i would never encourage pigeon imprinting because i understand it can make them more prone to pet abandonment. that being said, in my personal experience, imprinted pigeons are f*ing DELIGHTFUL. i adopted my imprint first after his eggs were abandoned by feral parents and didn't know any better so assumed his behaviour was normal. i've since adopted three more and while i love them deeply, they are almost boring in comparison not by any fault of their own but because they aren't insane. my little fella is so effing chaotic and silly. he coos almost 24/7 and greets every new object or person by humping it. he is constantly in a state of excitement and is almost always vibrating. man, watching him eat peanuts makes me cry laughing because he gets sooo excited and just shakes and eats them faster than you can hand them out and starts biting me if i can't get them out of the bag quick enough. when i took him to the vet, they had to put him in a holding bucket to weigh him because he could not behave. yes he is absolutely a handful but has brought more laughs than i'd have ever imagined. he is the star of our household and more like a fluffy little dragon than a bird. i'm grateful for him every day.
My pigeon does exactly the same. Every time I feed him and try to get close, he starts pecking me furiously. And until now I didn't know the reason. I raised him from a baby because he hatched in the cold in February and wouldn't survive outside even with his parents' care. Now I understood the reason for his behavior. Many thanks for the useful information in this great video.
Maybe once he was good enuf to eat by his own u might have nt given him enuf time?? Or maybe kpt him in a cage wd other birds near him? Mine was all alone and away frm other birds so he jst had me to imprint.. so hes was very lovable
@@tinajacob9007she explained in the video that imprinted birds are really friendly when they are young. They get violent at sexual maturity because they think they are human, and therefore think humans are rivals.
do pigeons not lose fights? in the wild- do pigeons fight to the death? if the answer is no- or rarely- beating it up would probably show it that it cant win. works with humans and dogs.
That "training technique" works about as well for dogs as it does for humans, and I'm sure you'll attest that having your parents beat you up as a child has great behavioural outcomes✨
I have an imprinted female pigeon I handraised she's over a year old now. She had some brief socializing with a foster pair for her first couple months of life but always showed most interest in humans (particularly me). Her bond is incredibly strong and she can free fly outdoors. When she isn't on eggs she's very clingy and does display territorial aggression towards certain objects and be a bit sassy and standoffish but nothing I would consider outwardly unnatural other than the fact that she associates me an my family as her "flock". A lot of people I follow on IG with male imprint pigeons seem to try to mount everything too and be quite obnoxious lol
Doves can be like this too. I've seen many videos where the cocks aggressively bow and assert dominance over their owners. It looks cute because pigeons and doves are fat little fluff balls who make derpy cooing sounds, but these chunky birds can be very nasty. In fact, I have a male dove of my own and I thought he didn't love me because never exhibited this behavior towards me. Turns out Hershey only sees me as a human and respects my role as the boss. 😂 Thanks again for sharing this! I've never seen a pigeon as aggressive as Loki before! Good thing he's cute!
Cranky Franky has drawn blood a few times. Hes not afraid of me at all (nor does he respect me as alpha) constantly trying to assert dominance. Then he gets scared by somerhing outside, and flys on me and trys to hide in my shirt.( he doesnt like sirens, fireworks, or construction workers) I call them noisy boys, yes thats politically in correct
My other two rescues, are respectful ( not afraid) that I am Alpha. Frank is a whole different creature he was a fledge,I didnt know about imprinting. The other two experienced violence from humans before they came to me.
I adopted my boy this year who is just like this. Some lady found him as a baby, had no idea what she was doing. He was sweet and cute at first, and then he became an absolute behavioral nightmare. She couldn't handle him and surrendered him. He was been in and out of homes for 6 years and violently attacks other birds (almost killed one at his last home). It's just so sad knowing this could have been avoided if she just gave the bird to a professional. Anyway, this is his forever home now regardless of the constant biting, charging, and wing slaps- but it's still really heartbreaking.
I sat watching this with my new pet pigeon on my shoulder. I rescued her from a London shopping center car park. She was star gazing with her head upside down. Ive had her three weeks and she still fits but shes getting better and we are fast becoming friends. Thanks for your video.
Wow. I just wanted to say thank you for caring for him despite his aggression. He's lucky that you two connected. I don't know anything about pigeons, I'm a rat & reptile enthusiast, but this vid randomly appeared so I took a peek and I feel so sad for all the birds who don't end up in happy homes. It's so amazing of you to look after him. This really warmed my heart and I hope you know how special it is that you do this. You really rock : ) Thanks for sharing. Xoxox
I had a pigion my dad brought home as a fledgling. It was male and acted just like Loki here, but it came in handy. He chased a bully away once. ^_^ He also attacked the school bus when it "ate" me. I wasn't allowed to bring him indoors, so he'd follow me from window to window. I did wind up getting more pigeons so he wouldn't be so alone, but bullies shot him and most of my flock when i was in middle school. Poor Pidge.
If those bullies are still in your proximity of town... *Its time to assemble your murder of crows and give them a taste of karma* . /hj Never mess with the druids or their allies lol.
That was very educational. I have raised hundreds of pigeons, and they were very tame. But I never "imprinted" them. They did not think they were humans, so they were well adjusted. I like to watch people who have imprinted their pigeons as "mates". It's sweet. I did not know the consequences. It makes sense.
@@chestnut4860 I don't know. But maybe if they try to breed you it's a clue. I can't say. Dogs try to hump people when they feel happy or glad to see you.
@@chestnut4860 i would say when you get a pigeon 30 days or over it doesn't imprint, i have a pigeon who i got at 20-40 days old and she isn't nearly as aggressive as loki is in this video (maybe it's because she's a female but still)
yea, wing slap and pecking are the only defenses a pigeon has, and sometimes their claws but its rare, is more common in doves to use their claws than pigeons themselves
The wing slap is normal. It means youre invading their space. Particularly in this video. He is defending his hen. Sad to see him tormented by a larger being.
Hello please help me there are pigeons invading my garden and scaring off the pigeon who's nesting in my tree. Everytime she tries to eat the invaders fly at her and attack her 😭 they have a terrible attitude problem and seem to hate everyone including me 😂 what do I do?
Not only is it important to avoid imprinting, but also it's important to know what you're getting into in general when taking in any animal. It takes a special kind of person to be able to handle this behavior, so it's important to know about it beforehand. That applies to all kinds of animals. A lot of them require special care or handling, and people need to know what they're signing up for so they can decide whether or not they can provide a good home.
As a person who never had a pigeon as a pet, but only observed them on the streets, I could never imagine that such cute birds can ever be aggressive 😮
It's just an instinct that you actually can play along with and get him to stop if you let him win, then he'll stop and be your best pigeon again. Or so I've seen another pigeon breeder say and show in her vid
This is actually a huge comfort to me with my pigeon! Thank you so much for all these videos youve made. My bird is one we rescued when she was young, we arent entirely sure if shes male or female, but she acts exactly like Loki does here
You could always have her DNA tested :) orders.iqbirdtesting.com/product/avian-dna-sexing-blood/ Regardless make sure she has access to oyster shell for calcium AND red pigeon grit as their is extra minerals in the grit and if she is a hen she will lay eggs eventually so she really needs those minerals
I really appreciate you sharing your experience with Loki. He reminds me a lot of our male rescue. He is quite aggressive and territorial by default when at home, he is bonded to my wife and nobody else can pet him. His behaviour towards me is basically just like Loki's, except when he chooses to come and sit on my shoulder. Even then there is a 50% chance of a hard ear bite... However, this only applies at home. We are trying to get him used to people and the outdoors, and whenever we take him out to a new place he will cuddle up to my cheek and let me pet him. I wonder if it could be the same with Loki? When you keep these boys inside, they get stuck in their little territorial bubble where they are the kings. Always have to be the tough guy. But take them out of that bubble... Not so tough anymore. It can be different for different birds of course. There is also sexual frustration involved as well of course... I always feel that I wish I could understand our boy better. We are doing our best though and he seems happy most of the time. Best of luck to you and Loki ❤❤❤
@@homeofhousechickens6856I recently saw another vid of a woman with pigeons and she said this WASN'T aggression, that you only need to play along and "wrestle" him for a moment and then pretend he defeated your hand. She showed it and it worked on her pigeons, so maybe you should try that and then whether it is true or not maaaybe spread the word that this isn't aggression? I see some people doing kindof awful things to their male pigeons as a way to try "correct" them. If this is their normal behaviour maybe there's a good reason for it? In the wild other birds always try to kill each other's kids and steal their nest and such. Does this happen only around the nest or is it everywhere else in the house?
@@Hotchpotchsoup Aggression can be an understandable behavior-- my cats have overload aggression (pet too much and they decide your hand is for bites and scratches) and "defeat" is the correct de-escalation (so the animal releases you instead of continuing the fight. Animal aggression (and in fact, human aggression) is usually a stress response and a victory over the irritant causes temporary stress release. It's not complicated, but the thing is: it's positively reinforcing the behavior. You're teaching the animal that aggression will reduce their stress levels, instead of desensitizing it to the stimulus to reduce stress levels when exposed to the disturbance.
