Population Control

Pigeon Space

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your inputs. I guess its almost 3-4 days since they have laid eggs. So I have decided not to take them away this time. I have spoken to a friend of mine and will look for some arrangement for the young ones, so that I don't overburden the loft.

Here's where I keep my pigeons. I am not sure if technically it should be called a loft or not.



Dimensions - Each Compartment is 2.5ftX2.5ftX1.5ft (lengthh,breadth,height)

As you can see there are four compartments -

Top Left - One Bird
Top Right - One Bird
Bottom Left - Old Pair with two 20 days old babies & a pair of eggs
Bottom Right - New Pair with one egg as of now (expecting the second one tomorrow)

I have a wire cage where I am planning to shift the two Young Ones when they are independent (another 10-15days)

Thanks
-> Sushil

Hi Sushi,

I had the same reservations about taking the eggs from new parents ... and even if I took them away, what would I do with them? Just throw them out? YIKES! That hardly seemed humane. Well - I had to shift my thinking abit....and you do, as well.

The eggs are just yolk & whites until several days after both eggs are laid and the parents start to incubate them. Until then - there just simply is no "baby pigeon" in there. The first eggs we removed, were tossed in the high grasses to feed other wild creatures. Then we had more....and more....and more pigeon eggs. Once we were able to adjust our thinking abit (okay - ALOT!) and really come to terms with the fact that these undeveloped eggs were NO DIFFERENT than the chicken eggs that we buy .... well .... we started supplementing the dogs' meals (the protein is exceptionally good for their skin & coats) and, eventually, we started using them in our own cooking.

Sushi, as long as you have pigeons - you will continue to have more pigeon eggs - so you really need to come to terms with removing them. btw, you can order the dummy eggs (plastic or wood) on-line.

Throw away the eggs

Thanks all of you for your help. Yes I do understand that pigeons eggs are no different then chicken eggs which are often used for fun games as well.

But since you see these nice little babies coming out of those dead looking eggs so closely and then get attached to them I was getting a wiered feeling as you guys agree which is normal.

I'll try and follow your advices.

Its amaizing to see people responding to the queries so fast, its almost immediate response to the posts.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all the members and the moderators who make this a *Great Forum*

BTW what do you guys feel about the so called loft which I posted earlier. I had not idea about the woodwork and this was the first time I made something like this. Made hell lot of blunders and it was a pain rectifying them at the later stage of making

-> Sushil

Oh man, ROFL so far on this thread! Sushil, welcome and I'm glad you found us. I agree, it always feels somehow "mean" and a little uncomfortable taking the eggs away, but I too have learned it's all around best for the pigeons. Of course, unless you have unlimited room and food. . . If you have a hard time finding fake eggs, you can do a few things. Try using a small object--a marble, a rock, something like that--and wrap white tape around it until it is about the size and shape of a pigeon egg. You can use the white tape that people wrap injuries or cuts up with, as it's usually waterproof and works well, or probably any white tape. I make them a bit bigger than a regular egg, then I can peel off the top layer of tape if it gets messy. Or, you can take the eggs when they're laid, and simply hard boil them, cool, and replace in nest! I have some pigeons who will lay on anything that even slightly resembles an egg, including porcelain miniatures! And other pigeons who are crafty and won't lay on anything unless it is an actual hard-boiled pigeon egg.

Nice work on the loft so far. Do your pigeons fly free during the day at all? You will want to make sure not to fly the breeding pairs, because if something happens to one of them, the babies are hard to raise alone. You can add a simple "flight pen" or aviary to that loft, made of wire, so they can go out and fly around in it during the day and be closed up safely in the loft at night. Make sure to use hardy wire, and it should have holes 1/4 inch big if possible to keep them safe from predators. The flight pen should be large enough to stretch their wings well, actually as large as you can make it would be best, but anything will be welcome by them. Good luck and I hope you have a lot of fun with them.

Hi Sushil,

As usual good advise from all . Everybody feels the same when they first are confronted with the unwanted eggs . I sure did , but just remember that for a few days after the eggs are laid there is really nothing in them . I do it right after the second egg is laid then swap them out , some do it right away after the first one is in the nest . Main thing is dont wait ... do it right away .

