How to feed a baby pigeon

Chicks, just like human children, need care and attention from their mother. Often situations occur in life, as a result of which the chick is torn away from the mother’s wing, for example, when it falls out of the nest. If necessary, a person can independently feed a feathered friend at home and, upon reaching the required age, release him into the wild. It is in such situations that you need to know what pigeons feed their chicks, as a result of which there is a high probability of going out and raising the bird on your own.

What does a pigeon chick eat?

If the bird was without parents and was picked up by a person, then it should be properly fed, and then released into the wild when it reaches the required age. As practice shows, it is necessary to feed a pigeon chick from birth with crushed and well-brewed food. In the first days of life, boiled egg yolk is ideal, which is introduced into the bird’s oral cavity through a syringe.In the future, it is worth feeding grains crushed to flour and steamed in hot water. As the child grows, the diet becomes much more varied: fruits, vegetables, chopped greens, vitamins, and live insects are introduced.

What to do if a pigeon chick falls out of the nest

If a pigeon chick has fallen out of the nest, it is recommended to look around to see if its parents are nearby and are afraid to fly up to it because of the presence of people. If there are no adults nearby, then it is worth visually inspecting the pigeon chick itself. If there is plumage, it is completely dry, it behaves quite actively and is warm to the touch, then such a bird does not need help. Most likely this is his first flyby.

If the found pigeon chick does not fit this description and it is clear that without human help it will die, then you should carefully pick it up without damaging the bones. Take it home to a warm place and begin the feeding process.

How to feed a baby pigeon

It is recommended to feed the pigeon chick strictly in accordance with its age category. This is primarily due to the fact that if you give a week-old baby food intended for a 2-3 week old pigeon chick, the body simply will not be able to digest the food and the pigeon will die. For feeding, you can use a syringe, pacifier or pipette. Food is introduced into the oral cavity, ensuring that the food completely fills the crop. From the first days of life it is necessary to accustom him to water.

What to feed a pigeon chick at home

Feeding a pigeon chick at home is not as difficult as it might seem to many at first glance.As practice shows, it often becomes necessary to independently feed those birds that were found, fell out of the nest and were left without maternal care. In order to understand exactly how to feed and care for pigeon chicks, you must first correctly determine their age - this is the only way to avoid causing even more harm.

You can determine your approximate age based on the following criteria:

  • rudimentary plumage appears on days 6-7 of life;
  • the eyes open completely on the 9th day;
  • fully formed plumage can be seen by the end of 4 weeks;
  • pigeons begin to show the first fluttering behavior at 6 weeks;
  • the first moult occurs at 7 weeks;
  • the bird stops squeaking and begins to coo at 2-3 months of life;
  • sexual instincts first appear at 5 months;
  • final molt at 6 months.

If you correctly determine the age of a pigeon chick left without maternal care, then you can feed the baby and hatch it.

In the first week

If you have a newborn pigeon chick in your hands, then in this case it is important not only to feed it properly, but also to give it water. Thus, it is initially necessary to teach the bird to take water and food. As practice shows, the most difficult ones to remove are birds that are about a week old, no more. This is primarily due to the fact that in the first 7 days of life, newborns need breast milk. In order to save a pigeon chick, you will have to make a lot of effort.

A step-by-step algorithm of actions that allows you to feed newborn birds is as follows:

  1. The first thing you need to do is purchase a 20 ml medical syringe from the pharmacy and carefully place a nipple on it, preferably a pipette.
  2. Egg yolk is perfect as food, as it contains a large amount of minerals that are so necessary for the normal functioning of the pigeon. You can also use special grains that are pre-ground to flour.
  3. The resulting food is carefully introduced into the oral cavity through a syringe, giving time for processing of the resulting components.

It is necessary to feed pigeon chicks at least 6 times throughout the day.

In the second week

From the second week, it is recommended to introduce grain mass into the diet, since very soon the chick will begin to eat like an adult pigeon. It is worth feeding only grain crushed to a pulp state and well steamed. To do this you will need:

  1. Grind the cereal thoroughly through a coffee grinder several times.
  2. The resulting flour must be poured with hot water.
  3. Let it brew for 7 minutes.

It is important to understand that such semi-liquid porridge is still an incomplete food and should not be fed to it. It is recommended to add chicken yolk to the steamed grain and only then start feeding.