I have currently 10 and up to 20 different pigeons within past couple years, and gotta say it's all highly individual. For example, I currently have a young (little under 6 months) black cock that looks very similar to your Loki, and he definitely has aggression issues. But he's not imprinted on me or any human, even though he's been raised by me in cooperation with his parents. His nestmate sister (aka his current wife) is absolutely nice tame girl, though can also wingslap on occasion. They were bonded ever since they were born and never apart for more than a night, and they never treated humans as potential mates, but only as a source of food and occasional nastiness like medications or being moved to other room for being too loud at night. Another boy I had to raise pretty much on my own since his parents were newbies, did a poor job feeding and were plucking his feathers. So I kept him in separate cage since week 2, and he had issues with learning to feed on his own, so there was some extensive suringe and tube feeding, up to 1.5 months or so. And now he's the most tame of all male pigeons I ever had. He's not biting even in his cage (his wife does though, and she is also imprinted on me). And his guy only flies at me for pets, shoves his beak in my fingers and acts as if he's still a little baby around me. Imprintend to a point it was very hard to get him paired with his wife, but zero aggression. Maleness confirmed too, he could've been a father a few times by now. Meanwhile his father is also imprinted, but up to 2 months age he lived and was born outside my window. Then I had to rescue him as he nearly froze to death. Next couple months he was a total vegetable, he didn't eat or drink on his own and learned everything from scratch. By the time he got better he already considered me his mate, apparently. And he has aggression issues, but it might be side effects of his brain injury. Other times he's a total loaf, but can flip into bity mood in a split second. He had a wife for a while, but was also aggressive to his mate, and she was plucking his forehead from anxiety, so I separated them, and now he's bonded to me again. Still aggressive on occasion, but that's ok. Not being dead is already a challenge for this guy. So tl;dr: it is all highly variable and imprinting is not the only (or guaranteed) source of aggression. Sometimes they just are for no good reason, other times they're just friendly despite imprinting.
I have a rescued imprinted male pigeon who behaves very much like Loki at times. The really wierd thing is that he has a completely different relationship with my right and left hands. He absolutely HATES my right hand and will attack and bite it. He seems only happy with it when it is passive and he can perch on it. Perhaps it's some kind of dominance thing? He loves my left hand and likes to be petted and cuddled with it. It is the hand he is very soft with and will groom it. If tell him off with my left hand its almost like he listens and will back off. Sometimes I will have to use my left hand to defend my right hand. I'm not allowed to hide my hands either. That bothers my pigeon a lot. Pigeon psychology is very difficult. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks I'm 3 different people!
That's kinda hilarious, I should try and figure out if my gerbils have different reactions to each hand at all, I already know they are not very bright little guys lol (but super cute)
Thank you. This explains so much about our boy and his aggression. No worries, he won't be getting rid of us that easily. Despite his aggression, he is more often a delight to watch live his life. But, it's nice to understand how and why his behaviour is the way it is.
This was a very helpful video. I rescued a male pigeon just over a year ago after he was hit by a car then attacked by a dog. He behaves exactly like Loki. I named mine Khonshu, love him to bits. Sadly hes blind in one eye and flightless which ive tried ti get sorted at the vets but due to bird flu they wouldn't see him
My male bobwhite quail is the same way, imprinted yet he was the sweetest, smartest little bird I’ve ever had. He became I’ll very suddenly and died a few days ago. My heart hurts. Really miss him.
I’m so confused what does imprinting mean? I’m buying a pigeon probably no more than 18 months old and it’s a male should I be worried? I’m getting a Chinese owl pigeon
Imprinting is just when a very young bird hasn’t had much interaction with other birds yet. Because of this, your baby bird thinks you’re the parent. At the very least, your baby bird will never be afraid of you and will treat you as a member of its flock. At 18 months, your young pigeon did not have that early advantage. Still, pigeons are very intelligent and your bird should still form a close bond with you. If your bird finds a mate, he still knows and loves you, but will instead have that bond with his mate. You may even notice aggression as your pigeon and his mate establish territorial boundaries.
My Bubo is the same. But it's actually like we're wrestling. I let him have his fun and burn off energy. He is muscular and built for extreme endurance. That energy has to go somewhere. He actually likes to bite my left hand the most because he knows I'll scoop him up with my right hand and take him to the window. Then he just chills and we slowly blink our eyes at each other before he tries to go to sleep in my arms. He likes to bite me. But he friggin' loves being with me.
I had an older female pigeon that believed I was her mate and she would lunge at my husband if he try to kiss me. She was wild with a broken wing when she came to me, so she couldn't be returned to the wild and I didn't know how old she was. I fell in love with her, she totally change my view of pigeons.
i know dogs don't imprint, but my old dog was actually SORT OF like this. if me and my partner tried to kiss or cuddle in front of her she would immediately jump up and wedge herself between us, even going so far as to shove her face between our faces and push us apart lmao. it wasn't aggressive though- just like a gentle "hey, stop that." we used to joke that she was either jealous or was reminding us to "leave room for jesus" lmao, but i genuinely to this day have zero idea why she did it or what it meant. maybe she just thought she was joining in on cuddle time lol
I heard that 😂 lol I came to.comment this high five. We've both definitely learned and noticed the flapp punches birds do through this and other bird vids 🎉
I have a hen who when not nesting can't get enough of me for cuddles, pets, grooming (I'm a male) and nibble-grooms mu toes and ears. Unfortunately she will attack my mate whenever possible. The bird was shot with a BB gun, breaking her wing ; she'll never be able to fly A friend kept her in a milk crate for about a year, but he died of brain cancer and asked if I'd care for the bird. So I have a commitment debt of promise to him. My partner and I appropriately named the bird Bird-debt. It got too hot to leave her outside (115 degrees) in her big cage so we moved her inside. We didn't try imprinting her, she decided to imprint to me. Bird-debt is aggressive towards my partner but is showing expanded moments of congeniality. Six months later she started laying pairs of eggs so I assume she was quite young. She lays about once a month. The bird is quite smart, she house trained herself to poop in an area of linoleum in the kitchen. When she's show off flapping in circles she'd get a treat. When she'd pooped properly she started expecting to get a treat.would get a treat. She's now trying to trick us by getting a treat for pooping, then backs up to act like the same poop was just done, and deserved another treat. A problem we have is we are both in our mid-to-late seventies with uncertain futures. If you know of anyone in the Las Vegas area who would want the bird we would be grateful. If possible we could ship. Thanks
Bro. I wish I could help you out. I've wanted a birb but I'm moving to Texas from California. I already have a dog I want to get rid of. (He was left with me but will bite me.) If I find anyone soon I'll try to refer them to this comment unless you have another method for communication.
I used to have dozens of pigeons but one of the male pigeon a.k.a my very first pigeon was usually calm and lovley. He wouldn't bite a bit let alone wings slap. And he was actually a lot older when it first came to my house.
Another "person who has an Imprinted male bird" attesting to their spiciness! Our boy Pippin was 3 days old when his parents abandoned him, so our option was either "hand raise and risk Imprinting" or something more unfortunate. At 3 years old now, he's a much beloved pet, and everyone in the household understands that he's a little demon (affectionate), but it's not exactly what would make a desirable pet for the average household. It's possible for them to live happy, fulfilled lives as house birds, but they are much bitier, slappier, feistier than a human socialized but parent-raised pidge.
Thank you for this. I watched both videos and my pigeon is somewhere in-between... He will start out driving and being more "flirty" and then when I try to interact with him in any way he starts biting and holding on. Not quite as aggressively as Loki, but definitely not gentle like Fluffernutter. His behavior confuses me. When he starts to get too aggressive I do step away for a while to let him cool down. Then he contact calls, and when I respond to the contact calling and come back, he's back to being angry and won't let me touch him without biting. I really don't like the (aggressive) biting, especially when it's at my face and I could use some advice if you have any.
He is not angry. This is normal male behavior. He thinks you are his hen. Male pigeons can be quite brutal to their hens. If she is not cooperative they will continue even if they starve her to death. Its just nature. You cant change it. Only understand this is true of them. He needs a hen. Be sure to get a set of fake eggs, and use them to replace the eggs she lays.
if he is bonded to you, i would try slow nodding towards him till he nods back! then when he does, pet him n give treats! this is what helped me & now he just wants pets most of the time :) ❤
i have three pigeons all raised together, the youngest is more aggressive and the middle aged one is very tame because i had to assist it medically for several weeks when it was just finished with its baby fluff. they havent done the wing flicks at me, but will do the biting with my hands (only through bars, when im in there they are fine and do rubby beak things and stuff) but i also have an australian crested pigeon who does the same as your pigeon. he only dances as intimidation so far but tends to attack me when i have a new object (his bites are nowhere near as painful as the other pigeons as they are rock/domestic pigeons breed. he attacks socks, bottles, especially coke bottles, and myself when he thinks he is the boss. as he is my only inside pigeon, when he gets especially bossy, i reassert my dominance by not allowing him to be on my shoulders. and eventually he will only be allowed once he has asked for permission (beak rubs). this video is very interesting and im glad to see this is 'normal' ish behaviour and that you can be lighthearted about it. very reassuring
Sounds like the downsides with _some_ species of hand reared parrots. They end up having either behavioural or health issues because they were not raised by or taught by another bird early on. Problems that parent reared birds don't have.
I recently adopted two pigeons and I didn't even know imprinting was a thing until today :o They both act this way (they're married) and I had no idea why so thank you for this video!!!
I get the feeling that if Loki was a ninja turtle, he'd be Raphael. Great guy, loves his family, feels EVERYTHING, but it's all underneath a bunch of aggression and reactivity because he doesn't know how to deal, and how could he?
I picked up a female squab about 2 weeks old. She is now 8 months old and imprinted on me. She is following me around all around the house and watches TV and sleeps on me. But she is super aggressive with my kids.
Yep sadly imprinting messes up their brain so they dont develop normally. Imprinting tells a bird what species it is and what it should see as a mate. Pair that with most imprints not getting a chance to be hazed and experience a flock pecking order they grow up not knowing that their excessive aggression,pecking, wing slapping is inappropriate. Pigeons have a natural instinct to wrestle with their flock mates for status and resources and pigeons also fight for their mates and chase them as well. An imprint doesnt know how to handle this instinct when they are imprinted on people so it leads to the bad behavior.
