# Aggressive pet pigeon



## tiffy316 (May 21, 2016)

My pet pigeon has been acting increasingly aggressive. I'm not sure what to do. I think that he started doing this because he was jealous of my phone. He would come over and peck the phone and my hands whenever I messed with my phone, instead of paying attention to him. He started getting more aggressive after that and he now bites my hands whenever I try to pick him up or pet him. He will even come over just to attack my hands. I don't understand why he's doing this because he was raised lovingly from a chick and he was never abused. He doesn't act this way around my feet. He will actually follow me around and sit beside my feet or preen them often. He's very affectionate and really likes his attention, because he was hand raised I think, and he never displayed behavior like this when he was younger. I don't know why he's doing this or what to do about it.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

tiffy316 said:


> My pet pigeon has been acting increasingly aggressive. I'm not sure what to do. I think that he started doing this because he was jealous of my phone. He would come over and peck the phone and my hands whenever I messed with my phone, instead of paying attention to him. He started getting more aggressive after that and he now bites my hands whenever I try to pick him up or pet him. He will even come over just to attack my hands. I don't understand why he's doing this because he was raised lovingly from a chick and he was never abused. He doesn't act this way around my feet. He will actually follow me around and sit beside my feet or preen them often. He's very affectionate and really likes his attention, because he was hand raised I think, and he never displayed behavior like this when he was younger. I don't know why he's doing this or what to do about it.


*You have another thread about same subject. Maybe he sees your hand/phone as an enemy and has bonded to your feet.
In addition, if you allow access to any area of your home, the male pigeon starts considering that part of his real estate, and will defend it if there is an intrusion. Male pigeons do accumulate territory within the confines of a pigeon coop, if he has access to nest boxes/perches and other areas that have not been taken up by any other pigeons, he will take them as his own. That is why we close off any portion of coop or nest boxes, not being occupied, so the male pigeons we do have do not take up residence in more then one perch/nest box. It is extremely hard to try to accomodate a new bird with a perch once another male pigeon has taken it over. *


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Your bird is maturing. He probably sees you as his mate, and that is the way they act. He is demanding attention from you, and probably wanting you to give him eggs. 
It is very confusing for a pigeon to have to live in a human world. They have their instincts that tell them what to do, and that would be to pair up, build a nest, and raise babies. Living with you, he can't do that, so it throws him all off. They are programmed to do those things. Once they mature, they are much happier with another pigeon companion. By keeping him a lone pigeon, you are going against everything he is programmed to do. They really are better off kept in pairs.


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## closter (Jul 2, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> Your bird is maturing. He probably sees you as his mate, and that is the way they act. He is demanding attention from you, and probably wanting you to give him eggs.
> It is very confusing for a pigeon to have to live in a human world. They have their instincts that tell them what to do, and that would be to pair up, build a nest, and raise babies. Living with you, he can't do that, so it throws him all off. They are programmed to do those things. Once they mature, they are much happier with another pigeon companion. By keeping him a lone pigeon, you are going against everything he is programmed to do. They really are better off kept in pairs.


jay i believe i mentioned my bird - the one i've just started to build an outdoor housing for, is very aggressive & lives indoors in a large guinea pig cage.

in one of your past posts you said a mirror would be ok "for temporary company".- just wondering if you still held that view?

it's going to take me about 4 or 5 weeks to get her organised complete with a mate so should i just forget about the mirror or perhaps just place it in the cage 3 or 4 times ad day say for a 1/2 hour each time?

also are same sex birds likely to fight?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

closter said:


> jay i believe i mentioned my bird - the one i've just started to build an outdoor housing for, is very aggressive & lives indoors in a large guinea pig cage.
> 
> in one of your past posts you said a mirror would be ok "for temporary company".- just wondering if you still held that view?
> 
> ...


Hi closter. You just put it in the cage and leave it there. A female will either ignore it, or just sit near it, and a male will usually bow to it and show off, or be aggressive toward it. Of course, if the bird is constantly fighting with it, and it is upsetting him, then you would have to remove it.
Where you are planning on getting a mate, then the morror isn't really needed, unless you want to use it to see what the reaction would be to it. You could be surprised.

Often 2 males will fight. Usually 2 females will get along. And of course, one of each should end up pairing up. But any new birds need to be introduced slowly, in 2 different cages, ntil they act as though they want to be together. Then you let them spend time together to see how it goes, but putting one into the others space isn't a great idea, as the one who views it as their territory will resent a new bird coming into what they perceive to be their space. In your case closter, you could build the enclosure/aviary, and wait till you have both birds. Introduce them in 2 different cages, then when you let them into a neutral space to see how it goes, you could put them into the enclosure. That, or give your bird the space, and introduce them by putting a new bird in a cage in that space.


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## tiffy316 (May 21, 2016)

I've tried giving him things that look similar to eggs and nesting material, but he just ignores them. There seems to be a certain time each year that he's interested in things like that, and otherwise he could care less about it.


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## tiffy316 (May 21, 2016)

I do have a pair of pet doves, but he always acts territorial around them so I don't know how he would react to having another pigeon around. I don't really have the room to try and introduce a mate in another cage and I'm worried that it would wind up failing. Are there other options that I could try to calm him down?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

He is a maturing male pigeon. He needs a mate in order to be a happy pigeon. Would you like being a lone person in a family of monkeys?


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## tiffy316 (May 21, 2016)

Then how would I introduce a mate? I don't have room to introduce them by putting 2 cages beside each other. What if he only fights with the other pigeon and they never get along?


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## closter (Jul 2, 2016)

Jay3 said:


> Hi closter. You just put it in the cage and leave it there. A female will either ignore it, or just sit near it, and a male will usually bow to it and show off, or be aggressive toward it. Of course, if the bird is constantly fighting with it, and it is upsetting him, then you would have to remove it.
> Where you are planning on getting a mate, then the morror isn't really needed, unless you want to use it to see what the reaction would be to it. You could be surprised.
> 
> Often 2 males will fight. Usually 2 females will get along. And of course, one of each should end up pairing up. But any new birds need to be introduced slowly, in 2 different cages, ntil they act as though they want to be together. Then you let them spend time together to see how it goes, but putting one into the others space isn't a great idea, as the one who views it as their territory will resent a new bird coming into what they perceive to be their space. In your case closter, you could build the enclosure/aviary, and wait till you have both birds. Introduce them in 2 different cages, then when you let them into a neutral space to see how it goes, you could put them into the enclosure. That, or give your bird the space, and introduce them by putting a new bird in a cage in that space.


jay thanks again but it looks like i've solved one problem but gained another regarding the question of a mate lol.

as the introduction of a mate seems to suggest potential issues regarding compatibility & could render the situation worst than before what is your opinion on the following?

as mentioned i feed the wild birds, - starlings, sparrows, thrushes, black birds, wood pigeons & ring neck doves etc twice every day on the flat 6x4' concrete roof of my coal bunker just outside the kitchen window - there can be 30 or so feeding at one time.

so if i build  part of the aviary  say an extra 2' of it projecting & resting on top of the feeding table/coal bunker roof so that she could be in close proximity to the feeding birds do you think that might be a better option instead of taking the chance of a bad mate & having 2 unhappy birds?

i'll try the "mirror test" tomorrow anyway & see what happens.

cheers


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