# Pigeon nest on balcony



## Goldienyc (Sep 4, 2018)

Hello - I just noticed last night that a pigeon has laid two eggs on my balcony andnot sure how to handle. We are in NYC on the 15th floor of a high rise apartment building and have been noticing for sometime now that pigeons have been “hanging out” on the rails of the terrace. We just came back from a two week vacation and my husband went on the terrace and noticed a pigeon come out from under a couch that is on the balcony. He looked under the couch and sure enough saw two eggs and a pile of twigs and what looks like hay. Also a lot of pigeon feathers. He left the terrace and soon one of the parents came back to sit on the eggs. We don’t want to destroy the eggs but are we essentially banned from our terrace until the eggs hatch and the chicks are old enough to leave? The terrace is small and doesn’t have much space aside from the couch they are nesting under. My husband and I were looking forward to evenings sipping wine in the couch but we are afraid sitting in the couch could hurt them, or more likely won’t hurt them but may just scare them. The terrace is too small to have other eating. 

So my questions are:
- do we need to completely steer clear of the balcony for now?
- After the chicks hatch and learn to fly, can we be “done”? How do we prevent other pigeons, or these same ones from laying more eggs and is that likely to happen again soon if we just leave things be? Do the parents just lay one set of eggs a season or do they lay more when the first set hatches? 

Thanks for your help!!
-Goldie


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Unfortunately you won't be able to use your balcony for the next few weeks. When the babies hatch, they will fledge around 4-5 weeks. If you use the balcony, the parents won't incubate the eggs or come back to feed the chicks.

I would gladly sacrifice my balcony (if I had one) for watching babies getting reared and growing up. When the youngsters fledge, the parents might use the same nest and lay another set of eggs. If you don't want this to happen, then you can just destroy the nest after the babies have left.


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## Friend John (Jun 10, 2018)

Hi Goldienyc,

I had a very similar situation, where pigeons built a nest essentially inside my window (in the gap between the plastic shutters and the glass window). This meant that I could see everything they do 24\7. Of course, it also meant they could see inside my apartment 24\7, and they were located right next to my treadmill. Long story short, I gained a few pounds...

So yes, I couldn't use my treadmill (still can't, since they chose to use the nest 3 times in a row), and now I'm moving it elsewhere (the treadmill, not the nest) so I could use it and won't have to buy a new wardrobe. And it's totally worth it. Give the pigeons the time and space, and take the opportunity to watch them incubate and rear their young - it is a very special and gratifying experience that not many people get to watch. I didn't really think about pigeons up to that point, but ever since then I'm a pigeon fan for life, and have started feeding them (and practically the entire neighborhood flock) daily. Yes, not using the balcony might suck, but summer is almost over anyhow.

As for how often they lay eggs, they have around 5 rearing cycles per year, though they tend to slow down in the winter a bit, so you might not have to worry about another cycle with any luck. Just let them raise their squabs until they fledge and assess the situation then.


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## Goldienyc (Sep 4, 2018)

Thanks for the responses - the eggs and nest are under a couch against the back wall of the terrace. So unless we lay down on the floor with a flashlight (on the other side of the terrace door or else the pigeon would probably fly right into us) we don’t see anything. So not exactly like we will get to observe much of the hatching and tearing process. The only reason I even know it is there is because every time I go out on the terrace (to get one of my kids bikes, etc), the pigeon flies out from under the couch in a panic and usually almost flies into me (our terrace is very small. It is a very unpleasant experience . I am trying to avoid going out there but it is not great - I feel scared to go out at all and we basically do not see anything going on. I lay down on the floor of our kitchen with a flashlight and look through the terrace door to see every morning if the eggs hatched yet... I don’t want to hurt the babies but this has not been great for us. If they were out in the open at least we would have the benefit of watching but as it is it only feels like a big inconvience. 


QUOTE=Marina B;1148054]Unfortunately you won't be able to use your balcony for the next few weeks. When the babies hatch, they will fledge around 4-5 weeks. If you use the balcony, the parents won't incubate the eggs or come back to feed the chicks.

