What do pigeon chicks look like

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The pigeon bird is distributed absolutely all over the world, they did not take root only in the deserts and the far north. There are two varieties of pigeons - domestic and wild, the latter living less than domestic ones. As for domestic pigeons, they are kept for many purposes, such as decorating a private house, for selling pigeon meat, for resale in circuses, participating in exhibitions, and so on. What do pigeons look like?

Chicks of pigeons

It is worth saying that the pigeon chicks are most in demand, it is at this age that it is worth starting training for the purpose of further training. Today we will find out in more detail what the chicks of pigeons look like, look at the photos of pigeons, and also find out where the female pigeon chicks hide and how to care for them.

What do pigeons look like

Let's find out the answer to the question, how do newborn pigeons look like and where are the crumbs of pigeon chicks? It is worth saying that the appearance of a pigeon chick is not much different from other species of birds, they also appear from an egg. The only thing that sharply distinguishes the piglet is that there is not a single feather on its skin, that is, it is born completely bald. In addition, it must be said about newborn blindness, which passes over time. Thus, a pigeon chick is absolutely helpless for a long time, since it cannot find food for itself, cannot fly and cannot protect itself from a hostile environment, parents take care of it.

However, this period does not last long, after 5 days, maximum after a week, the first fluff begins to hatch, then feathers appear, which eventually turn into the usual pigeon plumage. Having carefully examined the chick of a pigeon in the photo or video, one cannot fail to note the disproportionately large beak and at the same time completely tiny dimensions, the weight of one chick is only 12 grams.

Surely, the first thing that came to your mind after getting to know the appearance of a pigeon chick is that its appearance is repulsive. Some birdwatchers make the assumption that nature intended this to maximize the preservation of the number of chicks. In addition to the fact that pigeons do not have feathers, it is also unattractive that the body is folded disproportionately, but the baby is growing. Compared to the body, the head seems too small, while the eyes look huge, the wings in the first weeks of life may be underdeveloped, so their size only adds to the awkwardness of the pigeons.

What does a pigeon's nest look like?

The pigeon's nest consists of the materials familiar to feathered ones, it is dried straw and small branches. Responsibilities in the family are distributed traditionally, materials for the construction of the nest are brought in by the male, while the female is engaged in "arranging home comfort and hearth", that is, direct construction.Compared to other birds, the pigeon is not particularly beautiful and comfortable, it looks more like chaotically scattered branches.

Nests are usually built between late spring and early September when pigeons hatch. As mentioned earlier, pigeons are born without feathers, respectively, any change in the weather downward can be fatal for them, winter is the most critical time of the year for pigeons. The incubation period does not last about 20-25 days; both male and female hatch eggs alternately. After that, tiny pigeons, with the help of an already formed beak, begin to break the shell, completely hatch after 2-3 hours. Often, in order to speed up the process, parents also actively participate in riveting the shell where the little pigeons are.

What does a newborn chick eat?

Immediately after hatching the chick, the mother rushes to feed him with fresh colostrum, this usually happens in the first hours of his life. You are probably wondering where the colostrum comes from, because a bird is not mammalian and does not have such an organ as an udder. The fact is that colostrum is secreted from the beak of a female pigeon, and its chemical composition, surprisingly, has many similarities to human colostrum, which is consumed by infants. The mechanism of its formation is as follows:

• The female lays eggs first
• The body begins to reorganize the production of enzymes
• After 20 days, the composition of saliva changes and colostrum is secreted, which the newborn chicks feed on.

The peculiarity of pigeons is that there are one or two eggs in one clutch, and they are not in equal conditions, since the younger one always receives food later than his brother or sister, the same applies to vital colostrum. It is believed that it is colostrum that enables newborn pigeons to gain weight incredibly quickly, and turn from a clumsy defenseless creature into an independent bird with great speed. In order to assess the rapidity of weight gain, we present the following table where the baby pigeon chicks and their age standards are located:

Features of nesting pigeons

Where do pigeons live, where pigeon chicks grow up and get stronger? The answer to the question of why people never see pigeon chicks is the fact that the female pigeon finds a place as far as possible from humans for nesting. In the city, it can be an abandoned house or a sports field, attics of buildings, very tall trees, outside the city - these are caves, rocks, and so on. It is for this reason that pigeon nests are located as high as possible, usually on the roofs of houses where construction is completed. It is noteworthy that city pigeons are old-timers, that is, they do not change their nesting places unless they are forced to do so.

Some people claim to have seen small forelock doves or pigeon eggs on the balconies of their homes, is that true? Indeed, this can happen occasionally, because at present it is impossible to call a pigeon wild, because a bird lives side by side with a person and largely depends on him. Of course, such trust is not always justified, since a curious person who wants to know everything will naturally get to the postponed pigeon's nest to see what kind of chicks the pigeons have and can harm unborn chicks or those who have already hatched. Although often, acquaintance with a pigeon chick occurs after the pigeon chick has fallen out of its nest.

If you notice a pigeon's nest on the balcony or on the roof of a private house, you have two options: leave it as it is, let the chicks grow and fly away, or carefully move the pigeon's housing, however, there is a high probability that the female will refuse further incubation and the entire brood dies.In any case, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with the appearance of a pigeon nest in order to be able to distinguish it from nests belonging to other birds.

Pigeon chicks growing up period

As mentioned earlier, a pigeon is born absolutely helpless; here there is a similarity with human children, who for a long time cannot serve themselves on their own. Due to this lack of independence, at first someone is constantly in the nest with chicks - either a female or a male. It is impossible to abandon the brood for a minute also because babies quickly lose heat, the thermoregulation mechanism works imperfectly, since little pigeons are absolutely devoid of feathers, parents warm them out with the help of their bodies.

