# A question about pigeons (this is important to me)



## Zad (Jun 10, 2004)

Yesterday my girlfriend & I rescued a juvenile mourning dove that was being beaten up by 3-4 adult pigeons. Apparently they meant business, because he has large tufts of feathers missing and cuts in various spots of the body. We took him to the vet and he took xrays and bandaged the poor guy up. Anyway, I'm really wondering why the pigeons would do such a thing. I have never observed this behavior before, and always considered pigeons to be, at least, semi-social birds, as we have several bird feeders on our deck and I spend time (more than I should) watching all the birds that show up, of which a large percentage are doves/pigeons. If somebody has any idea, let me know. I would also like to know if theres a chance of him being returned to the wild after the physical rehab.

[This message has been edited by Zad (edited June 10, 2004).]


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I am so glad that the conure showed compassion to the dove!

I have been watching pigeons for a long time and I have an aviary full of them. I have seen acts of aggression between the males as they establish who is the alpha male, and I have hens that are a little unpleasant to new arrivals, but i have never seen agoup attack an individual...however, I do believe that it happens even though it must be a rare occurence, which is why I refuse to place my two collared doves in the aviary with the pigeons.

Cynthia


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## DaveD (Jul 9, 2001)

Have often wondered about this myself. Another thing to consider is why do they occasionally attack and kill babies on the floor? 

I wonder if it is just an instict thing, to eliminate a bird that could grow up and compete for mates and territory in the future? I know male cats will kill kittens for the same reason. 

For the most part, pigeons are very peaceful, I've only rarely seen an overly aggressive adult. 

Best of luck!!!

------------------
David and Kellie Dittmaier


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for helping this youngster.

I can only imagine this kind of conflict occuring when they are all hungry at once and there is competition for the food.

I see it in the morning when I bring seed out to the coop, there are a few fights for a spot at the table,nothing major or blood provoking, but I have never seen more then one gang up on another bird, unless it is a newcomer.

Treesa


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## PidgePidge (May 14, 2003)

Hi, so glad you saved the dove. I hope he will be okay, but it sounds like he is in very good hands! Just one more thought to ad: I'm not sure of the legitimacy of this, but I've also heard that a weak bird in a flock may potentially attract preditors (who will come to prey on it), so the flock may eliminate that bird for their collective safety. Of course as this was an inter-special situation(pigeon-mourning dove), I'm not sure this would apply. Just a thought. Best of luck with your new baby!


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

You could have a point, Pidge Pidge and the dove could have had something wrong with it other than youth. I remember now that when Mary rescued an egg bound hen the other pigeons were attacking it.

Cynthia


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## DaveD (Jul 9, 2001)

I agree. Have seen cases here where a sick or injured bird is attacked. I'm sure that runs along the line of parents focusing on raising the larger of 2 babies and letting the smaller one die. It's not something they do to be cruel, just instinct telling them that one healthy and large baby is better for the group than two small, weak babies are.


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## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Yes this is a totally normal behaviour that pigeons do- when they notice a sick bird they will either attack it or try to throw it off the balcony.

Even with a dead bird the live ones jump on it and peck at it.. it's actually horrible to watch so I quickly remove any dead pigeons I find outside because I don't like watching this at all.
And it's true what Cynthia said, I had an egg bound pigeon on my balcony who seemed to have a lot of pain but once she got stiff the birds kicked her right off the balcony and she fell 4 floors down onto her back which broke the egg inside and she was in shock. That was really scary but thank God after months she fully recovered at the wildlife centre.

Another time there was a really large strong male birds that bullied eveyrone else but once he got stuck in the net below our balcony for afew days, when he finally got out he was almost dead.. Very weak, could not fly and puffed up. I was so surprised that even the "youngest" or "baby" pigeons pecked at him and would viciously attack him. It was sad but again I managed to catch him and he fully recovered inside with a lot of care and attention.

Mary


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## Ron S. (Feb 13, 2021)

Zad said:


> Yesterday my girlfriend & I rescued a juvenile mourning dove that was being beaten up by 3-4 adult pigeons. Apparently they meant business, because he has large tufts of feathers missing and cuts in various spots of the body. We took him to the vet and he took xrays and bandaged the poor guy up. Anyway, I'm really wondering why the pigeons would do such a thing. I have never observed this behavior before, and always considered pigeons to be, at least, semi-social birds, as we have several bird feeders on our deck and I spend time (more than I should) watching all the birds that show up, of which a large percentage are doves/pigeons. If somebody has any idea, let me know. I would also like to know if theres a chance of him being returned to the wild after the physical rehab.
> 
> [This message has been edited by Zad (edited June 10, 2004).]


I had a pigeon come to my front porch where he let me pick him up. It was winter time and the news said that it would freeze the next night so I brought him inside where I placed him on a towel rack for a couple of nights. Anyway I thought I was rescuing him from the cold. His owner gave him to me when he saw me on the street with him on my shoulder. About a week later he gave me a female. That was in 2017. I now have 16 pigeons. My point is I've noted this terrible behavior of pigeons and yes it also sickens me. My first experience was when I removed a baby from it's nest to take some pictures. Then I replaced it. It was the first survivor I'd had and we loved the little guy. Next morning I went to the cage and the parents had killed it. Since then I've got one that is larger than all the others and he's a bully with them. I've tried placing him in with several other birds and he chases them around until I remove then for fear they will get hurt. Finally I have another male that is slightly smaller then him but larger than all the others. They seem to get along. The one I found on my front porch had a baby with a female and I named him Buddy. Buddy got his name because that's what he became....my buddy. When he was 3/4 ths grown he attacked his father when he bit me. I wasn't paying attention and Angel grabbed my skin and began to shake it and I hollered. My wife was holding Buddy and he flew from about 10 feet away and hit his father in mid air and the fight was on. I had to break it up before someone got hurt. He was considerably smaller than his dad but he certainly wasn't afraid of him. To this day I can't put them in the same cage. My friend who gave him to me said that Buddy is an exceptional pigeon because Buddy comes when I call him. One day he was free in the back yard sitting on a high cage. He could see over the front fence and saw me pull up on the street. I spotted him sitting there and decided to try something. I whistled and called him. He flew across the back yard, over the fence, across the front lawn, across the street and landed on my arm. My neighbor saw the whole thing and she was amazed but not more so than me. Anyway I have a few funny stories about him. Some scary ones too.


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