hen-hen mating...am soo confused!

2240 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by psychopomp, May 4, 2009

psychopomp

Discussion Starter · May 2, 2009 (Edited)

well I posted about a mysterious clutch of 4 eggs....turns out two of my three pigeons (both hens) had bonded, courted and layed, which is why I never saw any mounting(mating).....well, it gets weirder.

I released one of the hens a couple of weeks ago, and my oldest rescue that has shown no interest in any of it, starts strutting, puffing neck and yes even mounting with what looks EXACTLY like normal pigeon mating with the one remaining HEN.

so I am think ok, its spring and he finally remembered hes a male! first one egg, then two....NOW three!!!!

is it possible a female can go completely behaviorally male>? these two have been locked up together, no other pigeons can enter. the first egg was laid last week, the next a few days later...candled them all nothing of course.

can anyone enlighten me....maybe this is just something about pigeons I had no idea happens.

maybe its something in the water

Jenn

ps i dont mind it I will just get dummy eggs

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karijo

· #2 · May 2, 2009

My WOE Tumbler and Classic Old Frill hens paired up and act like a "real pair". They make a great foster pair and are currently sitting on a pair of my Beliner Kurze eggs for me.

The Westie is definitely the one who wears the pants, LOL, she acts like a cockbird and defends the nest, and I get 4 infertile eggs whenever the girls lay.

I guess it just happens when they get lonely and want a mate!

Best,
Kari Jo

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amyable

· #3 · May 2, 2009

psychopomp said:
is it possible a female can go completely behaviorally male>?

Yes, I have the same situation with two hens. I was unaware that this happened until recently. These two hens have lived side by side for almost a year with no contact, then a few months ago they started to show signs of mating. I was never sure of their sexes, so assumed they were a male and female, until..... they both laid eggs, so I had four at one time.

The one behaves exactly like a male now except she doesn't display. She does mount the other and they are totally bonded. The 'male' one laid eggs just by herself a month ago, and the 'hen' didn't show any interest in sharing the nest duties, so they were abandoned. Now this week the 'hen' one has laid two eggs, and they are both sharing the nest sitting duties as before. Seems they have decided who is playing what role now. 'He' even chased off the one real male I have today, so is starting to get more confident.

It turns out I have five females and one real male in all, so I think they decided to make up their own family.

I have a little Roller hen aswell who tries her best to attract the male, (who is paired off), but to no avail, so she has set up her own nest and laid two eggs on her own, bless !

A single mum.

I tell you the goings on in the pigeon house would make any normal person blush !!

Janet

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maryjane

· #4 · May 2, 2009

amyable said:
Yes, I have the same situation with two hens. I was unaware that this happened until recently. These two hens have lived side by side for almost a year with no contact, then a few months ago they started to show signs of mating. I was never sure of their sexes, so assumed they were a male and female, until..... they both laid eggs, so I had four at one time.

The one behaves exactly like a male now except she doesn't display. She does mount the other and they are totally bonded. The 'male' one laid eggs just by herself a month ago, and the 'hen' didn't show any interest in sharing the nest duties, so they were abandoned. Now this week the 'hen' one has laid two eggs, and they are both sharing the nest sitting duties as before. Seems they have decided who is playing what role now. 'He' even chased off the one real male I have today, so is starting to get more confident.

It turns out I have five females and one real male in all, so I think they decided to make up their own family.

I have a little Roller hen aswell who tries her best to attract the male, (who is paired off), but to no avail, so she has set up her own nest and laid two eggs on her own, bless ! A single mum.

I tell you the goings on in the pigeon house would make any normal person blush !!

Janet

LOL Janet, you're so cute.

I had a pair of male doves who were a couple. There were females around, they just decided they would bond with each other. Now I have two male doves and no females at the moment and the two of them have finally resigned themselves to each other and share nest duty on a fake egg in their basket.

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psychopomp

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 3, 2009

love will find a way ....as long as they are happy...especially since they will be spending the rest of their life together.. just goes to show we definitely cant tell a book by its cover

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RodSD

· #6 · May 3, 2009

I have gay breeders. Both are males that act like a couple. One pretends to be a female. I just give them dummy eggs to feel happy. So, yes, it is normal for hens to get together, too.

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ggoss1

· #7 · May 3, 2009

What the.......the pope does not approve of this kind of behavior....

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amyable

· #8 · May 3, 2009

ggoss1 said:
What the.......the pope does not approve of this kind of behaviour.

That is so funny, LOL.

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jameswaller

· #9 · May 3, 2009

when mankind interfere,s..is,nt it funny how nature behaves/continues,..sincerely james waller

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RodSD

· #10 · May 4, 2009

If an adult bird struts, puff his neck, spread his tail and drags it, dance in circle, it could be a cock! It could be like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_4pkNspN3s

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Jay3

· #11 · May 4, 2009

ggoss1 said:
What the.......the pope does not approve of this kind of behavior....

That is tooooooooooo fuunnnnyy!
I had a cute pair. The'd been together for a while, when one of my younger cocks decided to try and break up the pair. I would go into the loft, to find him in their nest box, and them on the outside on perches, Looking solefully in at their eggs, which he wouldn't let them get near. I kept chasing him out, and sometimes confined him for a while, just to give them some peace. He kept chasing after what I thought was the male of the pair. Then one morning, I found them together in his nest box. They had paired up. And another young male eventually won the heart of the other of the pair. To my amazement, they had been two females that had paired up together. I was told by the previous owner that it was a male. NOT! My young pigeon knew more than I did. He knew they were two females, and was looking for a mate!
Guess they were just waiting for Mr. Right, and figured they'd wait together. LOL.

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ezemaxima

· #12 · May 4, 2009

RodSD said:
I have gay breeders. Both are males that act like a couple. One pretends to be a female. I just give them dummy eggs to feel happy. So, yes, it is normal for hens to get together, too.

I have 2 pairs... each pair has a cock and a hen (I've had a round of babies to prove it) but both cocks from the pairs I've seen mate many times and they always go back to their mate. I think they are in denial and hasn't come out of the closet yet... LOL My nephew always giggles when he see them mating.

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psychopomp

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 4, 2009

its a HE! and three eggs in a clutch!!!

I candled the eggs today, because i thought I saw something odd in the oldest egg....well...there was an EMBRYO...blood vessels, heart, everything!!

so I guess three egg clutches can happen ( or hes a hermaphrodite...

)...this is my first fertilized viable egg....i hope the baby makes it. the problem is I destroyed one of the three eggs ( i cracked it open to look for evidence lol....and I think the other one will hatch very late if its fertilized.

one chick would be more than enough tho

Jenn

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