# Weaning



## Font (Jun 21, 2006)

Hi, I have two baby (now 4 -5 weeks old) fantail pigeons that I rescued from their mother who abandoned them. I have been taking care of them for about 3-4 weeks and they are just wonderful. I love them dearly. They are both very happy and fat and also growing at a very fast speed (I guess). They are about 75-80% covered with their feathers. They absolutely adore me (their new mum) and scream when they see or hear my voice. My question is that I want to know when do I wean them and how I do this. They are on 50-60 mls of formula per feed, 3 times a day at a ratio of approximately 4-1 with water. I do also give them a little extra water to keep them hydrated. I am feeding them using a 20ml syringe. I need to know when I can start weaning them onto seed and how I do this. What type of seed can I start them on? Can I start them on egg and biscuit? Any advice would be very appreciative. Thank you


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Wow...they are eating alot. 

They should be eating on their own at 4 or 5 weeks of age, but that can be remedied. A good pigeon seed mix will do.

You can start weaning by leaving a deep spill proof dish of seed for them to experiment with. Also you can generate an interest by moving seeds around with your finger.

You should see if they will drink. Gently tip their beak ( not including their nostrils) into a bowl of water, they should drink, if not, leave it available for them, as well as the seed. They might even try to bathe in it, if it is big.

Meanwhile, continue to make sure they are hand fed until they start picking up and actually swallowing a tablespoon of seed at each meal. They normally will drink their fill of water after they are done eating. 

You can start hand feeding them pigeon seed also, starting with small seeds first. They will get the feel and taste of it on their tongue which will also make them more interested in wanting to pick it up and eat it.


----------



## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hello and welcome to the forum

I know you're really enjoying these babies. We've finished weaning our babies so I know what you're going through. The babies are getting old enough to begin pecking. Put small seeds in their cage with a separate bowl of water (not very large but enough to hold about 2-3" of water so they can immerse their beaks). We will "peck" at the seed and they begin getting the hang of it and will start pecking also. We've found ours don't really need to be trained to drink but you can dip their beaks a time or two into the water just up to their nostrils.

Try skipping the mid day feeding and just feed them morning and night. They are getting a lot more formula than we usually feed (we usually stop at 40 cc) but it sounds like yours are doing fine with a larger volume. After a few days of stopping the midday meal and observing how much they are pecking, you will have to reduce the amount of formula you give them in the am and pm. Monitor their weight closely. We use a scale and sometimes weigh them 2 x day just to be sure they are gaining or at least maintaining their weight.
We than stop feeding them the morning meal and after about a week of them eating on their own we stop the pm meal but continue to monitor their weight.

You will also need to monitor their seed dish because ours love to sleep in them and we have to throw out the seed frequently and wash the container and refill.

We don't ususally introduce them to grit until they've been eating on their own for about 2-3 weeks. That's just a matter of personal preference, I guess.

Sound like you're doing a great job with them.


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I use a hamster size dish so they can neither sleep or spill it, as it is spillproof, but deep enough so they can play and pick in it.


----------



## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Wow Treesa, thanks for the tip - I'll check those dishes out.


----------



## Font (Jun 21, 2006)

*Pigeon Seed in NSW Australia*

I have two baby fantail pigeons (about 5 weeks old) and have wrote here before in regards to weaning. I am slowly getting them weaned. But my next question is : Where do I get a good quality Pigeon Seed. I live on the East Coast of NSW, Australia (in the Hunter Valley) and am finding it difficult to get some small seed to start my two babies on. Can someone tell me where I could get it please. Thank you.


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Font,

I'm pretty sure you can find parakeet, canary, and/or finch seed in your pet stores. Any or all of those make good "starter" seeds for baby pigeons.

Terry


----------

