Help with a city pigeon!

[bigbird]

Jenny will be logging on to Pigeon-Talk soon, below you will see the current situation.

Hi Carl,

I saw your website and I needed to ask you a question. I live in a city, and a pigeon built a nest on the balcony directly below my apartment window. At the beginning, she and her "husband" were always together. Last week, she dropped two eggs into the nest. She hasn't left the nest once (I know for a fact because I have a perfect view from my desk) since she had the eggs, and the "father" has not been back in a week. She's all by herself!
I crushed up some almonds and put them in a small dish and she ate them immediately, so now I do that twice a day. I also have a small dish of water out there too. My question is, if it weren't for my food, would she be starving? And is it normal for the male to not return? Should I keep feeding her? I feel sorry for her, and I want to be able to help any way I can. If you could get back to me, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Jenny


Jenny, you are most kind.
You and a hen and a cock bird (pigeons) setting on 2 eggs which will hatch in about 21 days. The cock set during the day from 10 am to about 4 pm, the hen sets the remainder of the time. They do not usually eat while they are on the eggs unless the food is near.
If the cock bird does not return the hen will set 24 hours around the clock. Having the food near will save her. Something must have happened to the cock bird because the process is usually a group effort. Some other food types would be pigeon mix purchased from the local feed store. If not pigeon mix, then purchase some small bird seed mix and include sunflower (shelled), small peanuts (shelled) and white bread in a pinch. The water is also important. Keep me posted.
Do you mind if I post this mail to the www.pigeons.com pigeon-talk section so others can follow along and also give advice. If I do this, you will need to log into the site with an e-mail and password. It is a good place to get information on pigeons. So let me know. Regards, Carl





Gosh, Carl, thank you so much for the response! And what great
information! I don't think the male is coming back, I don’t think they are
Rotating. He may have gotten run over; I live on a really busy street.
But I could be wrong. I've been putting crushed almonds and sunflower
seeds on this little lid (the lid of a jar of oregano), and she - or he! -
has been eating up a storm! I will check today around the time you said to
see if in fact there is a "changing of the guard," if so, that would be
great. Also, thanks for telling me when they will hatch, I had no idea. I
also will get bird seed this weekend as well. Oh, does the pigeon hate to
be touched? Because sometimes when I'm putting the food out, I want to pet
her, but she looks like she will kill me if I do!

Yes, you can put this up on your website. I will go there later today and
register, but I will have to give my yahoo account because this is my
business account.

Thanks again for getting back to me! Jenny


Jenny,
Thanks for the update. Sounds like your hen bird has lost its mate but gained a valuable friend. This is great.

Your feeding ritual sounds just fine. Keep the receptacle small, keep the amounts small, try to set a time schedule say 3 times a day, remove the food after each feeding (when she stops eating and returns to the egg), she will come to look for you about the same time for each feeding. The water can stay all day. No feeding at night. She will be fine with this schedule and you will not have any other invaders coming to eat her food.
Do not try to touch her or do anything that upsets her. She has a lot on her mind. She will carry her daily burden best if she is left alone.
You could try holding the feed in your hand during feed times.
Here is how to try this:
Drop about 5 seeds 12” from the nest. Wait to see if she gets out and begins to eat. Drop a few more if she begins to eat, then place some in your hand and slowly hold it out to her. If she does not eat from your hand, let her finish the small amount you placed earlier, and then go away. Try again at next feeding. If you withhold the amount she usually eats, she will get the message that you want her to eat from your hand. If you drop too much feed, she will never see the need to eat from your hand. I think after 2 days of this, she will be eating from your hand. Be sure she is protected from stray cats.
Keep up the good work and let me know if you need anything.
Regards,
Carl

[cataclsm]

Jenny,

I don’t really have anything to add of value but I wanted to take a moment and tell you that what you’re doing is a wonderful thing. I've been keeping show pigeons for so long that I've almost become desensitized to the plight that our wild friends go through on a daily basis. Post like yours really brings me back to reality on how wonderful it is just to have the smallest interaction with pigeons regardless of being "feral" or ornamental. Bigbird covered pretty much all the bases for care and such so just adhere to his advice and you and your feathered friend will do fine.


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Malystryx Lofts
http://www.malystryx.com

[Pigeonrh]

Hi,
Maybe it's the dad your seeing on the nest during the day.. most times the other bird will fly off somewere when it's mates on the nest.. Check the nest at night and see if it's a different bird..

Ryan

[Jenny]

I just wanted to say that you are all so nice here! It's so funny, because I live in a city, I used to hate pigeons until this happened. I have to admit this is just so fascinating, watching the whole process of nature. Carl answered my questions and he was right about everthing! I'm really looking forward to seeing the eggs get hatched. I'm so lucky, because it's right below my window. I work on the computer all day long, and it's such an interesting distraction to be able to look out my window and see this happening. I'm going to miss them when they leave this perch!

Thanks again for everyone's feedback.
Jenny

Originally posted by cataclsm:
Jenny,

I don’t really have anything to add of value but I wanted to take a moment and tell you that what you’re doing is a wonderful thing. I've been keeping show pigeons for so long that I've almost become desensitized to the plight that our wild friends go through on a daily basis. Post like yours really brings me back to reality on how wonderful it is just to have the smallest interaction with pigeons regardless of being "feral" or ornamental. Bigbird covered pretty much all the bases for care and such so just adhere to his advice and you and your feathered friend will do fine.