Fake eggs and behavior

[nukekyra]

Ok. So my two rescue pigeons, the ones I hand raised, have become a very loving and dedicated couple. They mated last year and on Dec. 20th Stella laid an egg. I was ready and switched it with a fake one. They did the egg sitting for about 22 days and then gave up.
Now two days ago Stella laid one egg- and this morning, when I had the day off and meant to switch it out, there was a second one.

My husband wants me to let them have their babies once. He fears that constantly sitting on eggs that amount to nothing will frustrate them as a pair and may cause them to split up.

I need advice. True, honest advice. As a defender of animals and their rights, I fill committed to not letting them reproduce. But as a lover of animals, I also fear that constantly doing this will somehow stunt their natural behavior.

What is the consensus? What advice do you have for me? This little pair of rescued pigeons truly is something so special to us. They are such a lovely pair. I want to make sure we give them the very best life possible. Thank you.

[Jay3]

I feel mean when I change out the eggs also, but I do it because I don't want to overcrowd my birds. Although every now and then we do miss one and end up with an oops baby. I too think it is nice for a pair to be able to raise at least one baby, as it is important to them, but you have to think about whether or not you have room for these babies, or what you would do with them when they grow up. If you keep them, will you not feel that they should also be able to hatch a set of eggs? If that were to keep happening, how many pigeons would you end up with? If they are kept in the house, it could get to be too much. And even if outside, you would need more room for the babies. Yes, I think it's nice for them to be able to raise babies, but you have to think about what you can do. If you are happy with just the pair, do you really want to add to the numbers? They can become overwhelming very quickly. On occasion, I think that maybe that is why pairs have switched partners, because of the eggs not hatching, but don't know for sure. But if all you have is the 2 birds, then I don't see how that could happen. I think you can probably give them the best you can, if you don't allow them to breed and bring in more birds. But that is something you need to decide, like how many you can take care of, and where do you stop.

[cwebster]

Agree strongly with Jay3. We have six pigeons incl a mated pair who had two oops babies and a pair of female friends. I wish i didnt have the male oops baby. I hadto go from two large flight cages to those plus two good sized cages, one for each oops baby because the male and female fight. Am so glad though to hear that your rescued birds are doing well. Would love to see a photo.