Moe O'C

I raised fancy pigeons for 35 years but cannot keep them where I now live, so I sponsor the pigeon exhibit at our small local zoo. There are 6 pairs of pigeons in a large fly-pen. So far in this year (2023), they've raised 23 young birds. Last week I noticed that one nest has 3 young birds in it. They look to be a few weeks old, and are getting ready to leave the nest. All 3 are identical to each other ( a pale gray checker color with some white flecking). It's the same color as the cock bird. None of the other birds in the pen are this color. and I believe all 3 young birds are siblings. (The hen is white with a black tail.) This pair's previous nest earlier in the year was 2 young birds ( one a solid black, the other a white bird with a crest, and a pale grayish tail.) I never before had a pair that laid and incubated 3 eggs all at once, or raised 3 young birds in the same nest. Has anyone else on this forum had a similar experience ?

Update: Well, thanks for the previous replies. I needn't have worried about the muffed Uzbeks being able to mate successfully after all, as both of the pair have turned out to be hens. They've mated with Roller cocks, and one of them raised 2 youngsters successfully a few months ago. (One of the youngsters has lightly-feathered feet, the other is clean-legged). The other Uzbek hen raised one youngster in April (a nice-looking buff-mottle colored one that has muffed feet like its mother) and is now setting on eggs again.

I raised mixed-breed pigeons for over 35 years, but had to give them away 10 years ago, as the city where I live unfortunately passed a restriction on pigeon-keeping. Recently I received permission to keep a few pigeons at the small local zoo. So I purchased 2 young Uzbek Tumblers from one breeder, which I'm hoping will turn out to be a pair. And I purchased 2 young Birmingham Rollers from another breeder, also hoping that they'll turn out to be a pair. Unfortunately, I cannot let them fly outside, but the pen that they're in is very spacious. The Uzbek Tumblers have large muffs. They are the first muffed pigeons I've ever owned. They can fly quite well, and have no trouble flying up to a crossbeam on the top of the pen, where they roost, along with the 2 rollers. I'm wondering, though, will they be able to successfully mate, with large muffs ? The breeder that I got them from says that his have no trouble mating. He said that there's no need to trim the muffs. Just wondering, has anyone else ever bred pigeons with muffed feet, and were they able to get it done alright ?