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Chicks, just like human children, need care and attention from their mother. Often in life there are situations in which the chick is torn off 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 to freedom. It is in such situations that you need to know what the pigeons feed their chicks with, as a result of which there is a high probability of going out and raising the bird on their own.
What does a dove chick eat
If the bird was left without parents and was picked up by a person, then it should be properly fed, and then sent free upon reaching the required age. As practice shows, it is necessary to feed a pigeon chick from birth with chopped and well-brewed food. In the first days of life, boiled egg yolk is perfect, which is injected into the feathered mouth through a syringe. In the future, it is worth feeding grains crushed to the state of flour and steamed in hot water. As the diet grows, the diet becomes much more varied: fruits, vegetables, chopped greens, vitamins, live insects are introduced.
What to do if a pigeon chick falls out of the nest
In the event that a pigeon chick has fallen out of the nest, it is recommended to look around, suddenly his parents are nearby and are afraid to fly up to him due to 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 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 the help of a person it will die, then you should carefully take it without damaging the bones. Take home to a warm place, starting the feeding process.
How to feed a pigeon chick
It is recommended to feed the pigeon chick strictly in accordance with the age category. This is due primarily to the fact that if you give a week-old baby food intended for a pigeon chick 2-3 weeks old, the body simply will not be able to digest the food and the pigeon will die. For feeding, you can use a syringe, teat or pipette. The food is introduced into the oral cavity, making sure that the food completely fills the goiter. From the first days of life, it is necessary to accustom to water.
How 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 is often 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 the pigeon chicks, the first step is to correctly determine their age - this is the only way not to cause even more harm.
You can determine the approximate age by the following criteria:
- rudimentary plumage appears on the 6-7th day of life;
- the eyes open completely on day 9;
- fully formed plumage can be seen by the end of 4 weeks;
- pigeons begin to show their first flipping rides at 6 weeks;
- the first molt occurs at week 7;
- the bird stops squeaking and starts cooing at 2-3 months of life;
- for the first time sexual instincts 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 and leave the baby.
In the first week
If a newborn pigeon chick is in the hands, then in this case it is important not only to properly feed, but also to drink. Thus, initially it is necessary to teach the bird to take water and food. As practice shows, the most difficult thing is to leave birds, which are about a week old, no more. This is due primarily 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 efforts.
A step-by-step algorithm of actions that allows you to feed newborn birds is as follows:
- The first step is to purchase a 20 ml medical syringe at the pharmacy and carefully put a nipple on it, preferably a pipette.
- Egg yolk is perfect as food, since it contains a large amount of minerals that are necessary for the normal life of a pigeon. You can also use special grains, which are pre-ground to a state of flour.
- The resulting feed is gently introduced into the oral cavity through a syringe, giving time for the processing of the obtained components.
It is necessary to feed the chicks of pigeons from 6 times throughout the day.
In the second week
From the second week, it is recommended to introduce a grain mass into the diet, since very soon the chick will begin to feed like an adult pigeon. It is worth feeding only with grain crushed to a state of gruel and well steamed. This will require:
- Thoroughly grind the cereal through a coffee grinder several times.
- The resulting flour must be poured with hot water.
- Let it brew for 7 minutes.
It is important to understand that such a semi-liquid porridge is still incomplete food and cannot be fed. It is recommended to add chicken yolk to the steamed grain and only then start feeding.
Since the chicks of pigeons need calcium for full growth and development, a solution based on calcium gluconate can be added to the food. To improve the immune system, 2-3 drops of honey are added to the porridge before feeding the chicks.
By the end of the second week, the chick's body will be completely covered with feathers, it begins to move, screaming even louder. The birds are fed 4 to 6 times throughout the day. In this case, it is worth making sure that the goiter is filled with food to the maximum.
In the third week
From the third week, the chicks of pigeons eat 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, the parents give the chicks seeds of plants that have been in their stomachs for some time and have undergone all the necessary processing, partially underwent splitting.
It is worth feeding with your hands, young pigeons are put into the oral cavity no more than 3 grains at a time. At this time, the chicks of the pigeon 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 with clean warm water.
Chopped greens and carrots can be gradually introduced into the diet.
In the fourth week
3 weeks after birth, the pigeon chicks try to start eating on their own. During this period of time, they can be fed more varied.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 only whites can be fed, this is largely due to the fact that dark bread varieties have a coarser grind and are less assimilated by chicks.
It is recommended to sprinkle a small amount of grain on the table and lightly tap on the table top, thereby attracting the attention of the pigeons. As practice shows, chicks quite quickly understand what is required of them, and begin to eat food on their own.
After a month
A month later, the diet can and even should be diversified. In such cases, it is necessary to feed with fruits that are pre-cut into small pieces, give chopped greens. Small balls are made of bread crumb, this is necessary so that the birds can independently take it into their beak and swallow it.
Monthly 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, do not quickly allow pigeons to reach adults, it is best to feed them separately for some time.
What can not be fed to chicks
Despite the fact that growing birds need insects, it is not recommended to feed them with the following:
- corpses of insects of any kind. As practice shows, the death of an insect is the result of intoxication, and the poison has a negative effect on the bird's body;
- Colorado beetles - they are not recommended to be given because of their toxicity;
- ladybugs - capable of releasing toxic liquid. Under natural conditions, if a bird ate a ladybug by mistake, then she immediately spits it out;
- fleecy caterpillars - since such insects contain small hairs on the body, they can quite easily clog the goiter;
- bugs with a bright color - saturated colors indicate that it is better not to risk and not use these insects.
In addition, you should not introduce meat and fish products into the diet, since it is quite difficult to process them.
What to do if a pigeon chick does not eat
If it was noticed that the pigeon chick does not eat, then it is worth paying special attention to the diet. It often happens that the age of the chick was determined incorrectly, and accordingly, further feeding is carried out incorrectly. It is important to take into account the fact that at first adults feed babies with semi-digested food.
It is necessary to feed the feathered from a syringe, if it is still very small, larger individuals are fed by hand. It should be borne in mind 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 to give strength.
How to hatch a pigeon chick
Caring for a pigeon chick should be of high quality and complete. It is important to understand that at first there is no plumage at all; as a result, the chick may freeze. For these purposes, it is recommended to use a heating pad that will maintain the optimal temperature regime. When plumage appears on the pigeon, the heating pad can be removed, but care must be taken that the temperature regime does not fall below + 25 ° C.
Conclusion
Pigeons feed their chicks with semi-digested food. To do this, they use plant seeds, which, being in the stomach of an adult, undergo primary processing and undergo partial splitting. This knowledge will help the chick to hatch on its own.
