# Pigeon behaviour



## Rev&George (Jun 24, 2008)

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this group and finding the site very informative. I have recently acquired a semi-blind feral pigeon, George, that was rescued as a baby and hand-reared at a rescue centre (where I work). I decided to take George into my house to live with me because he didn't seem to associate and identify with other pigeons. He is much more comfortable with people.

I am not very experienced with pigeon rearing and behaviour, although I absolutely love pigeons. My question is regarding George's behaviour towards myself. Sometimes he does his man song (the cooing that male pigeons do) while turning around on the spot and bobbing his head up and down. I take it this may be a courtship behaviour as I've seen it in feral pigeons.

But sometimes George does his song and pecks my hand quite firmly and I was wondering if this is courtship or some other behaviour. Is he being angry at me (he does this behaviour sometimes if I accidently disturb him)?

George will be one in October and is moulting at the moment. He only eats peanuts at the moment since he won't swallow other food items, therefore I still give him a morning feed of hand-rearing mix with a syringe. I am trying to get him to peck and swallow seed but he only flings the seed about.

Any advice or information on his behaviour would be appreciative. I have lots to learn about pigeon behaviour and was hoping someone could shed some light on why George pecks my hand so hard. Thank you!


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

HELLO!

Sounds like George is acting like a normal male pigeon!

I, too, have a male pij who lives with me, 2 other pigeons (kept separate) and 3 cats. Squeaks rules ALL of us with an iron beak! I am his mate and he has two "modes": daddy and mate. When in mate mode, he is quite lovable and will follow me everywhere...always wants my attention. 

In daddy mode, he sits on his wooden egg for hours and only sometimes wants some attention. WHEN I do something he doesn't like (e.g. putting him to bed), he BITES ME HARD. Also, if my bare feet are near his nest, he will ATTACK. That beak of his hurts! And, he's quite serious in his attacks too!

I keep him separate from my other two pigeons because Squeaks will attack the male the minute he sees him!

Also, when molting, they can get a little cranky...depends on the pij.

I'm sure others will be along to add their comments too.

WELCOME! Please post some more about George...

Shi, Squeaks, Dom & Gimie


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Rev&George said:


> Hi everyone,
> I'm new to this group and finding the site very informative. I have recently acquired a semi-blind feral pigeon, George, that was rescued as a baby and hand-reared at a rescue centre (where I work). I decided to take George into my house to live with me because he didn't seem to associate and identify with other pigeons. He is much more comfortable with people.
> 
> I am not very experienced with pigeon rearing and behaviour, although I absolutely love pigeons. My question is regarding George's behaviour towards myself. Sometimes he does his man song (the cooing that male pigeons do) while turning around on the spot and bobbing his head up and down. I take it this may be a courtship behaviour as I've seen it in feral pigeons.
> ...


Yep, George sounds like a normal male pigeon to me. I have had however, females that acted the exact same way. They CAN fool you. He doesn't mean anything when he's biting you. He's just being a pigeon. What can you do? 
The feeding only peanuts is not good. They are extremely fattening. To be honest, I've never heard of a one year pigeon that wouldn't eat. He sounds a bit spoiled to me. There's nothing wrong with spoiling them, however, a peanut only diet is not good for them. I expect if you let him get hungry enough, he'll eat other seeds and learn to like them. If he wouldn't pick up and eat ANYTHING, then it might be different, but if he can pick up and swallow peanuts, he can eat any kind of seed there is. For his health, I would work towards that. 
What does semi-blind mean? Bad eyesight, sight in just one eye, etc??
One thing for sure, you've found the right group of folks to help you with whatever you might have questions about.


PS:Welcome to PT by the way.


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## Rev&George (Jun 24, 2008)

Hiya!
Thanks for your reply. Any information is much appreciated since I know practically nothing about pigeons. It seems that George is a bit temperamental because one minute he'll be sitting peacefully on my hand or shoulder and the next he'll peck really hard. But he's a lovely pigeon. He enjoys sunbathing on the coffee table and walking about pecking at imaginary seed. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get him to feed himself. 

