20 Eggs within one Year???

Hi Guys,
I have a question I already wanted to ask a while ago: is it normal that a pigeon lays 20 eggs within one year?

I am a bit worried about our Emma, having read that laying eggs is total stress for the body and depriving of important minerals, especially calcium. I regularly replace her eggs by plaster eggs - which are originally her own but filled with plaster

She is getting good food which is a specific mixture for pigeons (includes corn, 2 different peas, black shelled sunflower seeds, milo, dari, wheat, cardy, vetch). I also offer parrot grit that includes oyster shells and minerals which is probably not necessary for free flying ferals but I am offering it anyway.

So what can I do? Probably nothing? But would be nice to know...

Petra...I think you are doing all you can. I suspect that finding calcium and getting enough vitamins may be more of a concern regarding ferals than you think and so by supplying those things to your little flock, you are doing a good thing.
My feral rescues have them same. We can only hope that the hens run out of eggs soon.

Thank you Charis,
I think this year it will be even worse. This little Emma is a real egg laying machine
I truly hope she will cope with this...

Ya know, I never thought of supplying the ferral flock that comes daily, with oyster shell. I give them food and water, and sometimes egg shells that I save and break up in very small pieces, but I never thought about buying extra oyster shell for them. DUH!!! But I will now, leave that out for them also. Thanks.

I've put various kinds of pigeon grit, and calcium block, out for the balcony pigeons and they steadfastly ignore it. Even when I had Capuccino inside, as far as I could tell he wasn't interested. Guess they just do not recognize it.

John

I always throw out the uneaten seeds into the garden that my residents don't eat after a couple of days.
Although I only get Woodies coming to eat as they've become used to the regular supply, it's noticable that the grit is always left on the ground after the seeds have been eaten.

They don't seem to take any of this in.

Janet

I’m so glad that mine are not the only egg factories in the forum.
My concerns were the same. Then I did a bit of research and found that this is normal. If bird is healthy and well looked after it can go to 50 eggs per year without problem. I do give them legumes and other sources of proteins to keep hens fit. Replacing eggs with plastic ones and from time to time lighter – barley and cereal diet slows them down, but not much. Senegal doves are absolutely the same.
Only diseases and stress will stop them from laying, but this is something that you don’t want.

Would it be possible to add a powdered calcium/mineral supplement to the feed? You can oil the seeds first to get it to stick.

Glad to hear that there is no need for worries.
Btw - mine eat gladly from the parrot sand and grit (although they all are flying free). I assume that it is simply safer for them to eat here on my balcony - and easier of course - than outside where they have to watch the sky all the time. Or they simply love the mixture - who knows

Btw - they apparently love to "play" in the sandbox - I have seen some of them throwing the sand and grit vigorously around as if they were paid for doing this - looks very funny when real dust clouds are rising from the bowl. I hope I can catch one of them on video ony day....

pigeonwriter wrote:

Glad to hear that there is no need for worries.
Btw - mine eat gladly from the parrot sand and grit (although they all are flying free). I assume that it is simply safer for them to eat here on my balcony - and easier of course - than outside where they have to watch the sky all the time. Or they simply love the mixture - who knows

Btw - they apparently love to "play" in the sandbox - I have seen some of them throwing the sand and grit vigorously around as if they were paid for doing this - looks very funny when real dust clouds are rising from the bowl.

I hope I can catch one of them on video ony day....

That reminds me of the little finchy type birds in our backyard.
They love to wallow wherever there is dirt, sending these little puffs of dust in the air.

I hope you can too, Petra. That would make a wonderful video.