fighting and neck plucking.

[aussiegirl]

I have new pigeons, all whites, however ive ended up with 4 cocks and 2 hens.
Now the problem starts at nighfall when they all fly into the roost which is a long shelf suspended from the ceiling, or they pick on each other in a box.
They dont seem to wingslap etc, just bite!!
I was watching 2 birds in a nestbox during the day, one was beside the other and preening the others neck feathers. As im a newby i assumed it was a mating ritual but it may have been 2 cocks in there.
The neck feathers are rapidly thinning out on these 2 and I want to stop this asap.
Should I change the night roost to a different setup?
At present I have 1 long shelf in there and they jostle for position for a while then settle down for the night, however there are lots of short white feathers
on the ground underneath.
I also have 4 nest boxes attached to the walls of the sun run outside, should I have these inside the large coop where they sleep?
Ive had these birds for 2 weeks and sadly no sign of an egg yet, im not sure when to expect my first eggs.
I have big plans for these birds doing wedding releases and wish to breed my flock to increase them.
Please help
Thanks
Helen

[kippermom]

I'm not the most experienced member here but when my birds seemed like they were fighting alot, it helped to give them a variety of roosting places at different heights. One would claim the top spot and chase the next guy to come along out of the way, and then the late arrival would have to settle for a lower perch...with just one long shelf they may not have the chance to claim the top spot and others may not have a place to go to avoid the pecking. They seem to like a social order confirmed by who gets the highest perch!

I also found I needed to have the nests where the birds were at night since they need to sit in the nest to lay and hatch and tend 24/7 etc...

Finally, if your birds are like mine, once they are settled in, you will not have to try very hard to breed them...it is harder for me to STOP them!

Other more experienced members will have better suggestions I am sure, but these were my thoughts. Good luck.

[aussiegirl]

Thankyou kippermom, I will go out now and put up another shelf underneath.
I did try to have 3 shelfs at the same height but away from each other but that didnt work as they all wanted the one shelf.
So ill try the different heights and also place some boxes inside the night house. Thankyou very much.

[maryjane]

I would try putting the boxes in their night coop. Also, vary a few different perches for them if possible. They have a pecking order while not as bad as chickens, can be a problem if there is only one "best perch". The biggest and baddest pijies want the "best" perch, and don't want the other ones on it. With a variety to choose from, they should spread out and it shouldn't be a problem anymore. As for eggs, they should be there soon. If their nest boxes are inside during the night where they are, they will more likely nest faster and lay eggs. If they could have access to their "night" coop during the day, some may choose to stay in there and mate. Some of mine seem to choose their next box in the daytime, and some seem to "shop" more at night.

[aussiegirl]

Thankyou again,
I guess ive been copying the setup that the fellow uses that i got the birds from! However it isnt working at my place.
Ive made a pile of sticks for them to use if they wish and I placed some pine shavings in the boxes, not sure whether i should have done that, they may not like them.

[kippermom]

I just put the empty nest bowls in the boxes and then a pile of timothy hay or tobacco stalks on the floor..they love to play with the hay and build their own nests. Just a thought...some breeders avoid pine shavings depending on how oily they are...really strong pine smells can be bothersome. Kiln dried shavings that are really dry and dust free are better.

Good luck.

[aussiegirl]

Yes, thanks, I use good quality shavings for my silkies nests, however i do also have some lovely fine hay too.
I dont have bowls in the boxes however I did but they didnt know what they were as the fellow never used them either.
I guess i could put the bowls back in.
I like to let them do everything as nature intended so ill have a smorgasbord of materials on the ground for them to pick at!!
Thanks