About feeding him, I feed him a bird rearing mix with a syringe (gavaging) so he gets all the nutrients he needs. I guess the reason he doesn't feed himself is because he cannot see properly. The vet thinks he has glaucoma. George always had the option in the past to eat seed but never did so. Although I had a breakthrough the other day when he ate the peanuts by himself so I will try him on seed again. I am aware that a diet of peanuts isn't good but he is getting nutrients from the rearing formula. I also give him corn and peas but I have to put them in his beak, he won't pick them up himself and swallow them.

Every now and then George will take off like a helicopter. He seems to like flying although he's not very good at it since he can't see properly so he just flies up to the ceiling and back down again.

All in all, I hope I can learn as much as possible about pigeon behaviour to be able to properly understand George's behaviour and needs.
Cheers, Rev


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Any chance of posting a picture of George?

We do have members who have blind pigeons. One of our moderators, Cindy (AZWhitefeather) has Rae Charles. Rae is completely blind and a real love. Cindy has her dishes placed in one spot so Rae knows where to find food and water. No problem with eating and drinking!

Yes, pijies really love those peanuts! I've never fed them to mine, although I do feed Hemp and Safflower seeds. I will also add Songbird mix and Grains & Greens for Parakeets. This is their "treat/snack" mix. Also, whole corn, as in popcorn kernals, is better than cracked.

Sounds like George should be eating on his own by now. Maybe some tough love is due?

All the best!

Shi


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

It would be best to not feed him any peanuts until he is weaned onto seed. My pigeons adore peanuts also, and if I gave it to them all the time to fill up their bellies, they would refuse seed also.

It is in George's best interest now to give him strictly seed, you can hand feed seed and help him wean off the formula. Also put a nice deep dish of seed with him as well as water, and he will make the adjustment, it just make take a bit of time. He should be eating about a tablespoon of seed at a sitting, several times a day. You can get him totally off the formula once he is eating seeds well. Best time to wean is early in the morning when he is hungry.


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## Rev&George (Jun 24, 2008)

Thank you all!
I will start to wean George off the formula and onto seed. And I'll only give him peanuts as a treat. He does love them. As soon as he hears the jar rattle he stands to attention! 

I've only had George for a few weeks now so I believe it is time for him to become independant. I shall post some photos of him as soon as possible. I've got some really good ones of him sunning himself and having a snooze on my hand.

Thanks again!


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## nbdyuknow (Apr 10, 2007)

Hi,

I too have a "found, house-only" pigeon, named Sophie. Even though a pigeon expert looked at Sophie when I first found her and estimated she was in fact a "she," she exhibited all the male bowing, cooing and biting that I was convinced she was actually a "he"--right up until she laid her first egg almost a year after she joined our house.

When I first got Sophie, she was not tame, but not entirely wild either. She would definitely hoot menacingly and peck, as well as what Shi calls "Wing-Fu"--snapping her wings at my intruding hands, especially when I was putting food or water in her little home. Since I knew that I wouldn't be getting another pigeon for her to have for company, I had to try and make up the difference in providing company for her myself. I would sit every day with the door to her house open, sometimes sitting on the floor near it, and other times with my hands sitting just inside or outside, whatever she would tolerate without becoming agitated. Pigeons are by nature very curious, so she soon became emboldened and would come out to see what I was doing. Of course, I also gave her treats (safflower and hemp seeds, she has never cared for peanuts) directly from my hands every time she showed interest. And, of course, I got pecked quite a bit at the beginning. However, soon she became very comfortable around me, and then we really began to bond. 

I think because pigeons are such social and "monogamous" animals, that if George is going to be an "only bird" in your house, you will need to take extra time to be his "companion." 

As Shi said, there certainly seems to be two distinct pigeon "modes": "mate" and "daddy." When Sophie is sitting on her eggs, she has hardly any interest in me or my company at all, except in my capacity to spell her on the eggs so she can eat, stretch, etc. However, when she is not sitting on her eggs, she wants to be my CONSTANT companion, and sits on my desk while I am working, and if I leave the room for longer that 30 seconds, she will come running after me.

I think it's great that you have a pigeon in your home, I truly enjoy and feel fortunate every day with Sophie, and I am sure you will have a similar feeling with George.

Bill B.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

I think your pigeon easily wins the "Most spoiled pigeon on pigeon talk, ever" award.


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## nbdyuknow (Apr 10, 2007)

If you only knew....


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