So I have my first baby pigeon hatchling

[LaughingDove]

It has yellow down! I wasn’t expecting that at all as my flightless rescue is natural coloring, unknown type and his new mate is the rescued homer that is also natural coloring. Do natural colored pigeons have yellow down or are they throwing another color?
Thinking about cocktails, normal gray’s have yellow down and white face have white down but I don’t know of this yellow down would correlate to a normal gray pigeon. Sorry for rambling. Someone please help me with some color basics.
Pic for cuteness Other egg is ready anytime. (My sister was holding so I could do a fast clean job)

 

[biophiliac]

It has yellow down! I wasn’t expecting that at all as my flightless rescue is natural coloring, unknown type and his new mate is the rescued homer that is also natural coloring. Do natural colored pigeons have yellow down or are they throwing another color?
Thinking about cocktails, normal gray’s have yellow down and white face have white down but I don’t know of this yellow down would correlate to a normal gray pigeon. Sorry for rambling. Someone please help me with some color basics.
Pic for cuteness Other egg is ready anytime. (My sister was holding so I could do a fast clean job)
View attachment 1821480

Pigeon chicks have yellow down.
Looks like he will be normal colored.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Someone please help me with some color basics. My sister was holding so I could do a fast clean job

My best guess would be the squab will resemble one of it's parents. My experience has taught me it is not a good idea to tamper with the nest sight.
Some pigeons parents abandon the nest for just that sort of cleaning.

 

[LaughingDove]

Really? Ok thanks for the heads up. I’ve always handled my dove squab and cockatiel chicks. My doves do fine with it and my tiels were co parented by me and did well. I wonder why pigeons are more fussy.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I’ve always handled my dove squab

Handling pigeon squabs I never had an issue with.
However cleaning or tampering with nest or nest sights is an entirely different story (of course there are some paring that are not bothered by it.) With me it is ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY.

 

[LaughingDove]

Ok That makes perfect sense. I normally have doves in a nesting basket/ other birds in a basket or box when I had babies. Some I would do a fast clean because it was recommended but normally I would clean up around the nest. The pigeons do not have a nest box or any bowl etc and their cage (no loft I wish I had one) was yucky with broody poop and needed more nest material. I will let the nest be now other than offer more material for them to add and clean around it. I worry about splay after having one dove chick with it. I appreciate the advice! Pigeon squab is new territory, although close to dove they are smarter and not quite the same.

 

[LaughingDove]

Another question- My sister is planning on taking my next dove babies and also wants the baby pigeon squab. They will be house birds. Should I let her take both pigeon squab assuming they both make it or should she just take one being it will be a house pigeon? She is buying them ( dove/pigeon) separate good size cages. She has been planning on the dove babies for a few years and is now ready. The pigeons are an impulse but she has been asking me to give her Tucker the Trucker pigeon since I took him in from his foster. Thoughts please?

My birds have their own room with separate air space from the house although it isn’t a loft and I have a mix of species. It’s not a perfect situation but was necessary because my youngest developed hypertensive pulmonary disorder and all the birds had to leave her living space. Of course the birds were blamed although her test results were for two fungus including aspergillosis. Long story I can elaborate on but I still don’t think it was the birds.

 

[Hokum Coco]

My sister is planning on taking my next dove babies. Should I let her take both pigeon squab?

This is one sort of question:

"I think should be left entirely up to you."

 

[CCUK]

Another question- My sister is planning on taking my next dove babies and also wants the baby pigeon squab. They will be house birds. Should I let her take both pigeon squab assuming they both make it or should she just take one being it will be a house pigeon? She is buying them ( dove/pigeon) separate good size cages. She has been planning on the dove babies for a few years and is now ready. The pigeons are an impulse but she has been asking me to give her Tucker the Trucker pigeon since I took him in from his foster. Thoughts please?

My birds have their own room with separate air space from the house although it isn’t a loft and I have a mix of species. It’s not a perfect situation but was necessary because my youngest developed hypertensive pulmonary disorder and all the birds had to leave her living space. Of course the birds were blamed although her test results were for two fungus including aspergillosis. Long story I can elaborate on but I still don’t think it was the birds.

Is she going to take them once they are starting to fledge or is she going to hand feed them? I think hand feeding can be time consuming for about the first three weeks or until they start feeding them selves. @biophiliac know more about that. The dander that pigeons create can cause pfl (pigeon fanciers lung) so hypersensitivity to it is a possibility.
It's great news about the squabs hopefully the next will be here soon!

 

[LaughingDove]

I will not have her hand feed them. She doesn’t know how although she would be capable. I have hand fed, although cockatiels not doves or pigeons, but I have that leisure. She works a lot. I would wait til I felt they were ready to leave and I was confident they would be ok on their own. This in itself will be difficult for me as I have never parted with fledglings.

I am familiar with bird fanciers lung I just question the results. The pulmonologist insisted that birds carry aspergillosis however they are not carriers unless they are sick with it and my research says it isn’t contagious from the sick bird. They get it the same as we do. Bri tested positive for two molds aspergillosis and another id have to look up. According to the cdc these two molds are from the environment such as barns, moldy hay, leaves, air, not directly from birds. She didn’t test positive for bird proteins.

Here is the kicker - we had guinea pigs and degu at the time and we were buying bales of hay from a farmer. The May smelled moldy to me but I thought it was in my head so we kept buying it.
The birds and rodents were in the house and SO WAS THE HAY. To me it says let’s look at this situation again. Hay in house for about a year. Kid gets sick. Birds have been owned with child since child was quite young. (the doves were newer and the quantity was more admittedly).

I guess I should let it go but it is something I really question and it makes me mad even now that they acted like I was stupid. One of the nurses said they wouldn’t negate the birds as the cause unless I took every one of them in for aspergillosis testing and proved it wasn’t them.