# When does mating season end?



## Mathew (Jun 16, 2002)

I'm currently involved with the restoration of an old building along the central California coast and on the front of the building there's an old lighting trough with dozens of pigeons nesting. At some point we need to get these guys out of there and seal it up but currently there's many a nest with many a young squab. 

Thankfully most of us involved in the project do not want to disturb these guys until the little ones are ready to make new homes of their own. Having raised a dozen or so pigeons myself I know it'll be a couple months before they're ready. Will there come a time when the pigeons stop laying and we can shoosh them out of there?

Thanks for the advice!


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

January for me may have been the best time
I live in Arizona and I don't think nesting ever ends. It was cold in January so I thought it would be a good time to trim the palm trees. Wrong! I had two young ones that lost their nest and thanks to Cindy they were able to grow up and move on.
Considering how many pigeons were nesting in the trees in the Spring and Summer that was the only nest with baby pigeons in it. I know I was out there watching those guys like a hawk trimming those trees warning them about the birds. Checking everything that ended up on the ground. Now that I think about it I don't think those guys will ever be back no matter how much I would pay them. 
Is there anyway you can close off a section at a time as the nest becomes vacant?
I think it depends on how cold it gets and the kinda of shelter they have.


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## Mathew (Jun 16, 2002)

The problem is we can't really see the nests but we know they're nesting. So we don't want to just shoosh birds out and close it up in case there's little ones in there.

Against the front of the building is a trough and the front of the trough is shaped like an upside-down U with a ledge inside. They are in the upside-down U and we can't really access the area inside there, except with something that is shaped like the letter J. - Sounds so Sesame Street!!!

The bottom of the trough will get a thorough cleaning once a couple of the nesters leave that area but there's a 2 newly hatched squabs there now. It's kinda sad really. The trough is thick with bird droppings, feathers and a dozen or so dead pigeons.

Just about everyone here wants to keep the best interests of the pigeons in mind but there's going to come a point when this can't be put off any longer. That point will probably be mid-December.


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## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

They will lay agin. So it might be best if you can TO go up in the sighn. Break any unhatched eggs. And you can see different ages of the young birds. Other wise more will hatch and You have to get this done. Or you will end up haveing to close it up and do something with the new young birds any way.


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Mathew,
*if* you were able to see if there were any eggs currently in the nests, my suggestion would be, replace them wtih artificial ones. That way, hopefully, no more would hatch. 

*The trough is thick with bird droppings, feathers and a dozen or so dead pigeons.*
I'm hoping the discovery of that many dead pigeons isn't indicative of an illness among the group.

Please let us know how things are coming along.

Cindy


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