The loft looks good . We all have to learn and you have a good start here . Add to it ... you need some nest boxes , maybe a couple shelves , perches etc . Good way to use up scrap lumber . I tell you from experience no matter what you do at first you'll see ways to improve it as you go or wish you had done it differently . They are never really finished . Then when you have the ultimate loft ( sure ) you can copy it and rebuild it really fancy if you want . To me thats part of the fun in having pigeons is the construction part . One thing though ... just make sure its SECURE ! Everything likes to dine on pigeons so make sure they are safe . Cats are bad . so beware . I cant tell if there is wire screening under the blue tarp sides or not ... but there should be ! If you are out of wire , or its hard to get I'd put plywood or something up instead of the plastic . Cats , dogs , rats will go right through that plastic tarp in a heartbeat . You can always use the plastic to cover it whenever it rains etc .

Umm thats about it I guess ...... research on the internet and get ideas and copy , throw together ideas from what you see . You have a good start , keep going .

Have fun .................. hambone

RodSD said:

Henry,

I'll say cook for each other and enjoy a romantic dinner with pigeon eggs! LOL! Yeah, add some candle light and cooing sound of pigeons on a cd and you got it made. You probably can dance too with your tail spreading, making circles, saying good stuff--you know like a real cock! ( Note: I am just pulling your leg.)

Click to expand...

LOL! Also, I first read your signature quote as "I believe in small people" when I glanced at it from the corner of my eye and I thought, "Now that is really cool" (being 5'2 myself). Then I read it correctly and still like it hehe.

My dogs love to eat pigeon eggs. When I had my unreleasable opossum, I cooked them for him occasionally when it fit into his special diet, and for my pet rats. I also put some up on the shelves between my aviaries for the crows, jays, and other birds to eat. Sometimes the littler birds just eat part of the shell. They love 'em and I like having them hang around. The young jays especially are always interested in the noises the doves and pigeons make, when the jays in the yard are just leaving their nests and are so inquisitive. They really dig the pigeon eggs.

First of all, I am so glad to see such overwhelming response from all of you. Pretty interesting discussion here.

I have found some interesting use of the *unwanted eggs*. Let me summarize it and this can be a reference for others who are going through the same feeling as of mine -

1) Keep these unwanted eggs and use them as dummy eggs from the next time. Boiling the egg looks like a nice option. So you need not go for synthetic dummy eggs. Original eggs can be used as dummy. Potential problem - Looking at the pace these guys breed you'll have plenty of such dummy eggs within a short span of time. SO let's look at other use of these unwanted eggs -
2) Use as supplements to Dog's meal
3) Give these eggs to crows
4) Consume these eggs yourself - some recipes from fellow members - scrambled egg, bake, muffins, cookies, in meatloaf etc...

Interesting Stuff.

g0ldenb0y55 - I don't have Fancy or Racing Birds. I have Tumblers. I guess they don't fall under racing/homing category. Do they fall under performing Birds? Yes I have gone through the "Loft Design" section, some good stuff over there. If the kind of loft I have is not suitable for Tumblers then I'll definitely start making a new loft. Since I am new to this can you guys help me with the breakup of the loft components like, perches, nesting box, aviary, settling cage, trap. I was not able to understand few of these, I mean the purpose of these. What should be the approximate size of the loft for 8 birds. My problem is that I stay at rented house (ground floor) & my landlord stays on the first floor. They were kind enough to permit me to keep pigeons and offer some space on the terrace. I'll not be able to effort to keep a big and heavy loft on the terrace. and there is absolutely no space on the ground.


maryjane - I keep the pigeons free in the morning and evening for about half an hour when I am present there. I started tossing three of the pigeons and they were just flying around the area for about 45 minutes for an hour and then I found that two of them (both males) have made their females pregnant. So yes I do keep them open when I am around. Saturday and Sundays since these are non working days for me, I keep them open for more time.

Hambone - Thanks for the inputs. For nest box, I have put a big carton inside the compartments (I don't have snaps of them & sent my camera back home for the time being). I have put sand and hay as nesting material and these guys have made their nest using hay over there. I have made sure that the eggs or babies can't fall down accidentally. I didn't get the point on shelves . Perches, no I don't have, I'll arrange for the same. As far as the security goes, all the sides are covered with a wire mesh and a blue trap except from the front. In the front I have doors with wire mesh and I can lock these doors.

Now when I see I have written so much. May be I should stop know.

All suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks
-> Sushil