird (Apr 26, 2013)

Thanks for the answers everyone, I will just take precaution and give her calcium


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