Female birds use up precious time, effort and resources to lay eggs. Not only this but incubating eggs takes effort as well. The process of bringing new life into the wild is quite a task so seeing a pigeon break its eggs before the bird has seen the fruits of its labour can be quite concerning. So is the saying ‘mother knows best’ applicable in the case where pigeons break their eggs? This article looks into why pigeons break their eggs. 

A pigeon parent may break an egg because they need the calcium in the eggshells to replenish the calcium in their bodies. Also, if the egg is fragile, then the weight of the parents on the eggs can break the egg during incubation. Bird parents will also break the egg if they don’t have an adequate nest to grow the family in

 

Why do pigeons break their eggs?

Eggs are a sign of new life, birds create eggs to further the generation and species. But if a parent pigeon breaks its eggs then you can assume that this is for good reason

Pigeons break their eggs intentionally and/or unintentionally. One reason why pigeons break their eggs is because the eggshells are thin. The pressure of a pigeon parents sitting on the egg can be enough to break the egg. In this case, supplement the pigeons diet with added calcium to rectify the problem

Pigeons may also break and eat the eggs to replenish the calcium in their bodies. In this case, they are aware that they need additional calcium and thus they will intentionally break the eggs. Try to add calcium supplements to their food to fix this problem.

Another reason why pigeons break their eggs is because they lack proper nests to raise a family in, they would rather destroy their eggs than raise a family in unfavourable conditions. To help, try to provide them with proper nesting materials and look out for changes.

Why do pigeons abandon their eggs?

Pigeons are very good parents and will not abandon their eggs or young ones without good reason. A pigeon will only abandon her eggs when she feels threatened by human activities or by predators in her nesting place. Pigeons will also abandon their eggs if they are not showing signs of hatching after the incubation period has passed. In addition, they will abandon their eggs due to starvation or cold weather (it is hard to incubate eggs in cold weather).

Do pigeons break their eggs?

A pigeon may not intentionally break her egg but if she lacks calcium then the eggshell will be fragile and might break easily when the pigeon sits on it. A pigeon can also break her egg if she feels like the egg has gone bad or is not fertilized. If a mother pigeon intentionally breaks her egg, separate her from her partner and put her in a different environment until she is able to lay eggs properly.

Why do pigeons kill their babies?

Parents pigeons have an instinctual urge to kill any of their babies that fall out of the best. This is because the cry of the fallen baby will attract a predator which may attack the whole family.

Pigeons kill their malformed babies because they don’t want to use resources on a baby that might not survive. This is called scalping.

Pigeons are very protective of their territories, a pigeon will kill any other pigeon baby that encroaches on its nest. This is done to preserve its territory. It is advisable to clearly demarcate the boundaries of each nest to avoid this at home.

When a mother pigeon takes another partner, when her initial partner is lost, the new partner might decide to kill off the baby pigeons in the nest. This is common to many species including birds.

There is a myth that pigeons kill babies that have been handled by humans. Pigeons have a poor sense of smell so they won’t even realize a human has handled the baby if it didn’t see you handling it.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, a pigeon will break its egg if the parent bird needs calcium, if it can’t take care of the egg or if the egg is fragile. Parent pigeons practice survival by killing their crying babies to prevent predators from finding and attacking the whole family.

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why do pigeons coo constantly?, Why do pigeons shiver?, Why do pigeons peck each other?, Why do roller pigeons roll?