Does anyone know how to imitate "pigeon milk"? The chicks will be born soon and I need to know what to feed them.
Anonymous--I am quoting a lengthy description from "Bird Ambulance" by Arlene Thomas, little book that tells about what and how to feed baby birds of many different species and how to set bird's wings and legs. Here is part of a chapter on pigeons: . . ." 6 years ago, an anxious woman arrived holding a cat carrier. In it rolled in a towel, was a week-old pigeon with a bleeding leg. She had found it in a hollow of a subway grating. How it got in the grating was a mystery. There were no buildings nearby from which it might have fallen and it was much too young to walk. Besides being the younges pigeon I had ever handled, it was also the dirtiest. It's yellow down and overly large beak were covered with mud and soot. Cold and weak, it had obviously been without its pigeon "milk" for some time, since its little crop was quite empty. When a pigeon is first hatched, it can hardly lift its head. Gaining strength, it nuzzles feebly at a parent, which then opens its mouth for the youngster to slip its beak into its throat. Then the pigeon "milk", a cream-colored curd formed in the crops of both parents, is regurgitated in to baby's mouth. The cock pigeon is the only male vertebrate that produces a milk for his young; the hen pigeon is the only feathered female that does so. Scientists have no explanation for this phenomenon whih occurs only in the pigeon family. . . . Pigeons have been man's companions since biblical times, so hand rearing them by using a substitute for this "milk" has gone on for a long time. Arrowroot flour mixed with milk, or infant formula with cereal such as Pablum have been used. A modern substitute is well moistened Gaines meal laced with a well beaten raw egg. MAde into pellets, these seem to agree with young pigeons and doves of all ages. But when the bird is very young, the mixture must be as thin as a watery gruel. It is gradually thickened. Whatever the formula, it is a messy process to administer, the trick being to open the birds beak with one hand, and insert some of the runny mixture with the other. (Large plastic eyedropper could be useful here). The first time I fed "Limpy", I got more on the outside than the inside. To avoid washing him so often, I made him a bib of a scrap of plastic. He quickly learned that the bib meant food and as soon as he saw it, he began flapping his stumpy wings and squeaking "peent" "peent", all the while turning in circles as he tried to nuzzle my fingers. Then, when he was about 6 weeks old, I folded the bib for the last time and put it away. He could now eat out of a dish. At first he pecked at the moistened dog food pellets, later wild bird seed, grit, and pigeon food. By then, he was living in the outside shelter with my other disabled birds and taking practice flights across the room. But one morning found him beating his wings against the screen, so concluded that he was ready to leave. As there is always a flock of pigeons in a nearby park, I released him there, hoping he would join them. But he never did. He still roosts in the oaks in my yard, and aside from the handful of grain I give him in the morning, he forages for himself." . . Sorry to take so much space, but couldn't resist sending the whole story--hope it is helpful. The book has a picture of Limpy wearing his bib on the cover! CJR
I handraised a pigeon, and he turned out to be such a jackass. Yes he used to circle around my hand wildly, but now, all he does is bite, or attempt to mate with me. Any tips on how to curb this?
Thank You
By Cjeanr on Monday, April 19, 1999 - 02:21 am:
By Cujo on Friday, June 18, 1999 - 02:44 pm:
I got him when he was already weaned from milk and on seeds regurgitated from mother.