u/TelephoneThat3297

So, about 2-3 months ago, a couple of feral pigeons (Lionel & Petra) decided that the bucket we used to use as an ashtray on the balcony was a perfectly good nesting spot. They raised two perfectly happy, healthy babies (Karly & Olivia) who both made it and have now become part of the local flock that lives on my roof. It honestly kinda changed my world a bit - I’ve since become obsessed with pigeons, Ive named the entire flock, and I go out to the balcony most days to give them a scattered buffet of high quality racing pigeon seed mix.

As soon as Karly fledged however, not three days had passed before I popped out to see Lionel sat back in the bucket on top of a new egg (pictured). The miracle of pibbin life continues! (And why wouldn’t it, they’ve got a safe place away from predators & a near constant food supply!) Buuut based on everything I’ve seen, people have been saying it’s not really ethical to let pigeons breed in perpetuity as it could cause food scarcities and they may struggle/suffer.

Now we’re letting them have the next clutch, not least because I went on holiday for 2 weeks a few days later so by the time I get back it’ll be near hatching time - I’ve asked my housemate to keep scattering seeb on the balcony during this time but I’m not 1000% sure he will remember because he’s not as invested in pigeons as me. And as soon as I return I’ll continue to care for them from a non threatening distance as I did with the first round of squabs.

But if they’re happy and settled and well fed, I have heard this cycle will keep happening and it could be harmful to both the parents & the flock if we get increasingly rapid population growth. So the question is, is it probably a good idea to buy fake eggs before the cycle starts again? I’m concerned constant laying could really take it out of Petra as well. Or is this a case where I shouldn’t interfere in their natural reproductive cycle?

(A caveat because people often ask: No, taking them inside and raising them as pets isnt really an option - we live with big skylight windows open a lot of the time, we’re in a small rented flat and any pigeon in the flat would have a front row seat to watch the local flock on the roof through the window which might be a bit cruel. We’re also both neurodivergent and I’m not sure I could fully take care of another creature and give it the life it deserves).

So I’ve been posting updates here periodically, but I’m celebrating (alone because nobody else cares lmao) the one month birthday of our little balcony babies today!

This is the first time I’ve ever paid attention to Pigeon development, but man it all happens so quickly! They basically look like proper birds now! I don’t think either of them have properly flown yet, but I did walk past the glass door to see Olivia perched on the bottom balcony railing a couple of days ago so fledging can’t be very far away! My flat is on the floor above the communal balcony (though I think I’m the only one who ever uses it lol), so I only get a few glimpses a day now, largely because unless they’re sleeping in their little corner or the ashtray bucket they were born in (which is absolutely not big enough to house two almost fully grown fledglings) I don’t really want to disturb them while they’re exploring - they’re still quite scared of the giant who lives inside and occasionally scatters seeds that they still don’t quite know what to do with yet lmao, so they tend to run back to their hiding corner if I open the door!

I was a bit concerned for a week or so that Karly remained very pink and didn’t look like she was feathering, but I think that was just a comparison with her sister Olivia, who went very dark within basically a week of being born. It turns out that Karly is mostly white, and that’s why the initial growing feathers weren’t as noticeable! They’re both absolutely beautiful! I think they’ve got almost all of their juvenile feathers now and there’s only a few tiny traces of yellow down on their heads.

Kudos to Lionel & Petra, the parents, for doing an absolutely outstanding job of raising two very healthy & inquisitive babies! I know the day is gonna come probably very very soon when I go to check on them and they will have flown away - I’ll be very happy and proud of them, but also kinda devastated lol as watching them grow up has kinda given my life meaning over the past month or so. The bucket will probably have to go though when they’ve vacated it. As much as I would love for Lionel & Petra to come back and nest again, there is a truly obscene mountain of shit in and around it that I quite strongly don’t want to have to clean! Maybe I’ll buy them another one - hopefully they come back again now they know this is a safe place they can successfully raise a family and occasionally get fed 🤣

(Karly is the white one, Olivia is the darker one)

I posted a little while ago about the Pigeon couple who I lost a property dispute with on our balcony and then befriended, Petra & Lionel, well here’s an update!

About 12 days ago, I saw a lot of commotion with Petra in the bucket moving around, and later that day, a discarded eggshell outside the ashtray bucket they’ve decided to call home. The next evening I got my first glimpse of the tiny yellow blob - I still wasn’t sure there were actually two chicks because I only ever saw one egg lol - and I’ve been getting more and more frequent glimpses as the parents spend less and less time at the nest as they’ve gotten older (they were brooding pretty solidly until about 3 days ago, now it’s more like they pop back for twenty minutes every now and then to feed them).

So yeah, meet Karly & Olivia! Olivia is starting to look like a full bird with lots of feathers even at less than two weeks old, Karly is getting there but she’s taking a bit of time to feather bless her. Both pigeons can stand up and have started to stretch their wings. Excited to see them grow up further!

So for the past couple of months, I was in a property dispute with groups of local Pigeons who insisted on trying to build nests on my balcony (they'd fly away when I came out, so I just removed the twigs each time). I went away to a festival last weekend, and when I came back I found Petra here, sat perfectly calmly in my ashtray bucket (there were no twigs initially, I think this has been a more recent addition to the nest post-egg), not moving when I came down and sat in the chair next to her to have a cigarette.

I did some research, and after a day or so I caught the nest in a rare moment of Petra-less-ness, my suspicions were confirmed and I saw a little egg! Since then, there has always been a Pigeon in the bucket, I saw her mate Lionel for the first time taking shifts over the weekend, he's a bit smaller with lots of white markings on his head and less plumage (to be totally honest I have no idea which is the male and which is the female, but Petra was there first and most often so in my head she's the momma).

I feel like I've now bonded with Petra (and to a lesser extend Lionel). She's my new smoking buddy! She initially looked a little bit anxious when I came outside the first couple of times, but I think she's since realised I am not a threat and is happy for me to come and sit with her. I don't get too close (I've given myself a 1.5-ish metre limit), and try to limit the noise and movements I make out there so she and her family don't get spooked. I tend to only go down twice a day now, so I don't add further disturbances. I've gently added a couple of water-filled tupperwares to each side of the bucket, partly so there's always something for them to drink, and partly cos it was hella windy the other day and the bucket would have almost certainly started to roll if there wasn't a big bird weighing it down so I thought a stabilising measure might be needed!

I can't wait for the babies to hatch now, I've basically gone from finding Pigeons a minor nuisance to being incredibly invested in the wellbeing of this family that's chosen my balcony as their home. Sorry, I'm sure there are like 60,000 posts like this on this sub, just wanted to share it with someone as all of the people in my life are now very sick of me constantly talking about Pigeons lmao!