# Nest building?



## sandy51955 (Jul 1, 2007)

Hi,
Well, my new pigeon is definitely a she. She laid two eggs last week! She seems to ahve no interest in sitting on them, but she does keep gathering twigs, leaves, twist ties and whatever she can find to build a nest. But she just lies them haphazardly on an area. I put a box in thea rea but she didn't pick up on making that her nest. Should I give her something different to build the nest in?
Thanks,
SAndy


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## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

That's funny. Is she a young bird? I have two females that paired up to make a nest and lay eggs, their first nest was comical like that, silly bits of stick (way too big) and stuff all haphazardly piled in a corner. I gave them a bowl and enventually they got the idea and moved into it. At first even that nest was sparse and thin but they have made it a little better now. Maybe some birds just aren't good nest builders


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

does she have a partner, females usually set during the night time.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

sandy51955 said:


> Hi,
> Well, my new pigeon is definitely a she. She laid two eggs last week! She seems to ahve no interest in sitting on them, but she does keep gathering twigs, leaves, twist ties and whatever she can find to build a nest. But she just lies them haphazardly on an area. I put a box in thea rea but she didn't pick up on making that her nest. Should I give her something different to build the nest in?
> Thanks,
> SAndy



Hi Sandy, 


You can just cut off the bottom inch or inch and a half of some smallish Cardboard Box, so it is a Tray...put a piece of Towelling in it, and set her thus-far gathered Twigs and other in it for her to have a more definite peramiter for her arranging...and, of course, set her Eggs in it.

Some Hens, or young ones who have not had much or any experience, seem to get a little confused sometimes.

The materials you describe sound fine to me...

Is she a by-herself Hen then? No Mate?


Phil
l v


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## sandy51955 (Jul 1, 2007)

Hi, She has no mate. I adopted her, not knowing if it were a he or she and she has adapted well. She loves the television! As we were adapting her to her new home, we left the TV on for her all day. She started collecting twigs, leaves, twist ties, etc. Laid one egg near her collection, the other on the barn floor. She follows us and we are her family, I guess. She sleeps in the house, spends the day in the garage and roams a little bit near the house and barn. Not sure how to deal with a fertile female!

Sandy


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Get her some nice, handome, non-releaseable mate prospect, and see if they decide ot hit it off.

Between the two of them then, if they do hit it off, they will keep eachother entertained, and, oversee eachothers Nest making contributions...

Usually the male brings most of the Nest making items to the sitting Hen, Feathers, Twigs, Twist Ties, Coctail Straws and so on, and the Hen regards each one with approval or enthusiasm, which he finds to be thrilling...they are just like people, really...


Phil
l v


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## sandy51955 (Jul 1, 2007)

HI,
I've been away so late in responding! I'll see if my husband would allow me to get her a mate. It's rather fun having her as a single pigeon. She follows us around and stays in the house at night. The ritual you described about the male collecting the nest makings and the female checking them out to see if they are appropriate is very funny. How entertaining! She is entertaining to watch her find certain things she likes and then carry them in. She also doesn't like the new foster pigeon I have. Territorial I guess!
Sandy


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

what do you mean by foster. is it a rescue. sometimes older pigeons may peck younger pigeons at times but soon stop.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Congratulations on having a hen!  

The eggs are not fertile unless she has a male pigeon as a mate.


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## Rockie (Jan 18, 2005)

pdpbison said:


> Usually the male brings most of the Nest making items to the sitting Hen, Feathers, Twigs, Twist Ties, Coctail Straws and so on, and the Hen regards each one with approval or enthusiasm, which he finds to be thrilling...they are just like people, really...
> 
> 
> Phil
> l v


Hi Sandy. I've peeked through the door to watch 2 of my "married" rescues building their nest. It was just as Phil said. Sometimes he would arrive at the nest w/a new twig to be positioned when she wasn't ready to accept it. She was still busy with the previous twig. So after standing waiting w/twig in beak for a while, he would turn around and run around the room another time & come back to see if she was then ready. It is the highlight of my day to see them in action.

Also, my precious Whitie, may she rest in peace, who was mated to me, actually used a telephone cord to make her nest. They are so resourceful.

Congratulations on your hens 1st eggs! (I'm sure it's just the 1st of many!)


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## sandy51955 (Jul 1, 2007)

Hi everyone,
The nest building process sounds so interesting. Leslie, the story of your couple building a nest is great. With her not ready to accept the new twig yet. You just never know the intricacies of these processes of the bird world until you see them. What people don't know that they are missing! She did used to cuddle with the antennae cord to her television. Maybe was thinking of that as a nest! I didn't realize what a collection she had up there on the garage door. Lots of twigs and twist ties. I put them in the little tray, with an old washcloth and we'll see what she does. My foster pigeon is what I think is some kind of a fancy. I will probably try and adopt it out as it looks like it should be in a real pigeon home. Sandy


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Sandy, all...



Just for fun...

Image of a very sweet, gentle, feral Hen who I had here from her being hurt, I think Car wacked if memory serve. She got well, everything seemed fine, let to be free flying, and soon made a Nest next to one of the Cages, next to my desk in the Office here.

She was no kid, so I don't know really what posessed her, other than she was feeling positive about Life, and her system got carried away. She had no mate.

She became very friendly, and when she started her Nest, I brought her little things to evaluate and or accept for it, and here I had just handed her a nice Feather.


Some weeks later, she was released back to her wild feral World out doors.


http://public.fotki.com/PhilBphil/pigeon-images-various/mvc-137s.html





Another couple images, showing Nesting materials gathered by two of my resident 'Shop Birds' - 'Tail Gunner Joe', and his mate, 'Columbo', both of whom had been very seriously injured ferals, who spent many months getting well in here, then met and fell in Love in their free fly time in pre-release, and who were released then, but some months later, they came back, still together, and took up residence in my Work Shop...


...where, Joe, searching at liesures IN my Workshop instead of going outside to do so, he gathered over a hundred Brass Screws, Nails, small drill Bits, small Taps, Sheet Rock Screws, and bits of Wire, Cotter Pins and so on, for their 10 feet up between old Tool Boxes on a shelf, of Nest...which Screws and other Broke their Eggs! 

So I retrieved all that hard metal stuff, and encouraged them to find softer materials which I presented in little piles here or there for them to find...which they did, and then they were able to have safe kept Eggs, and, happy Babys.



http://public.fotki.com/PhilBphil/pigeon-images-various/mvc-171s.html


& 


Showing some of the stuff I retrieved form their high Nest - 

http://public.fotki.com/PhilBphil/pigeon-images-various/mvc-172s.html



Yeeeesh!


Phil
l v


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Cute pictures Phil.............it is lots of fun watching them build a nest. When we had our birds on open loft, I would sit out on the deck and watch this one cock bird. He would go to the edge of the yard and pick up little twigs, then fly to the loft, go in the window, fly through the door into the middle room and give the twig to his mate. A few seconds later, out the window he would come and go through the whole process again..........for a good hour or so he would do this. They had a whole nest bowl full of little 3 or 4 inch twigs. I should have gotten a picture I guess. It sure didn't look very comfortable to me, but what do I know???


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

I would very much like a picture of acceptable nest materials to offer, since my doves seem offended at what I have stuffed the nest with and are trying to remove it. I put dried grass in there.


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