Encourage mating?

[Peckedhen]

Is there anything that I can do to encourage my two pigeons to breed?  I have given them some straw and sticks to build a nest and a box to nest in but, although they pick up the sticks they show no interest in mating. :-/  They are about 6 months old and I was told that they would be breeding by the end of the summer....... :-/

[PIGEON_MAN]

THIS MAY BE SEEM A SILLY QUESTION BUT ARE YOU CERTAIN THAT THEY ARE A COCK AND HEN.AS THEY ARE STILL YOUNG BIRDS IT IS EASY SOMETIMES TO MISTAKE YOUNG HENS FOR COCKS AND VISA VERSA.IT IS ALSO LATE IN THE YEAR NOW TO BREED I WOULDN,T BOTHER FOR THIS YEAR AND SEE IF THEY TURN OUT TO BE A COCK AND HEN NEXT YEAR.

[Peckedhen]

Am I sure?  Well, the cock has a blue ring and the hen a pink one! ;D LOL  Seriously, the breeder ringed them that way and said he was as sure as he could be.   I just feel to be at a atandstill, I can't train them because they're moulting so I thought I would try to breed. Maybe I should look at getting another proven pair. Will they still be breeding at this time of the year? I thought they bred all year round except in very cold spells? :-/

[PIGEON_MAN]

EVEN THOUGH THE BREEDER SAID HE THOUGHT THEY WERE A PAIR HE COULD STILL BE WRONG.CAN I ASK WHY YOU WANT TO BREED FOR THIS LATE IN THE YEAR.

[Peckedhen]

I'm new to pigeons. I've just started with two white homers.I only bought two because I thought they were prolific breeders but, now I'm getting impatient and want more birds!

[Guest speckled]

Well i agree with pigeon man,let them go throught there moult first as ya could really do without upsetting nature.once there body moult has finished it will be cold,so be patient & hang on in there till pehaphs december maybe,then try breeding, ya get a better result.take all the nest matieral out & the nest pan & leave alone & let nature take its course. As keen as ya maybe to have other youngsters,there still babys themselfs, leave them to mature,& thay will produce the quallity that you wont.Patients is the key hope it help.Speckled

[mealybar]

6 months is the rule of thumb, but you get hens that dont lay as ybs (in the year of their birth) although when moulting I usually split the sexes anyway. Once you pair them together again in the spring, they seem to take to it like a duck to water :) Absence makes the heart grow fonder so they say,, anyway they dont waste any time ;D

[Guest]

Saw your post earlier, Peckedhen and cannot fault any of the advice you have been offered because the very same thoughts ran through my head 'how do you know etc'.  ;D

 

I would be reluctant to breed from young birds so young Peckedhen, because at that age you'll find the hen's eggs pretty small, possibly infertile. The cock's head will be full of nonsense too, up off the eggs at the slightest distraction, wanting to join in whatever is going on. And then there's the question of what kind of job would they make rearing their youngsters and what would this do to their moult?

 

Pigeons are egg machines - the hen has a monthly cycle - if she lays on 12th January, she'll lay on or around the 12th of each and every month after that. Plenty of time and scope for you breeding youngsters - in the proper season.

 

 

[Guest Doostalker]

Pecked hen I can't add much to the good advice you have been given by the others who have posted, but one thing sticks in my mind....are you sure they are a pair??  Have you seen the cock chasing the hen and doing his "blowing" routine? Young cocks usually start this pretty early but it is more bravado and laddishness than a true attempt to mate.

 

It may be that they are two young hens and are "going through the motions" as it were. Conversely, since you say that they are nest building (and in my experience cocks are usually more keen to do that) it may be that they are two cocks.....

 

Best to wait as the others have said. Nature will take its course....in due course.

[Peckedhen]

Thanks very much for all your advice guys, I really appreciate it. :K)

 

I haven't seen any signs of the cock chasing the hen but one does coo a lot whilst the other is lying down and 'he' stands at 'her' side.:-/  I shall just have to be patient and keep everything crossed that they are a pair and let nature take it's course. : :)  

[jimmy white]

well it does sound like a cock and hen, they are a bit young, it is late in the season so i would agree with other posts let nature take its course, im sure theyll be ok in the end,  maybe early next year mix a little wheat germ oil in their food, and a little hemp seed, just to get them started, would help

[Guest shadow]

I must agree with all the advice you have been given and I would suggest that you split the birds up put the cock in one section and the hen in another, and let them moult in peace. If you had gone on to breed this year and had been succesful you would have had no rings as the earliest you would have got 2006 rings would have been about the 9th of January 2006 unless you were going to use old rings. I try not do that as it can be difficult keeping track of Y/B's rung in that fashion Good luck and wait until next year

 

fly hard fly fair ;)

[samantha]

glad you mentioned the ring thing shadow, I hadnt really thought of that, Ive got some left over rings and if you hadnt have said, I would have just used them up next year without thinking.

 

pecked hen, again Im in the same boat as you, I have not enough room or (man power) to split my shed into two and Im sure from what I have read you are the same, I have a hen (for definite) and two unknowns!! they are this years and are both a bit stroppy once the cock (father) flew off they have both took over the hightest perches and see there mother off it if she goes up, so my guess is a hen and two cocks but is is only a guess, but if Im right will I need to get hold of another hen? or will they be ok?

 

good to be back missed yall!

[Peckedhen]

Yep, Samantha you're right. Good to have you back. :)

 

Just a thought and not even sure how I'd do it but, would the partition have to be solid or would plastic garden fencing do? :-/

[Guest]

Go for your plastic netting, Peckedhen. But if its the 2"x2" Homebase / B&Q stuff, its pricey at £10 for a 1m wide x 3m length roll, you'll get cross-eyed looking through it and when the birds land on it, you're left with tails like lavvy brushes.  ;D

Bird netting (the type under bridges to stop birds nesting) is cheap and cheerful, easy to work with and almost invisible when up. If you feel they've a bit too much headroom (can fly over your head) it can be used to screen off the upper 'higher' bits of your loft too - its very light and needs the minimum of support (drape it over any odd pieces of timber you have to hand.).

Same with the timber forthe new partition - its not bearing any great weight, so any small section - whatever you can lay your hands on - will do.