Baby Pigeon – What Does A Baby Pigeon Look Like And Care Tips

Pigeons are probably the most beautiful and the most intelligent of all the poultry species. Want to know a little bit more about baby pigeons? Wondering why you never see baby pigeon? Wondering what they look like? Are you wondering what they eat? Well, read on! We have plenty of information to share with you on this page.

What Does a Baby Pigeon Look Like?

No matter the breed of the pigeon, it will pretty much always start by looking exactly the same.

When a pigeon is born, it is going to be born with very few feathers. The color of these feathers will be dependent on the breed of pigeon.

However, in the vast majority of cases, they will either be white or yellow. As the pigeon baby starts to grow up, it is likely that the color of the feathers will change a little bit.

The baby pigeon will have dark skin, but it will still take a while for those feathers to start to properly grow in. It will take a few weeks before the baby pigeons are old enough for you to start seeing a change in the amount of feathering they have, and before the actual colors of the breed start to appear.

Why Don’t We See Baby Pigeons?

The only time you will ever really see a baby pigeon is if you have the domesticated version of the bird. It is incredibly rare to see baby pigeons in the wild. Why is this? Well, let’s take a little look.

Pigeons, of course, make nests. They tend to make them up pretty high or in very secluded locations. This is to help protect their young.

Of course, this means that you will probably not stumble across a pigeon nest normally. This means that you are unlikely to ever see their young.

Baby pigeons tend to stay in their nest a lot longer in comparison to other bird species too. Pigeons tend not to leave the nest until they are fully grown.

At this point, it is going to be pretty difficult to differentiate the older pigeons from the younger birds.

What Do Baby Pigeons Eat?

Some people have the belief that baby pigeons tuck into worms and whatever meaty snacks their parents bring to the nest. This isn’t the case. In fact, it is very rare for a baby pigeon to eat anything like that.

In the wild, baby pigeons will eat something known as ‘crop milk’. This is produced by both the mother and father. Unlike with mammals, they are not going to be taking it from nipples, though. Instead, it is taken directly from the mouth of their parent.

It is difficult to explain what crop milk actually is. You can just assume that is regurgitated food from the mother and father.

It has been digested just enough to ensure that the baby pigeons are able to eat it without any issues. It also has the exact nutrients that the baby pigeon needs to thrive.

Of course, this is produced from whatever the parents eat, so it is vital to ensure that the parents have a decent diet at this time. It is the only way they can give the baby pigeons exactly what they need.

If you are raising baby pigeons on your own, then you will be able to purchase special formulas that can be mixed up to be almost like crop milk. This is going to be very similar to applesauce in the consistency.

As the baby pigeon starts to get a little bit older, it will stop eating this crop milk. Instead, they will feast upon seeds and grain. In the wild, this will be brought to the nest by the parents.

If you are raising the pigeons yourself, then you will just give them the seeds and grain just like you would with any other pigeon in your flock.

Baby Pigeon Care

If you have the parents with the baby pigeons, then there is little that you need to do to care for the baby pigeons. The parents will mostly do the work.

As long as you are giving them a good diet, then pretty much everything else will fall into place naturally.

Your main concern will be ensuring that the baby pigeons are kept nice and warm. After all, they are born with barely any feathers. They are going to be very cold.

Yes. The parents will still be doing their best to keep them warm, but you should also do the same. This means ensuring that the pigeon boxes are in a nice, warm location without any damp in the air.

This should be more than enough to keep the pigeons warm.

If the parents are not involved, then make sure that you buy the special formula for pigeon babies and mix it up properly. The baby pigeon will need to be fed every few hours, so make sure you stay on the ball here!

When they are three weeks old, the baby pigeons should no longer need the crop milk. Instead, they can start to eat small seeds and grain. There is little that you need to do here too.

The pigeons should instinctively peck at it. Although, you may want to point them in the right direction so they know what they should be tucking into!

At this point, you will likely need to allow them out for a couple of hours per day. Make sure they are still in an enclosed area. The intention at this point is to allow them to build up their wing muscles.

Once again, this is something that they will instinctively do, so you do not need to do much. After a few weeks of this, then you will be able to release the pigeons properly.

Although, before you do that, you will want to check them over to make sure that they are healthy. If they haven’t been showing signs of proper flight, or they are not eating well, then it is probably best not to release them at first. You will want to allow them to build themselves up a little bit more.

Related articles:
– Lahore pigeon
– Jacobin pigeon
– Frillback pigeon