# Mother pidge may have eaten her squab! Do they do that?



## AnimalRescuer88 (Jan 29, 2004)

Just a little while ago I went outside to feed my 8 pigeons and check on the 2 babies that hatched just a couple weeks ago. To my surprise, I found one of the little babies missing! I looked everywhere in their pen/ really big cage, but I still couldn't find it! Could one of the other pigeons eaten it? There's absolutely no evidence of that, but that's the only explaination I could think of. Any ideas?


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

I've never heard of pigeons eating their own babies. However, when a chick dies, some pigeons will remove it from the nest. Some of mine have done this, while others left the dead baby in the nest. If they removed it, presumably you would have found it on the ground.

Is there any chance rats could have squeezed into your loft? Because they will eat chicks.


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## DaveD (Jul 9, 2001)

Never heard of a pigeon eating a squab, but birdmom is 100% correct, rats and even mice will eat squabs. Just lost two three day old turbits to a mouse. 

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David and Kellie Dittmaier
Haven's Loft
www.geocities.com/havensloft


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## AnimalRescuer88 (Jan 29, 2004)

The 9 by 7 foot cage thing is made of chicken wire (1/2 inch sqaures).... so I don't think that a mouse or rat would have eaten it. Also, the other baby isn't biten or anything as if from a mouse er something. Hmm.... it probably died and the mother ate it. I dunno.... whatever happened, it's really sad. I at least want to know what happened to it.
Thanks for commenting on my post.


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## JGregg (Jul 28, 2003)

Generally speaking the mother physically couldn't have eaten the squab...Even if she wanted to. Pigeons don't have a rostral hook to speak of (they cannot rip and tear) and their intestines are not equipped to handle meat.

Chicken wire is big enough for a mouse to get through. I believe that rats can manage to get through it too. I think your culprit is a rodent.


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

I'm so sorry for the loss of your baby pij. You are right, no matter how it happened it's very sad.

From what I've read, chicken wire is not predator proof. Is there any way you can revise your cage? 

Please keep us posted on how things are coming along.
Cindy


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## turkey (May 19, 2002)

You said 1/2 inch square chicken wire. Did you mean hardware cloth? Or chicken wire? 

If you are using hardware cloth, then you will have to give your loft a really close examination and find out where that rat is getting in at. 

If it's chicken wire, then you will need to rewire with hardware cloth. 

Julie


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## WhiteWingsCa (Mar 1, 2002)

mice can squeeze thru a hole smaller than a dime. Rats thru a hole the size of a 50 cent piece.

Chicken wire is not adequate to keep out preditors, imho.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

The only other thing I can think of..is a snake. Do you have them in Oregan?

We have snakes here, and they will swallow up a baby, they can get in thru the smallest openings. My friend has had them eating eggs and babies, just terrible!

Treesa


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Someone mentioned other predators. It's been said many times before on this forum, but I think we need to reiterate that chicken wire is NOT predator proof at all. Rodents and snakes can go through the holes; raccoons, cats and possums can tear it apart. It's like tissue paper to a raccoon, and you could lose all your birds, not just babies. Raccoons are almost everywhere in the continental U.S. and they are very bold. Please re-wire your cage/loft with hardware cloth as soon as you can. It's welded wire with half-inch squares or smaller. If rodents are getting in, you need something even smaller around the bottom, or use solid boards. I don't know what your loft looks like, so I'm trying to picture what you can do to keep them out. 

Rodents can also carry disease into your loft. We had a rat problem in our old aviary and we think that's how our pigeons became infected with salmonella. It's very important that you keep them out.


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## PidgePidge (May 14, 2003)

Hi there. Sorry about your pigeon, and I hope you can figure out what happened... 

I noticed you are a student in Oregon. I am a student FROM Oregon. Are you in Portland? Just curious!


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## PigeonLoVr1456 (Jul 20, 2002)

I'm a student from Portland, OR as well!! Nice to know there are other pigeon lovers in the area!! =)


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## AnimalRescuer88 (Jan 29, 2004)

Wow... thanks for all the replies. Ok, to answer some questions. The "chicken wire" is hardware cloth (as one person called it). I have checked two more times to see if there were any wholes, but I saw nothing. And, yes, there are snakes in Oregon, but I doubt a snake could have "climbed" up to where the pidgies had the nest. Generally, I don't think a snake could slither up a wall. Ya... so... oh, and I live in Eugene (incase those 2 fellow Oregonians still want to know). Btw, I have since then brought the other baby inside when I found it pushed out of the nest after the mother had stopped sitting on it (and it doesn't even have feathers yet mind you), and later, saw Mommy Pidge (Seagull) pecking at it. It's defenseless! Horrible. It's still too young for her to be doing that to it... so... ya. The baby's safe now though... and actually warm (not in 30 something degree weather with a wind chill and rain). What a deadbeat mother. Oh, and I figured that the mom (and pigeons in general) probably couldn't have "eaten" the baby since they don't have seraded beaks like with geese or ducks. 
Well, thanks for all of the replies! I'll update you guys on how the baby pidge is doing again pretty soon. Bye~


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~*Lindsey*~


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## johnnydeesloft (Feb 8, 2004)

parents dont eat there babies, the mother might of thrown it out and a small rat might of gotten it from the floor. that would be only explanation. it might not of died it might of just fell out of the nest and was on floor where it would be easy access for any small outside animal to grab it.


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## AnimalRescuer88 (Jan 29, 2004)

Ok, update. I found the baby pigeon. I searched the whole entire cage for the last time for the other baby pidge when it was actually sunny out. I found it on the ground behind the coupe. It was still really small and blended in really well with everything (why I didn't find it before). 
Another update. The other baby pigeon died a week ago today (last Friday). I had her under my lamp while I was at school, and the light bulb burnt out. My mom found her when she went to feed her.
We buried them together in our backyard with all of our other pets.
Then, just today, I found that Seagull is sitting on one little egg. Well, standing over it. She probably is going to lay another one then. I hope she won't abandon these er anything. 
Alright, well.... I'm gonna go then. Bye.

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~*Lindsey*~


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## Pigeonworldwide (Dec 10, 2003)

I'm sorry to hear. Loosing pigeons is always painfull.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Lindsey,

As for the snakes, you won't believe it until you see it. I have seen them slithering up the wall, like spiderman! They like to be up high, and can get to the very top nest! I have a friend who lost a lot of baby pigeons in nests up high. He told me how they go up walls! Nasty! They eat the small babies whole, and condtrict the older ones and leave them dead!



Treesa


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