Hi everyone,

I was after some advice regarding my 4 month old male pigeon, Des.

To give you some background, my boyfriend and I have raised Des from the age of about 2-3 weeks old - he was an orphaned wild pigeon bub.

Since Des reached 6 weeks of age, my boyfriend and I have made many failed attempts at getting an appropriate house and friend for Des during which time he has been living in our sun deck. It looks like finally we will have a proper house for him this weekend which is a large aviary shed we'll place in the backyard.

A friend has also lined up a lady friend for Des.

I'm wondering though how to go about introducing the two. I guess Des will be a bit socially awkward given that at this stage he is used to hanging out with humans and dogs. He also has a habit of pecking away at us, no area is sacred, he has a particular penchant for pecking our dog's bottoms! He also just gave me blood lip for no apparent reason which makes me worry about how he might behave with a young lady pigeon.

Any advice on how to integrate the two would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Can anyone tell me what it means when pigeons spin around in circles cooing then change directions and do it all over again?

Hi there SquirrelTickler,

It's great to hear from you again!

First of all, the little dance Des has been doing is a mating call. He's ready to find himself a little lady to share his life. They puff themselves up (like men showing off their muscles, lol) and dance around, bowing and saying something that probably translates as 'Look at me, look at me, I'm so gorgeous!'

There is a technique for introducing two pigeons of opposite sexes:

1) First they must be placed so that they can hear, but not see, each other. This is usually done by putting them in cages, or other housing, next to each other but with a solid partition wall. This way they will hear each other's voices and become accustomed to that sound.

2) When they both spend a lot of the time next to the partition wall, like they want to walk through it, replace it by a pannel that allows them to see each other, made of metal bars or a wire mesh (but not chicken wire, that can cause nasty injuries to pigeons; the best is called in the US 'hardware cloth', and it's made up of plastic-covered wire forming small squares).

3) You will know the right time to remove the last obstacle and let them be together...

Occasionally there can be cases of domestic violence, even when you've taken all the precautions. Some males are just quite aggressive. When that happens, I remove the male and put him in solitary for a couple of hours until he's cooled down. If he does it again, he gets solitary for a little longer. Eventually he'll repent (even if it's only that the mating instinct is stronger than his bad mood ) and you can actually see him dancing round the female in a more subdued way, looking for all the world like he's apologising. When she 'forgives' him by cooing softly, bowing back, or grooming his face, all's well again.

Give Des a kiss from me -- but don't get bitten!!!

It's great to hear that Des may have a forever companion.
Please keep us posted on how things are coming along. If at all possible we would love to see some pictures. We LOVE pictures.

Looking forwardto pics also -there is nothing more cute than pijjies in love!!!!

Thanks for your great advice, Teresa. You're always so helpful!

That's funny about Des' mating call I notice he only does it when female humans are around but he's very subdued with human males

I just tried to take a photo of him but he kept trying to attack my feet. I'll send pictures as soon as he has something to distract him from chasing my feet like a feathered female!

Are male pigeons fussy at all or do they generally settle for any female they are paired with; and are females usually content with whatever male is thrust upon them?

Do you have pigeons that dote on each other? I'd love to hear about and see some cute pigeon couples!

When male and female pigeons are part of a flock where they can freely choose a partner, they do that. If they only 'know' one pigeon of the opposite sex, given time, they will grow fond of that one.
Mind you, there have been some exceptions. Occasionally people have tried to pair up pigeons unsuccessfully, but in most cases I think they simply didn't give them enough time to get used to each other's company.

Pigeons mate for life, and have been known to pine for a dead companion, showing all the signs of mourning and depression we can recognise in humans. But after a while they try to find a new companion.
This doesn't mean they're 100% faithful, though. Some males court other females, even when they already have a mate. My Hercules does this, and he's very lucky Piper is such a lady and doesn't wingslap his roving eye!... And a female pigeon paired with a very aggressive male can decide, after a while, that 'enough is enough' and leave him. They're just so human it's scary!

