How to determine the sex of a pigeon?

To conduct breeding and artificially create pairs of birds, a breeder must be able to accurately determine the sex of an individual. It's impossible to distinguish a male from a female pigeon by primary sexual characteristics, so birds must be compared by analyzing their appearance, voice, body structure, and even behavior. In addition to modern scientific methods, folk remedies can also be used.

External differences

By analyzing the birds' appearance, a breeder can identify males and females in a flock. To do this, they need to compare various parameters, which we'll discuss below.

Feather coloring

Bird feathers can have a wide variety of colors, from light blue and lilac to cherry, blue, and black. The shades vary by breed, but female plumage is generally considered to have two types:

• darker, closer to black;
• monotonous and nondescript, closer to gray.

This fact is due to the fact that the dull color helps the female to be less noticeable in the environment and serves as a kind of protection from predators, which is especially important during the period when she is incubating eggs and raising chicks.

Males, on the other hand, have lighter, more intensely colored plumage. Their feathers are often flecked with additional colors. Their necks are typically more intensely colored, with a metallic sheen, and their wings and tails are beautifully patterned. This appearance is believed to help males attract females for mating purposes.

These differences do not apply to male and female decorative pigeons, as their plumage is often identical in intensity.

Head and beak

Males have a high forehead, a more powerful and shorter neck, and a large, rounded head. Females, on the other hand, have a graceful, small head on a longer neck. It's worth noting that female doves have larger, more expressive eyes.

When comparing the beaks of males and females, it's important to note that males have a coarser and thicker beak. The same can be said about the cere—the thickened area of ​​skin at the base of the upper beak that contains the external openings.

Structure of the pelvic bones

This is one of the most important parameters, and one that even the most experienced breeders pay attention to. To analyze the pelvic bone structure, pick up the bird and examine it, stroking it from the chest, down the belly, and down to the vent. Feel the pelvic bones at the bottom of the abdomen:

• in the male, both bones are located close to each other and are almost invisible;
• In females that have already laid eggs, the bones are located at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other.

It's important to note that the pelvic bones of pigeons tend to separate once they begin laying eggs. Until puberty, chicks show no differences in pelvic structure, as the two bones fit tightly together.

According to observations by poultry farmers, when a person strokes their belly, males immediately tuck their paws in, but females do not change their body position.

Voice

Experienced breeders can determine the sex of a bird by its voice:

• Males coo much louder, clearer, and more insistently. They have a rough, bass-like voice. This is because their cooing is used to attract the attention of females. Their loud bass voice also often scares off potential rivals.
• Doves coo more softly and quietly. They have a deeper, guttural timbre, which is why their cooing is often called "burr." Females' songs are single-note, soft-voiced, although some individuals have a rougher sound, which can make them confuse with males.

It is quite difficult to correctly determine the sex of a bird based on its voice alone, since subjective human perception plays a large role.

Body dimensions

Males are always larger and heavier, and have a massive body. Females, on the other hand, have a more graceful figure and short legs. However, it should be noted that in some ornamental pigeon species, females are larger. This fact must be clearly stated in the breed's exterior characteristics.

When comparing pigeons by body size, their age must be taken into account, as young birds are always smaller and more graceful than older ones. Furthermore, it is important to compare pigeons within the same breed, as females of large breeds are always larger than males of small and medium breeds.

Differences in behavior

It's not always possible to accurately determine a bird's sex based solely on external factors, as much depends on the breed, age, and individual characteristics. Taking into account behavioral differences between the sexes, it's possible to more accurately determine the sex.

A poultry farmer explains how to distinguish a male pigeon from a female dove in the video below:

Character

Males can display aggression even in a calm environment. Typically, they begin fighting over territory or a female. It's important to note, however, that some pigeons may react quite calmly to an opponent's advances and even bow in response.

Females are more docile, but if they already have a mate, they can aggressively repel a suitor. At this point, she may resemble a male.

Habits during the mating season

Males and females begin to change their character during the mating season:

• Males become more active and try to attract the attention of females in every possible way. During this period, the male pigeon typically spreads his tail and protrudes his crop. He often relentlessly pursues the female and even displays some belligerence. If several males are in the same territory during mating season, they inevitably begin to fight.
• The doves are calm and shy, but they refuse to share territory with another female. However, if several females are nearby, they do not fight, but communicate with each other through quiet cooing.

Attitude towards a person

Birds of different sexes react differently to humans. If you reach out to a pigeon, it will attempt to peck it, perceiving the human's actions as aggressive. In a similar situation, a female pigeon behaves more peacefully and rarely bites.

Experienced breeders note that if you reach for the male's beak, he will abruptly pull his head away. The female, however, reacts more calmly and even allows you to touch her.

Folk methods

Inexperienced breeders can use folk methods that have long been used by poultry farmers to determine the sex of a bird.

Putting birds in one cage

According to this method, it is necessary to place a pair of pigeons in one cage and observe their behavior:

• Males begin to bully each other if they find themselves alone in a confined space, each wanting to prove their dominance over the other. Female doves, on the other hand, behave more calmly and peacefully, even in the presence of the opposite sex.
• If pigeons of different sexes are in the cage, the male becomes more confident and even begins to examine the "lady," circling around her and arching his neck. If the female responds indifferently to such advances, the male remains close and continues cooing. When the female is pleased with the suitor, she begins to fluff up her pelvic feathers, flick her tail along the floor, and bow deeply.

When using this method, it's important to understand that it's not particularly reliable, as the bird's reaction often depends on its personality. For example, two temperamental females can easily start a cage fight. It's also important to remember that doves are monogamous and can therefore be aggressive toward strange males.

Using a pendulum

This method has been used for quite some time and, according to experienced pigeon breeders, allows for 98% accuracy in determining the sex of a bird. It involves the use of pendulums made of copper, bronze, or brass.

This method is implemented as follows:

1. Tie a piece of metal to a thread to create a kind of pendulum.
2. Take the bird in one hand and the homemade pendulum in the other. Position it over the pigeon's tailbone and genitals.
3. If the pendulum swings along the spine, it means the breeder is looking at a male. If the pendulum swings in a circle, it indicates a female dove.

A breeder demonstrates how to use a pendulum to distinguish the sex of pigeons in his video:

It should be noted that this method has no scientific basis, and therefore causes skepticism among professional pigeon breeders, but is often used by beginners.

How to determine the sex of chicks?

Distinguishing the sex of juveniles is significantly more difficult than that of adult birds, as chicks don't yet have many distinguishing characteristics. They have the same pelvic structure, a similar voice, and similar behavior. However, there are some clues that can help you determine the sex of a chick:

• The head of small males is somewhat larger, and the beak is wider and more massive than that of females.
• the sizes of the chicks of both sexes are approximately the same, but the males are somewhat larger;
• Growing females of the Texan breed have quite long down, while males, on the contrary, have short down.

To accurately determine the sex of chicks, it is necessary to find out the features of the body structure and behavior of the pigeon breed to which they belong.

Table of distinctive characteristics

Experienced breeders analyze a range of parameters to accurately determine a pigeon's sex. The summary table of distinguishing characteristics, which you can find below, will help you avoid making a mistake in this matter:

So, to determine a pigeon's sex, a number of parameters must be taken into account: head and beak size, feather color, pelvic bone structure, and temperament and behavior during the mating season. In addition, there are a number of folk methods that have proven effective in practice and are used by many breeders. All of these methods can be used in combination to maximize the accuracy of sexing a bird.

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