@@homeofhousechickens6856 i dont think so imprinting is bad. Sorry. I have handtamed male as well as female. The males who have imprinted they are super cuddly..it depends howmuch time ur giving.. mine is always wd me we share soomuch of love.. so i don think its bad.. ppl just dont know how to raise its nt tht u take a squab hand feed ans puffff they are attached? Nope. Its the time u spend wd dem daily... i have a cockatiel too who again imprinted and is super cuddly as well... so its ur way of giving love...whch will calm tht anger.. yes my pigeon doesnt like my mother or daughter🤣their they show their anger like plsss go away or il bite.. bt wd me never..
I have a rescue pigeon that displays the same biting behaviour - sweet one minute, biting me the next, then back to being sweet again. What was odd was mine was rescued because it was young, not appearing to be doing well, and had a back injury (bleeding, missing feathers). He was treated daily for his injuries, fed every other day (he was underweight), and yet he imprinted on me. I've had other birds I've had to handle more frequently and never had a problem. So now I have a nippy pet pigeon!
Hello! I hope I can get some of your sage pigeon advice. I’ve been watching your videos religiously since I began wanting a pigeon, and then about a week ago I found an abandoned fledgling that couldn’t fly and wasn’t being fed by the flock. I watched for an embarrassingly long time and all of the pigeons around ignored him/her consistently. The people living there reported they’d sat there for three days and just sometimes picking at food people would throw at them. When I caught them, they were EXTREMELY skinny, to the point I wasn’t sure they’d make it. They’re still gaining weight. I think they must have been 24-25 days old? Their underwing is just losing the sheaths around their pin feathers. Is this old enough for them to not imprint on me, or would them being ignored sort of make that happen anyway? By the second they weren’t afraid of me at all and liked to sleep on me. What’s worrying me is, since yesterday when I put my hand in their cage while they’re resting in there, they’ll puff up and honk at me (trying to coo, but their voice is too high). I’m worried they’re on their way to turning into your lovey boy here LOL No wing slapping or bites, and they sit down and let me scratch them but I don’t know if there’s something I should do to ‘fix’ or curb this? ;^; Thank you for any possible advice!
They will likely be imprinted by you at this age but the behavior your describing is them feeling defensive since your reaching towards them. They are still young so that's how they scare stuff off
@@homeofhousechickens6856 Damn, thank you. :( I hope they don’t imprint to a degree that makes them super aggressive. I don’t think they’re afraid, unless they’re just being defensive of their space. They’ll do a little hop towards me and then try to get me to feed them. I assumed they were a female someone said this behaviour seems much more like a young male! Hopefully the behaviour stays confined to their cage.
Ideally let them be raised by foster parents or make sure when they fledge they are heavily socialized with other pigeons as that is a critical time period for them to learn boundaries
I also rescued a four day old pigeon( male) and tried to get him a female to bond with ( instead of me) unfortunately the woman I talked to at the local rescue,decided that he didnt need a female( and threw me under the bus) I've had him for four years now,( and he is the only one who imprinted on me) your pigeon is much nicer to you,then mine is to me.mine draws blood.the only time hes even civil to me,is if he's scared of something( like fireworks) I love him,but there are days I wish,I had handed him off to a rescue,as a fledgling. He hates everyone,and everything. Hes not interested in a female at all.( of his own species) fake eggs helped for a while,to settle him down,but that doesnt work anymore,and he rolls them out . :(
I had this too from my adored male pigeon. I still dont understand, because he *also* treated me like we were mates. So he would want equally to be near me, and to drive me away - The way I interpreted it (while not believing I truly understood) was that fighting was his favourtite play. We were homeless together for 7 years. He got killed 2 years ago, and I still miss him painfully most of the time. He was such a perpetual wonder to me (whether purring or attacking! - ps he was most aggressive towards my barefeet, then hands, but almost never pecked my face, which he would preen)
this explains a lot, I don't have birds, but I did have a parakeet, I didn't raise him a kid gifted him to me because he was so aggresive, but being the kid I was we just accepted him as loud and aggresive as he was, but the kid lived on a far and had a bunch of animals it wouldn't be a surprise if the bird imprinted on humans!
The problem is he was never around older pigeons that were able to keep him in-line. His behavior would not be tolerated by older pigeons and they would have put his ass in his place the second he tried this aggressive crap around them. When you take an infant and never have them understand what tolerated behavior is, they turn out to be spoiled brats... And you have quite the brat on your hands... literally. I raised parakeets, this behavior is no different.
Is it okay to pin them with a hand if they get too aggressive? Not roughly, but like you would a dog. Like "No. Stop that. That isn't okay". I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt one while just keeping it from being aggressive
Is it possible to make this behavior change to something less then constant attacks at hands and feet? Mine, a 3 to 4 month old female gets extremely aggressive when she sees my hands. I’ve been working with her but nothing seems to help, she just despises hands. She also gets territorial with things she considers “fun” or “hers”. But otherwise she constantly follows me around and snuggles, she had a similar situation as Loki and I was forced to hand raise her. My family hates how she acts like this and keeps saying I should just release her which obviously isn’t an option as she was hand reared and extremely imprinted on me specifically.
So I found a practically dead pigeon who was estimated 4 weeks old, I took them (Winnie) back to my family’s to rehabilitate them & after a while they started standing, walking, flying again! They were sweet for a while, but got more aggressive especially once I finally got a cage! Then got really territorial about the cage, but also away from the cage, would be moody, sometimes sweet, liking pets, & others making angry sounds, fluffed up, biting etc. was definitely happiest when on walks! I finally moved Winnie to my place about a month ago, was hoping would be happier with more attention, closer to a window etc. I have 3 cats & sometimes Winnie is quite good with my cats, kind of cuddled up, lands on them, seems to try to nicely groom sometimes but other times aggressively pecks & gets angry. The issues though are that after a month at my place is still soooo vocal so much of the time whether in the cage or outside of the cage whenever anyone is anywhere near the cage ( & my place is very small so it’s in the public space) & the pacing fluffed up & noises are stressing me out & I’m already going through a lot of stress in my life. I’ve also been losing hair from stress & Winnie is not helping by pecking at my hair, landing on my head with their claws, I try to wear hats but it’s hard to tuck all my hair in & their sharp nails can be felt some even through a head scarf & 2 layers of knit beanies (this also makes me look quite dumb) the local pigeon person had told me Winnie was a girl but I’m thinking she sounds like a boy. I don’t know what to do, I’m debating giving Winnie to this local pigeon person to live in an aviary with other pigeons & doves. Would this be best? I do feel bad because Winnie loves walks with me & does often like to perch on me, sometimes seems to like me, but often also seems unhappy & the noise & being attacked itsn’t great for me or my roommate (my cats are pretty chill & are entertained by Winnie, but when they are attacked donmt like that ofc) I just don’t know what to do but I need to minimize stress in my life ):
I am not pro cats and birds interacting, it does sound like he would be safer and happier in an aviary. Loki unfortunately is to scared and aggressive towards other pigeons for that to be a viable option for him.
gotcha, thank you! my cats are super gentle and respectful of Winnie, and Winnie actually seems to like cats more than humans! will land on the cats and chill on their backs, cool with the cats sniffing their tail etc, sometimes they get moody qith the cats but less so than Winnie gets moody with humans! it's more how loud and protective of their cage winnie is, and how winnie will peck at my head/hair and scratch my scalp with their claws by standing/walking on my heads, or that they will land on people like my roommate but then get grumpy and bite them randomly etc that are more so the issues. i am definitely considering the aviary, but one of the cons was actually i thought winnie might miss the cats! @@homeofhousechickens6856
and they do sometimes seem to really like me, happy grunting at me etc, so i don't want winnie to feel abandoned by me, but maybe winnie would end up happier in the long run with a flock and maybe a mate?@@homeofhousechickens6856
I love how opposite they are to Budgerigars. I've raised Budgies and had them all my life and you'll find the males to be incredibly friendly, outgoing and sometimes definitely needing the "bonk stick". My females tend to be more grumpy, impatient, not very vocal or as outgoing. Not that the females can't be, they just usually have a bit more sass. I've had to keep one of my females separate because she is incredibly pushy and temperamental when hormonal. They all get yearly vet visits as well, like to keep my flock healthy. Are female pigeons more friendly than the males? I was considering an owl pigeon but I would be very new to pigeons. Very different birds. Also curious, is it a good idea to give a partner to an aggressive pigeon? If any of it is genetic I'd assume you wouldn't want to breed them, but it seems counter intuitive to give a partner without intent to breed, especially if it triggers this kind of behavior. Not making any accusations I'm asking totally out of curiosity sake since I am not familiar with them.
We never had any pets and i (kind of) held it against my parents.. as they did have pets.. when they were younger. But we have had pigeons using our winding grills as maternity wards.. and yes.. when trying to protect their young.. crows, pigeons.. DO do this. I actually do not understand.. how one can not imprint another animal .. if raising them in matchbox sized apartments. (I am from and in India.. and my mother primarily used that reason: that oh... we ought not to cage animals in small concrete jungle homes). . Thank you for sharing this with us. Mister Loki and missus are hopefully doing fine and already having more kids
is there a way to improve his behaviour?? please i rescued a baby pigeon and raised him now he has become very skittish and agressive like this i dont know how to interact with him does anyone have any tips?
