# How often do pigeons lay eggs?



## JennyM

Hi all,
Can you guys help me by telling me how often should a pigeon lay eggs? My Speedy laid 2 eggs last month and she and her mate sat on them for around 20-21 days. After they abandoned them I expected them to have a 1 or 2 week break, but to my surprise 5 days later she had laid another egg!! 

They sat on these eggs again for 21 days. They just abandoned them yesterday and today they are already looking for a new place to lay another set!! Is this normal? For some reason I thought they would take a break before mating again and laying more eggs!! This means that if they continue to be like this, she will be laying 2 eggs once a month! is this too much? or is it normal? is there a way I can make them wait a little longer? I would like for her to take a little break and relax, but all she does now is lay eggs and sit on them  

Thanks for the help!


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## Jay3

Welcome to the world of pigeons! LOL! When the eggs don't hatch, then they try again. Gotta give them A+ for single-mindedness of purpose. They live to mate up build a nest and raise babies. You just have to make sure that she gets calcium and vit. D3 supplement so that she doesn't run her calcium stores down.
Even if they hatch babies, usually most would be starting another nest in a few weeks or less.


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## JennyM

LOL I'll definitely give them an A+ for that lol I can't believe all their life is going to be like that!! She's going to be laying 24 eggs a year  and most of her time will be sitting on them! 

so is this the norm for them? and there's nothing I can do to make them slow down a bit? if I separate them for a week or two would that make her wait? 

I do give them calcium, I bought calciboost as you suggested a while ago


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## Jay3

Doesn't he sit n the nest during the day to relieve her? He should.


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## JennyM

he does! he sits from noon to around 7:00pm
I just didn't want her laying so many eggs during her life, that's why I was looking for ways to slow them up a little bit.


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## Jay3

Racers separate them often, after breeding season, which gives them a break. But even then, they sometimes will still lay eggs. And unless you have a very aggressive male that she really needs a break from, usually they are happier together.


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## JennyM

by aggressive you mean if he pecks her or something like that? he is not like that, but he is very needy. He is constantly calling her so she can go stand on his head lol and preen him.


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## cwebster

Our single girlswho are in pairs lay two eggs each per month and take turns sitting on them.


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## JennyM

cwebster said:


> Our single girlswho are in pairs lay two eggs each per month and take turns sitting on them.


oh, so it is a normal thing in them then! I wish it wasn't like that  it's like they live to lay eggs only! thanks for the reply, cwebster!


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## kiddy

Mine too lays two every month 
She isn't paired also, always laying infertile eggs and sitting alone till she abandons and then lay again in few days. 
I call her laying machine


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## Skyeking

JennyM said:


> oh, so it is a normal thing in them then! I wish it wasn't like that  it's like they live to lay eggs only! thanks for the reply, cwebster!


*That's true, they are of a single mind once brooding on eggs, nothing else is on their mind. It is the "nature of the beast" so to speak.

That is what pigeons do best......myltiply... 

*


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## wiggles and puddles

After a while you can sometimes get to know their "laying schedule". Puddles will lay her eggs between the 1st and 3rd of the month like clock work.


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## JennyM

kiddy said:


> Mine too lays two every month
> She isn't paired also, always laying infertile eggs and sitting alone till she abandons and then lay again in few days.
> I call her laying machine


lol laying machine! that's too funny!! I think that will be my Speedy's new nickname too! 




Skyeking said:


> *That's true, they are of a single mind once brooding on eggs, nothing else is on their mind. It is the "nature of the beast" so to speak.
> 
> That is what pigeons do best......myltiply...
> 
> *


and they are sure good at it! wish they would slow down a bit though so that they could also enjoy life, but I guess that's how they enjoy it! thank you for your reply 




wiggles and puddles said:


> After a while you can sometimes get to know their "laying schedule". Puddles will lay her eggs between the 1st and 3rd of the month like clock work.


so yours lays once a month too? I guess it's normal then! So far she has been laying at the beginning of the month too!


Thank you everyone for your replies and help! I suppose there's nothing I can do to make her lay less. I'll just make sure she gets her calcium. Do they ever stop laying though? chickens for example can live up to 15 years but only lay for a few years.


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## cwebster

I hope pigeons stop laying after a few years.


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## FredaH

Oh goodness, I didn't know they laid that regularly and also thought they had a break. What about winter, do they still lay then when the nights are longer and the days short? Poor Mrs pigeon, sucks don't it?
JennyM I feel your concern and am now pretty worried about my young girl in case things go wrong, plus I thought it's easy to control birth by simply removing the eggs as soon as they are laid and replacing them with dummies but I can see how they may get missed in an aviary setting. 
All I can say is I hope I don't come back as a female pigeon in an after life, lol.


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## Whytpigeon

FredaH said:


> Oh goodness, I didn't know they laid that regularly and also thought they had a break. What about winter, do they still lay then when the nights are longer and the days short? Poor Mrs pigeon, sucks don't it?
> JennyM I feel your concern and am now pretty worried about my young girl in case things go wrong, plus I thought it's easy to control birth by simply removing the eggs as soon as they are laid and replacing them with dummies but I can see how they may get missed in an aviary setting.
> All I can say is I hope I don't come back as a female pigeon in an after life, lol.


Laying eggs is not like giving birth..lol.. As long as the nutritional needs are met for the pairs they will do what comes natural and this breeding behavior is normal. And yes they do tend to slow down in the shorter days in fall and early winter and then get busy again after the winter solstice.


