the strangest thing I have ever seen...

[ridinglizzard]

This morning I went out to my pigeon/bunny house (6' x 8' x 7') and saw the strangest thing...

Some background: I have 3 nests happening on the floor right now, in one corner a 1 week old squab, in the other corner 6 x 5 day old bunnies, and in a third corner a lesbian pigeon couple perpetually sitting on unfertilized eggs.

So, this morning I walk in and the mom of the squab flies off her nest and I look over and there is a baby bunny snuggled in beside the squab! These bunnies are only a few days old, still blind, and not capable of leaving their nest (or so I thought!). Then I look over at the lesbian couple and they are both sitting on their nest and a baby bunny is struggling to get out from under one of them!!! I go retrieve both babies and put them with their siblings. Momma bunny seems unperturbed by the whole thing.

So, I am really weirded out by this! I am worried that obviously if the baby bunnies aren't with their mom they won't get the milk they need. On a weirder note... how did they get in the nests!?? Did the momma bunny bring them there? I don't think that they would have gone there themselves. The pigeon moms seemed very happy with the arrangement.

Strange...

Any ideas?

 

[yinepu]

newborn baby bunnies can crawl a good distance.. you wouldnt think so by looking at them.. but even before their eyes open they can manage to leave the nest and crawl away. They are more prone to do it if the nest gets too hot.

 

[ridinglizzard]

I just peaked in again and saw one 1/2 way across the room, so I think that you are right and they are just crawling around on their own. They seem really strong for being just born on June 28...

I still think it is funny that the pigeons are so ready to adopt the baby bunnies!

 

[b.hromada]

I'm in love, they're so precious!!!

Thanks for sharing pics too.

I think its hilarious about them getting into the pigeon's nest!!!

 

[ridinglizzard]

Ya, I should have got a picture of that! But I was too shocked... I just scooped them and put them back in the right nest!!

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

Pigeons will brood anything! Especially if they aren't able to have kids of their own, like your pair of girls. I've hatched quail and chickens out from under my pigeons. And here's the story of a pigeon named Noah who takes care of bunnies and others at the wildlife rescue:
http://www.examiner.com/pets-in-denver/pigeon-adopts-baby-bunnies-cuteness-threshold-reached
http://www.examiner.com/pets-in-denver/pigeon-adopts-more-than-bunnies-loves-all-creatures

You can look it up and probably find pictures of Noah and the bunnies. For some reason they aren't coming up on my computer (in the first link - the second link's pics work fine). I've had it forwarded to me by email several times and it's all over bird/bunny/wildlife forums.

Such a cute story!

 

[Lofty Dreams]

That's kind of cute

Their was also this monkey and pigeon that became friends

 

[laughingdog]

and here i was worried about ringneck doves and oriental rollers, adopting birmingham roller eggs, im trying to get.. or would it be better to incubate artificially, then give after hatch and dry off etc?

 

[benjoycei]

how cute!

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

Quote:
Different pigeon breeds do just fine raising other breeds. So the Oriental rollers would be fine raising the Birmingham babies. However, I would only give the ringnecks one roller egg to raise at a time. You may want to incubate it for a couple days before you put it under the doves too...as their eggs normally hatch in 14 days

While pigeons take 18 days to hatch.