Birds compatible with pigeons. Pigeon info.

Question
QUESTION: Dear Chrys:

I am thinking about installing an outdoor aviary in my backyard.  I would like to put one or two pigeons in the aviary along with other kinds of birds.  What other species of birds are compatible with pigeons?  The pigeons will either be babies or already domesticated. Also, I don't want the pigeons to breed.  How can you determine if a pigeon is male or female?  I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, which is a desert climate.  We can get freezing temperatures in the winter.  In the summer, it gets very hot and dry.  So please consider these factors when recommending birds compatible with pigeons.  Thank you very much for any help you can provide!

ANSWER: Hi, Susan,

You could probably house doves with pigeons successfully.  In addition, there are MANY, MANY different types of pigeons that could share the same habitat.  Pigeons come in all different sizes, shapes, colors, etc., and subspecies.  I wouldn't put parrots of any kind with them.  Each bird has a different personality, so compatibility really depends on each individual bird.  

Sexing pigeons - what type of pigeons do you want to sex?  There are certain behaviors that females/males exhibit that help identify their sex and, depending on the subspecies, may be some visual markers to identify sex.  Sometimes it isn't easy unless you can see their behavior with other birds.  In some pigeon species, males have a flatter head than a female...female's head is more rounded.  In some species, when the male courts his female, he fans and drags his tail on the ground whereas a female would not drag her tail.  It takes some experience to sex most pigeons.  Pigeons can live in a wide range of temps.  Where I live here in Ohio, it can get below zero in the wintertime and in the high 90's during the summer.  My pigeons stay outside all the time without heat/cooling.  However, I have a loft with an outside aviary/flight, so they can go inside to get out of the wind/weather when they want to.  Pigeons love basking in the sun and getting wet in the rain.

Chrys

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I really appreciate your expertise, Chris! I just gave you "10" ratings across the board as well. I have never owned birds before, so I have a couple more questions below for you.  I hope you don't mind.

1. Can pigeons and doves mate with each other?  I don't want them to reproduce.

2. Are there any colorful songbirds such as canaries that can live with pigeons?  And if they are compatible, can canaries withstand outdoor weather such as freezing temperatures in the winter and over 100 degrees in the summer?  Thank you for any additional info you can provide!

Answer
Hi again, and thank you, Susan.

If you are going to house male and female doves and/or pigeons together, they will mate.  Will they mate with each other, maybe.  Let me explain.  Any time you have male and female pigeons/doves housed together, the pigeons will pair up and the doves will pair up and then their will be babies.  Pigeons and doves are quite prolific breeders.  They can produce offspring about every 3 months if given the opportunity.  I've seen wild pigeons pair up with domestic pigeons and produce offspring.  I've also seen mourning doves pair up with domestic pigeons and produce offspring.  Doves are just a subspecies of pigeon.  I've never seen/heard of white doves pairing up with domestic pigeons or wild pigeons, however, since they are closely related, if you house them together, and they have no other choice of mates, it is highly likely they will pair up and mate.  Whether or not any offspring will be produced, I can't say for sure.  Realize this all depends on the individual birds and the situation.  If left to themselves in the wild, the 2 subspecies normally will select their own subspecies to mate with.  It's when we take away their "free choice" that results in the subspecies pairing up with each other.  An animals' main purpose in life is to procreate, so when we restrict their choices, they make due with what they have.  If you don't want them to reproduce, you'd have to ensure you have all of the same sex housed together.  Otherwise, you would have to remove any eggs laid shortly after being laid so no offspring hatch.

I do not recommend housing soft bills, parrots, pigeons, doves together.  Their housing requirements, diets, etc., are too different.  The small canary would have difficulty surviving well with pigeons/doves.  Any bird can be acclimated to live in cold temps, however, pigeons/doves can often be aggressive to each other, and canaries just wouldn't mix well with pigeons/doves.  Pigeons/doves could seriously harm a canary or any other bird this size.  It would be best to house them separately.  Birds that are kept outside should be medicated regularly against certain diseases/illnesses that are brought on by just being housed outside.  I'm not sure a canary or other "song bird" could withstand the same environment a pigeon/dove could withstand.  Canaries are normally inside birds because of their beauty and song.  Just the physical differences are drastic.

I hope I've helped further.

Chrys