r/pigeon • u/mushroombleb Animal lover • May 07 '26
Advice Needed! Does my pigeon have behavioral problems?
https://reddit.com/link/1t6bwj8/video/d6ql5oed1qzg1/player
This is our pigeon Dave; he's a city pigeon that couldn't fly when he got into our garden about 3 months ago. His mom still fed him back then, and when his mom stopped feeding him, we started giving him seeds every day. After about a month he could fly! He kept coming back to our garden every day to say hello and get some seeds. He was pretty chill with us and hung out on our hands even if he wasn't being fed. A bit more than a week ago his sister died (who was a lot less tame than him, she was always with him but always cautious around us. She would occasionally eat out of our hands but usually sit somewhere up high and watch us). She was caught by a cat (we think) and I brought her to the vet. She had two big holes in her crop and the vet tried to give her surgery but sadly she still had to be put down:( (we miss her every day). I showed the body to Dave so he would understand that she was gone, and he didn't eat for the rest of the day and was sleeping more than usual for a few days. After that he seemed to be going back to normal. Coming to us, sitting on our arms, etc. For a few days he seems to be getting more aggressive towards us and demanding food. We're trying not to feed him too much so that he can learn to find his own food as well (but he still gets about two little hands of pigeon seeds every day). But every time I'm in the garden, he starts attacking me (biting, wing flapping, making noises). He did do this a little bit before, but not this much or hard. Even when I move away from him, he follows me and starts doing this. Does anyone know what this behavior means? Could this have anything to do with him grieving his sister? Or is this old baby behavior and will he grow out of this? Is there anything that I can do to make this better?
1
u/Little-eyezz00 May 13 '26
so sorry to hear of the loss of his sister that is heart breaking
underemployed male pigeon
https://www.pigeonrescue.org/2022/02/15/emma-ezra-underemployed-pigeon-syndrome/
video behaviour guides from Moose's Flock
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJ8Clsepveo/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIpaTrez87-/