opened nestboxes

[lordcornwallis]

hi there i opened up my boxes yesterday ,12 boxes and 16 pigeons disaster. only two pair are using the boxes and the rest are being chased when thay go into one of the boxes with those pairs iam pig sick of pigeons lc . will the pigeons settle lc

[Wiley]

wooooo dude take a step back u have 16 pigeons to 12 boxes are these pairs or all cocks. your cock birds should have been settled to nest box before paired if they are pairs, dont run before you can walk mate!

[pj1001]

Have any of these birds been in this section before lord c or is this their first time?

 

If it is their first time, then what I suggest you do is to take the hens away again for a week or so and leave the cock in the section alone until they become settled and have chosen a nest box as their own. Once all the cocks have a nest box each close all the unused boxes(as this will only encourage some of the cocks to claim a 2nd or 3rd box). This might be advantageous later in the year but will only lead to more fighting for now). Once all cosk have a box each, then you can start reintroducing the hens to the cocks.

 

If you have the widowhood type of nest boxes you can lock the hens in one half of the box and let the cocks fly up and down to them for a day or 2. This will let both sexes get used to each other without any fighting or chasing around the loft ( reducing the likelihood also of hens getting beating by over excited cocks).

 

Once both teh cocks and hens seem more settled let the cock and the hen go together in the box and observe them making sure they are settled, if not remove the cock and leave him on the outside of the box for another day or 2, until he calms down, then reintroduce him to the hen again.

 

If they seem to have settled down in the boxes ok leave them there for a day or 2. Then start to gradually let a couple of pairs out together and as each pair becomes more familiar with their boxes gradually keep letting out another pair out at a time until all 8 pair are going and coming freely from their nests. When letting the piars out for teh first time try and pick say a pair nesting in top box and a pair nesting in a bottom box so that the pairs nests are far appart. This will help them get used to going in and out of their nests quicker.

 

 

There are numerous other ways of doing this also, but for yearlings this methods seems to work well for us. It takes time and patience though and it means that you will have to feed and water some of the birds in their boxes until they are settled for a few days.

 

Hope this is of help

 

PJ

  

[jupiter_19630]

Wiley is right. The cock birds should be allowed to choose their boxes well before you introduce the hens . This gets all the fighting among 2 cocks for 1 box out of the way before the hens are introduced. Then the hens should be shut in with the cocks. Let the pairs out 1 at a time, increasing the number of pairs let out, untill you are confident that all pairs are settled to their box. You do not want pairs fighting when you have eggs.

[Peckedhen]

Don't rush things!!  I've learnt my lesson the hard way.   One baby killed and one egg smashed   Only 3 (and hopefully 5 tomorrow) hatched out of a potential 14! :'( :'(

[lordcornwallis]

thank you all very much for your kind advice , i have four pairs paired . i have locked one pair in the second bottom box and one in the third bottom box. the trouble maker is in the bottom box his hen has laid. so for the next 3 days i will feed them in there boxes the ones in the second and third boxes that is.  what do you guys think

[pigeonscout]

Dont lock a cock in a box let him pick his own box when he does, lock his hen in that box and let him be on the outside just as pj1001 has said.

[Wiley]

thank you all very much for your kind advice , i have four pairs paired . i have locked one pair in the second bottom box and one in the third bottom box. the trouble maker is in the bottom box his hen has laid. so for the next 3 days i will feed them in there boxes the ones in the second and third boxes that is.  what do you guys think

 

mate the cock bird should pick his own box if you force him to be in a box he hasnt chosen he will not be entirely comfortable and love of home is a winning method

[Lance]

I have a troublemaker too.  I have 3 big nest boxes plus a shelf i put in that could be used to nest, so in total, about 8 boxes.  And i have 3 cocks.  1 i got already paired, the other just picked up a mate on his own (just a couple "for fun birds" nothing worth trying to race)  And an unpaired cock that i really want to pick a box... but he seems content not to.  Maybe he's not a cock after all.  But anyways.  The one just keeps pushing them all out of the boxes.  I think he figures he's claimed the whole loft.  Is there any way to deal with this?

[Guest shadow]

I have a troublemaker too.  I have 3 big nest boxes plus a shelf i put in that could be used to nest, so in total, about 8 boxes.  And i have 3 cocks.  1 i got already paired, the other just picked up a mate on his own (just a couple "for fun birds" nothing worth trying to race)  And an unpaired cock that i really want to pick a box... but he seems content not to.  Maybe he's not a cock after all.  But anyways.  The one just keeps pushing them all out of the boxes.  I think he figures he's claimed the whole loft.  Is there any way to deal with this?

Yes take the hens away and let the cocks pick a box take any other perches away . When the cocks have chosen a box each and defend it close off any spare boxes if you rae keeping the birds for a hobby let them pick their own hens and things should run smoothly

 

 

[Lance]

Well I do plan on racing in 2008.

 

The for fun pair consists of the cock, who's a homer, and the hen who's a tumbler of some sort.  Was given to me:P.  I'm curious as to what's going to happen with those babies.  Plan on letting them have their first round, then using them as foster parents as i don't have a pedigree for the homer anyways.

 

Thanks for the advice though, Now i only need to find a place to keep my hens while the cocks choose their nest boxes.

 

How long should this take?

[Guest MBpigeonguy]

dude u should have let all the birds locked up and relese them one pair at a time so they know where there box is !!

[jimmy white]

sometimes its just time and patience, if you do lock them up , make sure theres a half brick, in the corner of the box, so the hen can jump on , to save it being pecked badly by the cock , try letting a pair out at a time then opposite corner pairs out ,then lock these back up and try others, spend some time in the loft doing all this, and theyll eventually settle,, and really ,just like humans, some fancy a bird and some dont,, best of luck as it can be quite frustrating to begin with :)

[stevebelbin]

You will always get a cock bird that is a bit silly (normally a yearling), but they soon settle when there is nesting material to make a nest with. I paired mine up last friday and by sunday night had all the pairs settled to their boxes. It took all day saturday letting each pair out for half an hour at a time to find their way back to the their box, but its worth it. On sunday I just opened all the boxes and walked away from the loft, as if you sit and watch them its to easy to intervene and they are best left to settle themselves. By teatime they were all back in their own boxes, with a few bruised eyes etc, but all seemed well  ;D

[chickadee]

Hi, I'm never away from the loft at the moment as the young birds are getting a bit confused at the moment getting back into their own box. mind you they are at the weaning stage so they will eventually find their own roosting spots soon. What happens when a bird decides to nest on the ground and their young are growing up just running around, how do they learn to fly when they don't have to fly up n down to a nesting box? can someone enlighten me on this?

[THE FIFER]

it takes time, even then u get trouble i have all my birds settled most to nest boxes they have had for a couple of years, but still have 2 cocks that want to clear another nest, when u pair up u should try and fill all boxes at the same time, if a box is empty while others pair they get used to it being emty and cause havoc when u try to fill it.