? on Homer / feral offspring

[Hambone]

I have a 7 year old homer cock thats mated to a beautiful rehab feral hen. He is the sweetest , mellow-est guy and very calm . She however , is very flighty and skittish and not friendly at all although she is getting a little better as time goes by . Both of their babies are wild too . (the babies were already feathered out when I got these birds)

None of my birds are really tame enough to handle without a fuss , but Homer will let you get within 2 feet of him and he just goes about his business. The others fly off at 10 feet .

I doubt if these 2 youngsters will ever tame up , but Homer and Ruby have been setting a pair of eggs for a week or 10 days . Do you think they will be tame if I spend time with them , or is that part of the wild nature that will be bred into them ?

I wish Homer had picked a homing pigeon hen for a mate .... but I guess love is . She is truly a beauty though !

Has anybody gotten good results with a matchup like this ? I want some nice friendly kids !

Hambone

[Charis]

I promise you, if you handle those babies and spend a lot of time with them, they will be friendlier. Pigeon babies, just as human children do grow up and separate from their parents/care-givers. It's a natural progression. It's my experienc that the only time you will have a continually tame pigeon, is if it is the only one and thinks of you as his/her mate.

[jbangelfish]

The more time you spend around them, the tamer they should become. The slower you move around them, the less nervous you will make them. They perceive quick movements as a threat.

Look at the wild pigeons in big cities where they see lots of people every day. They hardly move out of the way when people are walking around them. They might not let you catch them or pick them up but they show very little fear or concern of people.

They also learn that people sit and feed them in parks and will get very close to the person feeding them.

They are remarkably adaptable and soon learn what to be afraid of and what not to.

Having them be so friendly that you can pick them up or have them sit on your shoulder is not so easily done without hand feeding a youngster. Still most of us who have had a large group of pigeons often has that one mysteriously friendly bird that has no fear of us whatsoever and he may land on us or let us pick him up with no objection to it at all. Always makes that guy something special.

Bill

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by jbangelfish

Having them be so friendly that you can pick them up or have them sit on your shoulder is not so easily done without hand feeding a youngster. Still most of us who have had a large group of pigeons often has that one mysteriously friendly bird that has no fear of us whatsoever and he may land on us or let us pick him up with no objection to it at all. Always makes that guy something special.

Bill

This is very true. I have one or two every year and I don't treat them any different than the other babies. These birds tend to be from the same pairs and/or families of birds every year. I do have one cock bird that I named Wild Child back in 2000 when I got him as a baby. He's as wild as the day is long and ALL of his kids are like that in spite of how much I handle and play with them. They are the toughest birds to get my hands on when I have to catch them. They are smart and it only takes them a couple of times to know when I'm coming in to catch them. One hen in particular comes to the edge of her box as soon as I walk in the loft. All I have to do is make eye contact with her and she takes off.

[TheSnipes]

It definitely pays to handle them. Take them out every day and just carry them around. I did that with one baby and it became completely tame, once she could fly she headed straight for me while the other birds fled in the opposite direction. I can pick her up or give her a kiss or pet her etc. and she just sits there, if she doesn't want me to she does the usual pigeon peck/slap, but she is not afraid and never flies off. She comes to my shoulder or head, and even to strangers that way. Her mate was not tame at all but he now climbs all over me as well, I guess he didn't want to look like a sissy next to her Now that he is used to me I can pet him as well without scaring him off. There are 2 other birds that will come sit on my and/or let me pet them, both of them had to spend time indoors having treatment for injury or illness. So I guess the more time they spend with you the tamer they are likely to become. I have one orphan baby in the house now that just might end up the tamest yet as it only has me for a friend

[philodice]

Ditto. I have not tame parents and 4 tame babies. The littlest one is resting on my knee right now, even though she is perfectly capable of flying off.

[Hambone]

GREAT , thats good to hear ! I was worried a bit about that wildness thing . I 've got a lot to learn , this is my first round of babies and I'm getting excited . I check everyday , but still eggs . ! They'll get plenty of love and hands on thats for sure .

Thanks , Bob

[ezemaxima]

Keep hand feeding and handling your pijis and they will be tame in no time.....