# If my female pigeon broke her eggs, how long until she mates again???



## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

LOL ok here is my story, i just became a pigeon person and bought a "pair" of king pigeons at my local flea market. The owner i bought them off of said that she had just been sitting and broke her eggs somehow. But of course he also told me i had a male and female paired birds, and come to realized , lol, I have to females!!!! but im wondering how long after such an event will my female mate and lay eggs??? and yes lol i do plan on gettin a male before she can do this.


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## kamz (Jan 23, 2010)

I am nt sure to the answer to your question. But I would like to add, the fact that she broke her last batch of eggs could suggest she is deficient in calcium - you would probably want to make sure she is well supplemented with calcium prior to her next round of eggs she will/may lay eggs irrespective of whether she has a mate. 

Complications of being low in calcium can be quite horrible so I would get onto this one early!


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## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

If she is not mated to a male--don't worry about broke eggs---they would never hatch.
Another Feather Merchant ??????? Just wondering?????


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## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

*Roger on that one!!!! thanks*

as soon as i heard that she BROKE her own eggs suggested that so i have been putting plenty of oyster shell in there for them to eat. lol but how i found out they was both female was b/c of the oyster shell!!!! Both hens laid 1 egg in the same nest in less then an hour!!! Ive raised chickens, and im so glad kings resemble them. But my main concern is trying to figure out if these eggs r fertile. im trying to "guesstamate" how long she has been without eggs and if she had time for a male to mate with her before i bought her. since i have eggs i can try to figure out the timeline.


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## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

*More then likely*



sky tx said:


> If she is not mated to a male--don't worry about broke eggs---they would never hatch.
> Another Feather Merchant ??????? Just wondering?????


the flea market i was refering to is the sulfar dog trades or trades day every sunday in sulfer oklahoma. my b/f's brother reffered me to this person for pigeons. so far my birds r very healthy coming from a flea market.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

kamz said:


> I am nt sure to the answer to your question. But I would like to add, the fact that she broke her last batch of eggs could suggest she is deficient in calcium - you would probably want to make sure she is well supplemented with calcium prior to her next round of eggs she will/may lay eggs irrespective of whether she has a mate.
> 
> *Complications of being low in calcium can be quite horrible so I would get onto this one early![/*QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## kamz (Jan 23, 2010)

If they have just laid the eggs and you don't want more accidental companions you can boil the eggs and put them back in the nest. Sounds bad, but they haven't really developed at this stage (the first 2-3 days since being laid). the hens wk t notice the difference (put them back while slightly warm) and it stops them from depleting their calcium reserves by laying eggs too early to replace them. 

If you simply want to find out whether they are fertile because you want to keep them, then there is a process called candling which you can do to see the developing embryo. Google that ! 

Best of luck

Kamz


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## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

*thanks again*



kamz said:


> If they have just laid the eggs and you don't want more accidental companions you can boil the eggs and put them back in the nest. Sounds bad, but they haven't really developed at this stage (the first 2-3 days since being laid). the hens wk t notice the difference (put them back while slightly warm) and it stops them from depleting their calcium reserves by laying eggs too early to replace them.
> 
> If you simply want to find out whether they are fertile because you want to keep them, then there is a process called candling which you can do to see the developing embryo. Google that !
> 
> ...


thanks so much ill get right on that


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## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

well its now official i have 2 female king pigeons!!! lol i have number 3 &4 eggs yesterday evening so now to wait a few more days and see if they r fertile. OH I HOPE SO!!!!! I'm looking forward to baby pijs. thanks again to kamz for telling me about candling eggs. and wish me luck tomorrow i plan to go back to the flea market for a male king pigeon so i can have babies even if these 4 eggs dont work out!


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## kamz (Jan 23, 2010)

Rose I'm glad you found the information helpful, keep in touch on this thread and let us know if you get some baby pidgies! I think baby kings could be really cute....


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

How long have you had these birds, i know you said you just got them but exactly when ?, but if the guy you bought said they broke eggs and then they laid for you which usually takes 10 - 18 days after mating and they are a pair of females they wont hatch..which means they mated again before you bought them. and then again they may have be with males and he grabbed the wrong birds.. in your case i would take 2 eggs out, because they can't raise 4 young at once at least i don't think they can, triplets i have seen done but not 4. best of luck post some pic's


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## MAXBROWN (Jul 22, 2011)

I have only male pigeons but i think it lays after 4 to 6 months.You can confirm this also from others.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Rose22 said:


> well its now official i have 2 female king pigeons!!! lol i have number 3 &4 eggs yesterday evening so now to wait a few more days and see if they r fertile. OH I HOPE SO!!!!! I'm looking forward to baby pijs. thanks again to kamz for telling me about candling eggs. and wish me luck tomorrow i plan to go back to the flea market for a male king pigeon so i can have babies even if these 4 eggs dont work out!


If these two hens lay together they may be paired up and did not mate with a cock bird.. usually they mate with their mate usually the oppisite sex 10 days before laying eggs. but being that they laid eggs only into the third day of having them and not knowing if they were in with male birds or they are not a bonded pair, then you should candle the eggs at about 7 days if you really really want to check. or you can just wait it out the 19 days and see if there is any hatchlings. when you get a male pigeon that does not mean either one of your hens are going to like him..esp if the hens are a pair.. you will have to break up their attachment and slowly introduce him to one of the hens..so that leaves a hen out of not having a mate..so I would get another mate for her ( they do pairup/mate for life).. hen or cock bird would work esp if you know for sure she is a hen.. pigeons pair off in mated pairs unlike chickens who the rooster can have a few hens or a flock of his own.


