Regarding the Agressive Behavior...

[ComeOnPelican]

My pigeon, Ducky, if you guys remember, was found in a vent at the restaurant I work at. He's doing just fine and he eats pigeon pop now and is out on his own, although doesn't go very far from our backyard.

I read the posts about Sweets, the pigeon that was cooing and turning in circles and acting aggressive. I am very relieved to know that he'll grow out of it, however... do all pigeons do that, or just males.... we are still trying to figure out what exactly Ducky is... We assumed it was a male thing, but I just wanted to be sure...

Thanks!

Jana

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Jana,

Glad to hear things are going well for Ducky. Generally both young males and females will get aggressive at about 3 months old and last for a period of weeks to months. Once mature and confident, the females will generally "calm" down but the males will continue this more aggressive nature because it really is natural to their survival. They need to defend perches, nest sites and mates and this is instinctual for most males of the species

[ComeOnPelican]

Thanks! That's good to know

Are there any other ways to telling the gender of the bird at this age?

[Pidgey]

ComeOnPelican,

There are several ways to tell, just none of them completely reliable. There's one where you feel the bones around the vent (where eggs and poop come out) to feel the spacing--if there's more, it's a female; if there's less, it's a male.

There was one that someone stated was 100% reliable but they couldn't print it on the internet because if it were to get out the Martians would attack earth or the economy would collapse, I can't remember which, but it was bad.

My personal favorite is the mirror test--you put a mirror in front of the bird. If it goes into ATTACK PIGEON mode then it's obviously a (some would say "stupid") male. If it starts primping its feathers, adjusting its wings, turning away from the mirror and looking back over its shoulder to see if its feathers make its butt look too big, and polishing it's toenails, it's PROBABLY not a male.

The folks that I know who really raise a LOT of pigeons (300+) say that "if an egg comes out, it's a hen" and say it with some authority, mind you.

Pidgey

[Girl]

Hi ComeOnPelican,

Sweets is my pj and is approx. 4 months old. I don't know whether Sweets is male or female either. Sweets spends the day in the toilet and only goes to sleep in a cage at night. She (just to make it easy) as a result, knows that the mirror is just an image of itself, same with any windows/glass etc.

Although agressive, she doesn't go into Attack Mode when looking into the mirror, only when I fill up her seed/water bowl which is in her cage or when I am near her favourite perching spots.

If you find out a better way of telling the difference between male and female, please tell me too!

Btw, goodluck with Ducky.