Might have a squab!

[Veer67]

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.

Aww they're adorable!

 

[Veer67]

Here's the Grackle I rescued, at first I gave him/her different nicknames then decided that I would call her Birdy:



One day when I left Birdy outside to get something from my house he disappeared when I came back outside. I never saw him again. I have seen a juvenile Grackle at my bird feeder though and I think it could be Birdy:

 

[Curtiejlee]

Same thing happened with my magpie One morning we woke up and he didn't greet us at the door!

 

[Kleonaptra]

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.

I may not, but there seem to be plenty of people in the pigeon forum who are doing it successfully. I honestly believe the sudden cold snap was a big contributor, if I had known our 40 degree celsius was going to turn into 10 I would have bought a heat pad...The little guy never got cold but the temp in the brooder did fluctuate. Im undecided as to what Im going to do about the pigeons, as I have 9 duck eggs in the brooder and my horse is due any day. I didnt even think they were fertile for the first 5 years because they never got any eggs to hatch and I just started throwing them out. I got slack one week and when they broke it there was a tiny squab inside. So I figured at least with me they get a chance.

I have a nice outdoor section Im thinking of turning into a coop, I go on holidays soon but a lot depends on my horse. Its the first foal from my stallion so Ive got a lot riding on it (so to speak!)

 

[Kleonaptra]

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.

Sparrows are great little pets!

 

[Kleonaptra]

Here's the Grackle I rescued, at first I gave him/her different nicknames then decided that I would call her Birdy:



One day when I left Birdy outside to get something from my house he disappeared when I came back outside. I never saw him again. I have seen a juvenile Grackle at my bird feeder though and I think it could be Birdy:

That is a stunning bird, really lovely

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Here's the Grackle I rescued, at first I gave him/her different nicknames then decided that I would call her Birdy: [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] One day when I left Birdy outside to get something from my house he disappeared when I came back outside. I never saw him again. I have seen a juvenile Grackle at my bird feeder though and I think it could be Birdy:

That is a stunning bird, really lovely

Started off as an ugly duckling, to turn into an ugly grackle Nah, but really. Cute bird, I tend to like birds when they're awkward & ugly, so that first picture is a winner for me!