Advice Regarding Very Broody Pigeon?
I’d love some advice regarding my broody female pigeon. I’ve had her for about 2 years now, and she lays eggs regularly which she sits on until she gets bored and then I remove them. She will then be more flirty and social for about a week or two before laying eggs again. She has a catio-style enclosure that I open for a few hours every day to let her have free time out. She’s never been a huge fan of me, which I have accepted, but we still have our moments. She will come and sit near me and preen herself and when she’s not on eggs she will sit on my head and sometimes let me pet her.
I know this is a normal cycle, however lately I have felt like she’s become much more broody and angry than she used to be. It seems like she’s always on eggs and the period between is much shorter. And while I know that it’s normal for pigeons to be hormonal and territorial, it feels like it’s gotten much more extreme. She will stare at me angrily from her nest when I walk by, and when I approach her catio she will run up and start pecking at the mesh. She also rushes down off her nest to bite and wing slap me when I reach in to feed her, which is on a different level from where she has her nest. She still comes out of her cage for short periods of time but sometimes doesn’t at all. I try to talk to her and hang out near her but I feel like I’m just making things worse and stressing her out. She is still more friendly to me (relatively) when she’s not on eggs, but it seems to be much less often than before.
I’d love to know if anyone has any advice or insight. I would love for her to tolerate me more, but I feel like any efforts to bond are fruitless. But my main concern is her happiness. She just seems so angry and broody all the time, though I’m not sure if maybe she’s perfectly content being the overprotective mama and I’m just the one who feeds her. Is there anything I can do to manage her broodiness? Should I maybe try and remove her eggs after a set amount of time to keep her on a regular schedule? Unfortunately a mate is out of the question as I don’t have room for another pigeon if she ends up hating whoever I bring home. Thanks in advance!