Since pigeon chicks require calcium for full growth and development, a solution based on calcium gluconate can be added to their food. To improve the immune system, before you start feeding the chicks, add 2-3 drops of honey to the porridge.

By the end of the second week, the chick's body will be completely covered with feathers, it will begin to move and scream even louder. The birds are fed 4 to 6 times throughout the day. At the same time, you should ensure that the crop is filled with food to the maximum.

Advice! If necessary, calcium gluconate can be replaced with crushed chicken egg shells.

In the third week

From the third week, pigeon chicks feed completely differently.During this period of time, it is necessary to teach them to eat whole grains. Before feeding the birds, the grains should be placed in warm water for 10 minutes. In their natural habitat, parents give the chicks seeds of plants that have been in their stomach for some time and have undergone all the necessary processing and have been partially split.

Feeding should be done by hand; young pigeons are given no more than 3 grains in their mouths at each time. At this time, pigeon chicks begin to drink on their own. That is why, after they have already been fed (not before eating), it is worth carefully lowering the baby’s beak into a container of clean, warm water.

Attention! It is important to ensure that liquid does not enter the chick's sinuses, as there is a high probability that it will choke.

You can gradually introduce chopped greens and carrots into your diet.

In the fourth week

3 weeks after birth, pigeon chicks try to start eating on their own. During this period of time, they can be fed more variedly. At this age, pigeons can be given a boiled and well-chopped chicken egg and a small amount of white bread. It is important to take into account the fact that you can feed only white bread, this is largely due to the fact that dark bread varieties have a coarser grind and are less digestible by the chicks.

It is recommended to scatter a small amount of grain on the table and lightly tap it on the tabletop, thereby attracting the pigeons' attention. As practice shows, chicks quickly understand what is required of them and begin to eat food on their own.

Important! For a few more days, it is recommended to feed the birds additionally, giving food by hand.

After a month

After a month, your diet can and even should be diversified. In such cases, it is necessary to feed fruits, which are first cut into small pieces and given chopped greens. Small balls are made from the bread crumb; this is necessary so that the birds can independently take it into their beaks and swallow it.

Month-old chicks can be fed in the same way as adult pigeons. During this period of time, babies are preparing for their first flight. Despite this, you should not quickly allow pigeons to approach adults; it is best to feed them separately for some time.

Advice! If the bird looks rather lethargic and eats little, then you need to add a 3% glucose solution to the water.

What not to feed chicks

Although growing birds need insects, it is not recommended to feed them the following:

  • corpses of insects of any kind. As practice shows, the death of an insect is a consequence of intoxication, and the poison also has a negative effect on the bird’s body;
  • Colorado potato beetles - they are not recommended to be given due to their toxicity;
  • ladybugs - capable of secreting toxic liquid. Under natural conditions, if a bird eats a ladybug by mistake, it immediately spits it out;
  • fleecy caterpillars - since such insects contain small hairs on their bodies, they can clog the crop quite easily;
  • bedbugs that are brightly colored - saturated colors indicate that it is better not to take risks and not to use these insects.

In addition, you should not include meat and fish products in your diet, as they are quite difficult to process.

Attention! It is best to feed the bird nondescript bedbugs.

What to do if the pigeon chick does not eat

If it has been noticed that the pigeon chick does not eat, then special attention should be paid to the diet. It often happens that the age of the chick was determined incorrectly, and therefore further feeding is carried out incorrectly. It is important to take into account the fact that at first the adults feed the babies with semi-digested food.

It is necessary to feed the bird from a syringe if it is still very small; larger individuals are fed by hand. It must be taken into account that at first the chick will not be able to take food on its own; it must be helped in this matter. If necessary, you can add a 3% glucose solution to the water, which will help give you strength.

How to hatch a chick pigeon

Caring for a pigeon chick must be of high quality and complete. It is important to understand that at first the plumage is completely absent, as a result the chick may freeze. For these purposes, it is recommended to use a heating pad that will maintain optimal temperature conditions. When plumage appears on the pigeon, the heating pad can be removed, but care must be taken to ensure that the temperature does not fall below +25°C.

Conclusion

Pigeons feed their chicks with semi-digested food. To do this, they use plant seeds, which, while in the stomach of an adult, undergo primary processing and undergo partial splitting. This knowledge will help the chick hatch on its own.

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