Peculiarities of behavior and lifestyle of domestic pigeons

The dove is a close relative of the dodo, which lived on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius thousands of years ago. Two hundred years later, after the island was settled by people, the dodo bird was completely exterminated.

Breeding domestic pigeons has a long history. It is known that in Egypt 5000 years ago there were already domestic pigeons. Their ancestor was the wild rock pigeon. At first, these birds were used only for food, and then, having learned their ability to return to their nest with great speed, they began to use them for communication - transmitting and receiving information.

The first pigeon postal service in our country was established by Prince Golitsyn between Moscow and the village of Sima.

In Russian pigeon breeding of the 18th and 19th centuries. Among pigeons, only flight qualities were valued - height, duration and beauty of flight. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. in Russia, thanks to exhibitions and competitions, pigeon breeders are beginning to get interested in decorative pigeon breeds of domestic and foreign origin.

During the Great Patriotic War, almost all pigeons were destroyed. Only postal ones have survived, which served at the fronts and behind enemy lines. Despite its “military merits,” the dove is generally considered a bird of peace and a symbol of a strong family.

In many countries, the dove is mentioned in the sacred scriptures. In Christianity, it personifies one of the incarnations of God - the Holy Spirit, and among Asian peoples there was an idea of a goddess - a dove. In Russia, Christians tell a legend: after the death of Christ, doves mournfully cooed “he’s dead, he’s dead.”

In the 60s, they began to work on restoring old and creating new breeds of pigeons.

Pigeons are the object of sport hunting; they are hunted for their tasty meat. They are also important as poultry. In addition to many decorative breeds, there are meat and postal breeds. Domestic pigeons are of great importance as experimental birds when conducting various laboratory studies. 16 species and 9 subspecies of pigeons are listed in the International Red Book.

Breeds of pigeons

Pure pigeons are one of the oldest breeds of pigeons. These include: pure tin, black-pure cephalopods, pure kosmachi.

Short-billed tumblers. Birds of this group are distinguished by the style of performing somersaults, the size and color of their plumage (Oryol white tumblers, ribbon tumblers, black and piebald tumblers).

Stately pigeons are birds with a beautiful, proud posture, raised chest and tail (Altai shawl, Rostov white-breasted, Rostov clear-chiliki, Rostov colored, Novocherkassk black-tailed).

High flyers. The main quality is the ability to fly for many hours, beautifully at high altitude (Nikolaev, Perm hryvnias, Kursk, Odessa tumblers).

Fighting pigeons. During the flight, they flap their wings so that their blows are heard at a great distance (Baku chili, Krasnodar fighting, North Caucasian long-billed kosmachi, Armavir short-billed).

Trumpeters are drummers. This group of breeds got its name for its peculiar cooing, which resembles the muffled sounds of a trumpet, the distant beat of a drum or gurgling (Russian drummers, Bukhara trumpeters - drummers).

Racing pigeons. The name of this group of breeds of domestic pigeons comes from the word “gon” - to drive (Moscow monks, Kazan armored pigeons, Kyiv fireflies).

Sports (homing) pigeons. They are able to navigate the terrain and return home at high speed (modern racing pigeons).

Pigeons of foreign breeds. People are attracted to them by exotic body shapes, unusual colors and plumage patterns (Jacobins, peacocks, quarries, English pouters, kings).

Pigeons living at my house

Birds are classified as ornamental birds. This breed has lost its flying abilities, but has acquired a perfect decorative appearance. The dove has feather decorations on its legs and a smooth head. The birds are quite temperamental, fertile, incubate and feed the chicks themselves. The plumage color is black, red or yellow. They have a metallic tint on the neck and chest. We have 3 pairs of this breed - 2 white, 1 black. I named them: Snowball and Snowflake, Chubastic and Squirrel, Chernysh and Nochka.