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## JennyM

FredaH said:


> Oh goodness, I didn't know they laid that regularly and also thought they had a break. What about winter, do they still lay then when the nights are longer and the days short? Poor Mrs pigeon, sucks don't it?
> JennyM I feel your concern and am now pretty worried about my young girl in case things go wrong, plus I thought it's easy to control birth by simply removing the eggs as soon as they are laid and replacing them with dummies but I can see how they may get missed in an aviary setting.
> All I can say is I hope I don't come back as a female pigeon in an after life, lol.


lol I know right? poor things all they do is lay eggs  




Whytpigeon said:


> Laying eggs is not like giving birth..lol.. As long as the nutritional needs are met for the pairs they will do what comes natural and this breeding behavior is normal. And yes they do tend to slow down in the shorter days in fall and early winter and then get busy again after the winter solstice.


that's good to know! hopefully my little Speedy will get a break when fall comes. Thank you!


Now I have another question, my pigeons are building 2 nests this time. I've been putting nesting material for them (I like to see them grab it and run to their nest lol and also keeps them busy for a while) and they are taking it to 2 places. Could it be that they are unsure which place they like best? or can they actually have 2 nests? is there a possibility she can lay 2 eggs in each nest?


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## Jay3

That's funny. Pigeons will take as much space for nesting as they can, but usually work on one at a time. They will pick one place when they are done. If they were to hatch the eggs,(which I know you won't let them), after a couple of weeks, she would go to another nest and lay more eggs and start on the new family, while Poppa takes over the feeding of the younguns.
Some don't do that, as they both continue to feed the babies till weaned. But most will start another nest for new eggs.


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## kiddy

JennyM said:


> Now I have another question, my pigeons are building 2 nests this time. I've been putting nesting material for them (I like to see them grab it and run to their nest lol and also keeps them busy for a while) and they are taking it to 2 places. Could it be that they are unsure which place they like best? or can they actually have 2 nests? is there a possibility she can lay 2 eggs in each nest?


Probably inspired by people who have interests in bigger property? Or probably one/both of them is/are intended to re marry so one house for second spouse? who knows


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## FredaH

Whytpigeon said:


> Laying eggs is not like giving birth..lol.. As long as the nutritional needs are met for the pairs they will do what comes natural and this breeding behavior is normal. And yes they do tend to slow down in the shorter days in fall and early winter and then get busy again after the winter solstice.


Lol, naturally always raising kids still doesn't appeal but good to know they slow down a bit in winter and can enjoy Christmas at least.


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## Jay3

FredaH said:


> Lol, naturally always raising kids still doesn't appeal but good to know they slow down a bit in winter and can enjoy Christmas at least.



In the wild they will slow down. In a loft, if you don't have lights on late. But if kept inside, unless they are in another room where they have quiet and dark early, which they really should have anyway. If kept in rooms with lights on late then they don't really see it as being winter or a time to slow down.


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## Whytpigeon

FredaH said:


> Lol, naturally always raising kids still doesn't appeal but good to know they slow down a bit in winter and can enjoy Christmas at least.


They are not raising kids if using the fake eggs. With hatching eggs Actually it's the male that really raises the squabs and feeds them most, esp after a week or so after hatching. But yeah the cock bird keeps his hen laying. Separating the pairs can give a worn out hen a break, esp in winter.


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## Jay3

Some pairs actually raise the babies together, so she is not only laying the eggs, but then raising them as well. Not usually the case as she is often sitting on more eggs after a couple of weeks, but some do. So yes, she could use a break. Maybe send her to a pigeon spa?


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## JennyM

Jay3 said:


> That's funny. Pigeons will take as much space for nesting as they can, but usually work on one at a time. They will pick one place when they are done. If they were to hatch the eggs,(which I know you won't let them), after a couple of weeks, she would go to another nest and lay more eggs and start on the new family, while Poppa takes over the feeding of the younguns.
> Some don't do that, as they both continue to feed the babies till weaned. But most will start another nest for new eggs.


Interesting! I had no idea they could do that! so that's probably what they were doing lol they are funny little animals! it amazes me every little thing I learn about them. Thanks for explaining that to me  




kiddy said:


> Probably inspired by people who have interests in bigger property? Or probably one/both of them is/are intended to re marry so one house for second spouse? who knows


LOL yes, maybe one is their vacation home!


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## Jay3

Pigeons are crazy. I had a young pair who I just adore. They were the youngest of the very first pigeons I came home with. And in the beginning, when I would put out the straw for them to collect for nesting, he would watch as all the other birds got excited and flew in and out of their nest boxes collecting the straw and bringing it back to their box. But he didn't really get what they were doing I don't think. He would just watch. His mate would sit there looking at him like "Well, aren't you going to bring me any?" Then one day it dawned on him to go out with the others and pick up the nesting material. His mate and I watched excitedly as he started out to collect the straw, finally!
Then we watched him pick one up, flick it to be sure it was the perfect one, and take it. And we watched as he took it back to a nest box, but it wasn't his box. He would go down and pick up a piece and bring it to another pair in a different box. Then he would get another piece and bring it to another pair in another box. This went on for a little while. It was so funny. He finally got the idea when his mate started getting it herself and bringing it back to their box. These guys are funny, you just never know what they're going to do.
She still collects most of their straw, and he just lets her. LOL.


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