Do pigeons sit in their nests for long times ,when there is no egg ?

Question

My pigeons in these days sit in their nest one by one when female getsup from there male sits there in nest ,just like they are hatching eggs but there are no eggs , i want to know why they are sitting all time in their nest not on eggs but legs.

What may be the problem.

Answer 1

Yes they will sometimes sit an empty nest -- Usually this happens more often when they are confined.  Also, depending on the age of the birds, the hen may just be taking a long time to lay -- assuming you actually have a true pair and not a pair of males (happens fairly frequently, as does a pair of females (but then you have four eggs in the nest).

If they are young birds, they may just be fooling around for a while.  If very old, the hen may no longer have any eggs to lay.  If only a year or a few years old, then either they aren't in synch or the hen is sterile or she's missing something in her diet (possibly calcium) that allows for shell formation.

If you're sure you have a true pair and they are of breeding age, and they haven't been mated for much longer than about two to three weeks, then they may be getting ready to lay anyway. Usually, they'll lay about 10 days into the mating cycle.

If not, then try this - just slip a wooden egg or another pigeon (freshly laid) egg under them at about 4 p.m.  Then 2 days later slip a second egg under them.  They will start to sit, cycle and rear a round.  Sometimes, that will cause their biological cycles to go back into synch and they will then continue without problem after that.

If the hen is really old and/or sterile and she has ceased laying, you can either do the same with the freshly laid eggs from another pair and just use them as feeders, or get a younger fertile hen