I would gladly sacrifice my balcony (if I had one) for watching babies getting reared and growing up. When the youngsters fledge, the parents might use the same nest and lay another set of eggs. If you don't want this to happen, then you can just destroy the nest after the babies have left.[/QUOTE]


Friend John said:


> Hi Goldienyc,
> 
> I had a very similar situation, where pigeons built a nest essentially inside my window (in the gap between the plastic shutters and the glass window). This meant that I could see everything they do 24\7. Of course, it also meant they could see inside my apartment 24\7, and they were located right next to my treadmill. Long story short, I gained a few pounds...
> 
> ...


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I honestly do understand everyone wanting you to let them hatch the eggs and raise the babies, but no one has mentioned that they could lay 2 more eggs before the 2 babies even leave. That makes it kind of hard to get rid of the nest. Although with winter coming on soon, they probably won't lay more this season. It must have seemed to them a great place to nest while you were away. Sounds safe and cozy.
So it's up to you what you want to do. Either let them raise their young, or toss the nest and eggs. Would be too bad to kill babies growing in the eggs, as you don't know how far along they are, but unfortunately these things happen. All depends on how important the use of the balcony is to you. They probably won't rebuild there if the nest is destroyed, but they may, so you would need to check daily for a while to be sure they didn't rebuild, or block off access to the area. Please let us know what you decide to do.


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## Goldienyc (Sep 4, 2018)

Thx - I think we will keep them, I don’t think I have the heart to do anything else! But I do hope we can prevent more from coming! 🙂



Jay3 said:


> I honestly do understand everyone wanting you to let them hatch the eggs and raise the babies, but no one has mentioned that they could lay 2 more eggs before the 2 babies even leave. That makes it kind of hard to get rid of the nest. Although with winter coming on soon, they probably won't lay more this season. It must have seemed to them a great place to nest while you were away. Sounds safe and cozy.
> So it's up to you what you want to do. Either let them raise their young, or toss the nest and eggs. Would be too bad to kill babies growing in the eggs, as you don't know how far along they are, but unfortunately these things happen. All depends on how important the use of the balcony is to you. They probably won't rebuild there if the nest is destroyed, but they may, so you would need to check daily for a while to be sure they didn't rebuild, or block off access to the area. Please let us know what you decide to do.


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Jay3 said:


> I honestly do understand everyone wanting you to let them hatch the eggs and raise the babies, but no one has mentioned that they could lay 2 more eggs before the 2 babies even leave. That makes it kind of hard to get rid of the nest. Although with winter coming on soon, they probably won't lay more this season. It must have seemed to them a great place to nest while you were away. Sounds safe and cozy.
> So it's up to you what you want to do. Either let them raise their young, or toss the nest and eggs. Would be too bad to kill babies growing in the eggs, as you don't know how far along they are, but unfortunately these things happen. All depends on how important the use of the balcony is to you. They probably won't rebuild there if the nest is destroyed, but they may, so you would need to check daily for a while to be sure they didn't rebuild, or block off access to the area. Please let us know what you decide to do.


I think you'll find others have mentioned the possibility of other eggs being laid. As for your assertion that destroying eggs:''unfortunately these things happen'' all I can think of that remark is I must have logged on to a pest control forum.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

FLIGHT 901 said:


> I think you'll find others have mentioned the possibility of other eggs being laid. As for your assertion that destroying eggs:''unfortunately these things happen'' all I can think of that remark is I must have logged on to a pest control forum.



You are incorrect in that no one mentioned that they usually lay the next set of eggs_ before_ the first babies are grown and out. That would make it difficult to then remove the nest and eggs, with the babies there. They could be scared over the balcony. Also, destroying the nest at that point could cause the parents to abandon the first babies. And as far as tossing the eggs, I think your remark is a little bit ridiculous, as not everyone is going to give up their patio for a couple of pigeon eggs. Very nice of these people that they are going to do that, but not everyone is going to. Just being a realist.