They are unpretentious, have a beautiful appearance and good flying abilities. When rising and landing, they flap their wings and move their legs. Their flight is smooth and calm, they are able to do somersaults from 5 to 10 times in a row. The colors are white, light gray, dark gray, red, yellow, and variegated. The head of these pigeons is mostly smooth, but there are also “chubby” ones (a certain growth of plumage above the beak or on the back of the head, and sometimes both). Outwardly, such a pigeon looks very beautiful, and the “forelocks” look like curls. We have such pigeons - 1 pair of black-tailed, 1 pair of light gray and 1 yellow pigeon. Their nicknames are: Caesar, Dove, Ryzhik, Khvostatik and Pestryanka.

Rostov colored
North Caucasian long-billed kosmachi
Two-pronged ouds

Pigeons are medium sized, strong built. They have a short beak, and above it a front forelock spread out in the shape of a carnation. On the back of the head there is a rear forelock that turns into a mane. The legs are short with strong feathering in the form of cosmos up to 15 cm long. The longer this feathering on the legs, the more valuable the pigeon. The color of the plumage is pale gray with blue, the chest is gray-bronze, the wings have dark belts. We have 2 pairs of such pigeons - 1 white, 1 blue. I gave them nicknames: Fluff, Matvey, Belyanochka, Beauty.

Observing the pigeons living at my house, I can conclude that a flock of pigeons resembles a human society with its hierarchical relationships: it also has a leader who occupies the main position among other individuals. This pigeon demonstrates its superiority over all others by its behavior. He is always right, he gets the best pieces of food, and healthier females. In the enclosure, the leader occupies a separate perch, to which he does not allow his relatives. If someone from the flock dares to push the leader on the perch, then he will not be happy - the leader enters into battle. Down and feathers fly in different directions. Once I tried to pet Chernysh, who is the leader, but he did not allow me to do this, but pecked me. As usual, leadership qualities are shown by the strongest and healthiest pigeon, the old-timer in this enclosure, which is physically superior to the rest. During the mating season, such a bird selects the best females capable of producing the most viable and fertile offspring.

Pigeons live in pairs, but sometimes individual individuals, usually weak and sickly, do not have a partner and become outcasts, and everyone else does not miss the opportunity to peck or pat them by the forelock. Such a pigeon does not participate in the common meal; it feeds on what is left in the feeder after lunch; in the enclosure it tries to take a more modest and secluded place, hiding from everyone else. He can be compared to the ugly duckling. This continues until the bird gets stronger or overcomes the disease. We had such a pigeon. During his illness, all the other pigeons offended him. But my dad cured our Ryzhik, and he became an equal member of the pack.

A pair of pigeons includes a female and a male. This union can be called a family. But sometimes, if the number of females is greater than males, a pigeon can take responsibility and care for another pigeon, its offspring.

The mating season begins in early spring and ends in late autumn. During this time, the pair usually hatches three clutches. It is interesting to watch the mating games of pigeons: the male tries in every possible way to attract the attention of the opposite sex, he coos loudly and puffs out his chest as much as possible, spreads his tail like a peacock, showing himself in all his glory. They kiss, scratch or stroke each other's feathers on their heads. When a partner is chosen, a characteristic dance begins, which takes place right in flight, in the sky. The male and female alternately perform funny somersaults over their heads. The spectacle is very beautiful, interesting and bewitching.

They are good parents and hatch and feed their chicks together. After mating, as a rule, the female lays no more than two eggs in a pre-prepared nest, which they warm for some time - they take turns sitting in it, not leaving it for a long time. Sometimes you can see a picture of a dove chasing a dove into the nest. Apparently he is afraid that it will “cool down”. While the female is sitting in the nest, the male protects his family from danger. When hungry, the female goes down to the feeder, giving way to her partner. The chicks hatch after three weeks alternately, with an interval of up to one day, at first blind and naked. But after a few days they become sighted and are covered with light fluff. The one who came out of the egg first will be the head of the brood. As usual, it is the strongest, most viable, larger in size than its brother in the nest, and squeaks louder, demanding food. At the time of feeding, such a chick manages to intercept the feeding of both mom and dad, sometimes leaving nothing for its fellow, so the chick that hatched last lags behind in everything: it is smaller in size, squeaks barely audibly, and receives less food and parental warmth. Sometimes such individuals die, being crushed by larger chicks or affected by some disease, but this is not the rule, but rather the exception. This phenomenon is called natural selection. Pigeons feed their babies several times a day (up to 10), at first with a special substance that is produced in the crop, and after a few days with semi-digested food, regurgitating it. The signal for feeding is the squeak of the chick. Both parents take part in feeding the offspring, alternately. The parents teach the grown cubs to feed and fly on their own, but continue to feed them, sometimes without knowing where the chick is or whose. Sometimes you can see a picture when pigeons feed a “strange” baby, the one that is nearby and asking for food. It even happens that the chick is larger than its mother, but she continues to feed him as soon as she hears a squeak. They continue to feed the grown pigeons even when the next clutch is already in the nest.

