Baby pigeon formula

[Chick_Crazy]

Hello! I'm about to have some baby pigeons on the farm, and I'm looking for a recipe on how to make something similar to crop milk, for my two babies. They haven't hatched yet, so I'm trying to get a headstart on the situation...in case I need to hand raise them.

It's the middle of winter, and temperatures are dropping to under 30° almost every night. Mom and dad are keeping the eggs nice and warm, as the eggs are almost fully developed...and in trying to do my part to keep them warm, by implementing a heat plate. But I'm worried that it won't be warm enough for them to survive...and I'd hate to see them die, as it's not their fault they were laid in the winter.

So my other question is, what should I do? If I move the parents and eggs, I fear they will abandon them. If I move the parents and the babies, (after they hatch) they'll probably abandon them too. I don't mind the thought of caring for the babies myself, as it's only for a time (although getting up every hour or so to feed sounds... stupid crazy) but I'd feel really bad if they died and I could've done something. So, first time pigeon mom here. I have 6 birds, and these are my first set of eggs about to hatch any day now. Please let me know your thoughts, based on experience...as I'd really appreciate the advice.

 

[Chick_Crazy]

 

[avjudge]

Hello! I'm about to have some baby pigeons on the farm, and I'm looking for a recipe on how to make something similar to crop milk, for my two babies. They haven't hatched yet, so I'm trying to get a headstart on the situation...in case I need to hand raise them.

It's the middle of winter, and temperatures are dropping to under 30° almost every night. Mom and dad are keeping the eggs nice and warm, as the eggs are almost fully developed...and in trying to do my part to keep them warm, by implementing a heat plate. But I'm worried that it won't be warm enough for them to survive...and I'd hate to see them die, as it's not their fault they were laid in the winter.

So my other question is, what should I do? If I move the parents and eggs, I fear they will abandon them. If I move the parents and the babies, (after they hatch) they'll probably abandon them too. I don't mind the thought of caring for the babies myself, as it's only for a time (although getting up every hour or so to feed sounds... stupid crazy) but I'd feel really bad if they died and I could've done something. So, first time pigeon mom here. I have 6 birds, and these are my first set of eggs about to hatch any day now. Please let me know your thoughts, based on experience...as I'd really appreciate the advice.

I have no personal experience with this, but no one else has answered and I have done a bunch of reading in the course of caring for my small flock of pigeons.

You are really much, much better off supporting the parents than you would be trying to feed baby pigeons. In addition to needing to match the nutrition of crop milk, you would need to feed frequently around the clock. No sleep for you!

Whether pigeons will continue to sit on eggs that have been moved depends on the individuals. I have had some that would. (The eggs were not real, but the pigeons did not know that. I was going to my sister’s for Christmas and put each of my two pairs into a cat carrier, then put each carrier into a large dog crate when I got where I was going. I somehow moved the nest and eggs for the one pair into their cat carrier and they continued sitting on them.) I think they are more likely to care for squabs that have been moved after hatching. (I have zero experience on that one.) But of course if they don’t it feels much more tragic.

This doesn’t help now, but in the future you might replace eggs laid in the winter with fake eggs so you don’t have to deal with this concern. As I want to keep my flock small I nearly always replace eggs. The few times I have hatched eggs intentionally I did so in late spring or early summer.

@cavemanrich probably has more useful information than I do (and real experience).

(Edited to clean up a few typos.)

 

[Chick_Crazy]

I have no personal experience with this, but no one else has answered and I have done a bunch of reading in the course of caring for my small flock of pigeons.

You are really much, much better off supporting the parents than you would be trying to feed baby pigeons. In addition to needing to match the nutrition of crop milk, you would need to feed frequently around the clock. No sleep for you!

Whether pigeons will continue to sit on eggs that have been moved depends on the individuals. I have had some that would. (The eggs were not real, but the pigeons did not know that. I was going to my sister’s for Christmas and put each of my two pairs into a cat carrier, then put each carrier into a large dog crate when I got where I was going. I somehow moved the nest and eggs for the one pair into their cat carrier and they continued sitting on them.) I think they are more likely to care for squabs that have been moved after hatching. (I have zero experience on that one.) But of course if they don’t it feels much more tragic.

This doesn’t help now, but in the future you might replace eggs laid in the winter with fake eggs so you don’t have to deal with this concern. As I want to keep my flock small I nearly always replace eggs. The few times I have hatched eggs intentionally I did so in late spring or early summer.

@cavemanrich probably has more useful information than I do (and real experience).

(Edited to clean up a few typos.)

Yeah, I was away when the eggs were laid...and by the time I got back, I knew they were already developing... I'd hate to see them die, but the thought of caring for them, and feeding them THAT often (call me insensitive), just sounds tiresome. I really wish I could do more, but I think my best bet is continuing to supplement the heat...add more straw, and hope the mom and dad keep the babies warm and healthy. Thanks for your help though! This is my first time raising pigeons, so I'm very new to this... I appreciate the response!

 

[cavemanrich]

but I think my best bet is continuing to supplement the heat...add more straw, and hope the mom and dad keep the babies warm and healthy.

One time I had some pigeons hatch out during cold. My loft is inside my garage,, so I supplemented the warmth with a heat lamp from underneath their nesting area. It wasn't very warm,,, but it took the winter chill away from nest area.
Wishing you best on your squabs hatching , and growing.
Consider getting some plastic eggs for future cold weather hatching attempts.
Removing pigeon eggs is not the answer. Mama pigeon will take the extra effort too lay more. Pigeons are not like chickens,,,,,,, to produce many eggs. It takes a lot out of a pigeons body to produce an egg. That is why using dummy eggs replacement is important.

 

[Chick_Crazy]

One time I had some pigeons hatch out during cold. My loft is inside my garage,, so I supplemented the warmth with a heat lamp from underneath their nesting area. It wasn't very warm,,, but it took the winter chill away from nest area.
Wishing you best on your squabs hatching , and growing.
Consider getting some plastic eggs for future cold weather hatching attempts.
Removing pigeon eggs is not the answer. Mama pigeon will take the extra effort too lay more. Pigeons are not like chickens,,,,,,, to produce many eggs. It takes a lot out of a pigeons body to produce an egg. That is why using dummy eggs replacement is important.

Oh that's actually so interesting! Thank you for the advice! I have been raising chickens for over 10 years now, and all other birds...just seem the same to me but that's actually so interesting, and I will definitely keep it in mind!

Also, all birds hatched and are healthy!! They're so ugly, it's cute thank you guys for your responses!

 

[Gill-b]

Thank you for the update with photograph. You and the parents are obviously keeping them warm enough if they were able to hatch, so seems promising.
...great job.