# Help are my eggs dead?!!?!?!?!?



## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

*Pigeon eggs under developed?*

I had been feeding pigeons on my balcony 2 mates. the girl decided to lay her nest on my balcony and later abandoned them 9 days later. we think she was shot. i took in the 2 eggs and put them in a tub on a pillow above a heater. and a towel over it. i heard from somewhere that you put a bowl of water inside the tub for moisture. i have candled them and i see veins and a developed embrio. They move and twitch alot. but they look small this is the first time i have raised eggs or birds but i don't know what size pigeon eggs are supposed to be. the eggs are very small and the embrio inside is about less than and inch. today is it's 13 day. i think i see a beak.... not sure
and one of them looks like it is split in 2 it still moves and twitches but it is like 2 balls are in there.... both of the halves move so what is it? is it a pull pigeon embrio that i just cant see because it is in deep? or is it split in half  ?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

They have about another week to go before they may hatch, if they do.. the heat source may not be just right and they are behind a bit. before they hatch the egg when candled looks dark in there as the embryo fills the egg most of the way. If these do hatch are you prepaird to hand feed them every two hours for the first 6 days or so..then about 5 times a day..before weaning three times a day? If they do hatch you will need to get prepaird now ..not the day they hatch.


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

http://egg22 118
have noticed the last few days i have been candling my eggs that they start to move less and less. yesterday when i candled one she was moving enough and twitching but today the egg seems darker and i didnt see any movment eaither because it was to dark or because it was dead....:( 
my other pigeon egg didnt really move that much to begin with.
another user said that since they were kept in the cold for a day when the mother abandoned them that it would stunt there groth and they might be a tad late. it's been like 20 days or so. please help me :( i dont want to throw them out if they are alive....


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

What do you mean by the eggs were moving? And why do you keep candling them? Where did you get them?


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## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

Careful Jay3

we do not need anyone to say we are bashing him for asking a question that he should know the answer.
pigeon eggs hatch in 18 days.
I do not know what a "TAD" late is--But 2 days?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

sky tx said:


> Careful Jay3
> 
> we do not need anyone to say we are bashing him for asking a question that he should know the answer.
> pigeon eggs hatch in 18 days.
> I do not know what a "TAD" late is--But 2 days?


 Thanks for the reminder. LOL.


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## whiteroller123 (Oct 9, 2009)

That happen to my eggs too. I thought that my eggs wouldn't make because it was pass 17-19 days of incubation. I was going to throw them away but than during the night i saw some cracks and next day, I saw two newly born babies.


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## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

If the Pair is still setting the eggs----leave them until the Pair quites them.


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

I've only candled eggs once & thats to see if they are fertile, after that I leave the parents to do their work.


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

The parents didnt come back. they laid them on my balcony and on the 9th day the mom left and we belive that she died. i think they are late by 2 or 3 days. they are still pretty small.


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

i sat in the dark candling one for 10 minutes intill there was a very very very slight movemnt of a vein and something very thin that could be a foot.


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

yeah that helps me a bit  
but they don't move like at all anymore i sat in the dark candling one in till a vein moved and something that could have been a foot ( it was very very thin and it moved a bit)
the other egg dosn't move at all and they seem to be getting darker, i don't even see a bird shape it's just a little ball and veins ( one vein is very thick and it used to move with the ball)


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

well as they grow in the egg you will see less and less veining as they get bigger, they are filling up the egg, eggs can take 17 to 21 days to hatch, i would wait a few more days because they could be late bloomers  are you keeping them warm enough?and turning them?


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

they can take up to 21 days...


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

yeah, they are warm and i am turning them 3 times a day and candling them everyday.
and i am not sure that they are growing much i don't see a bird figure all i see in a dark spot resembling a ball.... is that normal?


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

i thnk it has been 19 but they don't even look big at all what are they supposed to look like before they hatch? how big?


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

Pigeon123123 said:


> yeah, they are warm and i am turning them 3 times a day and candling them everyday.
> and i am not sure that they are growing much i don't see a bird figure all i see in a dark spot resembling a ball.... is that normal?


do you see any heart beat? does the veins look red and good nothing really dark that you can't see, the ball could be the baby growing, i wouldn't pick them up everyday either, oh and do you have a bowl of water next to them, it will help with the moisture for eggs to hatch.. so how many days from time you noticed them to you having them now..they could be still growing if you still see veins..trust me if they die the egg will b so dark inside you wont see anything when you candle, but that also could be them at almost full term, so depending on when they were laid like i said it could be 17 to 21 days for them to hatch.


