We Have Pigeon Eggs

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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A few new photos, all from Friday morning, just hours after Mickey hatched.

This one is the very first photo of Mickey, his little yellow butt sticking out from under Mama.

And here is his butt again.

Fresh pidgee! Finally we get a good view of Mickey. It’s time for the Switch. Little Pidgee just left, and Big Pidgee is hopping up ont the flower box to climb in. You can see Mickey’s eggshells, while sister Holly remains inside her egg.

And here Big Pidgee meets his new son for the first time.

I really like those last two photos above. And you can see the eyes have not developed yet. What must he be thinking about where he is and what’s happened to him?

None of Holly yet. The Switch occurred earlier than usual this morning, and we weren’t ready for it. Before we knew it, suddenly it’s Big Pidgee in the nest, not Little Pidgee. We did see the edge of Holly underneath, and she’s breathing. At least, we think it was Holly; seemed smaller than Mickey. Mickey is already quite bigger than he was in the photos above.

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Monday morning, and Mickey and Holly are 3 and 2 days old, respectively, and growing. I think Mickey’s really going to be big. We did get a good look at Holly finally, yesterday, and she’s fine and healthy. Noticed Mickey’s eyes starting to open yesterday at age 2 days, just little slits.

We had a bit of a drama yesterday, too. Our condominium complex sometimes hosts some sort of group activity, not often, but occasionally, and yesterday was one such day. As with most Thai events, it involved bad karaoke, and it was held down below our side of the building. Even though we’re six floors up, it was very loud, and Big Pidgee didn’t seem to like it at all. He became rather antsy. And we think it kept Little Pidgee away, because getting toward nightfall, she hadn’t shown up, and Big Pidgee began visibly searching the skies. Hopped out a couple of times for water and looked like he might leave, but when he saw us looking, he decided he’d best protect the squabs and hopped back into the nest. Finally, after 6pm – and Little Pidgee has never been that late – he hopped out and flew away! That’s when we got a good look at Holly. I went out and petted the two squabs a little, which they didn’t seem to mind. When it was almost dark, Big Pidgee returns! He seems to have come back to see if his woman had arrived, and seeing that she had not, he hopped back ito the nest. What a good father! He was going to stay with them for the night if need be. Then the wife and I went to eat, but the next time I looked, suddenly Little Pidgee was the one in the nest, and Big Pidgee had left! I can only assume the blaring music kept her away until she finally decided she simply had to bear it. Being aimed at children, the party down below shut down at 7pm, so she didn’t have to endure it for long.

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Wednesday morning, and the squabs are 4 and 5 days old. Little Holly’s eyes are open now, of course. As usual, Little Pidgee has begun flying off for a while after daybreak, I guess for food, leaving the squabs alone for a little while. This is the second morning she’s done this; around this weekend, she’ll probably leave them alone at night, too.

So I went out this morning and played with squabs. They seem not old enough to be afraid of me yet. Indeed, they thought I was there to feed them and both kept pecking all around my fingers. Didn’t hurt at all, but rather kind of tickled. I think I’m going to try an experiment. These squabs I’m going to start handling earlier and more often to see if I can teach them not to be afraid of me. The parents don’t seem to notice or mind human scent on the squabs at all.

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I challenge you to chew up some worms (or whatever pidgies eat) and spit them into the babies mouths.

:stuck_out_tongue:

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Hey, there’s only so far I’m willing to go in the name of research. I believe they eat something called “pigeon milk,” which is regurgitated up from a sac in the pigeons throat, if memory serves. A squab feeding is something to see.

Thursday morning, the squabs are 5 and 6 days old and getting big. I was out there again this morning petting them in Little Pidgee’s absence (she’s back now). They must be just too young to know to be afraid, because they clambered around my hand and fingers again, acting like they hoped to be fed. Before, I always waited until they were older to touch them, and they appeared not to like that at all; right now they’re okay with it. Very warm. Still covered in that yellow fuzz, but it’s such a thin layer that it’s the little bodies I’m feeling, not at all like the feathers that will sprout later. I thought about picking one up, but they seem so fragile that I decided not to.

I’ll be out in the bars late tonight, so I doubt I’ll be up early enough to play with them tomorrow morning.

Also, the wife is curious about whether the particular shade of yellow is any indicator of future feather color, so we’re going to pay attention to that. Holly is a noticeably paler yellow than Mickey. We notice, too, that Mickey’s skin is reddish underneath the yellow; I wonder if that means anything, too.