I saved a London pigeon last season. Named him jim. Wonky feet, badly,so good job I saved him. He is an aggressive fukka but I love it! He's a good boy x
@summersmooth 0 seconds ago I use to be homeless up untill january this year. I use to sit out side home bargains begging everyday. everyday fgor 12 moth a brown pigeon would come sit with me everyday and share food i got of customers. She once came with an broken egg stuck to her bottom, so i caught her and removed the shell. I am now in recovery and live in a lovely home. but that little pigeon got me through the covid lockdown and she was so inelligent, Just after 2 weeks i saw her in the main city of Wakefield, I saw a pigeon the same color as my pal, so i shouted and to my amazment, it was my pal. she flew out of the pack and wobbled running straight towards me lol xx
*Thanks for this video. I found a male like this about 4 years ago. At the time he had severe PPMV, so he was so incapacitated that I didn't see his aggression until later... I kept him because he simply can't survive outside so to how much fluid he excretes, and that's a death sentence in the desert. He's very confused - he loves his wife, but having people who treat him well makes him very confused about who to love more...*
No wonder when I was young, our pigeon was so crazy. But I liked it because a crazy pigeon thinks my fingers are worms. A peck and bite, then I give em a big hug
At least their attacks are almost powerless against humans, my female pigeon also attacks other humans when she has eggs, and especially if I wear uncommon clothes. They also believes our hands are members of the group because we use them to interact with them.
They are definitely imprinted. Best thing you can do is introduce them to adult pigeons in a loft once they fully fledge as that is a critical time for them to learn manners
I have a question. Wouldn't this agressive behavior (by imprints) reduce or go away if....as I have seen in a few videos...pigeons have sex with human hands, with the hands of those who raised them? If an imprint started considering the person his partner/wife and had sex with a person's hand, even then he would continue to behave the same way? (Like would Loki continue to behave the same way?)
Had a dove Pair, and they were aggressive, when they laid eggs for the first time, never after, I guess they trusted me that I would never hard the eggs or them so they let me see them, awww i miss them now :(
Someone in my house has a female dove (lays eggs) and she's really aggressive to me but also scared of me, so she doesn't bite me too much before she flies away
used to have one we called mira (short for miracle in the way it came into our lives)that was burgundy colored and had like a unique head feather like a cockatiel , my dad took care of it and it was not too fond of me but it got released eventually and many years later to my surprise i found it outside and called to it in surprise it recognised me and came towards me and its mate started pecking at its mohawk trying to pull it away from me not knowing what was going on and then it came on my hands and i started walking back home and its mate flew onto my shoulder lol it was an amazing miracle and that was why we always named it mira so when i called out it came to me i was shocked to find it all those years later and how it trusted me so i took it home to dad and later it had eggs and i tried going near it it would peck at me gently to stay away but when dad went near it would not do that and let him rearrange some things in trust lol amazing
I have a 6 year old and hes in love with me. Is it too late to find him a female or cruel not to? Theres a flock of ferals that visit frequently coz they like to eat his food. He looks at them like theyre Aliens and almost hides behind me like a shy child... If theyre bonded with a human, how cruel is it to be away for periods of time such as a day or week?
Well time is important.. bt smetime we have to go.mine was away frm me for 3mnths so wen i returned back she was angry..but just for 2days the next day she remembered me and again was cuddly
My oldest bird was a bit confusing to me he kind of acts like this with my hands. I found mine back in April. You have to have been maybe Around 5 weeks old. Was so sick and in so much pain when i found him. He was in our dispensery parking lot. He usually beats my hands up sometimes he sits at the other end of the couch and stares menacingly at me. Our routine for the day is morning i open door feed him and play for about 10 minutes depending on my schedule. I have recently came down with a bad flu and have not played with him. Husband did the routine for me he doesnt peck him much😂 but i passed out in our chair and woke up to him sleeping on my chest. When i woke up he stirred and wanted to plexk my hands again. But when i wasnt participating he stopped then went away.
this reminds me so much of my hand reared cockatiels behaviour as he grew up. I felt he was unhappy and was also dealing with chronic illness so i found him an aviary to live in with a flock of other ‘teils where i hear he’s very happy now.
I found my pigeon on a busy street when he was still a baby. I was afraid that a dog could eat him or that someone could trample him, so I took him home. It wasn't planned, but he was aggressive sometimes. I didn't really care, he was my baby.
It happened with my canary bird too. We had to hand feed him because his parents stopped and now he’s really aggressive towards other birds and humans too
I found a injured Pigeon in my front yard that couldn't fly... I looked after him and he was actually a very polite Pigeon... Took food out of my hand... didn't really attack me... and even when he did it was very playful with no intention of actually harming... It would even sit on my shoulder while I would sit on my bench in front of my house. What was interesting though was it never made that conventional Pigeon Sound... it made more "Squeek" sounds... Which I found odd for a bird that "seemed" fully grown. Sadly a Cat eventually somehow got to him about 2 weeks in from me looking after the Pigeon... I was sad for a long... long time... 😔 Does anyone know if a Pigeon has "Imprinted" on you if it was willing to sit peacefully on your shoulder? 🤔
I swear this is my male pigeon Rolo! Sometimes he's happy sometimes he's aggresive but I wont set him free! I recued him he was more dead then alive, he was 8 days old but he survived, but he is sooooo agressive!'
I don't own birds (kept getting recommended this video despite that, so I decided to watch) but I'm curious. Is there any way to prevent aggression like this? I see you're just tolerating it but could you like, hold him firmly but gently in one place until he calms down and stops trying to bite and slap? Or is there nothing you can do when a bird gets like Loki here? I know next to nothing about bird ownership and I don't know the first thing about appropriate positive/negative reinforcement with birbs, but it feels like there's something you could do...
Best way to prevent is to not imprint a bird and if it's a rescue situation like Loki was you would want to find pigeons or dove surrogate parents. Fluffernutter is an example of a pet pigeon that isn't imprinted and he is much more friendly. Negative reinforcement and "holding him down" would just be stressful and traumatizing to Loki. The best way to mitigate this behavior is to encourage him to socialize with other pigeons but he will always be bitey because he sees humans as the same species as him so we are both potential mates and rivals to him. You cannot change this it is a fundamental part of his biology when he was a baby in his bird brain humans are what he saw and recognized as his parents.
@@homeofhousechickens6856 So birds are kinda hard-locked to imprinting and behavioral issues are just what they are with them? Yeah, I wasn't sure if there was a physical action that could even be taken that wouldn't stress out the animal which is why I spoke cautiously. I guess I was so curious because I know that a lot of birds are extremely intelligent, so I'd figure there would be a way to teach and train and encourage better behavior. But birds are definitely not something I understand well, and clearly they aren't wired in quite the same way as other teachable animals. Thanks for the response and details!
Pigeon: beating the shit out of her hand.
Her: he is a very good boy, just a little confuse.
(Very relatable parent moment)
i would never encourage pigeon imprinting because i understand it can make them more prone to pet abandonment. that being said, in my personal experience, imprinted pigeons are f*ing DELIGHTFUL. i adopted my imprint first after his eggs were abandoned by feral parents and didn't know any better so assumed his behaviour was normal. i've since adopted three more and while i love them deeply, they are almost boring in comparison not by any fault of their own but because they aren't insane. my little fella is so effing chaotic and silly. he coos almost 24/7 and greets every new object or person by humping it. he is constantly in a state of excitement and is almost always vibrating. man, watching him eat peanuts makes me cry laughing because he gets sooo excited and just shakes and eats them faster than you can hand them out and starts biting me if i can't get them out of the bag quick enough. when i took him to the vet, they had to put him in a holding bucket to weigh him because he could not behave. yes he is absolutely a handful but has brought more laughs than i'd have ever imagined. he is the star of our household and more like a fluffy little dragon than a bird. i'm grateful for him every day.
You are soooo right!
Fess 9c0
My pigeon does exactly the same. Every time I feed him and try to get close, he starts pecking me furiously. And until now I didn't know the reason. I raised him from a baby because he hatched in the cold in February and wouldn't survive outside even with his parents' care. Now I understood the reason for his behavior. Many thanks for the useful information in this great video.
Maybe once he was good enuf to eat by his own u might have nt given him enuf time?? Or maybe kpt him in a cage wd other birds near him? Mine was all alone and away frm other birds so he jst had me to imprint.. so hes was very lovable
@@tinajacob9007she explained in the video that imprinted birds are really friendly when they are young. They get violent at sexual maturity because they think they are human, and therefore think humans are rivals.
do pigeons not lose fights? in the wild- do pigeons fight to the death? if the answer is no- or rarely- beating it up would probably show it that it cant win. works with humans and dogs.
@@CircmcisionIsChi1dAbus3 yes violence is a simple enough language for anyone to understand, but you can do better, can't you?
That "training technique" works about as well for dogs as it does for humans, and I'm sure you'll attest that having your parents beat you up as a child has great behavioural outcomes✨
I just love MJ in the background watching this mess unfold. He may be a mess, but he's her mess.
Loki: *the rage of a thousand suns*
MJ: _just chillin_ 👀
I have an imprinted female pigeon I handraised she's over a year old now. She had some brief socializing with a foster pair for her first couple months of life but always showed most interest in humans (particularly me). Her bond is incredibly strong and she can free fly outdoors. When she isn't on eggs she's very clingy and does display territorial aggression towards certain objects and be a bit sassy and standoffish but nothing I would consider outwardly unnatural other than the fact that she associates me an my family as her "flock". A lot of people I follow on IG with male imprint pigeons seem to try to mount everything too and be quite obnoxious lol
...and they mount everything!
People shouldn't be trying to mount and ra/pe - that's 10-15 years
Goes to show the males are always an issue. With every species.
@@shannond1511what about male pet rats? They tend to be sweethearts.
@ well, idk about them. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they do some terrible thing for the sake of mating too.