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## Goldienyc (Sep 4, 2018)

So the eggs hatched! And yes it is very sweet and my six year old was over the moon when he saw the babies 🙂
So now I understand the babies stay in the nest for another month. Do the parents still stay with them all the time the same way they do with the eggs? And after the month and they fly away, can we take steps to have them not come back without harming them? I did not want to harm the eggs and I don’t want to harm them, but I do want to get my balcony back some point soon... 

And yes, I know some of you have said that more eggs may be laid while the babies are still growing. Is that really common or just a fluke thing? Guess there is nothing I can do to make that less likely...? 

Thanks for all the wisdom and advise so far!


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Jay3 said:


> You are incorrect in that no one mentioned that they usually lay the next set of eggs_ before_ the first babies are grown and out. That would make it difficult to then remove the nest and eggs, with the babies there. They could be scared over the balcony. Also, destroying the nest at that point could cause the parents to abandon the first babies. And as far as tossing the eggs, I think your remark is a little bit ridiculous, as not everyone is going to give up their patio for a couple of pigeon eggs. Very nice of these people that they are going to do that, but not everyone is going to. Just being a realist.


Well, you are playing around with words. The facts are that concerns were raised over the possibility of further eggs being laid. In any event, that is not the issue. Your cavalier, matter-of-fact advice on destroying eggs that may have unborn chicks within was odious. Fortunately, your 'advice' was ignored and two healthy chicks have (hopefully) a chance of living, given all the obstacles that await them.

With ''realists'' like yourself in this world, expediting animals to a premature death because the cod-philosophy ''it's one of those things'' is your solution to an inconvenience leads me to believe that you should not be anywhere near an animal of any type. You chose to run that quote on a pigeon-friendly site, ''realist'' or plain stupid?


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Goldienyc said:


> So the eggs hatched! And yes it is very sweet and my six year old was over the moon when he saw the babies 🙂
> So now I understand the babies stay in the nest for another month. Do the parents still stay with them all the time the same way they do with the eggs? And after the month and they fly away, can we take steps to have them not come back without harming them? I did not want to harm the eggs and I don’t want to harm them, but I do want to get my balcony back some point soon...
> 
> And yes, I know some of you have said that more eggs may be laid while the babies are still growing. Is that really common or just a fluke thing? Guess there is nothing I can do to make that less likely...?
> ...


They may return there if you become their surrogate parents but in general they will roost with the other pigeons that gather around the city, looking for food. The parents may or may not choose to breed again. They don't necessarily partner for life. It can take up to 21 days for eggs to be lain, assuming mating was successful. Once the young have fledged and there is no immediate activity in the nest, then your decision might be to remove it.

However, should the remote possibility of other eggs arriving countenance you, I would advise you to contact a pigeon-friendly organisation, one free of ''realists'' and not given to branding pigeons as vermin. I operate a feral pigeon rescue and what I don't know about pigeons isn't worth knowing.


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## Friend John (Jun 10, 2018)

Congratulations! Thank you for choosing to let them hatch and grow. 

The parents will stay with the squabs almost all the time until they are about 3 weeks old, and then they'll start spending a bit less time with them, in that they won't be there all the time continuously. As the squabs grow older beyond 3 weeks or so, the parents may even start taking nights off away from the nest, but should still spend a lot of time with them during the day and feed them.

If the birds will lay more eggs before the squabs fledge, that might be an issue (though the approaching winter may make them not lay another batch), but if the squabs fledge and no eggs are laid, you could just clear out the nest. Maybe put something to close the gap under the couch so they won't be able to enter there again.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

FLIGHT 901 said:


> Well, you are playing around with words. The facts are that concerns were raised over the possibility of further eggs being laid. In any event, that is not the issue. Your cavalier, matter-of-fact advice on destroying eggs that may have unborn chicks within was odious. Fortunately, your 'advice' was ignored and two healthy chicks have (hopefully) a chance of living, given all the obstacles that await them.
> 
> With ''realists'' like yourself in this world, expediting animals to a premature death because the cod-philosophy ''it's one of those things'' is your solution to an inconvenience leads me to believe that you should not be anywhere near an animal of any type. You chose to run that quote on a pigeon-friendly site, ''realist'' or plain stupid?


