Characteristics of pigeon Vyakhir
Pigeon pigeon, or vituten, belongs to the breed of wild pigeons. This is one of the largest members of the family. The average body length of a male is about 40 cm, and sometimes even half a meter.
Pigeon Vyakhir
general characteristics
Description:
- the pigeon Vituten has a wingspan of over 75 cm;
- the body weight of an individual varies from 450 g to 900 g;
- plumage is mostly gray, with red tints in the chest area, and a greenish tint in the cervical area;
- in flight, white stripes are clearly visible on the wings; on the sides, stripes of the same color have the shape of a crescent;
- the beak is yellow or pale pink.
The wild pigeon Vyakhir usually settles in pine forests. Distribution area - from Scandinavia to the Himalayan mountains. On the lands of the post-Soviet countries, such winged ones can be observed in the Baltic States and Ukraine. On the territory of the Russian Federation, most often the forest pigeon Vyakhir settles in the Leningrad, Novgorod and Gorky regions.
Depending on the climatic conditions of the nesting site, the Vyakhir pigeon can lead a sedentary or nomadic lifestyle. Birds that live in the northern regions migrate to warmer regions in winter. The climatic conditions of the Crimea and the Caucasus allow the birds to lead a sedentary lifestyle. In the northern regions, the pigeon prefers to settle in coniferous forests; in more southern regions, birds can also be found in mixed deciduous forests, oak groves. Occasionally, individuals nest in the steppe regions.
Features of behavior
Vyakhiri pigeons are most often kept in flocks, with the exception of the mating season and the time of rearing the offspring. Although the nesting site is often forests, flocks of pigeons spend most of the time in the fields in search of food. Vituten is a rather mobile and energetic bird. Her voice is similar to the voice of the rest of the family of pigeons. When a bird rises sharply into the air, its wings make a lot of noise with a characteristic sharp whistle.
Hunting for this breed of birds is classified as a sporting event. However, in order to shoot a pigeon Vyakhir, you need to make a lot of effort, because pigeons are cautious by nature. Hunting for Vyakhir begins in spring. During this period, decoys are used to catch.
Hunting for the species has endangered the existence of many species of the breed. For example, representatives of Columbia palumbus azorica are listed in the Red Book due to the threat of complete extinction. Another species that inhabited the islands of the Madeira archipelago was completely exterminated in the twentieth century.
Today the population of wood pigeon Vyakhir is rather small. The number of pigeons was influenced not only by uncontrolled extermination, but also by deforestation. Such trends are a disappointing forecast and threaten the complete extinction of the breed.
Diet
Forest Vituten, like most of its wild counterparts, feeds on seeds, acorns and grains. For food, birds gather in large flocks.The goiter of this species is very capacious, so the bird can eat a whole dish of cereals.
Birds peck nuts of beeches directly from the branches. They usually bypass large plants, but small ones are able to destroy completely. Most of all, Vyakhiryam tastes wheat grains, which very often poses a threat to the harvest.
Breeding features
The nesting period often starts in April and lasts until September. The pigeon perches on the treetops and starts cooing, especially in the morning. In the last days of April, the pigeons are already paired and are being taken to build nests. The couple builds nests together. The pigeon waits patiently for her beau to bring the material to carefully form a nest out of it.
It takes only a few days to build a nest for a wild wood pigeon. The house is based on thick strong branches connected by thin twigs. The house ultimately looks like a loose structure that shines through from all sides, the bottom of the nest is flat. Nests are often located at a height of no higher than 2 m. Occasionally Vituten uses abandoned buildings left by other large birds.
The incubation process takes from 15 to 18 days. A couple of chicks hatch together. Most of the time the female sits on the eggs, the male sits in the nest when the dove flies out to eat. The nestling period lasts 4 weeks. Initially, pigeons feed on "bird milk" - a special secret that is secreted in the goiter of individuals of both sexes.
Chicks are born completely naked, therefore, in the first few days they need constant heating. Over time, they have gray plumage, which gradually begins to turn blue, eventually acquiring a bluish color with various tints. Vyakhirey's life span is 16 years.
Breeding at home
Seeing the handsome Vitutnya in the photo, most breeders immediately want to get themselves such a bird. There are many pitfalls in wild pigeon breeding. For example, selection of a pair to obtain offspring.
Matching of pairs should be done some time before the nesting season. To get good strong offspring, it is necessary to take into account some of the nuances when choosing breeding individuals:
- it is important to pick up purebred individuals;
- you need to know the pedigree;
- closely related mating should not be allowed;
- before breeding, birds must have optimal physical fitness; individuals of average fatness, without obesity, are selected for the tribe;
- too young birds can produce weak offspring, the optimal age is 2 years or more.
They contain Vitutney in pairs. If you put several pairs in one room, skirmishes will occur between the males. However, a calm disposition in relation to other birds allows them to be kept in the same room with pheasants, partridges, and quails.
Preparation of the nest
For a wild pigeon, it is necessary to create conditions that are as close to natural as possible. Initially, the cage must be disinfected, for which a couple of pigeons are temporarily transplanted into another cage. For this species, baskets woven from willow branches suspended on ropes can be used as a nest. It is important to take into account the dimensions of the birds, because Vituten is a rather large representative.
During the period of incubation and feeding of offspring, the forest Vituten becomes very sensitive to stress and can react negatively to any irritant, therefore, for this period, it is necessary to provide the family with privacy and keep it separately. It is strictly forbidden to check the nests during the feeding period. Often young or too old pigeons leave clutches. In this case, old pigeons are carefully discarded. Young individuals often hatch the second clutch perfectly.
Young growth care
If the breeder has provided proper care and balanced nutrition to his pigeons, hatching often takes place without much difficulty. Initially, the diet of babies is "bird's milk". For its full production, it is very important to provide parent individuals with adequate nutrition and vitamins. Combined feed for poultry is perfect for feeding a wild pigeon.
For chicks of all breeds of wild pigeons, a tendency to rickets is characteristic, pets are very sensitive to the lack of minerals and multivitamins.
All chicks are born naked. Feathering appears over time, so it is important to ensure the optimal temperature regime in the room where the pigeon family is located. Initially, only pegs of feathers on the wings are visible, then flight feathers begin to grow, and after that all the rest.
By the time of leaving the nest, on day 40, almost every young individual has a short tail and can fly. At home, it is necessary to prevent the next reproduction after the chicks leave the nest until the chicks are completely independent. For this, by observation, they calculate the initiator, catch it and settle it for a while separately. The second individual continues to feed the young.
Disease prevention
Pigeon in its natural habitat is quite resistant to various diseases. At home, it is necessary to carefully protect the young from drafts and hypothermia. Birds should not be allowed outside in cool weather. Also, young birds during feeding are quite sensitive to the lack of vitamins, minerals, especially calcium. The main way to prevent rickets is to have adequate nutrition for the parents throughout the entire feeding period.
It is important to regularly disinfect the house. It is necessary to vaccinate birds against various infectious diseases. At home, for the full development of wild pigeons, you need to provide them with free access to clean water and sufficient walking in the fresh air. Drinking bowls and feeders must be kept clean. In the photo on the Internet, you can see how to properly equip a poultry house for a wild pigeon in order to provide the bird with everything it needs.