Urgent please help

[Lady507]

Hello my pigeons had 2 babies and as usual one was neglected as they grew up. I stepped in and have been feeding him formula to keep him alive. Today I went out and I found him on the nest with his neck to the side and opening and closing his beak. When I put him on the floor he fell to the sides. He is around 5-6 weeks. Has anyone ever seen anything like this. I fed him last night like I usually did and since the crop is empty I'm going to feed it now to see if it helps.

Please help

 

[Lady507]

Hey for anyone who was curious in what happened to the chick I went to the nest in a few hours and found it perfectly fine. It was walking standing chirping and begging for food as if nothing had happened. I am honestly so confused and don't know what happened but I guess as long as it lives it doesn't matter as much. Idk if maybe cause I fed him a little bit when he was apparently dying and that gave him life. I really don't know but I wanted to say that the chick was fine for anyone who wants to know.

 

[GoldenFlight]

Do you mean 5-6 days? Well, they aren't normally neglected. Wow, that's sooo good to hear!

 

[Lady507]

Do you mean 5-6 days? Well, they aren't normally neglected. Wow, that's sooo good to hear!

Really I thought all pigeons neglected a chick because I researched it and found out is was a normal occurrence and what happened was that one chick gets bigger than the other so it pushes the smaller one to the side. The parents then only feed the bigger one and not the smaller one. So If i don't intervene the smaller one will die of starvation. Maybe it's just with these breed it happens every time they hatch. The chick is actually around 5 weeks it's just growing slower than the other one. If you look carefully you can see feathers coming out it's brother/sister on the other hand has all of its feathers. I don't know why he's taking so long I am assuming he/she might turn out a little smaller than the other pigeons. Thanks I am so happy that the chick is alright I fed him/her a while ago and it looked very happy and energetic. It looks like it would be fine.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Hello my pigeons had 2 babies and as usual one was neglected as they grew up.

Glad you went with your gut instincts and everything is starting to get on track again. It could have been cause by a simple thing as the squab missing one feeding and then being exposed to cool temperatures and developing hypothermia. Keep monitoring the situation and I hope things work out (keep your feeder at the quick draw just in case). Looks like your squab colouration is going to be mostly white. The eyes on the bird seem unusually large I am guessing this is some sort of ornamental pigeon. Any pictures of the adults? Thank you for posting.

 

[Lady507]

You are right they are show doves, classic frills to be exact. Thank you and I am so happy it all turned out good. Now the chick is begging as if nothing happened. Everyday he has more and more feathers and I can't wait to the day she/he gets to fly. These are a pictures of the grown ups

 

[GoldenFlight]

Do your chicks always look like this when they are 5 weeks old?

 

[Lady507]

Usually they have more feathers and the feathers are longer. The are also bigger than this one was but for some reason this chick has stayed behind in his growing. I feed him the food Exact which is supposed to be the best food for growth and development. He is growing more and everyday has more and longer feathers. He is catching up to his brother and in a week or 2 most likely have all his feathers and eating on his own. I think that the reason this chick is like This might be because the parents are getting old but I don't really know their exact age because my parents friend gave them to me and I've had them for almost 3 years. I'm most likely going to separate them or throw out the eggs when they lay and maybe get 2 of the younger ones to lay and hatch.

 

[jak2002003]

Really I thought all pigeons neglected a chick because I researched it and found out is was a normal occurrence and what happened was that one chick gets bigger than the other so it pushes the smaller one to the side. The parents then only feed the bigger one and not the smaller one. So If i don't intervene the smaller one will die of starvation. Maybe it's just with these breed it happens every time they hatch. The chick is actually around 5 weeks it's just growing slower than the other one. If you look carefully you can see feathers coming out it's brother/sister on the other hand has all of its feathers. I don't know why he's taking so long I am assuming he/she might turn out a little smaller than the other pigeons. Thanks I am so happy that the chick is alright I fed him/her a while ago and it looked very happy and energetic. It looks like it would be fine.

Hi. No, that information about pigeons neglecting one squab is completely wrong.

In more than 10 years keeping pigeons that has NEVER happened.

It could happen if the birds are not getting enough feed to support 2 squabs.

What are you feeding the adult birds that are breeding?

Do they have feed available all day? Do they have drinking water all the time?

Something is wrong with your set up is this is always happening.

 

[Lady507]

Well, they have a bowl that has food 24/7 and when they have chicks I make sure that they have food by checking up on them multiple times a day. Plus I feed them everyday so even if there's old food they get New one. The water bowl is one of those jar with the bowl and as they drink water comes down(don't know what they are called) It can last up to a week but I'm constantly changing it to make sure the waters not dirty. So they always have food and water. The nest is secluded and not bothered unless they stop feeding one. The pigeons were given to me by my parent's friend and he told me that he always had that problem too. I don't know why they do it. I have tried sitting by the cage and watching until they feed them and I usually see the bigger chick begging for food while the smaller one is pushed aside. It can also be based on the fact that they lay and egg a day so one hatches the day before the other chick. So it's going to be bigger and Stronger.