The problem is you are not asserting dominance, flap your wings harder and peck back XD
Doves can be like this too. I've seen many videos where the cocks aggressively bow and assert dominance over their owners. It looks cute because pigeons and doves are fat little fluff balls who make derpy cooing sounds, but these chunky birds can be very nasty. In fact, I have a male dove of my own and I thought he didn't love me because never exhibited this behavior towards me. Turns out Hershey only sees me as a human and respects my role as the boss. 😂 Thanks again for sharing this! I've never seen a pigeon as aggressive as Loki before! Good thing he's cute!
doves are pigeons but white xD
Cranky Franky has drawn blood a few times. Hes not afraid of me at all (nor does he respect me as alpha) constantly trying to assert dominance. Then he gets scared by somerhing outside, and flys on me and trys to hide in my shirt.( he doesnt like sirens, fireworks, or construction workers) I call them noisy boys, yes thats politically in correct
My other two rescues, are respectful ( not afraid) that I am Alpha. Frank is a whole different creature he was a fledge,I didnt know about imprinting. The other two experienced violence from humans before they came to me.
@@CyanideOwl nah some are a totally different species. but they are columbids atleast.
@@CyanideOwlyeah moust doves are the same species as pigeons
I adopted my boy this year who is just like this. Some lady found him as a baby, had no idea what she was doing. He was sweet and cute at first, and then he became an absolute behavioral nightmare. She couldn't handle him and surrendered him. He was been in and out of homes for 6 years and violently attacks other birds (almost killed one at his last home). It's just so sad knowing this could have been avoided if she just gave the bird to a professional. Anyway, this is his forever home now regardless of the constant biting, charging, and wing slaps- but it's still really heartbreaking.
Thank you for looking after him
I sat watching this with my new pet pigeon on my shoulder. I rescued her from a London shopping center car park. She was star gazing with her head upside down. Ive had her three weeks and she still fits but shes getting better and we are fast becoming friends. Thanks for your video.
Wow. I just wanted to say thank you for caring for him despite his aggression. He's lucky that you two connected.
I don't know anything about pigeons, I'm a rat & reptile enthusiast, but this vid randomly appeared so I took a peek and I feel so sad for all the birds who don't end up in happy homes. It's so amazing of you to look after him.
This really warmed my heart and I hope you know how special it is that you do this. You really rock : )
Thanks for sharing.
Xoxox
I had a pigion my dad brought home as a fledgling. It was male and acted just like Loki here, but it came in handy. He chased a bully away once. ^_^ He also attacked the school bus when it "ate" me. I wasn't allowed to bring him indoors, so he'd follow me from window to window. I did wind up getting more pigeons so he wouldn't be so alone, but bullies shot him and most of my flock when i was in middle school. Poor Pidge.
Shot your pigeons? That’s pretty extreme.
hurting small animals? i hate those guys.
Genuinely psycopathic behavior. Sad that happened to you.
If those bullies are still in your proximity of town...
*Its time to assemble your murder of crows and give them a taste of karma* . /hj
Never mess with the druids or their allies lol.
Pretty sure that's how Mike Tyson was created.
That was very educational. I have raised hundreds of pigeons, and they were very tame. But I never "imprinted" them. They did not think they were humans, so they were well adjusted. I like to watch people who have imprinted their pigeons as "mates". It's sweet. I did not know the consequences. It makes sense.
Where would you say the line goes between taming and imprinting?
@@chestnut4860 I don't know. But maybe if they try to breed you it's a clue. I can't say. Dogs try to hump people when they feel happy or glad to see you.
@@chestnut4860 i would say when you get a pigeon 30 days or over it doesn't imprint, i have a pigeon who i got at 20-40 days old and she isn't nearly as aggressive as loki is in this video (maybe it's because she's a female but still)
i love how his wife is in the back watching you getting beaten up by her husband while you speak gibrish to her xDDDDDDDDD
From what I’ve seen pigeon aggression is marked by the Wing Slap(TM)
yea, wing slap and pecking are the only defenses a pigeon has, and sometimes their claws but its rare, is more common in doves to use their claws than pigeons themselves
The wing slap is normal. It means youre invading their space. Particularly in this video. He is defending his hen. Sad to see him tormented by a larger being.
Hello please help me there are pigeons invading my garden and scaring off the pigeon who's nesting in my tree. Everytime she tries to eat the invaders fly at her and attack her 😭 they have a terrible attitude problem and seem to hate everyone including me 😂 what do I do?
@@anima6035 kill the attackers raise the baby yourself
@@anima6035 nothing.
Not only is it important to avoid imprinting, but also it's important to know what you're getting into in general when taking in any animal. It takes a special kind of person to be able to handle this behavior, so it's important to know about it beforehand. That applies to all kinds of animals. A lot of them require special care or handling, and people need to know what they're signing up for so they can decide whether or not they can provide a good home.
I got into something I did not know but it still worth it, I thought this behaviour was just because it’s a wild animal.
As a person who never had a pigeon as a pet, but only observed them on the streets, I could never imagine that such cute birds can ever be aggressive 😮
It's just an instinct that you actually can play along with and get him to stop if you let him win, then he'll stop and be your best pigeon again. Or so I've seen another pigeon breeder say and show in her vid
theres a difference between observed and seen
better kill it.
@@irisbaez1972
Why?
Chill.@@irisbaez1972
Loki never learned that you don't bite the hand that feeds you.
bro was slapping you with his wings 💀
This is actually a huge comfort to me with my pigeon! Thank you so much for all these videos youve made.
My bird is one we rescued when she was young, we arent entirely sure if shes male or female, but she acts exactly like Loki does here
You could always have her DNA tested :) orders.iqbirdtesting.com/product/avian-dna-sexing-blood/
Regardless make sure she has access to oyster shell for calcium AND red pigeon grit as their is extra minerals in the grit and if she is a hen she will lay eggs eventually so she really needs those minerals
I like the wife just watching her husband fights the owner.
I really appreciate you sharing your experience with Loki. He reminds me a lot of our male rescue. He is quite aggressive and territorial by default when at home, he is bonded to my wife and nobody else can pet him. His behaviour towards me is basically just like Loki's, except when he chooses to come and sit on my shoulder. Even then there is a 50% chance of a hard ear bite... However, this only applies at home. We are trying to get him used to people and the outdoors, and whenever we take him out to a new place he will cuddle up to my cheek and let me pet him. I wonder if it could be the same with Loki? When you keep these boys inside, they get stuck in their little territorial bubble where they are the kings. Always have to be the tough guy. But take them out of that bubble... Not so tough anymore. It can be different for different birds of course. There is also sexual frustration involved as well of course... I always feel that I wish I could understand our boy better. We are doing our best though and he seems happy most of the time. Best of luck to you and Loki ❤❤❤
Yes when loki goes on outings he is very sweet towards everyone but if someone reaches for me and surprises him he will attack
@@homeofhousechickens6856I recently saw another vid of a woman with pigeons and she said this WASN'T aggression, that you only need to play along and "wrestle" him for a moment and then pretend he defeated your hand. She showed it and it worked on her pigeons, so maybe you should try that and then whether it is true or not maaaybe spread the word that this isn't aggression? I see some people doing kindof awful things to their male pigeons as a way to try "correct" them.
If this is their normal behaviour maybe there's a good reason for it?
In the wild other birds always try to kill each other's kids and steal their nest and such. Does this happen only around the nest or is it everywhere else in the house?
@@Hotchpotchsoup Aggression can be an understandable behavior-- my cats have overload aggression (pet too much and they decide your hand is for bites and scratches) and "defeat" is the correct de-escalation (so the animal releases you instead of continuing the fight.
Animal aggression (and in fact, human aggression) is usually a stress response and a victory over the irritant causes temporary stress release. It's not complicated, but the thing is: it's positively reinforcing the behavior.
You're teaching the animal that aggression will reduce their stress levels, instead of desensitizing it to the stimulus to reduce stress levels when exposed to the disturbance.
@@Hotchpotchsoup i believe the video youre talking about is actually their own video lol
@@Hotchpotchsoup The person you are replying to made the video you are referencing.
I have currently 10 and up to 20 different pigeons within past couple years, and gotta say it's all highly individual. For example, I currently have a young (little under 6 months) black cock that looks very similar to your Loki, and he definitely has aggression issues. But he's not imprinted on me or any human, even though he's been raised by me in cooperation with his parents. His nestmate sister (aka his current wife) is absolutely nice tame girl, though can also wingslap on occasion. They were bonded ever since they were born and never apart for more than a night, and they never treated humans as potential mates, but only as a source of food and occasional nastiness like medications or being moved to other room for being too loud at night.
Another boy I had to raise pretty much on my own since his parents were newbies, did a poor job feeding and were plucking his feathers. So I kept him in separate cage since week 2, and he had issues with learning to feed on his own, so there was some extensive suringe and tube feeding, up to 1.5 months or so. And now he's the most tame of all male pigeons I ever had. He's not biting even in his cage (his wife does though, and she is also imprinted on me). And his guy only flies at me for pets, shoves his beak in my fingers and acts as if he's still a little baby around me. Imprintend to a point it was very hard to get him paired with his wife, but zero aggression. Maleness confirmed too, he could've been a father a few times by now.
Meanwhile his father is also imprinted, but up to 2 months age he lived and was born outside my window. Then I had to rescue him as he nearly froze to death. Next couple months he was a total vegetable, he didn't eat or drink on his own and learned everything from scratch. By the time he got better he already considered me his mate, apparently. And he has aggression issues, but it might be side effects of his brain injury. Other times he's a total loaf, but can flip into bity mood in a split second. He had a wife for a while, but was also aggressive to his mate, and she was plucking his forehead from anxiety, so I separated them, and now he's bonded to me again. Still aggressive on occasion, but that's ok. Not being dead is already a challenge for this guy.
