# Pigeon egg on balcony



## tigon

Hi,

I just went out on to my balcony, and there was a pigeon sitting in the back corner. I tried to shoo it away, and at first it wouldn't move. It finally moved to the edge of the balcony and sat there but didn't take off. I looked over, and saw one egg where it had just been sitting.

We have a piece of outdoor carpet on the balcony and the egg is just sitting on it. There is no sign of any sort of nest. 

We use the balcony every day several times a day and there are no plants on it. I don't know why they chose here...it's not like it's secluded or unused.

I really don't want pigeons living on my balcony for the next few months, as we do go out there all the time and from what I've been reading, I should be expecting another egg soon. But I also can't just destroy it as most have been telling me to do!

Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you


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## sky tx

Tigon --let us know what you decide to do. Leave or Remove the eggs?
She will lay a second.

They should hatch in 18-20 days if she has a mate.
SO--18 days to hatch--30 days for the young to leave the nest.
You are looking at living with them on your Balcony for the next 6-7 weeks.
And she may even lay her next set of eggs in the same place -SO you will have pigeons forever.


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## tigon

We have decided to let her be...none of us have the heart to just destroy the eggs. Once they are hatched and gone, we are going to try to put up some deterrents to stop them from nesting here again.

I think they came here because the person who had our apartment before us, boarded up the bottom of her balcony, and essentially turned it into a big bird feeder. The landlord said it was horrible to clean up. The bird seed/food and pigeon poop was half way to knee deep across the entire balcony!!

Also, we are out on the balcony constantly, will this scare them away/disturb the nest. She didn't seem to bothered with me sitting out there today. There is maybe 2-3 feet between the chairs and where they are.

Thanks


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## Larry_Cologne

A balcony half-way to knee deep in poop and seeds?

Guy must have been kneeling down when he made his estimates. Sounds a bit exaggerated, to me.

I have been observing a small ledge in the rose-window on the south side of the _Severinskirche_ (basilica of Saint Severin) in Cologne, Germany. Pigeons sleep there every night. One ledge, accommodating one bird, has accumulated a pile of dried poop about ten centimeters high (length of a cigarette) from one bird, over a period of four years or so (2005-2010). I would estimate the volume of the pile of dried poop to roughly equal the volume of the pigeon without having its feathers fluffed up.

I've kept and cared for some rescued ferals, and have done the requisite cleaning that goes with it. The volume of dry poop is normally less than when it was freshly excreted. 

But, maybe there were a lot of pigeons. I wasn't there, so don't have the final say-so. Just don't like exaggeration which is unfavorable and harmful to pigeons.

If he had been bragging about his own pigeons and their capabilities, that would be a different matter .... LOL.

Larry


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## Jaye

Indeed.

Exaggeration is the cornerstone of Pigeon-haters.

But in not digressing the thread....Tigon...welcome, and nice of you to make that decision. Where do you live, BTW ?

Now, just wanna make sure you think it all the way through:

The eggs hatch in 18-20 days, then for the next 10 days or so the Parents will take turns sitting the nest and feeding the babies. At about day 11 or so, the babies will be large and prickly enough that the Parents will not sit them any longer, but will stay somewhere nearby w/i visual distance. This might be on your balcony, or a neighbors, or another building. They continue to feed the babies a few times daily.

The babies will not fledge until a minimum of 5 weeks old. They will start flapping and testing their wings at about 4 weeks old, but won't be able to really fledge and fly away until about 6 weeks. They will continue returning to the nest location even after they have fledged....unless they are prevented from doing so. It's a bit mean not to allow newly fledged Pigeons to return to their nest at least for a week or two after they fledge. 

Pigeons home. And your balcony is Home.

So..if that sounds too much for you folks to wanna deal with, then you would be doing yourself and the Parents a favor by just taking the eggs now and shooing the adults away. 

However, if you wanna see and experience something really cool, you allow them the time noted above. It's actually a special sort of experience, really. If you choose to let them stay and raise their kids....I think it would be a good idea to actually get something to sort of separate the balcony from them. This could be something as simple as a piece of board propped up against a wall or guardrail so it makes a little covered 'lean-to'. Just gives them a bit more cover, a bit more security, because the babies do tend to startle at the sight of humans at a very early age; and it also visually just makes them less exposed to you folks as well. It will scare off the Mom when you first do it...but she will likely return within an hour or so. Pigeons usually do not abandon their nests quickly.

I hope this helps a bit. Thanks for posting !


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## Luffy

Hi Tigon,

Welcome to Pigeon Talk, 

Many thanks for letting the birds stay for 1.5 months, that's all it takes. Oh yes they don't mind you, if you don't seem threatening to them. I am also a new member here (new enough to post). I came into the world of pigeons with exactly this happening to me. You may want to read my post about this. 

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f5/introducing-luffy-zoro-amp-nami-51631.html

I have just started posting the story of how it all happened. I keep posting there. You can read them, they might help you somehow. 

Thanks again for making that decision.


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