Pigeon Babies become Youngsters…(3 1/2 weeks)

Diary, 5/2/08

and so they have only nonsense in their little heads – just like little human kiddos! The youngsters have become very curious and adventurous. It is also amazing to see how the 2 days younger one tries to imitate everything the elder does. This way she really catches up. Since yesterday Joey also has started to leave the nest and scavenge her closest environment (I am still not sure whether Joey is a girl or not – I am sure Willy is a boy, because he has absolutely the same habits and behaviours like his father but Joey is probably a girl – I am quite confident – but there is no proof).

In the meanwhile I have made the balcony safe for pigeon kiddos – this means I closed all holes with wooden boards where they could fall through on their adventure tours. Would be a nightmare if something stupid would happen to the babies but the chance for an accident from the 13th floor is quite realistic as long as they cannot fly properly.

Although the jumps from one chair to the next higher level are becoming better and better there is still a lot of uncertainty and surely there is not enough air yet under the wings for a real flight.

I must admit I love this pigeon family. They are adorable – the parents are like an old loving couple – she is scratching his neck with her beak and he holds his head down in complete enjoyment. Really – you can see this how he loves that. In return he kisses her and also fondles her neck sometimes with his beak. It’s so sweet!

The whole family has become nearly tame – I haven’t managed yet to feed them by hand but I am sure if I would do this regularly they would get used to it. The babies fully trust my hand and jump on it when they get lost somewhere on their adventurous tours or simply when I need to get them out of their nest in order to clean it up. They cling to my hand as if that were an anquor. Very sweet.

Willy always makes a lot of noise when I come near him – he moves his wings like a dog wiggles his tail when he is looking forward to something. Maybe he thinks I am another parent or something who comes to feed him. And he loves to be scratched on his neck – then he becomes totally calm and enjoys this in total delight. He moves his head from one side to the other to show me where I should scratch him. These growing quills with all the skins remains must be itching awfully. It always takes a couple of seconds until he notices that I am already gone until he starts to move again.

When I think about that they will be gone soon I feel a great sadness. I really hope that they will be doing well and have a long life. And maybe some day they are coming back to say hello – you never know…

Hey – you want somethin’ from me????

…get lost – or……….!!!

Hey folks – gimme a break…….

Don’t bug me – this is my siesta …..

…

A couple of astonishing Facts you might not know about Pigeons

Observations about the growing up of two pigeon babies and the behaviour of the adult pigeons. One general statement is valid:

Pigeons are incredible parents which really care for their kiddos

1. the eggs were laid with a 2 day pause between
2. the eggs were never left alone for more than 1-2 minutes – same applied for the hatchlings – it was quite cold at that time
3. the babies were completely covered by yellow hair when they hatched
4. after 4 days the babies started to open their eyes and to make very tiny sounds
5. during the first 10 days the father was the main feeder of the babies
6. after 1 week the parents started to leave their kids alone for longer periods
7. during the first 2 weeks the father was always ready to fight for his children and got very upset when you came too near to the nest. He began hissing and flapping his wings, making himself as big as possible – the mother stayed always very relaxed
8. the mother did not allow foreign pigeons near the nest
9. when a crow flew nearby the nest the parents warn their kiddos with short warning sounds and they stayed very calm
10. both adult pigeons got soon very used to our human presence – while they were always flying off at the beginning they learned very quickly that they had nothing to fear. The escape distance went down to less than 1 foot!! and even then they walked away instead of flying away (on the balcony). They watched me very carefully while I was cleaning the nest – never becoming aggressive or upset – as if they knew that I did not do any harm to the babies.
11. when little pigeons are afraid they make smells!
12. little pigeons like to be patted on the head and love getting fondled or scratched on their necks
13. you can calm down a little pigeon by putting a hollow hand on their head
14. the adults seemed to know exactly when the kiddos started to leave the nest and stayed near in order to observe what their kiddos do – maybe for help or to avoid that they do something stupid – they warned with different sounds
15. the father stayed in the nest while the babies experienced their first thunderstorm – they were slightly in panic and made their “being afraid” sounds – a very high pitched sound – the father stayed in the nest, sitting between both babies – they finally calmed down
16. the mother comes each night and stays at a place on the balcony from where she can watch what’s going on in the nest – truly each night she sits there like a statue till the next morning. Before the father leaves in the evening – when it’s getting dark – he has a little chat with the mother – then he flies away – don’t know where he goes…
17. both parents know exactly when the kiddos need more food – f.e. when the days are colder, they feed the little ones at least twice as much than on warmer days
18. the mother very often took a drink – apparently to supply the kiddos with necessary water – the father not so often.
19. after 3 weeks the first hatchling started to leave the nest
20. one little pigeon looks nearly exactly like its father, the other like the mother and the funniest thing is the first seems to have the character and habits of its father, the second of its mother which means – the first one is always very noisy, extremely curious and bold and therefore gets into difficult situations like falling out of the nest – happened yesterday for the first time – the second is much more calm and careful and never does something it cannot cope with. It is very interesting to watch this.
21. Every feeding session seems to be a torture for each of the parents – it looks very violent but isn’t of course. But nevertheless it seems to be hard work for both while the whole body moves up and down with sometimes both babies peeking their beaks into the beak of the adult. Since they have grown so much the kids get fed one after another another now. How do the parents know which kid has been fed already – I don’t know. But according to my observations it seems to be very fair. It’s not like in some bird families that the strongest gets the most or the one who cries the loudest!
22. pigeons are very clean regarding the nest hygiene – they did not poop once into the nest nor near to the nest – which I found amazing. The adults seem to fly away to do what they must do or at least keep some distance to the nest.

Photos from our Pigeon Family

Diary, 4/29/08

And here are some more photos about our family life:

Joey – who is ruffling feathers…

Joey again – looking like a pigeon also now and me – Willy

The usual chaos – all four of us in one nest… (photo taken from a distance of about 1 m!)

and here are Mommy and Daddy on their favourite place on the balcony…. (photo taken from a distance of about 1m)

New Pictures from the Pigeon Babies (18 days)

Diary, 4/27/08

Here are some new pics about our growing progress:

Don’t I look like a real true pigeon now??????