Squab Help

[ReseisCL16]

Ok, did that. Separated the hen and her squab from the rest of the birds without moving her nest. Very hillbilly contraption, but I think it'll work! I'll keep y'all posted on how it ends up! Hopefully, both of these squabs make it! Fingers crossed!

 

[Hokum Coco]

I had neglected to check on two of my squabs lately. they are about a week old. I did so yesterday one was thriving and doing well. The other was a lot smaller and close to death. It toe nail had become entangled by a thread and was not being fed.
I had a hen who was incubating 2 eggs that were infertile (clear as glass when candled) and should have hatched weeks ago. I threw her eggs out and left her with the nearly dead squab.
If it is still alive this morning I think it might make it.
I will be editing this post in a hour to let you know how things are going.

I just came back from checking on my transplanted squab. He is warm and full of life this morning. His adoptive parent gave me a wing slap when I removed it from it's care. It's crop had pigeon milk in it and seemed about ½ full. Although this squab had already received pigeon milk from its birth parents I think a second dose will not hurt. I am putting my money on it making it to adult hood or at least it will experience flight.
I have hawks nesting in the area that have other plans for my squeakers.
The evening flights have been working extremely well for me.
I have read that some pigeon fanciers trained their birds to flight at night during the war time.
I have only lost one bird since I engaged in this practice.
KNOCK ON WOOD.
I am at my 50 bird mark or better.
This has been the best run of luck for me in quite some time.

 

[biophiliac]

I had neglected to check on two of my squabs lately. they are about a week old. I did so yesterday one was thriving and doing well. The other was a lot smaller and close to death. It toe nail had become entangled by a thread and was not being fed.
I had a hen who was incubating 2 eggs that were infertile (clear as glass when candled) and should have hatched weeks ago. I threw her eggs out and left her with the nearly dead squab.
If it is still alive this morning I think it might make it.
I will be editing this post in a hour to let you know how things are going.

I just came back from checking on my transplanted squab. He is warm and full of life this morning. His adoptive parent gave me a wing slap when I removed it from it's care. It's crop had pigeon milk in it and seemed about ½ full. Although this squab had already received pigeon milk from its birth parents I think a second dose will not hurt. I am putting my money on it making it to adult hood or at least it will experience flight.
I have hawks nesting in the area that have other plans for my squeakers.
The evening flights have been working extremely well for me.
I have read that some pigeon fanciers trained their birds to flight at night during the war time.
I have only lost one bird since I engaged in this practice.
KNOCK ON WOOD.
I am at my 50 bird mark or better.
This has been the best run of luck for me in quite some time.

Wow! So heartwarming. Does the adopting hen have a mate, or is she a single mom?

And that video! Performance art by pigeons in homage to the birds that served in war.

 

[ReseisCL16]

That's so cool! I hope that baby squab makes it!

 

[PigeonLady]

I never tried feeding peas, but if I did I would pry the squab's beak open and just pop them in. It'll swallow them all right.
What I use for squabs is 16 or 18% chick starter. I put it in the blender with water, and blend until smooth. I use a 60cc. plastic syringe to shoot the warm food into the crop (the crop is in front of the windpipe - be a little careful there.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[biophiliac]

I never tried feeding peas, but if I did I would pry the squab's beak open and just pop them in. It'll swallow them all right.
What I use for squabs is 16 or 18% chick starter. I put it in the blender with water, and blend until smooth. I use a 60cc. plastic syringe to shoot the warm food into the crop (the crop is in front of the windpipe - be a little careful there.
Just my 2 cents.

I use the peas if it's just supplemental or only for a few days. I use the blend like yours if I need to hand feed a younger one for more than a week.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Just to further up date my almost dead and thriving squab story.
The almost dead squab is doing well.
BAD NEWS
The thriving squab passed away.
I cleaned the nesting box after finding the near dead squab.
I threw out a some what tattered feed bag; fold and new one and replaced the same as the first I though it was a slam dunk I have been doing this for quite some time to other nest sights no problems.
I should have left the nest box as is in this case in hind sight.
The new bag did not crease well and it manage to fall on and hide the squab which lead to it's demise.
The parents stop incubating the nest and the squab died of exposure.
You win some and you loose some.

 

[LamarshFish]

However, he try to eat some of the millet in the adult's feed.

When I do try to wean squabs, I notice millet is pretty much all they'll eat. I can only guess it's due to size. They sometime mouth the peas and corn, but spit it out. The millet they will eat though. You can also experiment with weaning onto grit by flavoring it with anise. The anise oil gets them interested in eating the grit.

To stimulate the weaning process, I will scatter millet and/or grit and tap it with my finger with the same cadence as a pecking adult pigeon feeding on the same food. This seems to instinctively stimulate pecking, and, in turn, eating.

 

[ReseisCL16]

Aw man, I'm so sorry Hokum Coco about your squab. That's so sad!

Update:
Unfortunatly, my house-sitter couldn't keep up with the two different pens and allowed the unruly male into the nest with the single mother and her squab. The young squab underneath her died in the ensuing fight in the nest. Just like said above, "you win some and you lose some." However, the other squab is doing great!

Here's a pic of Mocker (the older squab). His parents have cued in on their parenting duties and have begun feeding him crop milk on occasion. He is now fully feathered and is eating millet all on his own consistently as well as being able to jump up to the adult waterer.

The single mother is doing alright, but seems forlorn (if a pigeon can actually be depressed, she would be). It's very sad to see, but I think she will pull though. Thank you all for your help! I really appreciate it!