# Do all pigeons grunt and why



## Kiko&Kalani (Aug 10, 2010)

I've noticed that Kiko grunts. It's not a coo and Kalani does not do it. It almost sounds like a throaty hoot. He's doing it right now. I am here on the computer and Kalani is on her eggs. He is walking around calmly grunting. Any ideas?


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Some do and some don't. I have one hen that will grunt if you even look at her  I tell her to hush and stop fussing at me, but of course she doesn't listen. They usually do it more when they are nesting. They may do short grunts that tell you to back off, or the males (and females) will call each other to the nest, doing something between that and a coo (more smooth but still deep sounding), while flicking their wings and bowing their heads.


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## Kiko&Kalani (Aug 10, 2010)

At first I thought Kiko was doing when he was alone and wanting company. Kalani would be on her nest and he would be looking for attention (since I was in the other room usually when he grunted. I usually just ignore it but then he gets louder and louder. Today he was pecking around Romeo's (my poodle) food bowl and grunting. Strange bird


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

By your post I take it Kiko returned?


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## Kiko&Kalani (Aug 10, 2010)

GEMcC5150 said:


> By your post I take it Kiko returned?


Yes He came back yesterday around 1PM. He was in a very cranky mood too. He is just now acting like his normal self, but he wants nothing to do with going out on the balcony!


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## ValencianFigs (Jul 10, 2010)

Yes my female hen also does this. When you get close to her she kind of gets ticked off. I don't know why. But she does it.


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## Keith C. (Jan 25, 2005)

One of the main way pigeons communicate is sound.
They can hear very low frequency sounds that we can not hear.
I have noticed that hens grunt more when you first pick them up. I have been using this habit to sex them more accurately.


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## Pip Logan (Oct 6, 2009)

All six of my breeding homers COO whenever I walk past their pens.


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## ValencianFigs (Jul 10, 2010)

Keith C. said:


> One of the main way pigeons communicate is sound.
> They can hear very low frequency sounds that we can not hear.
> I have noticed that hens grunt more when you first pick them up. I have been using this habit to sex them more accurately.


Oh that helps, because the one that I thought is a female does make that noise.
Also the cock usually cooos when i take them out to feed them and he goes around in circles and the other bird just moves "her" head up and down.
Could this mean I have a male and female.


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## Kiko&Kalani (Aug 10, 2010)

Kiko (my male) is the only one that grunts and he also is the only one that stretches and puffs out his neck while turning and pacing and dragging his tail all the while cooing. When he grunts he is usually just standing still and calm (usually alone). 

Kalani (my hen) coos but only when I get too close to her nest and she goes on the defensive.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Coos and grunts are different. How about a hiss before wing slaps?


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## Kiko&Kalani (Aug 10, 2010)

I haven't heard either Kiko or Kalani hiss before. Kiko is usually roo coo ka rooing then wing slapping. Sometimes he will not make any noise before wing slapping. Is hissing a common sound they make?


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## Pip Logan (Oct 6, 2009)

RodSD said:


> Coos and grunts are different. How about a hiss before wing slaps?


Oh yeah then theres that, lol.


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## Kiko&Kalani (Aug 10, 2010)

They gripe at us (sounds like yelling sometimes), they peck at us (Kiko can draw blood!) and they wing slap us. I'm beginning to feel unloved


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## copper (Aug 25, 2010)

Pigeons grunt or hoot ,this is a warning coo.I have found it is most often the hen which issues this call.


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## Kiko&Kalani (Aug 10, 2010)

Kiko's (the male) grunt sounds like a hiccup. Speaking of sounds. Kiko makes a squeaking sound when he flys. Will that ever stop? Kalani does too but not nearly as loud as Kiko.


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## PigeonX (Oct 17, 2010)

They grunt because of fear, and they also warn other pigeons with grunting. I had a male homer that would always grunt when he saw me, but then this year I started to notice a lot of the young birds and new birds grunt. Some do it and some don't but it is to warn others of danger=]


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## Kailey lane (Jun 8, 2009)

My male jujubean grunts when i walk in the room and startle him,my female grunts when i get near her nest in defence.Jujubean does a low coo when loving bunny and just while bunny is on the nest,i got a vary outspoken pij they also do the low coo grunt types sounds when cuddling each other and twitching their wings.Juju will sometimes do as your pij and strut around and grunt.lol and i get pecked and griped at relentlessly by jujubean so your not alone they love us


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## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

*Grunting...*



ValencianFigs said:


> Oh that helps, because the one that I thought is a female does make that noise.
> Also the cock usually cooos when i take them out to feed them and he goes around in circles and the other bird just moves "her" head up and down.
> Could this mean I have a male and female.


My male grunts. He actually has a wide variety of audible sounds - very unusual for a Rock - and he's extremely vocal. Both of my pigeons think that I'm their mate (1 male, and one female), so they compete for my attention and the male is very aggressive towards the female. She never grunts. He grunts if he's threatening her, but not willing to carry out his threat because I'm right there. I never leave them together if I'm not right there - she developed a large bald spot after he came into the picture. I set up a camera to video them when I wasn't there, and it wasn't more than 3 minutes before he got aggressive towards her. He was chasing her around, pecking the back of her neck, and grunting at her.

I love the little bugger, but I can't trust him with my first pigeon love!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

This post is 7 years old. But your birds would probably be happier together. You just need to be there at the beginning to make sure he isn't to rough on her. What you saw may have been him trying to drive her to go to where he wants to nest. The males will do that. Most are not too bad, but some can be too aggressive. They usually calm down though. The more frustrated he gets because you are keeping them both, but keeping them apart, that can make him more aggressive also.


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## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

That is really valuable information. Thank you so much. I am leaving for 2 weeks to Italy in November, and it's the first time that my hen, Clovey, won't be around me during her waking hours every day (I work at night, and she sits by me when I sleep the better part of every day; she travels with me domestically). So it's been stressful for me to think about it because even I have separation anxiety when it comes to her. I want them to get along so that they can feel comforted by each other, but she's very imprinted because from about 20 days old to about 13 months old she was only around humans (she's and indoor bird with free rein of the house during the day). The hardest part of it is getting her to realize that she's a pigeon, just like him.

Mr. Chancey, on the other hand, was an unknown age when I found his battered body. He was probably under a year at the time, and he was most definitely quite wild (and still is, although he trusts us now). He's a pigeon and he knows it, whereas she's a pigeon and she doesn't have a clue.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If she is that imprinted on people, and probably views you as her mate, then sometimes those birds will never accept another pigeon as a mate. If that be the case, then it wouldn't be good to put them together. Only you can tell that by watching and knowing them. He could hurt her. You just never know. She will miss you while you are gone.


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