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Interesting experiment. I have no idea if baby pigeons imprint on people, but handling them at a much younger age will get them used to being handled. Should be interesting if that changes their future behavior around you.

Wash your hands. :wink:

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Oh, not to fear. Bird flu is endemic here, after all.

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Saturday morning, and the squabs are 7 and 8 days old and growing. As predicted, I was out until after 4am Thursday night/Friday morning and so missed my window for playing with them.

But I did this morning. They’re just entering what we call the “tumor stage.” Their little bodies are beginning to balloon out, especially their breasts, which will resemble a huge tumor for a while until the rest of the body catches up. They’ll sort of resemble Jaba the Hutt for a week or so, as I’m sure you can tell from some of the photos of previous batches.

But I was out there playing with them and this time actually picked little Holly up. Lifted her up from underneath, NOT by the wings or anything like that. She seemed a bit surprised by that, but in general they still appeared hopeful I was there to feed them.

Also at this age they begin trying to stand up and “snap” at you if you get near. I think it may be a defensive move; we’ve spent a long time trying to decide if it’s defensive or they’re trying to grab something to eat, and we think defensive. Mickey’s just starting that, although he can’t quite stand very easily yet. But it doesn’t hurt, just tickles; the beak’s not sharp. And Mickey stopped getting ready to snap when I started petting his little head, so maybe they’re getting used to me. This snapping stage ends after about age 2 weeks or so, from what we’ve seen.

Will post photos soon. My camera is starting to screw up, and we’ll have to take it in for repair. I can use the wife’s camera in a pinch, but mine is the one with a zoom lens.

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Oh, and Katie from the previous batch has shown up a couple of times in the last week, accompanied once by Sammy from an earlier batch. We’ve seen them together before, too. I don’t think Katie is sexually mature yet, but those two have been hanging around together, and I wonder if there’s there any way they can tell they’re actually siblings. I don’t see how they could know.

The feathers are just starting to come out on Mickey and Holly. Or the feather shafts, as when I touch them, the squabs feel a little hard, a little like “helmet hair” when a girl puts on too much hair spray. They’re 8 and 9 days old today, and I’m seeing the beginnings of actual feathers on Mickey. Was out there playing with them some more. Mickey “clicked” his little beak a couple of times, but no snapping. They may be used to me, especially as Holly seemed to want me to feed her.

Interesting how they shit, too. With every batch, the shit tends to pile up in the two corners of their end of the box. We’ve watched the squabs back up, sometimes backing up far, to let it loose in the corner and then crawl back forward. Now, how do they know to do that?

The camera is screwing up more and more. Will definitely have to be repaired. But it turns out the wife’s camera does have a zoom after all.

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Tuesday lunchtime, and the squabs are 10 and 11 days old. The feathers are starting to come in more now. This pair is close to the same size, and sometimes it’s difficult to tell them apart. Mickey is a shade darker yellow than Holly. Holly has started trying to stand and snap a little when you go out onto the balcnony but doesn’t seem to be serious about it. I’ve let her snap at my hand, and it doesn’t hurt at all, just tickles. She’ll do it once or twice, then settle back down. Mickey seems more laid back in general. In fact, this pair is the calmest we’ve seen. They do squeal some when the parents arrive but not nearly as much as previous batches. I’m wondering if my playing with them has had some sort of an effect. Could it be that previous batches lived in mortal fear of us monsters inside behind the glass and were super-relieved to see the parents? And this batch has become used to my handling them? That’s probably a stretch, I’m sure. Maybe it’s the heat. Godawful hot now, well into the hot season. Where the flower box is positioned, the squabs are not getting direct sun in the morning, but it still heats up.

It may be my imagination, but the squabs seem to like being petted on the upper breast. That would be an area that’s hard for them to reach with their beaks.

I may have interrupted a mating dance between the parents this morning. Possibly a sixth batch will be on the way.

Sammy and Katie stopped by yesterday, and Big Pidgee started pacing back in frustration. He chased them away, but not before Sammy got a drink of water. The parents are drinking a lot of water now that it’s the hot season, plus they need it to soothe their throats from feding the squabs, I’m sure. These must be the only pigeons in the area with their own private water supply. We’ve seen pigeons drinking out of our 10th-floor swimming pool located in another tower in our complex, but that can’t be good for them, what with the chlorine.

Will try to post new photos soon.

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Wednesday morning, the squabs are 11 and 12 days old, and I’ve downloaded some photos to the computer and will have them on the website hopefully by tomorrow morning. Their feathers are coming in good now. They are so much more mellow than their previous siblings; I really have to wonder if this is an effect of my handling the little guys every day or if it’s just the heat draining their energies.