There's nothing cuter than pigeons in love! These are my couples:

Hercules and Piper (she's on the right, and it's plain to see how devoted she is to her 'bad boy' husband!):




George and Abby (George is a lost pedigree racer):



Pippin and Sammy Sue (these are both girls, but they've always been inseparable):



Halo and Achilles (he's behind her) -- You're the first to see this pic, as it's the latest romance!



Other members have posted some wonderful photos, I'll see if I can find some more.

Just look at this, it's a heart melter!!!!

http://www.pigeonangels.com/t2522-togetherness

Thanks for sharing the lovely photos of your gorgeous pigeons Teresa! They all look like such sweet and charming couples :-)

Well, after 3 weeks of tinkering with our flat pack aviary we finally had it ready for Des and his new friend Rita to call home.

I did as you suggested and kept them separated by a solid partition for 4 days, then replaced this with a clear plastic sheet. Des being a pro at deconstruction brought the whole thing down over night though and my boyfriend found them together the next morning. That was 3 days ago and all seems well. Des isn't really interested in Rita at this stage - I think he identifies with humans and doesn't realize he's a pigeon

Here's some pics

Many thanks for sharing Des and Rita's new homestead.
It's wonderful.
Plenty of sunshine for their enjoyment.

Rita is a little beauty. As time goes on and the more they are together Des' interest in Rita will most likely change.

Is that a nest to the right of Rita or the materials to make a nest?

Please keep us posted on how things are progressing.

Thanks for the update, SquirrelTickler!

The aviary looks fantastic! And Des obviously loves it -- look at him acting king of the castle!!!

Rita is SO pretty! Who wouldn't fall in love with her? I couldn't stop laughing, the way you described them getting together... We can make all the detailed plans in the world, but at the end of the day, they will often do their own thing!

I'll be looking forward to hearing how they get on together -- and it's always great to hear from you!

Thanks for your feedback Cindy and Teresa :-)

Cindy, I made a nest for Rita out of a shoe box and pea straw and placed it on the pine ledge but Des keeps pushing it off. I've given up on the shoe box so am just now placing a few generous handfuls of pea straw on the ledge each morning...I don't know if I am doing the right thing so if you've got some suggestions on what might make a suitable nest for Rita and Des, please let me know.

Still no love signs in the aviary. Des is really bossy with poor Rita and pushes her out of the hanging basket and off the pine ledge occasionally. She seems really puzzled by his behavior. I hope they'll grow to love each other in time. Des is such a demanding and loud boy and Rita seems like a wall flower in comparison.

I'll post you some more pics soon :-)

If it is, that's why he's acting up -- The height of a pigeon's perch reflects his social status. If a newcomer tries to perch higher up or at the same height, the resident will react aggressively to assert his authority.

The best way to keep the peace and stop him from feeling threatened is to set up a perch for Rita that's lower down than both his ledge and his basket. Once the aviary hierarchy has been established, he'll very likely start taking an interest in her, and end up by inviting her to his ledge.
But there must be an invitation!

Good eye, Teresa.
I hadn't noticed that the ledge was higher than Des's basket.
That very well could be the problem.

Is there any chance of installing another ledge lower than the current one and Des' basket, SquirrelTickler?

We look forward to seeing more pictures.

I am so glad I found the Pigeon Angels forum ( especially you ladies) to help me with a lot of much needed advice for a first timer like me!

Yes, the ledge is the one you pointed to Cindy. I'll get my boyfriend to make a lower one on the weekend.

When I came home from work today I noticed Des was being quite mean to poor Rita who was looking very care worn. I saw him pecking at her and chasing her away from the food and water bowls. I've taken him out of the aviary for an hour so she can get some time to eat and drink.
I guess I should keep them separated until the weekend when the man can put in the extra ledge?

We have got a wooden step ladder in the aviary too but Rita hasn't shown any interest in moving towards that side of the aviary.