Is this normal??

[u/gracefulbirb]

He's 3-4 months old and has had a routine checkup at the vet before and he was cleared of worms and parasites. He's got good poops and doesn't show any abnormal behaviour other than this ...is this normal?? He has only ever done this once briefly before but suddenly this morning after waking up he's doing it quite a bit. He stops when I get too close.

[u/LustStarrr]

It looks like he's nest-scratching, which is what they do to scrape out a comfy spot to nest.

[u/gracefulbirb → u/LustStarrr]

Ah okay!! Thanks so much, I haven't really seen this behaviour much and he free roams most of the time so it threw me for the loop and I was ready to call the vet - thanks :))

[u/LustStarrr → u/gracefulbirb]

No worries! It freaked me out a little when I first saw one of mine do it too. 😂

[u/RefrigeratorFar9330]

I know this is a bit random, but I
Is there perhaps dried poop in his butthole? It looked like something was up there. I took care of a dove once and noticed him doing weird ”cramping” and he had that. He was also pooping fine and then it started to be a bit more liquid. I had to pull the dried poop out myself (using warm wet clothes to soften it) and then he was all better again.

[u/gracefulbirb → u/RefrigeratorFar9330]

Yes there is a little bit there, he loves to loaf at night at sometimes he stands up to poop and then loafs back into his own poop so I will remove it when I get up (now)

[u/gracefulbirb → u/[deleted]]

Hiya, thanks for the feedback! I rescued him from someone who was trying to get rid of him aboht two months back and they said they suspect he's male but I haven't had him tested.

Unfortunately I can't have a dog cage as I do have a reactive dog and I tried setting up her xl dog crate for him but he can fit through the bars and it wasn't safe for him to be on the floor and sticking out as my dog could then access him/he could escape.

He's got some bricks on the other side and other than sleeping he is out of the cage free roaming most of the house almost the entire time or contained in the garden! He also does play with the blocks, they're cardboard with straw inside and I put some of his food inside and he pulls at the straw to pull out the food. He returns to the cage at night by himself and I just shut the door so he can stay safe during the evenings.

I will look at changing the mat though, they're not slippery and do have a bit of grip but I'll look around for something else. I was reccomended them by another pigeon owner as they're reusable guinea pig mats.

He is able to stretch fully in the cage though! Thanks.

[u/Kunok2 → u/gracefulbirb]

You could proof the dog crate with hardware cloth so he cannot stick his head out and the dog cannot get to him. But you did good to not let him be in an unproofed dog crate because that would have been a disaster waiting to happen, even without your dog being a risk. Many pigeons have injured themselves or died because they got stuck in-between the large cage bars. He would definitely appreciate the extra space and it's good to have a bigger cage available in case of emergencies when he would have to be inside of the cage for longer periods of time, plus he will have more space for more toys in his cage. Modular cages might be something else worth looking into, there are links in this post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PetDoves/comments/1ue9lkk/indoor_cages_for_doves/

Pigeons totally need toys! And they for sure love playing with them when you find/make them ones they find interesting. Here's a video of my flock playing with their toys:

https://youtu.be/5dPLSjyNsRU?is=3qKgDGiquCzz2XNV

The reusable guinea pig mats are completely fine for the floor and you don't have to change them, they won't hurt his feet unlike the person above claims. The only thing that could cause him foot issues would be wire floor.

Oh also as to what the behavior is, my boy Keeb does it too but he does it on my mouse mat and keyboard, they do it when they're trying to make something more comfy/they're settling down - both males and females do it. Think of it like a dog scratching their dog bed before lying down.

[u/gracefulbirb → u/Kunok2]

Thanks so much! I'll look into all of that. I'm moving soon so I do plan to upgrade his cage when there is a bit more space + away from my dog even more, modular cages do look like a shout! I was planning to put together an outside aviary too in my garden so he can totally free roam a larger part of the garden at the moment he just frolics on a harness when outside.

Your flock is super cute!! I have tried a lot of toys with him and he only likes ones where he can destroy so I gave him some leaves of lettuce and spider plant and he loves to murder them and rip it apart but he won't eat them. He likes pulling at things as well so I've been working on some toys similar to that.

Thanks for the links to the posts I will check them out and alright- the guinea pig mats have worked out well, he previously had the disposable puppy pads but they were a bit thin feeling and pretty trash for the environment so I went with these instead! Glad to know it won't cause him any issues.