# Mother on egg killed. Egg ready to hatch. Help?



## charles81 (Feb 25, 2011)

OK, I'm in Australia, Brisbane, here and I've just heard a rustle of feathers and fighting outside. Sure enough I go out and a pidgeon's nest I was aware of is now empty of it's bird and there is a pile of feathers all around the place (man these guys really shed 'em when they're attacked). Looks like a cat has taken the mother but I've got the egg safely here.

First I put it under a lamp but I quickly read here that its not good because the egg needs a specific temperature and humidity. So I've picked the thing up in my palm and tried to hold it up to the lamp to see through it only to feel the little chick inside actually tapping at the shell. Sure enough there's a tiny break where it's begun the initial breakout but I think it's calmed down now. Probably just all my moving it around.

As I type this, it's currently sitting between on top of my foot, between my big toe and middle toe.

I see that they need some special milk from the mother initially and I'm sure there's all sorts of special feeding arrangements.

1. Any special place in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia where I could possibly take this thing to?

2. Any instructions on raising one of these little things from birth?

P.S. I'm not sure what kind of pidgeon it is. It was grey and th egg is about the size of the end of my eyeball and completely white. Nest was a bunch of twiggs, built in a hedge and is currenly sitting in a box.

Thanks in advance.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Hello, and thanks for caring.

Any idea how old the egg is ? Also, did you examine the area to make sure the mom is completely gone (i.e. not injured and lying somewhere in the vicinity) ?

If it is really a few days from hatching, then quite honestly it may be best to just let the egg go. If it is literally a situation where the baby chick is beginning to peck out, then you should try to save her/him.

Thing is, we need more info on the species...different Pigeons/Doves have different incubation and hatch periods. Can you do a quick internet search for some images of species common to AU.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

you can put it under a warm light.. mist it with a bit of water once a day till he comes out... if he makes it.. they live off the yolk for the first day...then you need to hand feed it , they eat by puting their beak in the parents ..so you will need a hand feeding formula..and depending on which method of hand feeding you use will determine what you need... I crop feed with a crop needle..but one needs to know how to do that. or have one..most do not... a simple way is to use a baby bottle's nipple and let them eat out of the empty side... or from the inside of it.. lets see if it hatches first then go from there.... the baby will need to be kept warm.. 99f if you can...


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## charles81 (Feb 25, 2011)

There's a serious tonne of feathers around. I followed a trail of feathers to a gap under the fence so its faily obvious a cat has dragged the poor thing away and killed it. I don't even have a body to identify it from or try to pull milk out of (I know we do that with a dead kangaroo mother for the joey, don't know about pidgeons).

I don't know how far away the chick might be from hatching. I can feel it moving around in the egg as it sits on my foot. I'm thinking the initial cracking at the side of the egg was just because I was handling it and moving it around too much to try and see inside, so the chick got restless. I know the egg is at least a week old but thats only how long I've been aware of the nest. I'll see if I can take a picture and maybe a pic of the nest and some feathers to see if thats enough to identify the bird. Otherwise I'll try and look through a few pics of pidgeons found in Aussie land.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

charles81 said:


> There's a serious tonne of feathers around. I followed a trail of feathers to a gap under the fence so its faily obvious a cat has dragged the poor thing away and killed it. I don't even have a body to identify it from or try to pull milk out of (I know we do that with a dead kangaroo mother for the joey, don't know about pidgeons).
> 
> I don't know how far away the chick might be from hatching. I can feel it moving around in the egg as it sits on my foot. I'm thinking the initial cracking at the side of the egg was just because I was handling it and moving it around too much to try and see inside, so the chick got restless. I know the egg is at least a week old but thats only how long I've been aware of the nest. I'll see if I can take a picture and maybe a pic of the nest and some feathers to see if thats enough to identify the bird. Otherwise I'll try and look through a few pics of pidgeons found in Aussie land.


what kind of pigeon it is is interesting.. but if you want to give the egg/baby a chance.. then get it off your foot and under a light that is 99f.. and wait it out.. it needs warmth...


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Charles, raising a hatchling is not an easy task by any means, even for people with years of experience. That being said, it can be done, here is a fairly recent thread of someone else, with no experience, doing it with a successful out come.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f20/help-egg-is-hatching-and-i-dont-have-a-clue-47170.html

Read the thread, follow all of the links posted in the thread and you will a good head start on what to expect and what can go wrong. Also, most times pigeons and doves lay two eggs at a time, was there only one egg present in the nest?

Good luck with this little one,

Karyn


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## charles81 (Feb 25, 2011)

spirit wings said:


> what kind of pigeon it is is interesting.. but if you want to give the egg/baby a chance.. then get it off your foot and under a light that is 99f.. and wait it out.. it needs warmth...


Yeah but I read elsewhere here that a lamp is too dry and will make it stick to the side or something due to lack of humidity. I figure 99f is close to body temperature so I figured the sweaty foot would work best *lol*

If I can, hopefully I can wait 'till the morning and pass this onto some animal shelter who has proper people that can care for it. If not... Yeah, I'm gonna struggle to give it the care it needs to survive to adulthood.

PHOTOS! a couple of the egg, one of the most distinct feather and one of the nest.


































EDIT: Strewth those photos are big... sorry.


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## charles81 (Feb 25, 2011)

This might be it. Crested pigeon. I can't exactly recall the little spike of feathers on the head but I never got very close to the mother so I may have missed it, but I remember her being very grey and those tail feathers match the distinct feather I showed above.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*Crested pigeon photo*

Crested pigeon photo :

If I looked anywhere near as handsome as that male pigeon, I'd have plenty of females after me!

LOL

Raising a baby pigeon takes a lot of time and dedication. A real learning experience. 

Larry


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

the egg does look like it has a pip...so it could come out in a couple of days.. the spritzing of the water can help with the dry warmth of the lamp. the less you move it around the better.. Im sure you can't sleep with it on your foot so.. get it under the lamp if you want to give it a chance.. at this stage it just needs to be still and warm and not moved.. there has been babies that hatched out in a bucket of discarded eggs that sat for a few days..so it is possible for it to hatch.


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## whytwings (Feb 12, 2011)

Heya Charles , it certainly is an Australian Crested Pigeon

If you wanted to have a go at hand rearing it yourself there is a product called " *Passwell Hand Rearing Food* it comes in a 1 kg box and there is also a smaller sized box .....I think it's distributed Australia wide . The box has 3 parrots on the front !

The good thing is .....It is native to our land , so someone dealing in Native Animal Network or similar may take it should it hatch . I do remember seeing someone hand rear a couple on youtube , but I don't think they were freshly hatched .

D


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## charles81 (Feb 25, 2011)

Hatched. The little guy was still in the egg by the morning, under a lamp with some water sprayed on it. I came back after breakfast and instead of an egg I had this:










Picture didn't focus on the bird very well sorry, but its in the middle there. I contacted the RSPCA and they had me bring the little thing in and thats the last I know. They'll take care of it apparently. Good stuff


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## whytwings (Feb 12, 2011)

Well done .......They should be able to source a native wildlife specialist who will hopefully hand rear it , Good Job !


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

YAY!!!!! where is a cigar when you need it...lol... good going...


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Charles, yes, well done indeed!! 

Karyn


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## Woodywood (Jul 29, 2010)

Great outcome!


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