The wife said the parents were definitely doing it again while I was away yesterday evening, and Big Pidgee has taken to staying here at night again with Little Pidgee.

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New pidgee pics!

Sunday, March 1
Mickey, 2 days old, peeking out from underneath Big Pidgee, the father. Holly, who hatched the day before, remains hidden, and we didn’t get a good look at her until the next day or so.
Monday, March 2
In this shot, I’m not sure which is which, but there’s one squab clearly visible and the other one just sticking out to the right.

Pretty sure this one is Mickey in full view, with Holly’s butt sticking out.
Tuesday, March 3
Feeding time!
Wednesday, March 4
Here we see Mickey, front, 5 days, and Holly, four days. The parents have started leaving them alone for stretches now.

And again. Holly is asleep here, with her head leaning on big brother. She tends to loll her head over when she sleeps. Little Pidgee often does that, too.

And just 18 minutes after that last shot, mother Little Pidgee arrived and is giving a double feeding, with both squabs plugged into her.
Thursday, March 5
Here we see 6-day-old Mickey, left, and Holly, 5 days, taking a snooze. Not sure how evident it is here, but Mickey is a darker yellow than his sister.
Saturday, March 7
Here they’re getting big now. Holly, left, is a full week old, and Mickey is 8 days.

And here Big Pidgee stopped by a half-hour later.
Sunday, March 8
Here we see Holly, front, 8 days, and Mickey, 9 days. You can see the feather shafts appearing, making especially the wing tips look a bit like ridged potato chips.

In this one, you can see Mickey’s breast developing. This is what we call the “tumor stage.” The breast swells up, but eventually the rest of the body catches up. Also, notcie the shit in the two corners of the box; by some sort of instinct, they back up into the corner and let loose. Shit gets in other places, too, but they consciously go for the corners.

And one more of them hanging out.
Monday, March 9
Here we can see real feathers starting to emerge, especially back on the rump. That’s Mickey in front, 10 days, and 9-day-old Holly.
Tuesday, March 10
Here we see 11-day-old Mickey in front and 10-day-old Holly. Mickey has very big eyes, bigger than his sister’s. Sometimes we call him Bright eyes. We had cleaned the balcony just two days before, but already the shit is building up on the ground again.

And here they are again, with Mickey’s big eyes and feathers coming in more fully.
Wednesday, March 11
Here we see the feathers really coming in. Holly, 1 days, is on the left; Mickey is 12 days old.

And finally, one more of them hanging out. (They do a lot of hanging out. :smiley: )

And of course, you can see these and all of the previous photos of this batch on a single page here, clicking on individual ones.
And today is Friday. They’re 13 and 14 days old. I’m still handling them every day, but only when the parents are not around. Don’t want to stress them out by making them think something untoward is going on, but we think they may see us from afar, because they will sometimes show up right after I’ve gone back inside. I can’t say I’m taming the squabs. Mickey just sort of takes it. Holly will peck at my hand a few times, but now it does not feel like she’s hoping for food, but rather it’s an aggressive move. Then she’ll stop and just sort of go: “Ah, okay, screw it.” Where their feathers are coming in, it’s very soft; rather bristly elsewhere.

They can stand up very briefly now, dropping back down almost immediately. In a few days, they’ll probably be standing for real and will start mulling brief excursions to the other side of the box.

Big and Little Pidgee both stay here at night now but over on the rails, not in the flower box. They are acting very romantic and making good use of the designated sex area.

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What an impressive series of pictures! This is a thread I hope never ends.

Sam, I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoy this thread!

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Thankee. :o

Saturday here, and Holly’s a full 2 weeks old. 15-day-old Mickey is standing well now; we awoke this morning to find him practising.

We still have a small problem with ants out on the balcony, but they’re not in the box. There is, however, some sort of medium-sized black bug that seems to be living under the squabs’ emerging feathers. Not a roach, not sure what it is. We see it running around through the feathers from time to time. I got it out of one squab yesterday but it escaped and returned to the squab later. I suppose they’ll deal with it.

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I seem to have a found a good spot to scratch the squabs. Right behind the head at the base of the skull. They seem actually to enjoy that. They’re getting really soft now with the feathers coming out in full. If I stroke the wings, Holly especially will start squealing a little but then stop if I rub the back of her head. The wife said it was cute how I was “sweet” to them; I told her I wish the squabs would think I was being sweet, because they seem to regard me as this evil torturer who pops out from time to time.