Housing conditions are of great importance for the breeding of pigeons. Our doves manage to lay eggs even now - in the bitter winter (-40 C outside), because they are warm and comfortable in their house. It’s a pity that these eggs won’t give birth to little chicks – it’s not time.

They feed mainly on cereal seeds. In winter, vitamin supplementation is necessary. During the period of laying eggs, they need to add calcium to their diet to form a complete shell, most often this is crushed chicken or eggshells. Pigeons, like all other birds, do not have teeth and therefore are forced to consume sand, accumulating it in their crops to grind food into a paste-like state. We feed our pigeons peas, wheat, pearl barley, barley, seeds, and vitamin supplements.

Pigeons are very attached to their home. If a pigeon changes its place of residence, it will take a long time to find its bearings and return to its previous owner. One day, dad sold a purebred pigeon, which returned to him 2 years later, when dad came back from the Army. To avoid this, pigeon keepers “cut” the birds’ wings (some of the feathers on the wings) and then the pigeon loses the ability to fly until the cut feathers grow back. The lifespan of this bird is 8-10 years, but my dad had a pigeon that lived for 15 years.

The main enemies of pigeons are predators, birds, rodents, and snakes. In the wild, the hawk is the “thunderstorm” of pigeons. He fights off his prey from the main flock of flying pigeons and attacks. The victim in this case can be any pigeon, and not just a sick or weakened one, because decorative pigeons, in general, are not agile enough in the air and are not able to fly away from a predator. And even a crow is dangerous for a weakened bird or young animals. Flightless pests often pose a danger to offspring, eggs, or weakened, wounded birds. It is difficult to say which predator is most dangerous for pigeons. It depends on the location of their house. If it is located in a city, then domestic animals - cats, dogs, rats - will be dangerous. If the dovecote is located closer to the forest, in the countryside, then along with domestic animals, forest predators - hawks, crows, foxes, ferrets, snakes - are also dangerous. One day, a hawk flew into our mesh enclosure with pigeons, despite the fact that dad was nearby. The presence of a person did not frighten the bird of prey, because a pigeon is an easy prey for him, not like one of the forest inhabitants, who still needs to be chased before being caught.

Our dovecote is located not far from the house, near the forest. It is a house covered with metal sheets that protect pigeons from the cold, predators (foxes, ferrets), and rodents. The inside of this house is wooden. For cleanliness and disinfection, dad whitewashes it with lime once a year. And twice a week he cleans and changes the bedding (sawdust). Our pigeons are clean!

Pigeons have a great influence on us. Looking at them, we learn to see beauty, appreciate nature, care for and protect “our little brothers.” By observing the behavior of pigeons, we learn to take care of each other, help the younger ones and those around us. Pigeon farming is a labor-intensive activity that requires a considerable investment of time, effort, and money. Pigeon keepers are people who are not just passionate about this activity, they are devoted to it, sometimes forgetting about themselves. It may seem like a useless hobby. But that's not true. There is nothing comparable to watching the flight of these beautiful birds, the birth and growth of chicks, the fabulous transformation of small “ugly” chicks into beautiful birds. Next to them, problems recede into the background and are not perceived so acutely.

My dad Seryozha can be called a breeder, because he carefully selects each individual to produce offspring, which in the future may give rise to new breeds of pigeons. I am happy to help my dad take care of the pigeons and when I grow up, I will continue my father’s work.