Pigeon feeding and nesting question

[biophiliac]

They can lay anytime of the year although spring seems to be the preferred breeding season. They will almost certainly try again soon. In consideration of their health, they should probably not be allowed to raise more than three clutches maximum per year. Fewer if they are not in excellent condition.When no more babies are wanted, fake eggs can be substituted. You and your grandson are in for some exciting times!

 

[biophiliac]

What are you feeding them?

 

[EggHunter_66]

I feed them Pigeon/dove food that I order the chewy.com and this past winter I would also mix in some of my chicken scratch fed so they can get the corn.

 

[biophiliac]

The Kaytee Dove mix at chewy.com looks like a healthy mix. I didn't see the protein percentage... The 5lb bag at 4.99 is a little pricey but you only have 2 birds. I was able to get pigeon seed mix(15% protein w/o corn) from a local feed mill at 20 dls for 50lbs. I mix about 3 parts of that with 1 of Flock Raiser pellets and 1 part corn. I guess the corn helps them when it gets to 14 below zero up here in WI. LOL

 

[EggHunter_66]

Aaaww, thank you so much for looking into that it was so very sweet of you and I appreciate it very much!
I never planned on having pigeons but when I got the call one was in trouble and needed a home ASAP I had to help it and knowing that they aren't a solitaire bird I knew I had to put the word out that I was looking to rescue another one that would never be able to fly again....lol what are the chances I would end up with a male and a female....lol...lol. To be honest, I was never fond of pigeons but now I adore them!

 

[cavemanrich]

Aaaww, thank you so much for looking into that it was so very sweet of you and I appreciate it very much!
I never planned on having pigeons but when I got the call one was in trouble and needed a home ASAP I had to help it and knowing that they aren't a solitaire bird I knew I had to put the word out that I was looking to rescue another one that would never be able to fly again....lol what are the chances I would end up with a male and a female....lol...lol. To be honest, I was never fond of pigeons but now I adore them!

Your story is very similar to mine. Here is a link to my story , Much easier than writing it all over again.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-bulletin-board.1174207/page-15#post-19430076
Since you have pigeons, you may decide to hang out on that thread as well. It is packed with info and ideas. Started by biophilac BTW.

 

[EggHunter_66]

Thank you, I will go read your story and yes I will hang out there

 

[LamarshFish]

Sad to say that the eggs were found crushed yesturday, I'm so sad :-(
We don't know what happened.

Sorry to hear. I was reading your original post and wanted to tell you that after being used to hatching chickens, you will be pleased to eventually notice that pigeons are much better parents. That doesn't, however, mean they are perfect. Accidents happen, and eggs can be lost. And it may not have even been an accident--sometimes they are so keen they can determine there is something awry and toss the eggs for their own good reasons.

Laying hens, as with chickens, need calcium to form strong shells. If the shell was not strong, pigeons may voluntarily toss the egg out of the nest, especially if the weak shell becomes cracked. Just one possibility. Keep in mind, pigeons are highly intelligent. Chickens are smarter than most people think, but pigeons eclipse chickens on the intelligence spectrum.

While pigeons are excellent parents, they do have a learning curve, and young pigeons aren't always the best at incubating, brooding and raising squabs on their first try.

My guess is she will lay again and take another try at it, especially as the days begin to get longer.

 

[purslanegarden]

I have also noticed that usually around days 9-11, the pigeons may discard the egg as not being viable (not fertilized) . Now in your case it was not really 9-11 days yet, but who knows, maybe the parents made an early determination. I'm just bringing it up in case you experience more egg loss, that may be another reason.

I also felt the same as above, with my pigeon pair. They took a few tries to get a good pair of eggs. Whether that was their learning curve to mate, make the nest properly, or even sit on the eggs properly, it did take a few rounds to finally get full-term babies coming out of those eggs.

 

[EggHunter_66]

Thank you everyone with such helpful information, I really appreciate it!