Oh, you're so funny! LOL. And what Utopia do you live in, where all will just walk away from the patio or balcony for a couple of months, rather than to disturb a pigeon nest with unhatched eggs in it? In a perfect world, everything would be saved and protected, but this is the real world. I was just being fair and giving them options, whether you agree with them or not.
Your self righteous attitude is ridiculous. Get over yourself. Make your helpful comments to the poster, and let others share their opinions, whether you agree with them or not.


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Jay3 said:


> Oh, you're so funny! LOL. And what Utopia do you live in, where all will just walk away from the patio or balcony for a couple of months, rather than to disturb a pigeon nest with unhatched eggs in it? In a perfect world, everything would be saved and protected, but this is the real world. I was just being fair and giving them options, whether you agree with them or not.
> Your self righteous attitude is ridiculous. Get over yourself. Make your helpful comments to the poster, and let others share their opinions, whether you agree with them or not.


Someone is triggered. I don't have to ''get over'' anything. I don't advocate killing animals, you do! As for ''perfect world'' and ''realist'' I'm sure you live in some sleazy concept of self-importance that satiates a compliant reality based upon your vile ''opinions.''

''Opinions'' matter, especially those predicated upon well-intentioned and well-informed acts of kindness. You are a pigeon killer, no more, no less. Try as you may to deflect away from it with your risible drivel, you and you only gave the ''advice'' to kill unborn chicks. Your smokescreen is not working, live with it, move on, ''LOL'' as much as you like, you have been outed.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Let it go. This is derailing this thread. That isn't fair to the poster.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Goldienyc said:


> So the eggs hatched! And yes it is very sweet and my six year old was over the moon when he saw the babies 🙂
> So now I understand the babies stay in the nest for another month. Do the parents still stay with them all the time the same way they do with the eggs? And after the month and they fly away, can we take steps to have them not come back without harming them? I did not want to harm the eggs and I don’t want to harm them, but I do want to get my balcony back some point soon...
> 
> And yes, I know some of you have said that more eggs may be laid while the babies are still growing. Is that really common or just a fluke thing? Guess there is nothing I can do to make that less likely...?
> ...



It'll probably be more like 6 weeks, and they do often have another set of eggs when the first young are half grown. Maybe this late in the season they won't do that, and if they do, they may go elsewhere to make another nest. So all may work out just fine. If they do choose to lay more eggs in that nest while the first babies are still there, not much you can do.


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Goldienyc said:


> So the eggs hatched! And yes it is very sweet and my six year old was over the moon when he saw the babies 🙂
> So now I understand the babies stay in the nest for another month. Do the parents still stay with them all the time the same way they do with the eggs? And after the month and they fly away, can we take steps to have them not come back without harming them? I did not want to harm the eggs and I don’t want to harm them, but I do want to get my balcony back some point soon...
> 
> And yes, I know some of you have said that more eggs may be laid while the babies are still growing. Is that really common or just a fluke thing? Guess there is nothing I can do to make that less likely...?
> ...


Pigeons are quite savvy and frankly, they will not have a problem sharing the balcony with you. In fact, you could help by putting food down so that it reduces the need for them to forage. 

What you must not do is get close to them, emotionally, that is. No hands-on, touchy-feely stuff. In-any-event, the parents will retain a modicum of wariness, it's the babies that could attach themselves to you. 


Should other eggs arrive, I suggest you screen-off the area (if possible) and continue with your life, I'm sure you could co-exist with these avian intruders and live-to-tell-the-tale once more, with pictures.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

These are feral birds, and trying to share the balcony with them may just scare them away. I would suggest that they are just left alone as much as possible. Also, by leaving food out there, you may well attract more pigeons to the balcony.
How are they doing?


