WHEN TO RELEASE BABY WILBERT

[Kkjrenee]

Good Afternoon, I have a pigeon that I have been raising that got scalped as a small squab, so I took him in and I have been caring for him. The idea is that when he is of age I will be taking him to my parents house with a couple other small pigeons his age where they will have a large old playhouse to stay in and can free fly as they please. I did this with another pigeon I raised a few years ago and he stayed around by himself until one day he saw a couple of doves....flew away with them and never returned! Anyways, I am not sure when I will be able to take him over there I got him on easter where he was about a week old and I've had him a month tomorrow. So he is a little over a month old. He is starting to fly around the apartment, he loves to eat peas out of my hand and then he wants his crumbles which he eats on his own, he still peeps and I can tell he is maturing as he is not eating as much as he was last week. His beak is still not fully "adult" like. Although I leave food in his tub with him as well as water and if I am late to his feeding it seems like he does eat some as his crop has some in it, I just don't want to take him too early! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[biophiliac]

Will your parents be providing food and water for them?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How neat! I used to rescue pigeons in Denver when I was a teenager (long ago and far away, lol!). I thought they were beautiful, both as individuals snd when they soared together as flocks. Sadly, few shared my fondness for them, and I was always disappointed when they did not return my affection! Thank you for caring for these. Best wishes!

 

[sylviethecochin]

If he can eat on his own, and has good mobility, he's ready to be "weaned." A month is about right for that, from what I can remember.

 

[Kkjrenee]

Yes for sure! They live on a farm with chickens, ducks, donkeys, everything and wanted a few additions!! Plus I figured it would be better than taking him back to my grandparents as where my parents live they don’t have many if any hawks

Will your parents be providing food and water for them?

 

[Kkjrenee]

If he can eat on his own, and has good mobility, he's ready to be "weaned." A month is about right for that, from what I can remember.

I am just worried I would be putting him out too soon, he seems to like to eat with me there he will peck around some in his cage but I think he feels more comfortable eating the peas from my hand. Any tips on how to wean him better?

 

[biophiliac]

I am just worried I would be putting him out too soon, he seems to like to eat with me there he will peck around some in his cage but I think he feels more comfortable eating the peas from my hand. Any tips on how to wean him better?

Like @sylviethecochin said, he's ready to be weaned at about a month. The less you feed him the more he will eat on his own. That's how his parents would do it - when the squeakers are old enough, the parents only grudgingly cough up a bit of a snack after much begging. The youngsters finally give up and eat. lol Limit your feeding to small amounts of treats like unsalted peanuts or safflower. You might be able to train him to come to your call for a special treat like that. It's good you will have a small group of squeakers. I would say 6 weeks is a good age to put them in their loft on their own. They should probably be locked in for at least two weeks to home-set them. Best if during this time they have access to a small exterior cage so they get a look around at the surroundings before release.
Nice job raising him and good luck to you both!

 

[Kkjrenee]

Like @sylviethecochin said, he's ready to be weaned at about a month. The less you feed him the more he will eat on his own. That's how his parents would do it - when the squeakers are old enough, the parents only grudgingly cough up a bit of a snack after much begging. The youngsters finally give up and eat. lol Limit your feeding to small amounts of treats like unsalted peanuts or safflower. You might be able to train him to come to your call for a special treat like that. It's good you will have a small group of squeakers. I would say 6 weeks is a good age to put them in their loft on their own. They should probably be locked in for at least two weeks to home-set them. Best if during this time they have access to a small exterior cage so they get a look around at the surroundings before release.
Nice job raising him and good luck to you both!

Thanks so much! He’s becoming very pretty and my parents are excited to get new additions they love watching them fly!!!

 

[biophiliac]

Thanks so much! He’s becoming very pretty and my parents are excited to get new additions they love watching them fly!!!

Can we see a pic of him?

 

[Kkjrenee]

He loves flying around! He’s grown a lot, his chest isn’t completely filled out yet and it’s a little stained from when I tune fed him at a younger age and because of him being scalped he can’t grow any feathers on top of his head but that doesn’t stop him, I’ll just give him a comb over