We Have Pigeon Eggs

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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There was quite a drama yesterday (Wednesday), and I missed it. After my last post yesterday, Sammy returned and was checking out the flower box. Well, the wife tells me that late in the afternoon, Katie and Sammy returned again. Then Big Pidgee flew in and became visibly agitated, pacing back and forth in that way he has when riled. Then he and Katie squared off and fought! :eek:

The wife said they were head to head, pushing each other and both pawing the ground like a bull. Then then they were all over the balcony flapping their wings at each other and pecking away. The wife finally had to intervene and went out and chased Katie away. If we have to choose sides, it’s going to be Big Pidgee.

Sammy sat back and watched this the entire time, so we’re wondering now if Katie’s a guy and Sammy’s a girl. They may have decided they want the balcony and flower box for themselves. Big Pidgee clearly considers this his territory. Sad, because just around New Year’s, Katie was still pestering Dad for a feeding; now they’re mortal enemies.

As for the squabs, Mickey’s not been seen for two days now. He’s not slept here the past two nights, but Holly, or Bumpy Head, still does, along with Big Pidgee. No sign of Little Pidgee.

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Shit! No sooner had I posted the above when I saw Big Pidgee and Katie fighting out on the balcony! With Sammy looking on. They were fighting inside the flower box, so there’s dirt everywhere now, and shit too, of course. I chased Katie and Sammy away, but they went over to the window frames, Big Pidgee followed, and they fought over there. Then they took it to the balcony below us. Finally Katie and Sammy flew away, and Big Pidgee returned, visibly agitated.

Sammy flew back alone after a while, but he (she?) is a pushover and won’t fight. Big Pidgee got rid of him (her?) quickly. He was really upset. Making these weird noises, his throat pulsing, his body trembling a little. There was dirt all in the water, so I changed it for him and tried to speak to him soothingly, which seemed to help. I think he really does like us.

He’s out there now guarding the place.

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Wow! First sex, then violence! Your saga is starting to need an “R” rating.

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Quick note before I shut down. Big Pidgee finally left for a while but is now back. He is standing at attention inside the flower box, which he normally never bothers to be in, preferring the concrete verge or railings instead. Clearly, he is guarding his property, not only the flower box, but also the entire balcony and maybe the window frames, too.

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Friday morning, and no further sign of Katie and Sammy. But this morning, the wife saw a white speckled pigeon standing in the flower box! Sort of a Dalmation pattern. And Marty, sibling of Katie, was nearby. Damn, but that flower box is popular. Big Pidgee arrived and chased them away without incident.

And Little Pidgee came by, and she and Big Pidgee were kissing again. Big Pidgee leads quite an exciting life. It’s like he’s the James Bond of pigeons.

Holly, or Bumpy Head, still sleeps here, but Mickey’s been gone three nights now. The last he was here that we know of was Tuesday, age 39 days. Holly is 41 days now. The last two evenings when she showed up, the wife said Big Pidgee was still somewhat perturbed about the intrusions and fights; Holly would start to squeal a bit to be fed, and Dad started to do his Angry Pidgee dance, and Holly must have known it was serious, because she stopped and went straight to her nighttime roosting spot on the concrete verge.

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Holly last stayed here on Friday night. She left yesterday morning at dawn, age 42 days, but did not return last night. Mickey has not been seen for five days. So that may be it for this batch.

The good news is Little Pidgee has started to come around more, and when I just now opened the balcony curtain by the flower box, she was standing in it. That startled her, and she moved to the rail. Maybe there will be some new nest-building activity.

Today (Sunday) makes 11 months since we returned from up North to find the first clutch of eggs. No further sign of Katie or Sammy, so I guess Big Pidgee won that battle. He didn’t show up last night either, though.

I’ll load those last photos of the squabs sometime this week.

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Wow, has it really been that long? Who would have guessed this would have turned into a series! Did you ever think you’d end up being a pigeon expert/landlord? Interesting that the Pidgees have stayed together this long and have really made it their home. Continued thanks for sharing the saga with us.

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You’re welcome. Yes, it’s been quite a journey. We took advantage of the absence of eggs and squabs to give the balcony the best cleaning it’s had for a while, really scrubbed it down this afternoon. Even applied some green paint to some spots where we’d scrubbed it off before. Big and Little Pidgee stopped by for water afterward, and so did Holly, age 43 days, but none of them is sleeping here tonight. Pigeonless for a second night in a row.

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Monday morning, and Big and Little Pidgee, blissfully unaware of the rioting in the city, have been hanging out in the flower box. They’ve not been bringing in any new twigs, but Big Pidgee has been digging around like he’s trying to make the dirt into a funnel shape again. So George and Gracie may be on their way. :slight_smile:

Ah, wait. I see a twig or two that may be new. not sure, may be old.

We’ll let them use this box for one more round before changing it again.

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Yay, I want to see G&G!!!

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Just after midnight here, and Big Pidgee is sleeping out on his rail. No Holly again, though, so I think that batch is officially gone.

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More eggs are clearly in the works. Late Tuesday morning now, and Big and Little Pidgee are both in the flower box being very sweet to each other. Big Pidgee even rearranged a twig or two, although it’s not clear if they were new or old.

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So pigeons are not builders on the order of, say, robins?