So tl;dr: it is all highly variable and imprinting is not the only (or guaranteed) source of aggression. Sometimes they just are for no good reason, other times they're just friendly despite imprinting.
I have a rescued imprinted male pigeon who behaves very much like Loki at times. The really wierd thing is that he has a completely different relationship with my right and left hands. He absolutely HATES my right hand and will attack and bite it. He seems only happy with it when it is passive and he can perch on it. Perhaps it's some kind of dominance thing? He loves my left hand and likes to be petted and cuddled with it. It is the hand he is very soft with and will groom it. If tell him off with my left hand its almost like he listens and will back off. Sometimes I will have to use my left hand to defend my right hand. I'm not allowed to hide my hands either. That bothers my pigeon a lot. Pigeon psychology is very difficult. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks I'm 3 different people!
My female pigeon hates my left hand
But she stop pecking after realized both hands are from the same person 😂
Im the same but with my feet and hands.
Duffy is 6 years old and he loves my feet but if in his nest, he wont let my hands near him
That's kinda hilarious, I should try and figure out if my gerbils have different reactions to each hand at all, I already know they are not very bright little guys lol (but super cute)
The other bird is just like "why are you so mad"
Imagine if this is how aliens talked about humans
"humans see us as potential rivals and potential mates"...
considering r34 exists...yeah...
i believe it.
@@akam9919 LMAO
you are so good with them, they are lucky to have someone who understands them so well and cares how they feel ❤
Thank you.
This explains so much about our boy and his aggression.
No worries, he won't be getting rid of us that easily. Despite his aggression, he is more often a delight to watch live his life.
But, it's nice to understand how and why his behaviour is the way it is.
Thank you so much for taking time to answer my questions and share your discoveries!
This was a very helpful video. I rescued a male pigeon just over a year ago after he was hit by a car then attacked by a dog. He behaves exactly like Loki. I named mine Khonshu, love him to bits. Sadly hes blind in one eye and flightless which ive tried ti get sorted at the vets but due to bird flu they wouldn't see him
burst out laughing at 2:12, a sexually confused bird
My male bobwhite quail is the same way, imprinted yet he was the sweetest, smartest little bird I’ve ever had. He became I’ll very suddenly and died a few days ago. My heart hurts. Really miss him.
I’m so confused what does imprinting mean? I’m buying a pigeon probably no more than 18 months old and it’s a male should I be worried? I’m getting a Chinese owl pigeon
Imprinting is just when a very young bird hasn’t had much interaction with other birds yet. Because of this, your baby bird thinks you’re the parent. At the very least, your baby bird will never be afraid of you and will treat you as a member of its flock. At 18 months, your young pigeon did not have that early advantage. Still, pigeons are very intelligent and your bird should still form a close bond with you. If your bird finds a mate, he still knows and loves you, but will instead have that bond with his mate. You may even notice aggression as your pigeon and his mate establish territorial boundaries.
My Bubo is the same. But it's actually like we're wrestling. I let him have his fun and burn off energy. He is muscular and built for extreme endurance. That energy has to go somewhere.
He actually likes to bite my left hand the most because he knows I'll scoop him up with my right hand and take him to the window. Then he just chills and we slowly blink our eyes at each other before he tries to go to sleep in my arms. He likes to bite me. But he friggin' loves being with me.
Such an interesting relationship 😄
How about making a video of the above behaviour, ending with Bubo sleeping peacefully in your arms
I had an older female pigeon that believed I was her mate and she would lunge at my husband if he try to kiss me. She was wild with a broken wing when she came to me, so she couldn't be returned to the wild and I didn't know how old she was. I fell in love with her, she totally change my view of pigeons.
i know dogs don't imprint, but my old dog was actually SORT OF like this. if me and my partner tried to kiss or cuddle in front of her she would immediately jump up and wedge herself between us, even going so far as to shove her face between our faces and push us apart lmao. it wasn't aggressive though- just like a gentle "hey, stop that." we used to joke that she was either jealous or was reminding us to "leave room for jesus" lmao, but i genuinely to this day have zero idea why she did it or what it meant. maybe she just thought she was joining in on cuddle time lol
1:22 **aggressive slaps**
I heard that 😂 lol I came to.comment this high five. We've both definitely learned and noticed the flapp punches birds do through this and other bird vids 🎉
Get the boxxxing gloves lol
I have a hen who when not nesting can't get enough of me for cuddles, pets, grooming (I'm a male) and nibble-grooms mu toes and ears. Unfortunately she will attack my mate whenever possible. The bird was shot with a BB gun, breaking her wing ; she'll never be able to fly A friend kept her in a milk crate for about a year, but he died of brain cancer and asked if I'd care for the bird. So I have a commitment debt of promise to him. My partner and I appropriately named the bird Bird-debt. It got too hot to leave her outside (115 degrees) in her big cage so we moved her inside. We didn't try imprinting her, she decided to imprint to me. Bird-debt is aggressive towards my partner but is showing expanded moments of congeniality. Six months later she started laying pairs of eggs so I assume she was quite young. She lays about once a month. The bird is quite smart, she house trained herself to poop in an area of linoleum in the kitchen. When she's show off flapping in circles she'd get a treat. When she'd pooped properly she started expecting to get a treat.would get a treat. She's now trying to trick us by getting a treat for pooping, then backs up to act like the same poop was just done, and deserved another treat. A problem we have is we are both in our mid-to-late seventies with uncertain futures. If you know of anyone in the Las Vegas area who would want the bird we would be grateful. If possible we could ship. Thanks
Bro. I wish I could help you out. I've wanted a birb but I'm moving to Texas from California. I already have a dog I want to get rid of. (He was left with me but will bite me.) If I find anyone soon I'll try to refer them to this comment unless you have another method for communication.
Dude thats so fucking sad, im really sorry for hearing that i hope everything is going ok
didnt even know 70 year olds watched youtube but that freaking sucks man
I used to have dozens of pigeons but one of the male pigeon a.k.a my very first pigeon was usually calm and lovley. He wouldn't bite a bit let alone wings slap. And he was actually a lot older when it first came to my house.
Another "person who has an Imprinted male bird" attesting to their spiciness! Our boy Pippin was 3 days old when his parents abandoned him, so our option was either "hand raise and risk Imprinting" or something more unfortunate. At 3 years old now, he's a much beloved pet, and everyone in the household understands that he's a little demon (affectionate), but it's not exactly what would make a desirable pet for the average household.
It's possible for them to live happy, fulfilled lives as house birds, but they are much bitier, slappier, feistier than a human socialized but parent-raised pidge.
Thank you for this. I watched both videos and my pigeon is somewhere in-between... He will start out driving and being more "flirty" and then when I try to interact with him in any way he starts biting and holding on. Not quite as aggressively as Loki, but definitely not gentle like Fluffernutter. His behavior confuses me. When he starts to get too aggressive I do step away for a while to let him cool down. Then he contact calls, and when I respond to the contact calling and come back, he's back to being angry and won't let me touch him without biting. I really don't like the (aggressive) biting, especially when it's at my face and I could use some advice if you have any.
He is not angry. This is normal male behavior. He thinks you are his hen. Male pigeons can be quite brutal to their hens. If she is not cooperative they will continue even if they starve her to death. Its just nature. You cant change it. Only understand this is true of them. He needs a hen. Be sure to get a set of fake eggs, and use them to replace the eggs she lays.
Safty glasses, wrap around safty glasses, they can be the cheap one from the dollar store.
@@carolynnwaud7146 Absolutely!! No matter how friendly your bird is, the eyeball is irresitable.
As someone else said here: especially attacks to the head and feet are meant to hurt.
Stay safe.
if he is bonded to you, i would try slow nodding towards him till he nods back! then when he does, pet him n give treats! this is what helped me & now he just wants pets most of the time :) ❤
The bird in the back:
👁️👄👁️
i have three pigeons all raised together, the youngest is more aggressive and the middle aged one is very tame because i had to assist it medically for several weeks when it was just finished with its baby fluff. they havent done the wing flicks at me, but will do the biting with my hands (only through bars, when im in there they are fine and do rubby beak things and stuff) but i also have an australian crested pigeon who does the same as your pigeon. he only dances as intimidation so far but tends to attack me when i have a new object (his bites are nowhere near as painful as the other pigeons as they are rock/domestic pigeons breed. he attacks socks, bottles, especially coke bottles, and myself when he thinks he is the boss. as he is my only inside pigeon, when he gets especially bossy, i reassert my dominance by not allowing him to be on my shoulders. and eventually he will only be allowed once he has asked for permission (beak rubs). this video is very interesting and im glad to see this is 'normal' ish behaviour and that you can be lighthearted about it. very reassuring
he has also tried to nest a lip balm tube for several days, but apparently the parent life was not for him because he abandoned it lmao
Sounds like the downsides with _some_ species of hand reared parrots. They end up having either behavioural or health issues because they were not raised by or taught by another bird early on. Problems that parent reared birds don't have.
I recently adopted two pigeons and I didn't even know imprinting was a thing until today :o They both act this way (they're married) and I had no idea why so thank you for this video!!!
I get the feeling that if Loki was a ninja turtle, he'd be Raphael. Great guy, loves his family, feels EVERYTHING, but it's all underneath a bunch of aggression and reactivity because he doesn't know how to deal, and how could he?
I had the exact same thing with Loki, happen to my pigeon, he also slaps me with his wings
Yeah imprints are what i call "spicy"
Same when i try picking my male pigeon, he sometimes slaps me with his wing or bite me with his beak.
Because his wife has eggs now
A little update!
He no longer smaccs me with his wings although he has a wife and a son!
@@xzccq cool.
