Might have a squab!

[Veer67]

Inari was squab one....Lost him this morning. Was fine at 7am, when I went in for 10am he was gone. I really should have gone with my instincts cos I upped the feeds to 3hrly...Poor little guy had a busting crop.

Yep, you got it right, Inari, squab 1 hatched saturday night, squab 2 hatched sunday night and was twice the size. Im not sure how that works either,


There they are together on monday morning. Inari is over on the right - he could hold his head up, you can clearly see he is the smaller.

I started getting a bit frantic yesterday afternoon because there had been no poops for a few hours. This happened Monday and I just made a more watery feed and he came good. Last night I started freaking about food and upped the food...Should have just gone by the crop. Beating myself up a bit.

Im going to buy a heat pad to simplify things next time, is there any you would recommend? Theres some on ebay by sunbeam which claim to have 3 settings and are waterproof, do you think that would be a good one? Yesterday we had the freakiest cold snap, we should be baking here but yesterday it was freezing, I wrapped the box in fleece but it was still causing temp fluctations.

Sorry for your loss.

The first time raising your own baby chick is the hardest because you don't know how a full crop should look like or if you are feeding food that's not warm enough, but after that you get more experienced so that you won't make the same mistakes again. My first time hand raising a baby finch ended in a disaster and in the end the chick died of candida yeast infection. I use one of those hand turned incubators for my baby finches, it would probably work well for keeping squabs warm too.

 

[Kleonaptra]

Well its my first time for a squab, not my first chick. About 10 yrs ago I was in bird rescue and looking after chicks like this was constant for me. I very rarely failed and I was so good at it. My last time raising a blind and helpless like this was 2010, a sparrow. I kinda got kicked out of bird rescue when they found out I rescue ferals...My pigeon who is the father of these squabs is a rescued feral. I just cant kill them when I find them I have to save them. I find ferals so much easier than natives.

I really felt the crop was too full but I pushed too hard and I knew it...Cant believe the little guy is gone he was such a fighter, such a strong personality.

 

[Veer67]

Well its my first time for a squab, not my first chick. About 10 yrs ago I was in bird rescue and looking after chicks like this was constant for me. I very rarely failed and I was so good at it.

That's what I had meant (I read the posts in the beginning). I started raising finches in 2010, it's not a very long time period but I have learned a lot through hand raising them. I'm not as good at saving wild birds but I did rescue a baby Common Grackle in the summer.

 

[Kleonaptra]

I wasnt much good at native birds. Had much more luck with the ferals. I have now the most hated animal in Australia..



The common Mynah. Her name is Najara. If I had not been kicked out years ago for feral loving I would be now! She was very jealous of the squabs shrieked her head off at me!

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Aww, I'm so sorry for your loss {{hugs}}


Hopefully next time will be better.

Aww, the Mynah is so cute! Why are they hated? How could you hate something so cute and adorable? XP

 

[Veer67]

Aww, I'm so sorry for your loss {{hugs}}


Hopefully next time will be better.

Aww, the Mynah is so cute! Why are they hated? How could you hate something so cute and adorable? XP

I think it's because they are considered a pest. Many non-native birds aren't appreciated enough like sparrows and starlings.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Aww, I'm so sorry for your loss {{hugs}}



Hopefully next time will be better.


Aww, the Mynah is so cute! Why are they hated? How could you hate something so cute and adorable? XP

I think it's because they are considered a pest. Many non-native birds aren't appreciated enough like sparrows and starlings.

Sparrows I don't mind, but starlings I LOVE. I want one as a pet xP but I live in Alaska, and we don't have them ):

 

[Kleonaptra]

Preservation of the native eco system is a very big deal in Australia. Its my personal opinion (stress that personal) that the feral species did not ask to come here, they are now established in our eco system and far more can be gained by learning to live with them than attempting extermination.

The common mynah supposedly destroys nests from natives, outbreeds them outsmarts them. They are smart enough, and agressive enough, to do so, but I dont believe they do as much damage as people say. I have wild mynahs here that coexist with native species, no problems. Mynahs also prefer to live off of humans like pigeons do, so they are less likely to be found in our outback, only where people are.

I used to hand rear budgies and cockatiels and teach them tricks, the mynah is far more intelligent. I strongly admire their social structure, where flocks settle in an area and communicate with the next flock, and the next and the next. I once saw a 'call to war' where they called in mynahs from surrounding areas to chase off some cuckoos. Really fantastic stuff. I think if you really love birds you cant help but love their tenacity and smarts, and want to know more about them.

This is merely speculation too from raising this one by hand - but they appear to have a double crop. One for food and one for storage. If they arent sure its food, it goes in storage to see if it can be digested. If its something they want to steal - mine used to steal earrings right off my mums ears - they swallow it, take it back to the nest and gurge it up to hide it there. It makes them almost un piosonable, they eat anything.

Im still sad about Inari, mostly because my horse is due and its not a great idea to set anymore pigeon eggs. My girl hasnt laid any for a bit anyway.

 

[jak2002003]

Aww, I'm so sorry for your loss {{hugs}}


Hopefully next time will be better.

Aww, the Mynah is so cute! Why are they hated? How could you hate something so cute and adorable? XP

Please don't do a 'next time'.

People tried to tell you that raising pigeon squabs from hatching was doomed to fail.

They are not the same as other birds, like sparrows, finches, etc.

This is because for the first few day of life they are fed 'crop milk' from the parents. Without this they die. We can not make this crop milk, and the hand feeding formulas and not a substitute.

Its easy to raise older squabs, just not young newly hatched ones that have never had the crop milk.

Perhaps house you pigeons outdoors in a spacious coop, with a proper nest box, and protection from rats and other pests. Give them space and free flight, and I am sure their instincts will take over.

Or, if you really want more pigeons and doves, just go and buy some. They are very common and cheap too.... its better than going through all that again, and having more squabs suffer and die.

 

[Curtiejlee]

Sparrows I don't mind, but starlings I LOVE. I want one as a pet xP but I live in Alaska, and we don't have them ):

I have a sparrow! I rescued it from some boys who were destroying sparrow nests (pest species). He lives in my aviary and can free range with my three zebra finches. I rescued him w/ another, but that one tried to drink from my fish tank and drowned.