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

i never saw a heart beat, yes there is a bowl of water next to them. and it is almost so dark that i cant see anything, some of the veins are red but the majior vein is dark.


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

you wont see them candling for sure..they will be close to full term, egg will be solid and a very pale blueish color when they are ready to hatch..give them some time..


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

If the eggs were abandoned or not sat on because the hen is gone they may not hatch.. they need 100.4 temps, all you can do is wait, if it is real hot there they may take longer to hatch..or if the temps drop..like at night they prolly won't make it. if they do who is going to feed them ? is the male bird still around?


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

i will post a picture but in the pictures te
they look a bit darker and u cant see much detail


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Pigeon123123 said:


> i will post a picture but in the pictures te
> they look a bit darker and u cant see much detail


there is most likely embryos in them..if you can not keep them at at least 100f there is not much you can do about them.. if they do hatch who is going to feed them?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Even if they did hatch, their chances of surviving are very slim.


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

as long as you are seeing veins i would wait...major vein could be thebaby growing, you said you saw what looked like a ball? that could be baby to, they do move around a bit in egg so when you candle they will look different everytime...give them some time , like said could be late bloomers  keep us post ok,


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## Pigeon Dude (Mar 23, 2011)

*The abandoned pigeon eggs.*



Pigeon123123 said:


> I had been feeding pigeons on my balcony 2 mates. the girl decided to lay her nest on my balcony and later abandoned them 9 days later. we think she was shot. i took in the 2 eggs and put them in a tub on a pillow above a heater. and a towel over it. i heard from somewhere that you put a bowl of water inside the tub for moisture. i have candled them and i see veins and a developed embrio. They move and twitch alot. but they look small this is the first time i have raised eggs or birds but i don't know what size pigeon eggs are supposed to be. the eggs are very small and the embrio inside is about less than and inch. today is it's 13 day. i think i see a beak.... not sure
> and one of them looks like it is split in 2 it still moves and twitches but it is like 2 balls are in there.... both of the halves move so what is it? is it a pull pigeon embrio that i just cant see because it is in deep? or is it split in half  ?



I am pretty sure that the 2 moving things you were seeing were either air sacks and a heart or two air sacks. When the embryo develops, all you see is a shadowed area wit a bright end, where the uteral sac thing ends. In your other posts you mentioned not seeing movement. If the egg is getting dark, there is a chance that the embryo has gotten big enough to fill his/her little area and is not just a big blobby shadow until he and she finally hatch. 

It gets confusing trying to pin-point what day the egg is on. I'd wait this out, if I were you.

Please dig around on this site for instrux on how to hand feed baby pigeons. 

I think there is a pretty good chance that you may very well have kept atleast one of these eggs alive. If it doesn't work out, at least you gave it your best effort.


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

they are at a 99f level. i am planning to care for them.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Pigeon123123 said:


> they are at a 99f level. i am planning to care for them.


where are the eggs for them to be 99f?...you have an incubator?


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

the male bird is still around and comes to eat on my balcony but he never sat on the eggs to begin with and he took no interest in them.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Pigeon123123 said:


> the male bird is still around and comes to eat on my balcony but he never sat on the eggs to begin with and he took no interest in them.


ok lets try again.
where are the eggs for them to be 99f?...you have an incubator?


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

uploading pics


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

okay done uploading image


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

as the egg fills they move less...they look like they would hatch at anytime..they take a day or so to hatch...they rest some and chip the egg other times.. the eggs should not be picked up at this point as they get in position to use their egg tooth..so I would leave them alone for now. you should have hand feeding formula and the things you need to feed them with.


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

is it normal for one side to be dark and the other side to be lighter but still with veins?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Pigeon123123 said:


> is it normal for one side to be dark and the other side to be lighter but still with veins?


maybe..maybe not... if they hatch they hatch.. if they do not..there is nothing you can do to change it.. so I would just leave them for now..and they do not need to be turned any longer.. they look like a few days from hatching.


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## Pigeon Dude (Mar 23, 2011)

*Why is Knowone answering my question*



Pigeon123123 said:


> All you guys know about pigeons but you couldnt even answer a simple question asking if my eggs were dead? it wasnt long all you had to do was answer but no knowone did. knowone on theis website could even spare a momment to answer 1 of my 2 questions instead you just ignored it and answered everyone elses questioned but mine.
> Some exsperts.


Sorry Pigeon123123.

I guess the best answer to your question of the eggs being dead is: "We do not know". It is not an easy question to answer without handling the eggs. It sounds like you have done an amazing job at keeping them incubated. We just do not know if they are alive of dead. Sometimes they will turn darker (almost a very slight glossy blue gray) before they hatch. Other times they remain white, but get glossy. Of the several hundred pigeon eggs that my birds hatched wen I was a kid, I never candled them very often after I could see that spidery vein cluster thing.