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Jay3 said:


> These are feral birds, and trying to share the balcony with them may just scare them away. I would suggest that they are just left alone as much as possible. Also, by leaving food out there, you may well attract more pigeons to the balcony.
> How are they doing?


Apparently, very well and glad to be alive rather than shoved in the bin!


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Some people have never seen a pigeon, I'm sure. Plagiarising source-material from other sites and copy/paste as original work is easy to identify. 

Pigeons are intelligent beings and will already have established you are no threat to them. Equally, if you place the food near to the nest, it's not going to attract other pigeons. You'll be helping the parents lessen the risks they face sourcing food for their babies and giving much needed food (and probably better quality) to help in their rapid growth.

Soon they will have fledged, and you will know that you played an integral part in their development. If you would like them to revisit you, tie a piece of coloured ribbon/cloth to your balcony, so that they can identify it and you will find them returning, if only to pay homage to their birth-place.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Pigeons view humans as an enemy, they must have been desperate for a nesting spot to build their nest on your balcony. If the parents get spooked while keeping the babies warm, they will leave. The babies are still young, without the parents keeping them warm, they will become cold and unresponsive (even if it's only for an hour or so) and die.

If you start putting out food, you will have to continue to do this for the rest of your life. Once the babies fledge, they will follow the parents which will show them where to find food and water. If the source is available so close to them, they will never learn where to find food elsewhere.

Food will attract other pigeons and they will harm the babies. Soon you will have a lot of pigeons fighting on your balcony and this will all become a mess and you might end up with babies being scalped by other pigeons and even killed by them.

Just leave things the way they are and give the parents space to raise their babies.


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Curiously enough, humans view humans as enemies, but that is another issue. Imprisoning pigeons in cages as ornaments is a desperate act of inadequacy, but again, another issue. Many people offer advice whose only qualifications is text book regurgitation, or 'borrowing' advice from other's works, who have never had hands on experience. I see much here that I have read elsewhere and it's nothing more than pretentious drivel.

Pigeons are so frightened of human beings that they will feed from your hand or roost on your head having never seen you before! Food-source is a great leveler. The scaremongering advice being given to you is tosh. It's 'Apocalypse Now' nonsense and from those that would rather pigeons suffered because of their inflated egos. You'll have to do what is best for your situation, but beware the 'experts' that think pigeons are commodities to be exploited.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

The only ferals that will feed from your hand are those that have grown up doing that in a park or somewhere that people feed them. Ferals do view humans as predators. They are not friendly, and can easily be scared away when suddenly humans are using the balcony where they built a nest and laid eggs when no one was around, as the people were on vacation. Taking a chance of spooking them is foolish. 

Marina is right in that other pigeons will be attracted and often that does mean fighting, and the babies getting injured. Many have come on here at one time or another who have had that experience.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Goldienyc, you were given advice by plenty of members. Some gave advice by insulting other members (maybe that's the only way they can make a statement), some advice were given out of personal experience, love for pigeons and caring for their longterm survival.

I hope you make the right decision. Enjoy watching the babies grow and thanks for letting the parents raise them on your balcony. XX


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Jay3 said:


> The only ferals that will feed from your hand are those that have grown up doing that in a park or somewhere that people feed them. Ferals do view humans as predators. They are not friendly, and can easily be scared away when suddenly humans are using the balcony where they built a nest and laid eggs when no one was around, as the people were on vacation. Taking a chance of spooking them is foolish.
> 
> Marina is right in that other pigeons will be attracted and often that does mean fighting, and the babies getting injured. Many have come on here at one time or another who have had that experience.



What I'd like to know is this; when did you and your acolyte last have pigeons breeding on your balcony? The answer is: never! What you and your acolyte do is take others opinions on what that person/s thought and represent them as what you think. In essence, you are all presenting claptrap as evidence. Ask yourself this: 'when did I last give so much as a piece of bread to a feral'?

I know the answer to that. Anyone can offer advice on how much cc or ml of antibiotic to administer to a sick pigeon, it's readily available information. I read with interest the advice on how to shove wild birds into aviaries because someone who has never reared a potentially wild bird thinks it's best for the bird.

