Elmo likes to sleep a lot. He’s at that age (coming up to 12 years old this year) that he nods off at any opportunity (in between chasing toes and attacking toys – tiring stuff that is!). So this week I’ve caught Elmo taking a nap in various locations. It seems he’s trying to find the perfect spot.
First I found him on the fluffy mat:
Then next to the window:
And today I caught Elmo taking a nap next to Georgie’s nest, the silly boy:
Georgie is sitting on (infertile) eggs again (she laid a new pair this week) and for some reason Elmo decided to sleep near her. I have no idea why since he hates Georgie. And as you can imagine, Georgie was not impressed with the close proximity. She’s very protective over her eggs and doesn’t like to be disturbed. So she quickly told Elmo off:
Sleeping pigeons and doves are two of my favorite things to see! So adorable.
Is something wrong with his feet?
What is the average life span of pigeons anyhow? 5 to 7 years raised in the wild and 12 to 15 years in a home environment?
Mine too, Deanna!
They always look so comfortable and lovely.
Hi Micheal, yes, Elmo has a limp (from an old leg fracture) and it is more pronounced after he’s been sleeping (it’s like the leg goes to sleep and he gets pins and needles).
Hi Frank, 15 years in captivity is the average life span, however, if they’re healthy and safe then they can live much longer in captivity (oldest recorded pigeon was a racing pigeon called Kaiser – he lived to be 32 1/2 years old!!).
Hi Revati
My baby pigeon survived and is now three weeks old.I took some photos if you would like to see them.He is adorable.I have a photo of him with his mummy and daddy, mummy not looking happy as she is again sitting on eggs.
I am not sure how to put them where you can see them though.
I could email them to you, if you email me your contact email.
Regards
Becky
I didn’t even think pigeons could survive to 12 years old! That’s longer than some cats I’ve had.
They’re very sweet animals.
Hi Martin, thanks for commenting. Actually, many bird species are long lived. The average livespan of a pigeon in captivity is 15 years, but they can live longer if they are healthy and live in a safe environment. And we agree, they are very sweet animals!
Elmo is so cute. How would he react if someone of your freinds would dance an coo to him?
Hi Eddy, Elmo would most likely dance and coo back to someone else cooing to him.
He loves the attention!
How sweet
I had done this to my feral pigeon flock and then they looked at me like ” human what are you doing? ”