# Pigeon Body Language? (Aggressive Behavior?)



## kairis_mama (Oct 28, 2013)

I've posted here about my pigeon awhile back. Well, I just discovered she is a he! He stopped squeaking of course and started showing male behavior. But just recently he sort of attacked my husband. He was holding him as usually does, & all of a sudden he started sort of deep cooing, puffing his chest then began biting his hand. He tried to have him fly back to his cage but he kept flying back to his hand & biting. I got him away by shaking his food bowl, he returned to his cage. 

I can't tell just yet whether it's just my husband. If he goes to his cage & sticks his hand in he definitely starts that deep cooing & bobbing his head then tries to bite him. If I go to his cage, walk by, or put my hand in he'll do the deep cooing, bob his head, & walk in circles. Now, please keep in mind this is my first pigeon so I'm clueless on body language. He'll stick his beak between my fingers & wiggle it around. And sometimes if I scratch his head he'll lay down & slightly lift his wings. 

Can anyone help me out, maybe show me some videos/sounds of aggressive behavior versus non aggressive? My husband doesn't like the idea of having him around anymore because he'll attack him if he gets free flight in our home. I just want to make our relationship better. I take him outside instead & he just stays with me while we walk around. I keep a diaper/harness on him in case of danger. Please help!


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Pigeons often bond with one person lovingly and will treat the other person more aggressively. But they can't hurt you. You want to discourage your bird from seeing you as a sex object. We do this by making sure we don't stroke the birds back, strictly adhering to bedtime for birdie before the sun goes down, limiting access to food to 10 minutes twice per day, and moving toys and objects around in the cage. If your bird is flattening itself, it still sounds like a female. Sounds like a great bird! Your bird hopefully will come to see both of you as its flock but neither of you as its mate. Pigeons are loyal, lovable birds!


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## kairis_mama (Oct 28, 2013)

cwebster said:


> Pigeons often bond with one person lovingly and will treat the other person more aggressively. But they can't hurt you. You want to discourage your bird from seeing you as a sex object. We do this by making sure we don't stroke the birds back, strictly adhering to bedtime for birdie before the sun goes down, limiting access to food to 10 minutes twice per day, and moving toys and objects around in the cage. If your bird is flattening itself, it still sounds like a female. Sounds like a great bird! Your bird hopefully will come to see both of you as its flock but neither of you as its mate. Pigeons are loyal, lovable birds!


So even though he is puffing his chest, cooing & walking in circles he may still be a female? How would I know aggressive behavior between non aggressive?


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Personally, I don't limit food. 
It sounds to me like your pigeon is going through a teenage stage which is similar to that of human teenagers. They test the limits and tend to view hands as some creature separate, from the face they have come to love, that needs to be conquered. It's all very typical pigeon behavior. 
One way that's fairly accurate to determine gender, at this age, is to give the pigeon a mirror. I buy hand mirrors from the hair care section of the store. The have a hole in the handle and can be wired to the inside of the cage. Male pigeons tend to spend time admiring themself while hens tend to lay next to the mirror but not look in it so much.
I agree about not petting the back. Eventually though your pigeon will display some sexual behavior whether you pet or not.


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## kairis_mama (Oct 28, 2013)

Charis said:


> Personally, I don't limit food.
> It sounds to me like your pigeon is going through a teenage stage which is similar to that of human teenagers. They test the limits and tend to view hands as some creature separate, from the face they have come to love, that needs to be conquered. It's all very typical pigeon behavior.
> One way that's fairly accurate to determine gender, at this age, is to give the pigeon a mirror. I buy hand mirrors from the hair care section of the store. The have a hole in the handle and can be wired to the inside of the cage. Male pigeons tend to spend time admiring themself while hens tend to lay next to the mirror but not look in it so much.
> I agree about not petting the back. Eventually though your pigeon will display some sexual behavior whether you pet or not.


I don't limit his food since he still hasn't been able to eat the larger pieces in his food (dried peas i think they are). He can only pick up the smaller seeds right now. I don't pet his back, I only scratch his head once in awhile, should I stop that all together? And what I typed in my original post was how can I tell aggressive behavior versus non aggressive. I want to be able to know when to back off if I'm pushing his buttons in any way. What does his behavior mean (what I mentioned in my original post).


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Pigeons go through hormonal phases where they strut their loveliness and prowess. Adolescence usually starts this off. They will act more aggressive if they don't know you well but usually wing slapping is a keep away sign from them, meaning, back off. Biting is often something they will do with one of two less preferred humans, that is, the one they are not seeing as their mate. Both females and males coo and spread their tails. The mirror test suggested is a great way to tell if you have a male or female although if you have a female, you will know very soon because eggs will appear.


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## kairis_mama (Oct 28, 2013)

cwebster said:


> Pigeons go through hormonal phases where they strut their loveliness and prowess. Adolescence usually starts this off. They will act more aggressive if they don't know you well but usually wing slapping is a keep away sign from them, meaning, back off. Biting is often something they will do with one of two less preferred humans, that is, the one they are not seeing as their mate. Both females and males coo and spread their tails. The mirror test suggested is a great way to tell if you have a male or female although if you have a female, you will know very soon because eggs will appear.


Do they sort of grow out of it as they mature into adults? What does the cooing & circling mean? He's never wing slapped me so I'm assuming thats a good thing. I couldnt manage getting the mirror in the cage without frightening him. So I instead put it up to the cage, he didn't react so maybe he is a girl? We'll see if eggs appear!


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