Pigeons breeding in my flat (UPDATE)

[tricky]

well, the saga goes on folks... Im not sure what happened to the last notice. Maybe it expired. But for those of u who've been kind enough to offer advice, the babies are getting bigger, starting to stretch their wings, on the shelf above the TV. The parents continue sleeping nose to nose on the curtain rail. I had a look at the nest this morning and its pretty filthy... there are flies and a lot of pooh... can anyone suggets anything?

is there a way of cleaning it without disturbing the babies too much?

cheers again.

[AZWhitefeather]

I have never had an inside nest, however I have changed the nest of my outdoor pijjies. Mom & Dad shouldn't become upset.

The only suggestion I would make in doing so, is to be sure there is something on the bottom of the nest for the little ones to 'grasp' onto. This will, or should, eliminate splayed legs from forming.

Others will be along to assist as well.

Glad to hear the family is doing well. Many thanks for the update.

Cindy

[John_D]

I used to clean around the nest my guys had outside, and the parents didn't get too agitated. Mostly I found the poop was towards the outside of the nest, so I could remove it. A couple of times I gave the babies a little spray with a pigeon insect spray just in case of bugs from the great outside - but as yours are inside that shouldn't be necessary. But dried poop doesn't cause the babies a problem.

I imagine you have a few poops below where the parents sleep or hang out, too.

Guess they'll be getting close to trying first flight by now?

Well done for your patience with them

John

[tricky]

Thanks. I'll do that, although they may be getting a bit big now. Yes they do indeed seem ready for flight. The parents this morning had moved to other parts of the room and were raising the wings, watching them. The young following suit a little...

how long do the flying classes last?

Cheers Rich

[Trees Gray]

Hi there,

Thank you again for your hospitality.

Can you tell me how old they are now?

Sounds like everything is right on schedule. These youngsters will provide you with a lot of entertainment as well as a mess. But it won't be long and they will be flying solo and out on their own.

You will see them lift up and fly (in place) and practice for a while, and then they will make short trips from floor to nest or wherever you allow them. Once they get great at flying they will be four to six weeks old. I have domestic pigeons so we don't let them out on their own until they are between 6 to 8 weeks.

I'm sure our feral experts will have the answer, I believe they become independent earlier then my domestic pigeons.

Do you wish to continue to accomodate you house guests? The pair may soon have another set of eggs.

Treesa

[Snowbird]

* Fledglings begin flight when they reach 77% feather length and 84% body weight on average.

* Fledge at 28-32 days in most situations.

* Follow parents up to 5 weeks old.

* The juveniles make the transition from parent following to flock member by 7 weeks.

* At the fledgling stage, the cock parent is more likely to put up with the youngster then the hen (maybe this is because she might be on the next clutch or have that psychology)

However this situation is anomolous: You have provided the birds with a place that approximates their favorite home of many thousand years, which is not the cliffs of Donegal but the caves of Donegal. So they might be inclined to start a colony in such a cave (it's not dark enough, but, hey, it's got surround). I was warning you about this earlier. We'll see what develops.

[John_D]

If you see the birds starting on another nest, guess you have the option to remove it or - and if they did try using same nest again - exchanging the real eggs for plastic ones. They do tend to adopt a well favored nesting place

John

[Feefo]

Hi Tricky,

I don't think I have ever answered one of your posts, but I have read them with great interest.

I think that you can replace the nest with clean nesting material as long as you don't drastically change the shape or location!

I once replaced a nesting "box" made in of one of those fabric cat beds because it had got soaked in the rain, for one in a chinchilla box and the result was really amazing. The hen called for the cock, who rushed over and they both examined it inside and out with great consternation. They "spoke " to each other while they axamined it. Then the hen sat on her eggs for a while, but came out again, being very vocal about her confusion.

Eventually I cleaned the cat basket out, put bubblewrap in it to keep it dry, put the eggs back in it and put it back in place....there was peace in the aviary after that!


Cynthia