The 'experts' I see offering 'advice' is equivalent to watching liars outdo each other with more preposterous lies. I know that you don't know what you are talking about. On-the-one-hand, you in particular tell someone to ''give 30 thawed frozen peas, washed under warm water 3 times a day to a baby bird''! Then you advise on how to send unborn chicks to death! 

I'm not going to take you seriously and haven't so far. Suffice to say, you may well accuse me of derailing the thread, yet you did that when you went off-point and accused me of being a fantasist in a Utopian idyll, using abstract constructs as a device to justify your insidious precis. 

This morning at 06:00 I went to check the ferals were not being attacked and fed them.This evening I will ( as I do every evening) feed between 160-180 birds that patiently wait. I have three resident birds and apart from clearing up dead birds, I rescue the sick and injured. That's what I do everyday and have done for the past 10 years or more. What do you do except wax-lyrical on a forum where you come-across as an over-ripe aubergine on steroids. I'm taking no lectures from you or your sycophants.


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Marina B said:


> Goldienyc, you were given advice by plenty of members. Some gave advice by insulting other members (maybe that's the only way they can make a statement), some advice were given out of personal experience, love for pigeons and caring for their longterm survival.
> 
> I hope you make the right decision. Enjoy watching the babies grow and thanks for letting the parents raise them on your balcony. XX



3 members to be precise, one of which wanted to see unborn chicks killed which makes this comment: '' some advice were given out of personal experience, love for pigeons and caring for their longterm survival'' rather flimsy. I'm glad you spotted the insults of that 'killer in waiting,' sometimes it's best to riposte with like.

Incidentally, you need to check your grammar. ''Were'' should be was in ''some advice were given.'' You are not from the north of England where they use ''were'' in a bastardised form. Also, ''longterm'' is not one word and generally is a compound depending on its context.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I just loved reading your post, and I am Afrikaans by the way, English is my second language so plse forgive me if I make mistakes.

But you must excuse me now, I'm off to feed the wild pigeons and doves in my garden as I do every day. And they get fed a decent seed mix, not bread. Bread is not very good for them, you know. Then I must go check underneath the huge palmtree in my garden where many pigeons breed (I don't have a balcony unfortunately), if there's any babies that fell from their nest and needs to be rescued. And then I must go check on my own rescued pigeons that live in a very large aviary (6 x 7 square metres). Some of them which was raised succesfully on 30 peas 3 times daily. Not to mention the 2 adult males that was shot by my neighboor across the road and had antibiotics "shuffed" down their throat to save them. Unfortunately they will never be able to fly again, but they are happy cause they both find mates amongst my handraised pigeons. Oh and the little dove I found the other day with a serious case of canker and also had antibiotics "shuffed" down her throat. Just to mention a few.

So I hope you keep on doing the good work over there and I will try my best on this side. Keep well. XX


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Marina B said:


> I just loved reading your post, and I am Afrikaans by the way, English is my second language so plse forgive me if I make mistakes.
> 
> But you must excuse me now, I'm off to feed the wild pigeons and doves in my garden as I do every day. And they get fed a decent seed mix, not bread. Bread is not very good for them, you know. Then I must go check underneath the huge palmtree in my garden where many pigeons breed (I don't have a balcony unfortunately), if there's any babies that fell from their nest and needs to be rescued. And then I must go check on my own rescued pigeons that live in a very large aviary (6 x 7 square metres). Some of them which was raised succesfully on 30 peas 3 times daily. Not to mention the 2 adult males that was shot by my neighboor across the road and had antibiotics "shuffed" down their throat to save them. Unfortunately they will never be able to fly again, but they are happy cause they both find mates amongst my handraised pigeons. Oh and the little dove I found the other day with a serious case of canker and also had antibiotics "shuffed" down her throat. Just to mention a few.
> 
> So I hope you keep on doing the good work over there and I will try my best on this side. Keep well. XX



Wonderful, I am pleased for you. Keep up the sterling work. Tell a pigeon bread is bad for it! I have no idea why you captioned ''shuff'' it certainly is no word I use.


