chickens keep killing my pigeons! some input please

[augiedranch]

i rescue pigeons. once they are ready to be let go (usually a week or two) i let them loose, and they fly around wherever they want to, and have free access to the chicken food, chicken scratch and of course anything eles they want out in the wild. alot of people said that the laboratory pigeons wouldnt be able to reproduce/survive. they are making nests, mated for life, feeding their young, and doing great, fat and happy..

however, my white dove and fan tail pigeon mated and had a white dove with feathers on its feet. absolutely beautiful. i loved that little baby. i named it snow white.. anywase, when it was time for snow white to jump out of the nest and learn to fly etc.. my chickens pecked it to death and killled it. i cried and cried. i dont know what to do now... i have another couple with a baby that should hatch soon,,, i dont want to take the baby from the parents... please help

thanks

 

[Wolf-Kim]

You are going to have to seperate them somehow. Chickens are natural predators.. Sorry..

-Kim

 

[jackiedon]

I am sorry. I have no advice. I lost a silkie hen that was pecked too hard on her head causing neuro problems and she died. My daughter is still awake crying because we nursed this chicken from the moment she hatched.

jackie

 

[Frosty]

I am sorry for your losses...
I used to raise the fast growing broilers (before I knew there was a slow growing type). The fast growers mostly sit by the feed, and I had to keep them seperate from layers of the same age because while they were a lot bigger than the layers, the layers would peck them in the back of the head and kill them. Much as I love my chickens, they can be nasty little things... I was suprised that they didn't kill and eat the barn kittens when mama kitty had her litter about a foot away from where a hen was nesting in the barn.

 

[augiedranch]

oh my gosh, there are three more in a nest! this is soo sad. i know they are going to get killed. they are in a tree right over where my chickens are..

can i move the babies to a safer place, and the parents will follow?

 

[Dinos_rock]

I keep my pigeons away from my chicken. Even though she's a bantam, she still could do some damage. She used to be in a cage with a divider and the pigeons were on the other side. She would try to peck at their feathers everytime they were near the divider. As far as moving them, I don't know if the parents would follow the babies. I think it would be easier to move the chickens or keep them cooped up while the babies are learning to fly.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
Since you know that they are most likely going to be killed, I would try to move them. Don't move them too far, move them but keep them in sight and sound of their parens at all times. Mother birds are usually pretty good about following their young around. I don't know anything about pigeons, but it seems that they are doomed if they stay where they are currently.

Are the chickens killing the chicks once they are fledging? Or do the chicks fall out of the nest before they are ready to fly?

Is there a way you could catch the parents?

Maybe you could put the whole family into their own cage with their own food and water. Safely out of the reach of the chickens.

-Kim

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Oh, I like the idea of penning the chickens while the pigeons are learning to fly. I think that would be the best option.

I couldn't safely say whether the parents would follow the chicks because I do NOT know pigeons.

-Kim

 

[Omniskies]

I wouldn't touch the nest. When the squab decide it's time to learn about gravity they shouldn't go very far. Are you able to make a wire pen/barrier beneath the nest? One that allows the squab to fall inside and deters the chickens from entering? If fledglings can learn how to fly inside a pen then learning how to fly on a ground pen shouldn't be too tough.

Once they have practiced for a week or two your chickens may not be able to catch them. Alternatively, keep your chickens penned up for the next two weeks until the fledglings have learned how to fly.

Do you have any pictures of the little guys?

 

[tnkinhunting]

You should separate your pigeons from your chickens. And when your mated pairs are breeding you should keep them separate from your other pigeons. If a baby pigeon falls from the nest the other adult pigeons with peck them severely and sometimes to death. I always kept my breeding pairs in small breeding pens with one nest. When the babies feather, the mother starts laying again and setting, the male feeds the juveniles for a while and then returns to the hen and helps incubate the eggs and feed the youngs ones. They will raise as many as four or five clutches a year. Wonderful creatures.