"We have Pigeons"....

[MrsRosalesss]

"Please Help"!!

We, (My husband and I) have pigeons that stay in a loft in one room of our home.....there were two babies born about a week and a half ago and the day before yesterday I picked them up to show my husband how cute and small they were, and they were both healthy and fine... Late last night I went to check on them again and one of the two babies had major swelling on his eyes and all over his face and body.....he died early this morning unfortunately....it looked as if he was pecked to death.......would that be my fault for picking them up? Why did the momma do this? I mean it was very brutal no doubt... And what should I do with the other baby who is still okay but momma was going after him as well.....please help me if you can answer this question....I thank you kindly for your help!

 

[Hokum Coco]

"Please Help"!!
I picked them up to show my husband how cute and small they were, he died early this morning would that be my fault for picking them up? Short answer NO!

I have picked every one of my baby squabs up on discovery. I have 66 trips around the sun. I started raising pigeons in my early youth and teens. As a rule pigeons are usually excellent parents. I would guess if it was scalped as you claim it was done by a pigeon other than it's parents (is more likely) or some other cause.

Pigeon are know to stop feeding a squab because it is weak unhealthy or of poor genetic material.

I only had one experience where a pigeon scalp a squab it had hatched.

In that case the male pigeon (that usually pair for life) took up with widowed hen and evicted its original mate from the nest box.

The mother was left to raise a single squab that made a full recovery luckily I was in the loft when this took place or I may have lost the squab.

 

[jak2002003]

Not your fault.

Pigeons won't attack their own young if you handle them... so long as you put them back in the same nest and not another pigeons nest.

Maybe it had a disease, or some insects like ants attacked it?

PS I don't think its a good idea to have a pigeon coop INSIDE your house. The birds produce huge amounts of special protein dust from their feathers, which is very dangerous if breathed into you lungs over a long time... leading to a very serious disease in humans called pigeon fancies lung. Other birds have this dust too.. but pigeons produce it in the largest amounts, and as they are large birds, compared to parakeets, etc, they make even more.

 

[laughingdog]

Not your fault. 

Pigeons won't attack their own young if you handle them... so long as you put them back in the same nest and not another pigeons nest.

Maybe it had a disease, or some insects like ants attacked it?

PS  I don't think its a good idea to have a pigeon coop INSIDE your house.  The birds produce huge amounts of special protein dust from their feathers, which is very dangerous if breathed into you lungs over a long time... leading to a very serious disease in humans called pigeon fancies lung.   Other birds have this dust too.. but pigeons produce it in the largest amounts, and as they are large birds, compared to parakeets, etc, they make even more.

. Actually cockatiels/cockatoos quail and ringneck/collard/diamond/zebra doves produce most lot worse and harmful dust etc feather dander for you than having half to dozen or more pigeons in house. I've kept all types temp n more so know. Lol

 

[laughingdog]

If keeping dozen in house use an air purifier though hopefully with ionizer. Spray bath birds before feed n clean cage with vinager daily and will keep them n heir area clean smelling great. Don't feed corn cause warm enough or too much protein in feeds, as makes mess n poop lot worse (like scratch and layer feeds). A good wild bird mix or budgie/"parakeet" feed all need with whatever added and snacks.

 

[GiantRuntFan]

If keeping dozen in house use an air purifier though hopefully with ionizer. Spray bath birds before feed n clean cage with vinager daily and will keep them n heir area clean smelling great. Don't feed corn cause warm enough or too much protein in feeds, as makes mess n poop lot worse (like scratch and layer feeds). A good wild bird mix or budgie/"parakeet" feed all need with whatever added and snacks.

Hi, laugingdog. I saw where you wrote that you spray bath your birds before you feed them and clean the cage. I want to have about 6-8 pigeons and put them in a small loft in my small backyard. Do you just use a mist type hand held spray bottle (similar to windex bottles)? If so, for how long? Do you also provide clean bath water on the floor/ground daily? In the spray bath water, do you put anything in it (like a drop of vinegar)?

Also, for so few birds, would a mostly open loft in Seattle (a wall on one side, and maybe going a couple of feet on the sides), hardware wire on the rest and a solid roof be enough IF I have a plastic bucket for their nesting spots, and a wicker basket for them to sit in? I've seen that on here before (the basket in a bucket) and it seems to have ventilation for the 'nest'.

Sorry for all the questions, but I just want to make sure that I can have 6-8 pigeons (already have arranged to purchase a pair of West of England Tumblers and looking at adopting at least one Lahore), in a total loft area of 8 x 8, 7 feet tall, mostly open, raised up about 2 feet from the ground, with hardware wire on part of the floor will be more than ventilated enough so the dust mostly is blown out of the loft/flight area. I would hope when I clean/vacuum a couple of times a week, even wearing a mask, I should have eliminated most of the threat of dust accumulating to the point where it can potentially be a threat.

What do you think? And thank you for any and all advice.

 

[laughingdog]

If they're not in closed building, and have access to bath weekly, they won't need misting spraying. That should be decent set up as long as doesn't get wet or freezing.
If your wanting to breed pure needs, youllhave to keep your breeds seperate, as pigeons commonly have trusts with others even though usually have a primary mate raising squeakers with. Plus runts are retry aggressive and can damage badly and kill Pigeons not so tough or large.

 

[GiantRuntFan]

Hi, laughingdog, thanks for the response. Rarely gets down to freezing here, and they should be able to handle the time when it does. I could also put thick plastic outside of the walls to help keep them warm on those rare cold snaps. I also think I'll just have built, or buy, three rabbit hutch set ups, so they'd be doubly out of any wind and it won't sweat like plastic. Also, I've since found that with all that, I'll likely just wear a good mask from a company like 3M that covers the face and eyes, and disposable overalls (usually about $4/suit when you buy 25) with hood. I may be going overboard, but I don't want that bird fanciers lung. I'd rather be safe than sorry. If I can do all that, then, I hope, I'll be able to walk in the flight area in relative safety; or at least stand out in my yard and look at my birds.

I've decided upon West of England Tumblers, as they have a combination of of the things I like in pigeons. I'll keep their numbers low by replacing the eggs. That way, a quick vacuuming of the nest and surrounding areas and scrubbing of the wire floor every other day or twice a week, combined with it being mostly open, should keep the dust to an extreme minimum. Thanks for telling me I'm on the right track!

 

[Ghani]

Hi, Any pigeon expert on this forum can identify what breed of pigeons they are?? https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1160993/please-help-to-identify-pigeon-breed#post_18247357