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## Friend John (Jun 10, 2018)

Don't know about other posters but I came to this board after a couple of ferals decided to nest on my balcony\window. Marina B and Jay3 were and are very helpful and their advice and predictions of how things will unfold have proven to be accurate. 

Here is the thread: https://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f23/need-advice-about-a-pigeons-nest-on-my-window-115134.html

I started leaving food for the couple and their babies to make things easier for them, but now after 2 consecutive rearing cycles (actually 3, but they abandoned their eggs for some reason in the last cycle), they are currently not nesting there anymore, and just like Marina B and Jay3 said, many other pigeons have appeared to eat and I'm now essentially feeding the local flock. I'm happy to do it, but I'm sure some people won't want to, and there are indeed fights, as Marina B and Jay3 have predicted, though their advice really helped me keep them to a minimum.

While I would very much like to have them eat from my hand, they are all leery and skittish around me and won't let me come this close to them. While they are city birds, they are very scared of people, and for good reason.

We're all here because we love pigeons and to help each other out. These insulting and bickering isn't helping.


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Friend John said:


> Don't know about other posters but I came to this board after a couple of ferals decided to nest on my balcony\window. Marina B and Jay3 were and are very helpful and their advice and predictions of how things will unfold have proven to be accurate.
> 
> Here is the thread: https://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f23/need-advice-about-a-pigeons-nest-on-my-window-115134.html
> 
> ...


You won't be the last to join in the fun and enjoy strobe lighting for beginners. Moral support for friends can be costly!

Why would you continue to leave food for an abandoned nest? Were you lonely?


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## Friend John (Jun 10, 2018)

FLIGHT 901 said:


> You won't be the last to join in the fun and enjoy strobe lighting for beginners. Moral support for friends can be costly!
> 
> Why would you continue to leave food for an abandoned nest? Were you lonely?


The pigeons chose a very peculiar location, there are some pictures in the thread I provided a link for. Even after they stopped incubating the eggs, the male would still enter the nest every day (still does) and call for the female, probably to mate. And they also continued to come by the area next to the nest because that's where I put out the food for them when they were incubating, so I just continued to feed them and more and more pigeons showed up.


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## FLIGHT 901 (Aug 30, 2018)

Friend John said:


> The pigeons chose a very peculiar location, there are some pictures in the thread I provided a link for. Even after they stopped incubating the eggs, the male would still enter the nest every day (still does) and call for the female, probably to mate. And they also continued to come by the area next to the nest because that's where I put out the food for them when they were incubating, so I just continued to feed them and more and more pigeons showed up.


Other pigeons would notice activity and if only out of curiosity will come to investigate. I swear they are telepathic. They know approximately when food is going to be dished out, other times they arrive from nowhere, as if they received a signal.

I stand by my original point (although it seems to have been taken out of context and distorted) that to put food by the nest while young are there is more helpful to the parents than it is deleterious. The notion that one should fill a bucket with food and sound a fanfare to summon the flock is pure farce. 

I reiterate my point: there are many experts offering advice that have never seen a pigeon. They cull their information from various books and websites (written by others that never saw a pigeon!) and perpetuate the myth. A bit like the Bible really, written and rewritten to the point of claptrap. You only have to spend a day here to be an ''expert.'' ''Pigeon sick?'' ''Shove Metronizadole down its throat followed by 30 peas 3 times a day, that should do the trick.''

I'm not mocking anyone, I just find they paraphrase each other to the point of tedium. Anyway, if you look back to the origins of this thread you'll be glad to know that you are in bed with a ''realist'' that advocates harming pigeons. Morally support that ideology as much as you like, I know where I stand on it, appease at your peril. Incidentally, the notion one can shove 30 peas into a baby pigeon's gullet is ridiculous. It will spit them out after 10. Pure nonsense, up there with other lies perpetrated by the elitist status quo.


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