If I were a statistics guy, I could only say that there is at least a 50% chance that the eggs are ready to hatch any day now.

We just have no way to make an assertion that the eggs did not survive or that they will be hatching soon without physical contact.

One thing I would suggest if you handle them again. Do they seem heavier? Heavier is good.

Otherwise, I think I'd give them at least another several days before I consider them dead.


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## cookiebun (Jun 2, 2008)

Holiday weekend.


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Sorry I didn't see your question--I don't visit this site every day. You can tell if eggs are bad if they don't hatch by day 21. Normal gestation is 16-18 days but I've had eggs take as long as 20 to hatch and still produce healthy chicks. Bad eggs either look clear (infertile) or dark and mottled (embryo died during development).


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Birdmom4ever said:


> Sorry I didn't see your question--I don't visit this site every day. You can tell if eggs are bad if they don't hatch by day 21. Normal gestation is 16-18 days but I've had eggs take as long as 20 to hatch and still produce healthy chicks. Bad eggs either look clear (infertile) or dark and mottled (embryo died during development).


they have already posted pic of the candling on one of the other threads they started.. it is in here some where...lol..


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Haven't been online much lately. Working two jobs and interning at the zoo and a holiday weekend and training my doves to fly to the hand. Just today I was up at 5:40a to feed/work with the birds, had volunteering/interning at the zoo from 7:30a-4p, then drove home (25 min drive) and got cleaned up and cooled off so that I can be at work at 6p to deal with the insanity of a grocery store on a holiday weekend (and I'm closing the store), then tonight I promised to watch a movie with my family. Tomorrow I will be gone almost all day, when I'm not gone I'll be home to clip half my birds' toenails and feed/water/train them. Sorry, I haven't had time to be online that much--and this is not the only site I visit. Right now I've just got a few minutes before I have to go to work. *shrugs*

Sometimes, with eggs all you can do is wait and see anyway.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Pigeon123123 said:


> All you guys know about pigeons but you couldnt even answer a simple question asking if my eggs were dead? it wasnt long all you had to do was answer but no knowone did. knowone on theis website could even spare a momment to answer 1 of my 2 questions instead you just ignored it and answered everyone elses questioned but mine.
> Some exsperts.


Have you ever heard of a thing called patience ?

24 mins after your post then you post this ?
Do you really expect someone just to be sitting waiting to answer your question instantly ?


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

spirit wings said:


> they have already posted pic of the candling on one of the other threads they started.. it is in here some where...lol..


found it:


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

yes i have an incubaitor


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

Sorry about my last few postings 
I am new to this thing and do not know what to do.
Sorry for my stubbern behavior.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Pigeon123123 said:


> Sorry about my last few postings
> I am new to this thing and do not know what to do.
> Sorry for my stubbern behavior.


Time and patience are your friends in animal husbandry. 

Did the incubator turn the eggs for you? Or did you turn the eggs if not? 

Do you have formula at the ready? Do you know a nearby rehab that can take them in just in case? (they can also help them return to the wild.)


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## Pigeon123123 (Jun 27, 2011)

*Do pigeon eggs turn yellow on the inside when they are dead?*

i found that my eggs turned yellow on the inside and no movement. it's been 21 days no hatching. barley any movement. my mother wanted me to throw them away so i hid them out of there incubaitor in a corner in my room :/


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Why didn't you post this in one of your original 4 threads? Making a new thread every time you have a question about the exact same topic just makes people annoyed and makes it difficult to find the background information to help you. 

How long have you had them away from heat now?
If you keep them out of heat much longer they definitely will be dead. Sometimes it takes them a couple of extra days. I usually leave eggs under the birds for 3-4 extra days just in case, despite the risk of rotten ones. I did have one baby that pipped kind of slow and I didn't see him until about 3 days "late."

*correction--I had thought that you had more threads going than you do. You still do need to keep as much as possible in one thread for all of our sanity though please. This should have been posted here: http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f20/help-are-my-eggs-dead-54139-3.html


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

They started another thread. Looks like the eggs are out of the incubator... 



Pigeon123123 said:


> i found that my eggs turned yellow on the inside and no movement. it's been 21 days no hatching. barley any movement. my mother wanted me to throw them away so i hid them out of there incubaitor in a corner in my room :/


http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f20/d...w-on-the-inside-when-they-are-dead-54181.html


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## [email protected] (Apr 1, 2014)

its normal not to see a pigeon inside the egg!! i have pigeon right now sitting on eggs for about 22 days


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