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I don’t know about robins, but our pigeons built a pretty good structure these last couple of times as per this old photo.

Although we’ve not seen any renewed nest-building activities at the moment, they’re acting all domestic again around the box, and they were having sex again yesterday (Tuesday) in the designated sex area. They were having sex a few weeks ago, too, but no eggs, and Little Pidgee disappeared for a while. We’re really wondering if they may have a second place now so they can alternate.

Will have to load those latest photos soon. Although this is a big holiday week in Thailand, I’ve actually been busier than normal.

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And here they are, the final photos of Mickey and Holly. Picking up the day after we left off, we have:

Tuesday, March 24
Here they are 24 and 25 days old. A better view of Holly’s socky feet is here.
Wednesday, March 25
Sleepy Holly and brother Mickey, 25 and 26 days. And yes, they really are as soft as they look, too.
Thursday, March 26
26 and 27 days. In this shot, you can see that odd place at Mickey’s ear. It looks like bone! But it does not seem to cause any problems. Holly ended up having both ears looking like this.

Later, Big Pidgee watches over the squabs here. You can see that nice Thai-Chinese temple in the background.

And one more of them looking as cute as they can be here.
Friday, March 27
In this shot, Holly, 27 days, does her Travis Bickle impersonation: “You lookin’ at me?” (I swear I didn’t twist her head around like that.) And Mickey, a full 4 weeks old now, is looking a little sleepy here.
Sunday, March 29
No squabs here. Just Big Pidgee surveying his domain.
Tuesday, March 31
In this shot, Mickey and Holly, 32 and 31 days, have made it to the window frames. You can JUST see the bump on Holly’s head that we first noticed a couple of days before. And again. Holly’s socky feet are evident in both; I like that feature on a pigeon, it looks cute.
Wednesday, April 1
Bathtime! :smiley: And again. Man, they’re squeezed in there. And here. Afterward, Mickey, 33 days and looking a bit crazed, dries out here.
Friday, April 3
Mickey and Holly are 35 and 24 days now. Holly’s looking curious here while checking out the plant. NOte the bump on her head, and Mickey’s ear. Again, these did not seem to hurt the squabs. You can see the bump better here.

Holly got to liking that potted plant, as you can see here and here.

And later that same day, Mickey and Holly were contemplating their future.
Monday, April 6
And one last shot of Holly, age 37 days. Note the bump and the ear. Both of her ears were like that.

And of course you can see all of the photos for this batch on one page here. Click on any one to enlarge.

The day after that last photo was taken, Mickey left for good, age 39 days. Holly hung around, returning mostly just to sleep, but the night of April 10 was her last night here, and we’ve not seen her at all since this past Sunday. Farewell!

And good news: Big and Little Pidgee have been having LOTS of sex. And I do mean LOTS. For much of the day. I spoke with the wife by phone late in the afternoon, and she told me later that after we hung up, they did it three more times in short succession! Always in the designated sex area. Big Pidgee has not slept here for a few nights now, he and Little Pidgee both take off just before it’s too dark. But they’re back here first thing in the morning. There’s a little nest-building activity going on, too, but not nearly as intensive as before. But all of this points to George and Gracie on the way. :smiley:

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I’m so excited! I’m going to be a godmother to pigeons!

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We think eggs are imminent. Apart from the wild sex, Big Pidgee is doing his “standing guard” bit again, standing at attention or lounging at ease in front of the flower box when Little Pidgee is in it. They’re still sleeping elsewhere, but returning here for much of the day.

We’ll be upcountry the week after next, so we hope she can hold off laying eggs for a few more days. We’d like to be here when they hatch, for record-keeping if nothing else. If she lays them right now, they’ll probably hatch while we’re away.

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No way. You have to have some surrogate Siam Sams to escort the eggs into the world.

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Monday morning, and Little Pidgee is staying in the box with a vigilant Big Pidgee always nearby. Our calculations show if she can wait just two more days to lay an an egg, it will definitely not hatch before the day we return. If she lays one today, it will hatch no later than the day we return, while if she lays it tomorrow, it may or may not hatch until after we return.

They keep having sex, too, but we’ve seen that before, sex right up until she lays an egg. I wonder that the egg doesn’t break inside of her! And occasionally, very occasionaly, Little Pidgee is on top. Kinky! Back when the pigeons first moved in, they did this one time, and it confused us as to which was the male and which the female.

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And we have a new pigeon egg! :smiley: Little Pidgee laid it late yesterday afternoon (Tuesday afternoon). Little George is out there incubating as I type.

Both parents had been staying here the last few nights, along with Big Pidgee doing his guard routine in the daytime. They knew it was close. Now they’re taking shifts again. Big Pidgee is out there with the egg now. Little Pidgee will return in the afternoon. She has one more egg to lay, and that will come today or tomorrow.

The problem is the egg could hatch anytime from the day before we return next month to the day after. Since we’ll come back late in the day, if George hatches out on that day, we won’t know if it was that day or the day before. One of the wife’s sisters is going to drop by once or twice to water the plants; maybe she can check toward the end to see if George is here yet or not. The eggs take 17-19 days to hatch, but as I recall without looking back, the first egg usually takes at least 18 days. Or at least ours have so far.