The newly hatched pigeon chicks are quite defenseless: they are naked, blind, they have a soft beak that does not allow them to feed on their own. That is why pigeons are of the chick type. At first, the young need constant parental care: heating and feeding. Pigeon chicks get their food from the goiter of their mother and father - this is pigeon milk, which usually forms at the time of hatching of the cubs. If these two events do not coincide in time, then the brood most often dies without the intervention of the pigeon breeder.
The dove and dove continue to supply milk to newborns on average until the age of four weeks. In the early days, it is the only food for babies, and from 6-7 days softened grains are added to it, the volume of which begins to grow constantly.
A person can intervene in the process of growing young animals around the twentieth day of life. At this time, it is advisable to put a separate dish with fine grain for pigeons. Shredded millet or ground wheat will do. So the pigeon chicks will not only learn to peck on their own, but will also develop better and faster.
If there is heat on the street, then two-week-old cubs can be freshened up in cold water, dipping them quickly in a suitable container to the head and immediately removing them back. Such procedures are especially useful for weak pigeons with poor appetite.
When young growth begins its first flights from the nest, overheating and thirst become the greatest danger to the chicks. They may even die because they don’t know where the drinker is. In order to avoid trouble, they take the baby in the hand, bring it to the drinker and carefully immerse its beak in water.
Feeding chicks without parents
Pigeon chicks hatch with a mass of 13-18 grams, which doubles in a couple of days, and reaches a monthly age of 260 to 380 grams depending on the breed. Internal resources for the life of the chick are enough for a day after hatching, if not fed, then after this time he will die. Babies left in the nest either attach to other families or are fed artificially by a pigeon breeder.
If your option is the second, then in addition to nutrition, it is necessary to ensure the pigeons keep warm. Until eight days of age, they are fed a slightly warm chicken yolk with the addition of whole milk. So that the chick does not get wet during lunch, the nutrient mixture is drawn into a syringe, and instead of a needle, a piece of a thin rubber tube about ten centimeters long is put on it, which is easily inserted directly into the esophagus.
After the eighth day, you can boil peas, wheat flour or lentils in liquid gruel in milk, or soak crackers and use them for feeding. In addition, it is good to feed the chicks with a mixture of liquid protein of chicken eggs and ground peas or corn. It is necessary to add several large grains of sand or small pebbles to each meal. The dish should be freshly prepared and warm.
In hot weather, you must ensure that young animals do not suffer from dehydration. If the chick's goiter is filled with food, it may not feel thirsty, but at the same time it will feel the need for water. Every night, artificial artificial watering of it with a pipette can solve the problem.
Tribal Accounting
To improve the quality of breeding, the pigeon breeder should have the most complete information about each bird: about its origin, age and hereditary characteristics. For this, domestic pigeons are ringed, which insures against errors in the breeding use of individuals with a certain heredity.
First you need to decide if your pigeons will be supplied with open or fixed rings. Chicks at the age of seven to nine days can be successfully ringed in the second way, for seniors only the first is possible. The initial letters of the breeder’s surname, the number of the bird in the studbook and the pair of the last digits of the year of its birth are usually marked on the ring. As soon as the procedure is carried out, it is necessary to enter the most detailed data on the date of birth of the individual, the color of its plumage, the numbers of the rings of the parents and other important characteristics in the studbook.