They destroyed their nest!!!!????

In another thread I post the photos of our new couple Solo & Mario, well yesterday I gathered their eggs & swithed them with dummy eggs.

This morning when I opened their cottage & checked on the pigeons the nest was completely destroyed! This happened to their previous nest too, but I didn't think too much about it.

There are only 3 pijjies in their cottage, the 3rd. pij can't fly so I know she had nothing to do with the nest.

I have never had pigeons completely rip apart a nest after I've switched eggs, they will peck & wing slap but settled back down .

I was so very surprised to see the nest completely destroyed!

Have any of you had this happen?

They have figured you out and they are mad. If not that...something is getting into the cottage and destroying the nest but I would think it's more likely they are doing it.

Romey has me figured out and the only time I can switch her eggs is when Sammy is on the nest even then..if she sees me do it...she will abandon the eggs and has thrown a fit.

Jay has a bird ...can't remember which one that gets upset when changes are made to the nest and batters his mate.

Oh no! Now we have a couple of Divas!!!!!

I know 100% that no unwanted critters are getting into the cottage, when Jeff & I built it we made sure of that!

EgypSwiftLady wrote:

Oh no! Now we have a couple of Divas!!!!!

I know 100% that no unwanted critters are getting into the cottage, when Jeff & I built it we made sure of that!

I thnk you do.

I realize every pigeon is different, but I have never had any of mine destroy a nest because I switched the eggs.
And I have been switching eggs for 8 years.
Even Dolly, the troublemaker, has never done that.

I hope you are able to figure out what might have happened.
Please keep us posted.

Kane is the one who gets mental if I just clean his nest box out and takes it out on poor April. He's certifiable!

But it is Gully, my homer, who knows as soon as I switch the eggs, even if He is on the nest when I do it. Gully always knows they are not hers, and she will abandon them. Not good, cause she keeps having eggs. She will tear the nest apart and start over. She's just a little too smart. Odd, the other day, I removed 2 eggs that were real, but they weren't sitting on them and they were cold. Don't know what that was about.

Oh boy, this sounds you all have a bunch of sissis and divas - this is awful. I am glad that Pina well accepts the plaster filled eggs. Could it be that this is the reason?

I am always taking their own eggs, empty them and fill them with plaster - some tissue in between - otherwise these eggs are getting too heavy. I don't know whether the eggs you are using are feeling different on the surface than real ones - maybe this is what the pijjies realize immediately.

I also warm them up before I exchange them. None of the pijjies on my balcony ever made a fuss about the change - Emma even hardly gives a little wingbeat when I get her eggs. She is very composed although she has always been the shy one.

pigeonwriter wrote:

* Oh boy, this sounds you all have a bunch of sissis and divas - this is awful. I am glad that Pina well accepts the plaster filled eggs. Could it be that this is the reason?

** I am always taking their own eggs, empty them and fill them with plaster - some tissue in between - otherwise these eggs are getting too heavy. I don't know whether the eggs you are using are feeling different on the surface than real ones - maybe this is what the pijjies realize immediately.

I also warm them up before I exchange them.

*** None of the pijjies on my balcony ever made a fuss about the change
- Emma even hardly gives a little wingbeat when I get her eggs. She is very composed although she has always been the shy one.

* Not me.

** I use wooden eggs as replacements.
I just reach under whoever is sitting on the eggs at the time and switch the eggs.

*** Nor have mine. I may get a grunt or goan but that's about the extent of it. None of them have ever destroyed their nest.

Out of 40 pigeons this is the first time I've ever had a pij get so upset that she/he ripped the nest to shreds!

I don't think the wooden eggs were cold either, I had them in my shirt pocket for at least a 1/2 hr. before I did the switch.

I'm very glad to hear that others have divas too , this way my hubby can't say anything about spoiled pijjies!

I do warm mine. Don thinks I'm nuts, but if you're going to take away warm eggs, the least you can do is warm the replacements. I figure they will know somethings up if they are warm one minute, then cold the next. Gully is the only one I can't seem to fool.

They aren't spoiled, or divas. They are just a bit smarter than the average pigeon. No pulling it over on them!

I have to say, on occasion, Pij'ette will react a little by kicking out one, not both, but only one of the wooden eggs.
And then she sits on the remaining egg. I guess that's her way of rebelling.

AZWhitefeather wrote:

I have to say, on occasion, Pij'ette will react a little by kicking out one, not both, but only one of the wooden eggs.
And then she sits on the remaining egg. I guess that's her way of rebelling.

Hercules used to go crazy when I interfered with his and Piper's nest, and even took it out on her. After time out on those occasions he became more diplomatic, but he watches me like a hawk to make sure I'm only cleaning. He didn't destroy the nest as such, but he started moving all the nesting materials to another place -- with the result that most of them fell to the bottom of the cage.

Plaster eggs don't fool them for a minute, even if they're warmed. So when Sammy and Pippin abandon their infertile eggs, I remove them and keep them to swap them for Piper's (while Hercules is exercising and not looking), but even then they sometimes throw at least one egg out of the nest.

I'm very happy to say that yesterday I pulled 2 eggs from Solo & Mario's nest and today when I checked the nest was still intact & Mario was sitting on the dummy eggs.

When I pulled the eggs Solo Was sitting on them this time, before it was Mario... I'm curious I think next time I'll pull them when Mario is setting Maybe its only him thats having a fit & tearing the nest apart.

That's good news. They are each so different and figuring out thier idiosyncrasies is a real challenge.

Good luck to us all.

Matilda wrote:

That's good news. They are each so different and figuring out thier idiosyncrasies is a real challenge.

Good luck to us all.

LOL. I think they have us figured out long before we ever figure them out!

I'm glad you were able to switch the eggs without incident this time, Robin.

NiteOwl wrote:

LOL. I think they have us figured out long before we ever figure them out!

I think you're quite right, Jay.

EgypSwiftLady wrote:

I'm very happy to say that yesterday I pulled 2 eggs from Solo & Mario's nest and today when I checked the nest was still intact & Mario was sitting on the dummy eggs.

When I pulled the eggs Solo Was sitting on them this time, before it was Mario... I'm curious I think next time I'll pull them when Mario is setting Maybe its only him thats having a fit & tearing the nest apart.

Glad to hear it went peacefully this time!

Isn't it funny that we as the "intelligent"species have to use all tricks we know to get it beyond a pigeon's wits???

pigeonwriter wrote:

Isn't it funny that we as the "intelligent"species have to use all tricks we know to get it beyond a pigeon's wits???

How true, Petra!!