Parents leave the nest in turn, giving each other the opportunity to find food and drink water, but the pigeons know where their chicks are and rush home. It is this attachment and presence of responsibility to each other that has become the reason for the emergence of the stable expression "pigeon fidelity". After all, pigeons are one of the few birds, and perhaps the only ones, who create pairs once and for all, raise children together and constantly support each other in summer and winter, this is called constancy.

However, along with this fact, there are very unpleasant and even repulsive facts regarding the life of pigeons. Among such examples is the situation when the chicks became orphans, that is, their parents, unfortunately, died. You should not expect help from other pigeons, they simply will not pay attention to the orphans, they will not bring food and water, inevitable death awaits the babies. A person can notice a problem if a pigeon chick has fallen out of the nest, that is, when there is no way to help, when it is found, but if earlier, then you can try to take over feeding the little pigeon chicks.

How do pigeons grow

Pigeon chicks grow stronger in nests or in artificially created dovecotes, depending on whether they belong to the category of wild or domestic ones. It is worth saying that those birds that live in captivity have a much worse attitude towards caring for offspring, which cannot be said about pairs of a wild pigeon. This is due to the fact that poultry get used to comfort, to the fact that food does not need to be obtained on their own, all this negatively affects the presence of natural instincts, including parental ones. For this reason, a person has to take a direct part in the care of pigeon chicks if they live in a dovecote condition.

Man often mistook pigeon chicks for dead. Why is this happening? The fact is that in the first days of life, their movements are minimal, and their body temperature is quite low.

How long are pigeon chicks in the nest? Usually this period lasts about 1.5 - 2 months, only after this period the nest becomes empty. At this stage, you will no longer see the ridiculous bald chick, this is an adult formed pigeon that is ready to go into an independent life and knows how to fly. Thus, the answer to the question of why a person does not see pigeon eggs and the chicks themselves was formed.

Bird watchers recommend not to touch the pigeon's nests with your hands, unless this is urgently needed. The fact is that the female can abandon her offspring, since she will feel an extraneous smell on her unborn cubs. The same applies to the nest itself, it is better not to climb where human intervention is not needed. If you want to help the chicks, walk by, do not interfere with the natural life cycle of the bird. If you really want to see a pigeon's nest, you can use the Internet and view many videos and photos.

How to feed pigeon chicks

This section will be needed only for those who keep "postmen" at home, that is, in dovecotes, which, by the way, can be done by hand, having carefully studied the design.Weaning from parents can be carried out as early as three weeks after hatching of young animals, this is the time when pigeons hatch chicks if they live in their natural environment. However, by doing this, you take on a huge responsibility, since now you must ensure not only feeding, but also constant heating of the babies. It is advisable to immediately accustom the birds to feeding from feeders and drinking from special devices inside the house, this will greatly simplify your work. It is also important to ensure that the chicks have constant access to the pigeon stone, it can be purchased in veterinary stores or on the Internet, it serves as an irreplaceable source of obtaining the necessary minerals, so we ourselves will breed offspring.

It is important to pay enough attention to the cleanliness of the pigeon house, since otherwise, this can provoke the development of many diseases in chicks. Remove the droppings on time, periodically disinfect the premises, equipment and inventory that is used for cleaning so the little chick grows faster.

Recommended food

In order for the bird to develop normally, you need to ensure that more than half of the diet is compressed feed. They contain protein, which will help you gain weight faster and get stronger. In addition, the quality of nutrition will also depend on how painful the pigeons will be or may not be sick at all, this aspect worries any poultry farmer.

• Here is an example of an approximate feeding ration for a young bird, which can be taken as a basis:
• Corn, peas - about 10-15% of each component, calculated from the total mass of the daily diet
• Millet - must be at least 30-40%
• Cereals - about 15%, barley - at least 20% of daily feeding

Pigeons are usually fed three times a day, and the third feeding, that is, in the evening, should be large in volume and calorie content. As for the size of the portions, about 30-50 grams of feed are consumed per individual, this is the minimum from which you need to start.

If the pigeon is sick, then the diet also changes. At this point, you need to replace the usual ingredients of the feed with softer and more gentle ones. The ideal option would be boiled cereals (rice, wheat, pearl barley, and so on). The importance of balanced nutrition increases significantly if birds are bred not for home use, but for participation in an exhibition, because both the mass and the beauty of feathers are valued there.

What should be the care

If you decide to get a private dovecote, it is worth making sure that the bird is comfortable. To do this, first of all, you need to make the birds tame, that is, tame, then build a spacious and comfortable pigeon house. By the way, on the Internet there are many examples of its construction with detailed photos and video instructions.

The domestication process cannot be called complicated, it includes constant communication with pigeons, feeding from hands. After some time, the pigeons will take you "for their own", will not interfere with the fact that you will be near, feed and clean in the cages.

In order to prevent the development of diseases in pigeons, care must not be neglected. It is recommended to periodically conduct an external examination, which can help identify many diseases at the very beginning of their inception. As you can see in the video, an adult pigeon is a fairly agile bird that rarely sits still and has a great appetite. If you see that the behavior of the birds is changing, this may signal that something is wrong with their health. Here are the most common symptoms of a painful condition in pigeons, which should definitely alert you:

• Change in the color of the oral mucosa
• The presence of discharge from the nose or beak (usually, enrofloxacin helps if you start giving it on the first day)
• The pupils are not the same
• The dove does not stand well on its feet, falls, and so on

It is important not to miss the onset of the disease and start treatment in a timely manner, since this bird can be a carrier of many dangerous diseases, many of which can be dangerous even for humans. It is worth saying that pigeons die en masse, that is, infection occurs quickly.

Now you know what a pigeon chick looks like, how little pigeons can go out, how to feed them and how to prevent the development of diseases.