# Urgent: how does it affect mate when a pigeon dies?



## wren (Jul 10, 2008)

We have two pairs of show pigeons. They have been sharing a hutch for as long as we have had them. This afternoon when checking on them we discovered the female of the dominate pair on the ground dead. The male was flying down to her and up to their loft and generally acting unhappy. After we took her out he really got upset. Flying up and down and then he started pecking at the other male and generally getting ugly. He usually is a pecker anyway, but he started just being agressive all of a sudden. We assumed he was upset at the loss of his mate but I didn't want him to kill the other birds either. We put him in a small cage to isolate him until I could figure out what to do. Will he continue to be ugly with the others? How do singles fair after being part of a pair? As far as I know they had been paired for a couple of years or so. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks. Kathryn


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## kippermom (Jan 11, 2006)

I am no expert...others who are will be along I am sure...but it seems like this "lonely boy" might become less violent, but no less sad and lonely with no mate. Any chance of finding him a hen, or giving him to a loft with some single hens for him to bond with?


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

My little one footed roller, recently lost his mate and he went crazy. He flew from the garage, where i keep the pigeons, into the hospital room and into a flight Cage where I keep Sammy and Romy. He pecked Sammy, which is totally out of character for him as he is a very gentle bird. Out of the flight cage and back to the garage and the entire process repeated over and over. I've never had a Pigeon react quite to such an extreme with the loss of a mate but he was obviously in distress. It was just heart breaking.


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## wren (Jul 10, 2008)

*what to do with him?*

I don't know anyone else in this area with show pigeons. A friend gave these to us when he could no longer care for them. I'm not sure if I should let him back in the pen with the other pair or not. Right now he is in a cat carrier as I had nothing else to put him in. Will that be okay for a little while or should I put him back in with the others and see??? The loft is open and the nesting boxes don't have doors, so he can get to the other two easily. He has always been pretty bold with the others, pecking them if they get in his "space" or around his nesting area, he would even peck his own mate some if he didn't like something, so I'm not sure how he would react to new mates, or even to be left alone with an existing, happy pair. The other pair don't peck each other or him unless provoked. Thanks for the help


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Hi Wren,


Welcome to Pigeon Talk. Your little guy will probably be aggressive until he is paired with another mate. A single pigeon in with paired ones is always a difficult situation. The best thing would be to get him another mate as soon as possible. Where are you? And what kind of show pigeons do you have? There are always pigeons up for adoption here. If you don't care about breeding and it isn't an issue to get the same kind of bird, I'm sure someone will have an extra hen who needs a home that is fairly near you. If you want to keep the same breed, then someone may know of a hen of that breed that is available.

Margaret


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

wren said:


> I don't know anyone else in this area with show pigeons. A friend gave these to us when he could no longer care for them. I'm not sure if I should let him back in the pen with the other pair or not. Right now he is in a cat carrier as I had nothing else to put him in. Will that be okay for a little while or should I put him back in with the others and see??? The loft is open and the nesting boxes don't have doors, so he can get to the other two easily. He has always been pretty bold with the others, pecking them if they get in his "space" or around his nesting area, he would even peck his own mate some if he didn't like something, so I'm not sure how he would react to new mates, or even to be left alone with an existing, happy pair. The other pair don't peck each other or him unless provoked. Thanks for the help


Just saw your post.......I'm on my way out...........but, I would try putting him back in with the other birds and see what happens. If they fight a lot, then I would take the hen out and leave the two cocks in the pen for now. How big is your pen? If you take this one bird out for too long a period, not only will you have trouble putting him back in there, but any potential mate you get for him will get picked on too. If the three can't get along, it would be best to take the hen out, find a mate for this one bird and then introduce the two hens back into the loft/pen with the boys. 
Where are you and what type of birds do you have? We may have a member near you that can help with another bird.
Sorry to make this so short..........gotta run...........


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

He just feels lonely, get another female and repair him otherwise you will have havock in yr cage.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

They feel bad until they are paired.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

wren said:


> We have two pairs of show pigeons. They have been sharing a hutch for as long as we have had them. This afternoon when checking on them we discovered the female of the dominate pair on the ground dead. The male was flying down to her and up to their loft and generally acting unhappy. After we took her out he really got upset. Flying up and down and then he started pecking at the other male and generally getting ugly. He usually is a pecker anyway, but he started just being agressive all of a sudden. We assumed he was upset at the loss of his mate but I didn't want him to kill the other birds either. We put him in a small cage to isolate him until I could figure out what to do. Will he continue to be ugly with the others? How do singles fair after being part of a pair? As far as I know they had been paired for a couple of years or so. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks. Kathryn



Hi wren, 




It definitely sounds like he was seriously bonded with her.


If it is not too late to do so, you should have a 'Wake'...where she is set onto a small folded Towell, and he can fly over to her all he likes, and he will deal with this better having her there like that for a few days, than trying to deal with her being dead one minute and disappeared the next.


The depth or profundity of 'Bond' in mated pairs can and will vary...just as it does in people...


Good luck..!


Phil
l v


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## wren (Jul 10, 2008)

*pictures*

I have been trying to figure out how to put a picture up as I don't know what type of pigeon he is. I'm trying a link and let me know if it works. 

http://www.msnusers.com/bearsharepictures/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1

So far we have been keeping him mostly separate from the other pair but he is still upset. We can't take one of the other pair out because they are sitting. Although, it probably wouldn't matter. Both pairs lay and sit but have yet to hatch babies yet. we have checked the eggs and the last set had pretty well developed chicks. I don't know what the problem is there either.

Oh, we live in southeastern pa, I'm not sure if we want to try and get another mate for him or find him a new home. He is a very pretty bird, but like I said before, not the nicest. Thanks for anymore help ya'll can give.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

this may sound like alot of trouble but if you want to keep him, I would bulid him a new pen/aviary and find a hen for him. I would not use chicken wire as snakes and critters can get in and cause sickness and injuries. do you know what killed his mate?....with the others maybe going to have babies you may need more room anyway..the others need to feed the babies in peace and he may cause problems. or you can see if you can adopt him out to someone witha hen so he can have a mate again...hope this helps...he sure is a pretty bird...I don't know the breed but someone will be along to give advice on that...good luck with this guy!


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