15 and 16 days old today (Sunday). Time for a balcony cleaning. Will have to pick Holly up and search out that big black bug that keeps gamboling through her feathers.

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Monday morning, and Mickey and Holly are 17 and 18 days old, respectively. We cleaned the balcony yesterday, and I took the opportunity to pick each squab up and inspect it, looking for that big bug. The squabs have become really, really SOFT, and they look like little pigeons now. That stupid bug eludes me. Looks like some sort of spider, and it is fast. Cannot get it off, as each time detected it scurries underneath other feathers. Oh well, the squabs don’t seem to mind, and if it hatches eggs or something, maybe the squabs can eat the critters. Weird-looking bug, and it will jump from squab to squab. Even saw it on Little Pidgee at one point.

The wife took my picture holding them up. Mickey is definitely more okay with being handled. Holly seems to pray to the pigeon gods that I won’t eat her.

Holly, even though the younger of the two, has become the first to discover the far end of the flower box. She was relaxing down that way yesterday evening, but apparently gets lonely for her brother and moves back down his way. Mickey seems fine with staying down on the old end. Possibly by next weekend they’ll be exploring the Brave New World of the balcony.

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Update: Both squabs just wandered over to the far end, and one was looking over the edge at the floor before they both sort of waddled back to the home end.

Still a lot of yellow fuzz on the head and some on the breast but definitely resembling little pigeons now.

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Wednesday noon hour, and Mickey and Holly are 19 and 18 days old, respectively. The parents had been staying here at night, both of them and acting romantically, but last night there were no parents. They stayed somewhere else. That was the first night the squabs were on their own. About par for 2-1/2 weeks. Little Pidgee was around this morning, though.

My experiment at handling the squabs is proving to be only partially successful. Mickey seems okay with it now most of the time, but poor Holly just flat-out does not like it. She squeals the whole time I’m touching her except when I’m scratching the base of her head, but then she starts again as soon as I stop. Will have to stop traumatizing her. :frowning:

The squabs are both getting a little iridescence on their necks, too, I’ve noticed.

Will post more pics in the next few days.

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Friday morning. Mickey is a full three weeks old now, Holly 20 days. Not much new to report. Big Pidgee slept on the rail the night before, but the squabs are usually alone at night now.

One thing, though, we noticed with the previous batches and are seeing again now. The parents are obviously trying to coax the squabs out of the flower box. Big Pidgee especially. Just this morning after feeding them, he stayed outside the flower box, staring at them while they squealed for more. Sometimes the parent will walk around or back and forth in front of the box ignoring the squabs. There is a clear impression that they’re trying to get the squabs to come out.

Poor Holly does enjoy being scratched behind the head, but as soon as I stop she starts squealing, afraid of what might come next I guess. So then I have to scratch her some more to calm her down. Her brother is very okay with it, though. He’ll even nibble on my finger a bit but not aggressively. I must have made a sudden movement that frightened him last night, though, as he gave me a hand slap with his wing. I hope that’s a good sign, because I’ve read somewhere that if a pigeon is truly afraid of you, it won’t waste time trying to fight you and that the hand slap is kind of an admonishment between friends. Little Pidgee gave me one once when I got too close to her while I was cleaning around the box and she was sitting on some eggs.

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Man oh man. I’m going to do a balcony cleaning today (Sunday) with a hangover. The wife had to go upcountry for the day yesterday, and I somehow ended up spending the day AND the night in the bars. The bird shit is not going to be pretty. Groan But my loving wife has volunteered to do most of the heavy work, bless her.

The squabs, 22 and 23 days old now, will be leaving the box soon. Without looking back, I I think I remember it being about age 25 days when that’s happened before. Big Pidgee was here trying to entice them out again this morning – the wife says he stayed here last night – and even when he’s not here, the squabs are entering their curious stage. They keep staring around in apparent wonder and sticking their heads over the side of the box to contemplate the floor. Mickey actually stood up on the edge of the box briefly at one point this morning, and we thought he might hop down, but no.

I’m quite happy about my success with Mickey. Definitely have not tamed him, but he’s okay with my handling him. Unlike Holly, who seems convinced I’m an axe murderer, or the pidgee equivalent of Colonel Sanders.

Our trusty 15-year-old Sony Trinitron finally broke down this past week and is in the shop, so I may be able to take the time tonight to download and post some more photos. Sunday night is usually DVD-movie night around here.