Pigeons laying eggs on the floor? PLEASE Help! I'm freaking out!

[WRVgirl]

So....I'm entirely new to pigeons, I picked them up as an impulse buy at auction yesterday, they were advertised as roller pigeons...I have 2 cock birds and 3 hens.

Because I was entirely unprepared for this adventure, they are currently residing in a large parrot flight cage. Everyone seems to have settled in fine. They're calm and alert, though they are in quarantine until I'm sure they're healthy.

I went in tonight to watch them and listen to them coo [I swear that noise is the most comforting thing in the world to me, hence why I impulse bought rollers at a livestock auction lol] and there's an EGG ON THE FLOOR!

Nobody is sitting on it, so I'm not sure what to do with it.

There's no nesting box because I thought I'd have their aviary done today, until I managed to puncture my thumb nail with a drill [so building is on hold until every movement doesn't cause the pain to radiate up my arm!]

What should I do with the egg? Do I leave it? Get them a nesting box? Put the egg in the new box and hope someone sits on it? Toss it?

I'm panicking a little bit. I can't get out to get a nesting box until tomorrow morning and I feel bad letting it sit there.

Are the parents going to claim it if I put it in a nesting box? Or is this a lost cause?

Help!!! lol

Also, any and all information about caring for these birds would be AWESOME. Thank you

 

[Hokum Coco]

What should I do with the egg? Do I leave it? Get them a nesting box? Put the egg in the new box and hope someone sits on it? Toss it?

Some pairs do not begin to incubate their eggs until the second egg arrives. In a perfect world this is what I use for a nest bowl for my pigeons. I fill them with pine shavings or needles. I have 2 bowls for each nesting pair. They begin to incubate a second clutch of eggs about 14 days after the first eggs hatch as a rule.



That being said I have at present 4 breeding pair with nest on the floor of my loft. My solution to this is just let them be. You try to interfere in any way and you are only looking for more trouble than what it is worth.

 

[WRVgirl]

I used a shallow baking dish and offered some pine needles, timothy hay and angora wool. This morning I added some newspaper strips which momma added to her nest. She's built up a nice one but is not sitting yet.

Here's my next question....

I have their loft in progress right now. It won't be completed until sometime this weekend because I managed to puncture my thumb with a drill and it hurts too much to attempt construction today...

Once their loft is completed, should I move momma and the nest out? Or should I leave the pair and their nest in the house until babies hatch and wean? I'm concerned that if I attempt to move the pair or the nest, they may stop taking care of it.

Thank you so much though! I was freaking out last night!

 

[Hokum Coco]

Should I leave the pair and their nest in the house until babies hatch and wean? I would until they are at least partially fledged. You are running a risk anytime you tamper with a parents brood. I learned this the hard way.

They grow fast check this out:

 

[jak2002003]

Do not move the nest... or the chicks. The parents are 99 percent going to abandon them if you do.

Did she lay another egg.. and are they brooding the eggs now?

If not, it will be easier just the throw the egg away and let them start again in the new loft. Otherwise you are going to have to wait a long time for them to incubate, hatch and raise their chicks in the parrot cage. And that in not an idea environment for them to raise squabs.

 

[Klutch]

If she stay on her nest while you in there, maybe give her a little privacy (they like it) by putting a flower pot or something to hide behind.

 

[av8torcrj]

In my experience the birds are in a new place, perhaps not truly paired up, and haven't had a chance to choose a proper nesting place. One of the hens just happened to be carrying an egg and laid it wherever she could. This egg will likely never be incubated and a loss. No worries, as soon as proper housing is established they will likely pair up and begin again. Certainly nothing that warrants panic

 

[rickerra]

I'll second what 'Av8torcrj' said. It's a lost egg. Don't fret too much about it. They'll lay more... and eventually in the proper spot.

I too just bought pigeons recently. I'd been studying rearing them for a little while, but the actual purchase came sooner than expected (CL deal). I got 2 mated pairs and an extra hen. During their transition into their new home... a renovated chicken coop/run... I found 2 eggs laid at different spots, not in a nest box or any sort of nest. I attempted to relocate each egg into a proper nest bowl in the nest box... but no luck. But not to worry. The pigies will lay more.

Just this morning, I heard a pair wooing and dancing in a nest box. Yes! So after 3 weeks, they are finally settling into their new home.

Give them a workable home, good food and water... they'll do the rest.

Cheers!

 

[WRVgirl]

Thanks for all of the advice! I did end up moving them into the loft and they did abandon the nest [which is fine...I'd rather them be established in the loft than have babies yet anyway]
They started another nest, laid one egg and today I checked and that egg is gone...not sure what happened. She did try to lay her second egg from the window ledge and it fell and cracked. Not sure where her first egg went.

I've been working on getting my flock together and adding the colors and patterns I want...trying to get the best looking birds, as far as rollers go. We'll worry about babies later on. It's still to cold IMO.