@@solaz_r thanks
I picked up a female squab about 2 weeks old. She is now 8 months old and imprinted on me. She is following me around all around the house and watches TV and sleeps on me. But she is super aggressive with my kids.
Yep sadly imprinting messes up their brain so they dont develop normally. Imprinting tells a bird what species it is and what it should see as a mate. Pair that with most imprints not getting a chance to be hazed and experience a flock pecking order they grow up not knowing that their excessive aggression,pecking, wing slapping is inappropriate.
Pigeons have a natural instinct to wrestle with their flock mates for status and resources and pigeons also fight for their mates and chase them as well. An imprint doesnt know how to handle this instinct when they are imprinted on people so it leads to the bad behavior.
@@homeofhousechickens6856 i dont think so imprinting is bad. Sorry. I have handtamed male as well as female. The males who have imprinted they are super cuddly..it depends howmuch time ur giving.. mine is always wd me we share soomuch of love.. so i don think its bad.. ppl just dont know how to raise its nt tht u take a squab hand feed ans puffff they are attached? Nope. Its the time u spend wd dem daily... i have a cockatiel too who again imprinted and is super cuddly as well... so its ur way of giving love...whch will calm tht anger.. yes my pigeon doesnt like my mother or daughter🤣their they show their anger like plsss go away or il bite.. bt wd me never..
I have a rescue pigeon that displays the same biting behaviour - sweet one minute, biting me the next, then back to being sweet again. What was odd was mine was rescued because it was young, not appearing to be doing well, and had a back injury (bleeding, missing feathers). He was treated daily for his injuries, fed every other day (he was underweight), and yet he imprinted on me. I've had other birds I've had to handle more frequently and never had a problem. So now I have a nippy pet pigeon!
When they flap the wing out like loci I call it a high five! My pigeon perches on my head and then gives me a high five! Good video!
Hello! I hope I can get some of your sage pigeon advice. I’ve been watching your videos religiously since I began wanting a pigeon, and then about a week ago I found an abandoned fledgling that couldn’t fly and wasn’t being fed by the flock. I watched for an embarrassingly long time and all of the pigeons around ignored him/her consistently.
The people living there reported they’d sat there for three days and just sometimes picking at food people would throw at them.
When I caught them, they were EXTREMELY skinny, to the point I wasn’t sure they’d make it. They’re still gaining weight.
I think they must have been 24-25 days old? Their underwing is just losing the sheaths around their pin feathers. Is this old enough for them to not imprint on me, or would them being ignored sort of make that happen anyway?
By the second they weren’t afraid of me at all and liked to sleep on me.
What’s worrying me is, since yesterday when I put my hand in their cage while they’re resting in there, they’ll puff up and honk at me (trying to coo, but their voice is too high). I’m worried they’re on their way to turning into your lovey boy here LOL
No wing slapping or bites, and they sit down and let me scratch them but I don’t know if there’s something I should do to ‘fix’ or curb this? ;^; Thank you for any possible advice!
They will likely be imprinted by you at this age but the behavior your describing is them feeling defensive since your reaching towards them. They are still young so that's how they scare stuff off
@@homeofhousechickens6856 Damn, thank you. :( I hope they don’t imprint to a degree that makes them super aggressive.
I don’t think they’re afraid, unless they’re just being defensive of their space. They’ll do a little hop towards me and then try to get me to feed them.
I assumed they were a female someone said this behaviour seems much more like a young male!
Hopefully the behaviour stays confined to their cage.
Well how do you avoid a pigeon imprinting? I thought this was something that would just happen either way, but I don’t know much abt pigoens
Ideally let them be raised by foster parents or make sure when they fledge they are heavily socialized with other pigeons as that is a critical time period for them to learn boundaries
@@homeofhousechickens6856 thanks for replying even though I’m late to the video! I’ll keep that in mind because I do wanna get a pigeon or pigeonS :)
I don’t have pigeons but still appreciate the info. Yes Loki is gorgeous!
This mad woman brought the fiercest of the pallet town tall grass into her home!
Two questions: how do you do this imprint that you talk about, and is it reversible? I am really curious, sorry.
Very knowledgeable, thank you. I keep thinking the wing slaps are a throwback to dinosaur behavior, imagine if he had arms with claws!
You're a very understanding and insightful person. Need diplomats of this caliber
Loki said “you don’t want this smoke!”
I also rescued a four day old pigeon( male) and tried to get him a female to bond with ( instead of me) unfortunately the woman I talked to at the local rescue,decided that he didnt need a female( and threw me under the bus) I've had him for four years now,( and he is the only one who imprinted on me) your pigeon is much nicer to you,then mine is to me.mine draws blood.the only time hes even civil to me,is if he's scared of something( like fireworks) I love him,but there are days I wish,I had handed him off to a rescue,as a fledgling. He hates everyone,and everything. Hes not interested in a female at all.( of his own species) fake eggs helped for a while,to settle him down,but that doesnt work anymore,and he rolls them out . :(
I had this too from my adored male pigeon. I still dont understand, because he *also* treated me like we were mates. So he would want equally to be near me, and to drive me away - The way I interpreted it (while not believing I truly understood) was that fighting was his favourtite play. We were homeless together for 7 years. He got killed 2 years ago, and I still miss him painfully most of the time. He was such a perpetual wonder to me (whether purring or attacking! - ps he was most aggressive towards my barefeet, then hands, but almost never pecked my face, which he would preen)
Damn loki used wing attack like a pokemon
I like how the other pigeon is so calm, like being proud of her husband driving off even a human
this explains a lot, I don't have birds, but I did have a parakeet, I didn't raise him a kid gifted him to me because he was so aggresive, but being the kid I was we just accepted him as loud and aggresive as he was, but the kid lived on a far and had a bunch of animals it wouldn't be a surprise if the bird imprinted on humans!
How do you prevent imprinting, though?
And why are they aggressive when they imprinted on a person?
The problem is he was never around older pigeons that were able to keep him in-line. His behavior would not be tolerated by older pigeons and they would have put his ass in his place the second he tried this aggressive crap around them. When you take an infant and never have them understand what tolerated behavior is, they turn out to be spoiled brats... And you have quite the brat on your hands... literally. I raised parakeets, this behavior is no different.
peck
peck
wing attack
peck
wing attack
wing attack
growl
One reason why you SHOULD is for the mad 20% stat boost!
Wait... What am I doing here again!?
Is it okay to pin them with a hand if they get too aggressive? Not roughly, but like you would a dog. Like "No. Stop that. That isn't okay". I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt one while just keeping it from being aggressive
Is it possible to make this behavior change to something less then constant attacks at hands and feet? Mine, a 3 to 4 month old female gets extremely aggressive when she sees my hands. I’ve been working with her but nothing seems to help, she just despises hands. She also gets territorial with things she considers “fun” or “hers”. But otherwise she constantly follows me around and snuggles, she had a similar situation as Loki and I was forced to hand raise her. My family hates how she acts like this and keeps saying I should just release her which obviously isn’t an option as she was hand reared and extremely imprinted on me specifically.
He's a good boy protecting his girl and his home 😎👍
So I found a practically dead pigeon who was estimated 4 weeks old, I took them (Winnie) back to my family’s to rehabilitate them & after a while they started standing, walking, flying again! They were sweet for a while, but got more aggressive especially once I finally got a cage! Then got really territorial about the cage, but also away from the cage, would be moody, sometimes sweet, liking pets, & others making angry sounds, fluffed up, biting etc. was definitely happiest when on walks! I finally moved Winnie to my place about a month ago, was hoping would be happier with more attention, closer to a window etc. I have 3 cats & sometimes Winnie is quite good with my cats, kind of cuddled up, lands on them, seems to try to nicely groom sometimes but other times aggressively pecks & gets angry. The issues though are that after a month at my place is still soooo vocal so much of the time whether in the cage or outside of the cage whenever anyone is anywhere near the cage ( & my place is very small so it’s in the public space) & the pacing fluffed up & noises are stressing me out & I’m already going through a lot of stress in my life. I’ve also been losing hair from stress & Winnie is not helping by pecking at my hair, landing on my head with their claws, I try to wear hats but it’s hard to tuck all my hair in & their sharp nails can be felt some even through a head scarf & 2 layers of knit beanies (this also makes me look quite dumb) the local pigeon person had told me Winnie was a girl but I’m thinking she sounds like a boy. I don’t know what to do, I’m debating giving Winnie to this local pigeon person to live in an aviary with other pigeons & doves. Would this be best? I do feel bad because Winnie loves walks with me & does often like to perch on me, sometimes seems to like me, but often also seems unhappy & the noise & being attacked itsn’t great for me or my roommate (my cats are pretty chill & are entertained by Winnie, but when they are attacked donmt like that ofc) I just don’t know what to do but I need to minimize stress in my life ):
I am not pro cats and birds interacting, it does sound like he would be safer and happier in an aviary. Loki unfortunately is to scared and aggressive towards other pigeons for that to be a viable option for him.
gotcha, thank you! my cats are super gentle and respectful of Winnie, and Winnie actually seems to like cats more than humans! will land on the cats and chill on their backs, cool with the cats sniffing their tail etc, sometimes they get moody qith the cats but less so than Winnie gets moody with humans! it's more how loud and protective of their cage winnie is, and how winnie will peck at my head/hair and scratch my scalp with their claws by standing/walking on my heads, or that they will land on people like my roommate but then get grumpy and bite them randomly etc that are more so the issues. i am definitely considering the aviary, but one of the cons was actually i thought winnie might miss the cats!
