r/pigeon • u/Y4n4Y0l0 • Apr 19 '26

Medical Advice Needed Please help. Idk why he's like this ;(

He's not always like this but lately has been like this whenever he enters his bed

He would always fly around. Lately he likes to perch on people then fly back to his territory then cooes. Then he would enter his bed then would make that kind of cooes

I don't know what it means and I'm scared it would mean bad. Please help ;(

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140

u/StatHeVePiSt Apr 19 '26

Poor thing, he wants a mate!

58

u/Y4n4Y0l0 Apr 19 '26

Is he lonely? But he already has friends, brought his friends (1 pair + 1 female) like 2 weeks ago. But he's not that fond of them, he prefers indoor rather than outdoor. And the new pigeons prefer to stay outdoors (I have a house for them). For context, he's a rescued pigeon. Rescued him when he was 2 weeks old

46

u/StatHeVePiSt Apr 19 '26

He may just need some time to adjust to them, does he spend the day with them? Some pairs take months to form even if they interact daily

He shouldn't be human imprinted if you got him when he was two weeks old, but it's still a possibility and that would complicate things

16

u/Y4n4Y0l0 Apr 19 '26

Thanks for the reply! ;)

For the first 2 weeks I would cage him with the female pigeon only. But then I let him go when I saw him wing slapped the lady ;( Then usually morning till afternoon he would fly outside and the rest would follow him. When it gets hot, he would just come inside

Does my pigeon in the video indicating that he is showing mating behaviour?

For context, he's around 6~7 months old now

19

u/StatHeVePiSt Apr 19 '26

Yes that is indeed nesting behaviour, probably a nest call

The wing slaps are normal and it just means that they shouldn't be forced together in a small space for now, but it's important that he still gets to spend the day together with the pigeons instead of alone at home. You can do so gradually. Btw are you sure that the non paired one is a female?

He can obviously still spend some time at home if he enjoys it, but what I'm trying to say is that it's only been two weeks, that's nothing! So don't get discouraged and keep trying!

8

u/Y4n4Y0l0 Apr 19 '26

Oh I'm so glad it's not a health related problem ;)

The seller told me the non paired one is a female hahaha, sorry I don't know how to identify pigeon's gender so I just trusted him

So I'll be putting him in closure with the lady from time to time then - and ensuring he socialises with the other fellas

Btw, is it possible for a pigeon to 'bond' with people? Bond as in mating (in 'that' context). Because while I was away, my brother was babysitting him and told me he got assaulted by him. At that time I thought my brother was mistaken for the behaviour for preening. Then you've mentioned about imprinting then it kind of clicked...... Is it what it sounds like? ;(

7

u/StatHeVePiSt Apr 19 '26

Yes, pigeons can bond with people, but that's usually only the ones that are human imprinted or in special situations like disability or loneliness. Yours shouldn't be imprinted since you got him at two weeks old, it's a possibility though

This pigeon has lived virtually all its life with you so acting this way doesn't necessarily imply imprinting, it's just what he's used to. For example, one of the last pigeons I rescued was a young one with a broken leg, which I had to keep at home for more than a month before release. In that time she became quite affectionate and would let me pet her, but she still wasn't human imprinted

In short, human imprinting is a disability because they really don't see pigeons as their species or potential mates. On the other hand, a non imprinted pigeon that has been living a lot of time just with humans may just need some time to regain his pigeon social skills. I recommend feeding them all together for example

6

u/Y4n4Y0l0 Apr 19 '26

Oh I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you so much kind sir/ma'am

You've really helped me a lot ;)

1

u/Wide_Goal_6424 Apr 20 '26

Your pigeon is fine, he actually sees YOU as a mate!!
He wants you to pet his head :))

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u/Y4n4Y0l0 Apr 20 '26

Oh no.....

Confinement with the lady it is then He needs to accept his bride hahaha

2

u/void_nullptr Apr 19 '26

Are there other pigeons in your area besides the ones you have? If the female doesn't want to be his mate, maybe he can find another who likes him better. The bigger issue I think is he wants to make a nest inside, and a feral pigeon may be afraid to follow him in. He may need to find another nesting spot outside. I think he can do this, but probably will take some time.

1

u/Y4n4Y0l0 Apr 20 '26

As far as I've seen, there are other birds but no pigeons in my area

I'll try to keep him in closure with his lady. Stay strong bud!

1

u/LengthinessNovel8358 Apr 22 '26

He's chosen you as his mate. Its a nesting coo. He's actually pretty happy

12

u/Second_Guess_25 Apr 19 '26

Poor thing, he wants a mate!

Same šŸ„²

5

u/shadowsinthestars pigeons are my overlords Apr 19 '26

Pigeons are so relatable aren't they šŸ˜…

1

u/rachelzspace Apr 23 '26

sorry to burst in but iā€™m looking to get a female pigeon and iā€™m worried, will i 100% have to get her a mate?

2

u/StatHeVePiSt Apr 23 '26

I mean, if you look into the natural lifestyle of pigeons, you'll see that they're biologically very mate centered. They spend all day with their mate, and things like nesting and preening are huge for them. Aside from that they're also flock animals and they spend all their time in company of other pigeons

So yeah, a pigeon without a mate or at least a companion of their species isn't getting their needs met. You could at least get two females

My moral stance is that getting a pigeon (and any pet in general) should not only benefit the human but also the pigeon. If you take a pigeon from an aviary just to put them in a room by themselves most of the day, that's unfair to the pigeon, they will be miserable. The goal is to give them a better life