Poultry farmers are engaged in breeding ornamental breeds, for this it is necessary to be able to reliably determine the sex of birds. Even experienced dovecote owners do not always know how to correctly distinguish a pigeon from a dove externally. To distinguish pets by gender, scientific methods are used that rely on the external, vocal and behavioral characteristics of birds, and folk methods.
By beak and head
When determining the sex of a bird, first of all they pay attention to the external features, then to the behavior.With high reliability, a female can be distinguished from a male by the anatomical features of the head and beak.
In the pigeon:
- big head;
- high forehead;
- the neck is short and thick;
- the beak and the extension above the nostrils (cere) are larger and more voluminous.
The dove has:
- the head is smaller;
- the eyes are slightly larger and stand out more from the sockets;
- the neck is elongated, more graceful;
- the beak is small, thin, neat.
By color
Not only purebred birds, but also ordinary street birds differ in feather color. The color is dominated by gray-blue, gray-blue, blue-black, purple, burgundy shades. It is easy to distinguish birds by the intensity of the color of their plumage. The color of a pigeon is always richer than doves. The main tone is diluted with many shades. A special variety of shades is noted on the neck, and here the plumage has a metallic tint. The wings and tail feathers are decorated with patterns. Such a remarkable appearance of a dove is a way to attract a dove during the mating season.
The appearance of females is more modest. Usually the doves are monochromatic: gray, bluish-gray, dark gray, black. Its unremarkable appearance is mimicry, a way to protect itself from predators, making the bird unnoticeable in an urban environment. A female sitting in a shelter on her eggs is almost impossible to detect.
Decorative breeds have their own color nuances. There are breeds in which the male and female are indistinguishable in plumage color. In some breeds, the differences are minor, for example, in male ribbon tumblers, the stripe decorating the tail is wider than in females. And there are breeds whose representatives clearly differ in color. For example, American meat texans, in which the males are white or milky with dark brown spots, and the females are dark (brown, gray or blue).
By bird size
If the birds are healthy and fully developed, then the division of males and females by body size is clearly visible. The pigeon has a larger, more muscular, massive body, and longer limbs.
When distinguishing birds by size, they take into account the differences in breeds by weight category. There are breeds with large, medium and small builds, so only within-breed comparisons are acceptable. External signs are affected by the age of the pigeon. You should not measure a young bird. There is a high probability of making a mistake in determining the sex, since the male simply has not grown to normal weight.
According to the structure of the pelvis
Experienced dovecote owners prefer to distinguish pets by the anatomical features of the pelvic bones. Taking the pigeon in your arms, you need to gently stroke it on the chest and abdomen. Carefully find the paired bones in the back of the belly by touch. In a pigeon, the pelvic bones are close to each other, in a dove they are separated by about 2 cm. This method of identifying gender is applicable only for those females that have already laid eggs.
By voice
You can try to distinguish a dove from a dove by the voices made by pets. Although the method cannot be called reliable, since each person has his own auditory perception, which is not always objective, due to hearing problems or other reasons.
But many years of experience in listening to pets by poultry farmers allows us to draw the following conclusions:
- The pigeon's voice is louder and more clearly audible. Through cooing, gentlemen attract girlfriends during the mating season, and also prove their superiority over their rivals.
- The dove's voice is duller and sounds guttural.Experts often note the similarity of the guttural voice of females with the burr of human speech.
The nature
Males, for the most part, are fighters. Loud fights often start, even for no apparent reason. But usually conflicts are related to the conquest of territory or the struggle for the favor of the dove. If males are placed in one small cage, then a fight will become inevitable. Although some males do not demonstrate “knightly” behavior, they behave calmly and avoid more aggressive neighbors.
Doves show aggression only when they want to get rid of an annoying gentleman. Feathered “ladies” do not tend to conflict with each other.
Habits during the mating season
The behavior of birds changes significantly during the mating season. Males are more active and persistently attract the interest of females. Gentlemen are distinguished by their importunity, do not allow passage to their chosen ones, and follow on their heels, spreading their tail feathers like a fan and sticking out their crop. They bully their opponents and start group fights. Doves also compete, but their confrontation manifests itself differently, calmly and without conflict. From the outside, “female” competition looks like the peaceful cooing of females sitting nearby.
The behavior of birds that have formed a pair is interesting. A dove that has found a fan may experience some aggression towards approaching relatives. Showing off in front of her chosen one, she fusses, dances around him, and crouches on her belly. The gentleman, demonstrating interest, does not lag behind the dove one step, coos loudly, dances, spreading his feathers, showing his beautifully iridescent plumage. It opens its wings, covering the chosen one with them.
In relation to a person
The reaction to a person is different between a dove and a dove. To determine the sex of your pet, you can reach out your hand and try to pet the pigeon.In a feathered “man,” such an action will cause irritation and a desire to move away and peck. The fact is that for a pigeon, a human hand gesture means a manifestation of aggression. The dove's reaction will be calm. The pet is unlikely to move away and may allow itself to be petted.
Experienced poultry farmers often practice a different method of checking the gender: they take the pigeon by the beak and carefully pull it towards them. The male gets irritated and tries to pull out the beak. The dove's reaction is calm.
Another way is to stroke the pigeon's belly. The male will press his paws, the female will not react in any way.
The listed methods cannot be called reliable, because each pigeon has individual character traits, behavioral characteristics and reactions to humans. Many decorative pets are attached to their owner, react to his actions calmly, fly up at the first call, and behave obediently. In this case, these actions will be uninformative.
Traditional methods
People domesticated the pigeon many thousands of years ago. Since then, several popular methods for determining the gender of pets have appeared.
Planting birds in one cage
It is difficult for an inexperienced poultry farmer to determine the sex of a pigeon based on external characteristics. In this case, a simple method is used: two feathered pets are placed in one small cage and observed. If “men” find themselves in a cage, they begin to conflict and seek leadership in a limited space. If pigeons turn out to be cage neighbors, they behave quietly and friendly.
If there are different-sex individuals in the cage, then courtship begins. The male begins to circle around the female and coo. Moreover, the gentleman does not retreat, even if the chosen one does not show interest in him.If the female is interested, she begins to show off: she spreads her wings, dances, and crouches. The described method for determining the sex of a pigeon cannot be called reliable, since the behavior of birds is individual and may not meet expectations.
Using a Pendulum
A simple method of sex determination, but rejected by many experts due to its low degree of reliability, involves the use of a dowsing pendulum made of copper, bronze or brass.
You must proceed as follows:
- Tie a woolen thread to the pendulum.
- Take the dove in your palm.
- With your other hand, take the pendulum by the end of the thread and hang it over the pigeon’s back.
- Wait until the pendulum starts to move. If the movement is circular, then it is a female in the palm; if it is longitudinal, parallel to the body, then it is a male.
The method is in demand among inexperienced poultry farmers who are interested in esotericism and believe in the energy of living and inanimate objects.
How to determine the sex of chicks?
Distinguishing a baby pigeon from a dove is more difficult than recognizing the sex of adults. Chicks, which are a few years old, lack external and behavioral signs characteristic of their parents. Pigeons do not differ in body structure, voice, or intensity of plumage color.
There are several ways to distinguish a boy from a girl by external signs, but they cannot be called reliable, since the body sizes of chicks, like adults, are individual. The male chick may lag behind in development, and then it will be indistinguishable from the little relatives sitting nearby in the nest.
Possible distinguishing features:
- male chicks are slightly larger;
- Boys have slightly larger heads than girls;
- In some breeds, chicks of one sex have longer body down coverings than those of the other sex.
The last statement can be verified by examining the texan chicks. Their girls are fluffier than their boys.