@@homeofhousechickens6856
and they do sometimes seem to really like me, happy grunting at me etc, so i don't want winnie to feel abandoned by me, but maybe winnie would end up happier in the long run with a flock and maybe a mate?@@homeofhousechickens6856
Love your understanding, compassionate vibe. Thanks for the knowledge for this new pigeon owner. ♡
My little peanut acts like this most of the time. He's so tough and we have such good times. He cracks me up!
I can't believe how beautiful and utterly based this bird is.
I love how opposite they are to Budgerigars. I've raised Budgies and had them all my life and you'll find the males to be incredibly friendly, outgoing and sometimes definitely needing the "bonk stick". My females tend to be more grumpy, impatient, not very vocal or as outgoing. Not that the females can't be, they just usually have a bit more sass. I've had to keep one of my females separate because she is incredibly pushy and temperamental when hormonal. They all get yearly vet visits as well, like to keep my flock healthy.
Are female pigeons more friendly than the males? I was considering an owl pigeon but I would be very new to pigeons. Very different birds. Also curious, is it a good idea to give a partner to an aggressive pigeon? If any of it is genetic I'd assume you wouldn't want to breed them, but it seems counter intuitive to give a partner without intent to breed, especially if it triggers this kind of behavior. Not making any accusations I'm asking totally out of curiosity sake since I am not familiar with them.
Thank you for this educational video and the great way you explained and demonstrated it.
We never had any pets and i (kind of) held it against my parents.. as they did have pets.. when they were younger.
But we have had pigeons using our winding grills as maternity wards.. and yes.. when trying to protect their young.. crows, pigeons.. DO do this.
I actually do not understand.. how one can not imprint another animal .. if raising them in matchbox sized apartments.
(I am from and in India.. and my mother primarily used that reason: that oh... we ought not to cage animals in small concrete jungle homes).
.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Mister Loki and missus are hopefully doing fine and already having more kids
is there a way to improve his behaviour?? please i rescued a baby pigeon and raised him now he has become very skittish and agressive like this i dont know how to interact with him does anyone have any tips?
Squab Soup
I saved a London pigeon last season. Named him jim. Wonky feet, badly,so good job I saved him. He is an aggressive fukka but I love it! He's a good boy x
I just love the sound it makes when he aggressively slaps his wings on your hands. BEGONE HUMAN MY WOMAN IS HATCHING HER EGGS *_TAP TAP TAP_*
@summersmooth
0 seconds ago
I use to be homeless up untill january this year. I use to sit out side home bargains begging everyday. everyday fgor 12 moth a brown pigeon would come sit with me everyday and share food i got of customers. She once came with an broken egg stuck to her bottom, so i caught her and removed the shell. I am now in recovery and live in a lovely home. but that little pigeon got me through the covid lockdown and she was so inelligent, Just after 2 weeks i saw her in the main city of Wakefield, I saw a pigeon the same color as my pal, so i shouted and to my amazment, it was my pal. she flew out of the pack and wobbled running straight towards me lol xx
*Thanks for this video. I found a male like this about 4 years ago. At the time he had severe PPMV, so he was so incapacitated that I didn't see his aggression until later... I kept him because he simply can't survive outside so to how much fluid he excretes, and that's a death sentence in the desert. He's very confused - he loves his wife, but having people who treat him well makes him very confused about who to love more...*
No wonder when I was young, our pigeon was so crazy. But I liked it because a crazy pigeon thinks my fingers are worms. A peck and bite, then I give em a big hug
What does imprinting mean?
At least their attacks are almost powerless against humans, my female pigeon also attacks other humans when she has eggs, and especially if I wear uncommon clothes. They also believes our hands are members of the group because we use them to interact with them.
How long does it take to imprint a pigeon? I rescued a baby that was less than a week old, and I may have unwittingly imprinted him.
They are definitely imprinted. Best thing you can do is introduce them to adult pigeons in a loft once they fully fledge as that is a critical time for them to learn manners
I have a question. Wouldn't this agressive behavior (by imprints) reduce or go away if....as I have seen in a few videos...pigeons have sex with human hands, with the hands of those who raised them? If an imprint started considering the person his partner/wife and had sex with a person's hand, even then he would continue to behave the same way? (Like would Loki continue to behave the same way?)
can human hand stay with the pigeon 24/7?
What videos have you been watching
not sure if it's legal to give a handy to a bird but you may have a point I guess lol
Had a dove Pair, and they were aggressive, when they laid eggs for the first time, never after, I guess they trusted me that I would never hard the eggs or them so they let me see them, awww i miss them now :(
Someone in my house has a female dove (lays eggs) and she's really aggressive to me but also scared of me, so she doesn't bite me too much before she flies away
Duly noted. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
I randomly found this video. Anyway one of my pigeons does the same and I like him the most.
Hitchcock accurately captured and clearly showed everyone who does not understand the nature of these creatures what kind of creatures they are
Hitchcock used crows. These are pigeons. Why do I feel like you've never even watched the actual movie lol
used to have one we called mira (short for miracle in the way it came into our lives)that was burgundy colored and had like a unique head feather like a cockatiel , my dad took care of it and it was not too fond of me but it got released eventually and many years later to my surprise i found it outside and called to it in surprise it recognised me and came towards me and its mate started pecking at its mohawk trying to pull it away from me not knowing what was going on and then it came on my hands and i started walking back home and its mate flew onto my shoulder lol it was an amazing miracle and that was why we always named it mira so when i called out it came to me i was shocked to find it all those years later and how it trusted me so i took it home to dad and later it had eggs and i tried going near it it would peck at me gently to stay away but when dad went near it would not do that and let him rearrange some things in trust lol amazing
I have a 6 year old and hes in love with me.
Is it too late to find him a female or cruel not to? Theres a flock of ferals that visit frequently coz they like to eat his food. He looks at them like theyre Aliens and almost hides behind me like a shy child... If theyre bonded with a human, how cruel is it to be away for periods of time such as a day or week?
Well time is important.. bt smetime we have to go.mine was away frm me for 3mnths so wen i returned back she was angry..but just for 2days the next day she remembered me and again was cuddly
@@tinajacob9007thankyou! I worry about going on holidays etc. I feel like it would be cruel 😊
Cute pigeons
Do gloves work??
My oldest bird was a bit confusing to me he kind of acts like this with my hands. I found mine back in April. You have to have been maybe Around 5 weeks old. Was so sick and in so much pain when i found him. He was in our dispensery parking lot. He usually beats my hands up sometimes he sits at the other end of the couch and stares menacingly at me. Our routine for the day is morning i open door feed him and play for about 10 minutes depending on my schedule. I have recently came down with a bad flu and have not played with him. Husband did the routine for me he doesnt peck him much😂 but i passed out in our chair and woke up to him sleeping on my chest. When i woke up he stirred and wanted to plexk my hands again. But when i wasnt participating he stopped then went away.
this reminds me so much of my hand reared cockatiels behaviour as he grew up. I felt he was unhappy and was also dealing with chronic illness so i found him an aviary to live in with a flock of other ‘teils where i hear he’s very happy now.
I love your avril profile pic
I found my pigeon on a busy street when he was still a baby. I was afraid that a dog could eat him or that someone could trample him, so I took him home. It wasn't planned, but he was aggressive sometimes. I didn't really care, he was my baby.
It happened with my canary bird too. We had to hand feed him because his parents stopped and now he’s really aggressive towards other birds and humans too
I found a injured Pigeon in my front yard that couldn't fly...
I looked after him and he was actually a very polite Pigeon...
Took food out of my hand... didn't really attack me... and even when he did it was very playful with no intention of actually harming...
It would even sit on my shoulder while I would sit on my bench in front of my house.
What was interesting though was it never made that conventional Pigeon Sound... it made more "Squeek" sounds...
Which I found odd for a bird that "seemed" fully grown.
Sadly a Cat eventually somehow got to him about 2 weeks in from me looking after the Pigeon...
I was sad for a long... long time... 😔
Does anyone know if a Pigeon has "Imprinted" on you if it was willing to sit peacefully on your shoulder? 🤔
No imprinting is a different thing, yours was tame. It sounds like the bird you found was a fledgling who hadn't gotten his voice yet
I swear this is my male pigeon Rolo! Sometimes he's happy sometimes he's aggresive but I wont set him free! I recued him he was more dead then alive, he was 8 days old but he survived, but he is sooooo agressive!'
I don't own birds (kept getting recommended this video despite that, so I decided to watch) but I'm curious. Is there any way to prevent aggression like this? I see you're just tolerating it but could you like, hold him firmly but gently in one place until he calms down and stops trying to bite and slap? Or is there nothing you can do when a bird gets like Loki here? I know next to nothing about bird ownership and I don't know the first thing about appropriate positive/negative reinforcement with birbs, but it feels like there's something you could do...
Best way to prevent is to not imprint a bird and if it's a rescue situation like Loki was you would want to find pigeons or dove surrogate parents. Fluffernutter is an example of a pet pigeon that isn't imprinted and he is much more friendly. Negative reinforcement and "holding him down" would just be stressful and traumatizing to Loki. The best way to mitigate this behavior is to encourage him to socialize with other pigeons but he will always be bitey because he sees humans as the same species as him so we are both potential mates and rivals to him. You cannot change this it is a fundamental part of his biology when he was a baby in his bird brain humans are what he saw and recognized as his parents.
@@homeofhousechickens6856 So birds are kinda hard-locked to imprinting and behavioral issues are just what they are with them? Yeah, I wasn't sure if there was a physical action that could even be taken that wouldn't stress out the animal which is why I spoke cautiously. I guess I was so curious because I know that a lot of birds are extremely intelligent, so I'd figure there would be a way to teach and train and encourage better behavior. But birds are definitely not something I understand well, and clearly they aren't wired in quite the same way as other teachable animals. Thanks for the response and details!