Pigeon-Talk banner

Do all pigeons grunt and why

Tags
grunting
23K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  Jay3  
#1 ·
I've noticed that Kiko grunts. It's not a coo and Kalani does not do it. It almost sounds like a throaty hoot. He's doing it right now. I am here on the computer and Kalani is on her eggs. He is walking around calmly grunting. Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
Some do and some don't. I have one hen that will grunt if you even look at her :p I tell her to hush and stop fussing at me, but of course she doesn't listen. They usually do it more when they are nesting. They may do short grunts that tell you to back off, or the males (and females) will call each other to the nest, doing something between that and a coo (more smooth but still deep sounding), while flicking their wings and bowing their heads.
 
#3 ·
At first I thought Kiko was doing when he was alone and wanting company. Kalani would be on her nest and he would be looking for attention (since I was in the other room usually when he grunted. I usually just ignore it but then he gets louder and louder. Today he was pecking around Romeo's (my poodle) food bowl and grunting. Strange bird
 
#7 ·
One of the main way pigeons communicate is sound.
They can hear very low frequency sounds that we can not hear.
I have noticed that hens grunt more when you first pick them up. I have been using this habit to sex them more accurately.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Kiko (my male) is the only one that grunts and he also is the only one that stretches and puffs out his neck while turning and pacing and dragging his tail all the while cooing. When he grunts he is usually just standing still and calm (usually alone).

Kalani (my hen) coos but only when I get too close to her nest and she goes on the defensive.
 
#17 ·
They grunt because of fear, and they also warn other pigeons with grunting. I had a male homer that would always grunt when he saw me, but then this year I started to notice a lot of the young birds and new birds grunt. Some do it and some don't but it is to warn others of danger=]
 
#18 ·
My male jujubean grunts when i walk in the room and startle him,my female grunts when i get near her nest in defence.Jujubean does a low coo when loving bunny and just while bunny is on the nest,i got a vary outspoken pij they also do the low coo grunt types sounds when cuddling each other and twitching their wings.Juju will sometimes do as your pij and strut around and grunt.lol and i get pecked and griped at relentlessly by jujubean so your not alone:) they love us
 
#20 ·
This post is 7 years old. But your birds would probably be happier together. You just need to be there at the beginning to make sure he isn't to rough on her. What you saw may have been him trying to drive her to go to where he wants to nest. The males will do that. Most are not too bad, but some can be too aggressive. They usually calm down though. The more frustrated he gets because you are keeping them both, but keeping them apart, that can make him more aggressive also.
 
#21 ·
That is really valuable information. Thank you so much. I am leaving for 2 weeks to Italy in November, and it's the first time that my hen, Clovey, won't be around me during her waking hours every day (I work at night, and she sits by me when I sleep the better part of every day; she travels with me domestically). So it's been stressful for me to think about it because even I have separation anxiety when it comes to her. I want them to get along so that they can feel comforted by each other, but she's very imprinted because from about 20 days old to about 13 months old she was only around humans (she's and indoor bird with free rein of the house during the day). The hardest part of it is getting her to realize that she's a pigeon, just like him.

Mr. Chancey, on the other hand, was an unknown age when I found his battered body. He was probably under a year at the time, and he was most definitely quite wild (and still is, although he trusts us now). He's a pigeon and he knows it, whereas she's a pigeon and she doesn't have a clue.
 
#22 ·
If she is that imprinted on people, and probably views you as her mate, then sometimes those birds will never accept another pigeon as a mate. If that be the case, then it wouldn't be good to put them together. Only you can tell that by watching and knowing them. He could hurt her. You just never know. She will miss you while you are gone.