# Whne it rains...(hen loses interest in babies?)



## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

I seem to be undergoing a trial by fire lately 

I have two young birds that hatched their first set of eggs on the 11th/13th of September (so the squabs are 22 & 20 days old).

I don't know why, but the hen stopped caring for the babies. She hasn't been helping to feed them at all for about 5 days now. She'll go over there and warn off other birds that come near the nest but ignores the babies and her mate has been doing all the feeding. From monitoring of their crops, he's been doing a great job. I guess one big fat question I have is - why?

The real immediate issue though is that this morning only one baby got fed, and I watched them for almost 2 hours - making myself very late for work - even took the older (fed) one out of the nest leaving only the unfed one in there, and saw the father deliberately avoid feeding it no matter how much it begged.

I have read (here? maybe not, may have been elsewhere) that one parent will care for babies alone for a few days and then give up? Maybe it's too much work for him to feed two growing demanding little ones at once, I don't know but that smaller baby's crop was completely empty and I knew it couldn't last like that for long, so I fed it about 20 cc's of the hand feeding formula. I found one thread on here that said maybe as much as 40 ccs at this age, but I was afraid to pump that much into it. Its crop is capable of holding much more than what is in there I know that.

I think I am just going to leave these kids in the loft hoping they get fed by dad, and tubing them only if i have to, I just want to verify, the quantity, frequency, etc., for babies at this age, cuz I don't want them to starve while I'm away at work. I don't think they need to be stuffed full round the clock at this age? Could they get overfed if I feed them and later their dad does give them more?

I've been leaving small dishes of seed and water in their nest box for several days, since mom apparently lost interest in them, which the parents both eat out of so they see mom and dad eating but so far the kids aren't acting like they even notice seeds.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

It is normal for the mother bird to stop feeding the squabs at about 14th day, and the dad will take over.

However, if dad is only feeding one, then you need to step in and either feed the one not being fed, or take the stronger more aggressive baby out,( the one that seems to get fed), and allow dad to feed that one first and then return the other baby.

If he doesn't start feeding both, then you will have to alternate feeding one of the two, and hopefully that won't last but a week, and they will soon be eating on their own.
Give them a few more days, and they will take notice, they will start to get an interest and eat on their own, but right now you will have to supliment if both "bellies" crops aren't full.


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## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

Trees Gray said:


> It is normal for the mother bird to stop feeding the squabs at about 14th day, and the dad will take over.


Well, I'll be dipped. Thanks, Treesa, cuz that is one important factoid I must have missed in "Pigeons 101!"  



Trees Gray said:


> However, if dad is only feeding one, then you need to step in and either feed the one not being fed, or take the stronger more aggressive baby out,( the one that seems to get fed), and allow dad to feed that one first and then return the other baby.
> 
> If he doesn't start feeding both, then you will have to alternate feeding one of the two, and hopefully that won't last but a week, and they will soon be eating on their own.
> Give them a few more days, and they will take notice, they will start to get an interest and eat on their own, but right now you will have to supliment if both "bellies" crops aren't full.


OK thank you! It's a relief to get feedback that this situation is not really abnormal after all. I will keep monitoring their bellies and give one or the other some help as needed, and I won't worry about the volume I should feed so much, since they are probably going to get fed/weaned in the normal way now.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Trees Gray said:


> It is normal for the mother bird to stop feeding the squabs at about 14th day, and the dad will take over.
> 
> However, if dad is only feeding one, then you need to step in and either feed the one not being fed, or take the stronger more aggressive baby out,( the one that seems to get fed), and allow dad to feed that one first and then return the other baby.
> 
> ...


I agree and in addition, I think feeding 40cc at a time would be way too much. Stick with the 15-20 cc when you feed , staying mindful of how the crop feels when you add the food. You might be able to stop at 10cc or 15cc if the crop feels full. Could be you will need to add the full 20cc.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Thesnipes, 



Make sure to check both Babys poops for any sign of chalky 'yellow'...check theyr Throats, Vents and so on, also.

Parents will sometimes stop feeding a Baby who they sense if in the early stages of an illness...


Phil
l v


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Good advice so far....I hope things start going more smoothly for you!


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## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

pdpbison said:


> Hi Thesnipes,
> 
> 
> 
> ...



OK - so far, their poops are um..impressive!  And look normal, consistency, color - good baby poops even the one I fed this morning. I probably ought to feed it again - but going to see if dad does it. which means i may be feeding one or both before bed tonight, but that's ok. 

To hear this little one tell it, he's NEVER eaten, ever, but I can still feel a little bit of food in there  

PS - what does chalkiness indicate?


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I think he's talking about canker.


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