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## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

*thanks everyone*

thanks guys and gals 
I did not find a male for my 2 females, and no babies!  but im still looking. the candling process helped determine that the eggs were not fertile like i was hoping. right now i took the eggs away ,since i hate the smell of rotten eggs, and put the large marbles called shooters under them, so far they r playin house to these 4 marbles. I figured this would be better then if they would break and smell up my pin. but good news is this 2 r starting to be friendly even eating out of my hand. They are still a lil mean considering they r nesting! but i have learned so much from you guys about how to determine there poops and all of this stuff. i started them on a gamecock food and wild bird mix. they just love it!!!! but there poops were so gooy something was wrong. so i looked thru the forum and found that they needed veggies like lettuce and other stuff. now im not so worried b/c there poops have now become what most would consider the regular semi firm poops they should be.

oh and i have a story and pic ill post that is so funny i laughed myself sick when i seen this. as soon as i figure out to post the pic ill tell yall about 

again thanks so much i just adore my pigeons even if they r a mated female pair!!!!!


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## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

horseart4u said:


> How long have you had these birds, i know you said you just got them but exactly when ?, but if the guy you bought said they broke eggs and then they laid for you which usually takes 10 - 18 days after mating and they are a pair of females they wont hatch..which means they mated again before you bought them. and then again they may have be with males and he grabbed the wrong birds.. in your case i would take 2 eggs out, because they can't raise 4 young at once at least i don't think they can, triplets i have seen done but not 4. best of luck post some pic's


this sunday will be 3 wks so far  and still tryin to post pictures any help would be nice lol


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## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

*lol i think this might work lol*

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/album.php?albumid=1800

ok i uploaded the photos i wanted for this story to my album. so here is the story make sure u dont laugh to hard lol

Today around noon, i was hanging up my laundry on the line. the line is right beside my pigeon pin in the back yard so i just happend to glance over and seen thier water bowl was empty. they might have knocked it over, which they do sometimes when they want fresh water, very very smart birds. so when i got done hanging my clothes i went inside to get some water to fill there dish up. i came back to the pin and notice 1 of the birds was gone. i was frantic looking for her, but i couldnt figure out how she got out of the pin. thats when something caught my attention under the water bowl. i looked closer and there she was!!!!! some how she had tipped the bowl over on herself and scooted it back to where the bowl was under the board they use as a perch. so she couldnt get herself out of it. i just laughed and laughed. my neighbors thought i had lost my mind b/c i just busted out laughing!!!!!!!!!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

that is funny,,, she may be telling you something.. a bath pan of water is much enjoyed if given.


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## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

*lol thats what that was *

i put in a big enough pan to let them bath. i dont fill it full of water but give maybe 2" of water in the bottem. plus i change the water twice a day to make sure its good and fresh. lol but sometimes piper likes tip it over. which is funny in itself. b/c i make sure the bowl is kinda wedge under the wire so as not to be knocked over when they stand on the side and drink. but piper will get on it. flap her wings and move her body just so the bowl comes out from under the wire. when the lip of the bowl just barely touches the bottem of the pin, she jumps to the top lip and flips the bowl all the way over. IM TELLIN YOU SHE IS EXTREMELY SMART!!!!! so when this happend it was kinda like "see i keep tellin you ur gonna get it if u dont stop that " lol


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Iam not sure what your watering your birds with..but it should be something they can not get in.. the bath pan is a seperate occasion..lol.. big enough for them to bath and then when they are done remove it....


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## Rose22 (Jul 13, 2011)

*ok need suggestions*

ok i have a thought and would love u guys/gals suggestions and thoughts.  Since i have a Pair of females would setting them with another kind of bird eggs be ok?? i mean if i had an actual pair of king pijs, male and female, could i not take the fertile eggs from that pair and put under my females pair??? also another idea of mine was to put banty eggs under them? any thoughts would be appreciated. I just dont want my females to keep setting on eggs or marbles that will never hatch. i really want to see how good of parents 2 females can be. and good news also i found a pair, male and female, kings for my new loft!!! ill post pics as soon as these 2 get use to me enough i can get a good pic for yall


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

First of all, that bowl she was under isn't a good water dish for them. They need something they can't tip over, or even get into. They have to land on the lip of the dish in order to drink, and it tips too easily. That, is an awful way to have to get a drink. Buy a pigeon or even a chicken waterer. And for bathing, they really love a new cat litter pan. Fill with a couple inches of water or so, and they would love it. Plenty of room to splash around in. Having them try to raise baby chickens isn't a good idea, as they can't feed them like they would a baby pigeon. Chickens eat on their own when they are born. So I think they would run into problems with that.
Before trying to get them to raise babies, I would first try to learn as much as possible about the keeping of pigeons, and then make sure that the pen I keep them in was big enough for more birds. Lots of people would be happy to have 2 females, without worrying about having to switch out the eggs to avoid more birds. You could be better off the way things are. Think about it before changing the situation.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Also, you might want to cover the enclosure with hardware cloth. The chain link and chicken wire isn't secure. Rodents and snakes can get in there, A snake will try to eat your birds, and rats will kill them too. A mouse will cause disease, and they can get very ill. Hardware cloth keeps them safe from these things, as the holes are smaller.


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