Hi all,
I posted a couple of months ago about adopting a male pigeon for my female in the hopes they would either mate or at least be friends, as I had one female on her own that was a rescue and she was lonely. However when the female got too close he would coo and try to peck her, and if it was on the floor he would chase her a little until she left him alone. I was told it is normal driving behaviour, and that they should be okay after a little while.
I'm new to keeping pigeons as pets, so I'm still learning a lot, and I keep finding a lot of conflicting information online about how aggressive is too aggressive, whether or not this is normal and will stop, etc. It's really difficult to know.
These chases and pecks have become more aggressive. He will chase her round the room/cage and really go for the back of her neck. Today, there were two particularly bad instances; one where he chased her round the floor of the cage pecking and biting so hard, pulling out a couple of feathers, until she just gave up running, plopped to the floor, and he stood on her back still pulling at her neck/head until I intervened. It didn't look like they mated while he was stood on her though. The second instance, she went to sit next to him on top of the nesting box (she likes him, I can see that, she isn't aggressive with him. She even tried to lean down for some sort of kiss yesterday while she was on top of the nesting box and he was inside looking out), and he went for her again and she fell off the edge but he was still holding on so she was stuck and my partner had to intervene. He's also been chasing her around the room a lot and trying to peck today. When he coos at her, it doesn't seem like he's courting her, it seems like he's either telling her to leave him alone while he's sat in his fave spot in the cage, or he's doing it while chasing her.
I just want to know if this is normal, or whether I should be very concerned. Because currently, I'm very concerned about the safety of my female pigeon.
Extra info: these pigeons are definitely a male and female (and he is really big as he's a king pigeon I think, or something similar at least). They are also not the same breed, as I mention I think he is a king, but the female I'm not sure, I think she is something like a tippler. I am unsure as they are both rescues. Though I haven't seen much about pigeons only liking their own breed, but if that's a real thing it'd be great to know. Though, if the male is like this with this female, will he be like this with others too?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
I posted a couple of months ago about adopting a male pigeon for my female in the hopes they would either mate or at least be friends, as I had one female on her own that was a rescue and she was lonely. However when the female got too close he would coo and try to peck her, and if it was on the floor he would chase her a little until she left him alone. I was told it is normal driving behaviour, and that they should be okay after a little while.
I'm new to keeping pigeons as pets, so I'm still learning a lot, and I keep finding a lot of conflicting information online about how aggressive is too aggressive, whether or not this is normal and will stop, etc. It's really difficult to know.
These chases and pecks have become more aggressive. He will chase her round the room/cage and really go for the back of her neck. Today, there were two particularly bad instances; one where he chased her round the floor of the cage pecking and biting so hard, pulling out a couple of feathers, until she just gave up running, plopped to the floor, and he stood on her back still pulling at her neck/head until I intervened. It didn't look like they mated while he was stood on her though. The second instance, she went to sit next to him on top of the nesting box (she likes him, I can see that, she isn't aggressive with him. She even tried to lean down for some sort of kiss yesterday while she was on top of the nesting box and he was inside looking out), and he went for her again and she fell off the edge but he was still holding on so she was stuck and my partner had to intervene. He's also been chasing her around the room a lot and trying to peck today. When he coos at her, it doesn't seem like he's courting her, it seems like he's either telling her to leave him alone while he's sat in his fave spot in the cage, or he's doing it while chasing her.
I just want to know if this is normal, or whether I should be very concerned. Because currently, I'm very concerned about the safety of my female pigeon.
Extra info: these pigeons are definitely a male and female (and he is really big as he's a king pigeon I think, or something similar at least). They are also not the same breed, as I mention I think he is a king, but the female I'm not sure, I think she is something like a tippler. I am unsure as they are both rescues. Though I haven't seen much about pigeons only liking their own breed, but if that's a real thing it'd be great to know. Though, if the male is like this with this female, will he be like this with others too?
Any help is greatly appreciated!