# :D Babies :P



## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

After the passing of Peeps i wasn't really wanting to deal with anymore baby deaths. After they had neglected Peeps, I told myself that i wasnt going to let them breed anymore. But when he died I wanted to give it just one more shot. So now im going to introduce to you. Valentine and Frogger.Valentine got his name because of the fact he hatched Valentines evening. Frogger hatched two days later in the early morning on the 16th. They are both almost 2 weeks old and growing well. Im going to post a few pictures of them as they have been growing up.









Taken 2/19/10 









Taken 2/20/10









Taken 2/21/10


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

*More pics*









Taken 2/23/10









Taken 2/23/10
Frogger is on the left and Valentine is on the right. 

Im going to take a new picture today. They have a lot more feathers and look so fluffy


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I'm so sorry to hear you lost Peeps. 

These little ones look like they are thriving.

Thank you for sharing the pics.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I had my doubts about your pair, but looks like everything is just fine. Is there anything you did different or learned from the loss of the others that may have help these to thrive?


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

spirit wings said:


> I had my doubts about your pair, but looks like everything is just fine. Is there anything you did different or learned from the loss of the others that may have help these to thrive?


well in the beginning i think they were just in poor condition. And then after medication i'm not sure why they didnt survive more then a day or so. With Peeps it was mostly because "I"[extremely inexperienced in handrearing] was the one taking care of him and they may have abandoned him partially due on my part of taking him out of the nest too soon and having him out of there sight too long when i took those pictures of his legs, which by the way after watching these two grow there was something extremely wrong with Peeps legs and how they were growing, very strange. 
I have held these babies. I waited until they were a little over a week old. I cant hold them when mom is on the nest cuz she attacks me. It doesnt hurt just makes me jump everytime she pecks. I can touch them when she is in the nest. Just when I go to pick them up she didnt like that. When dad is on the nest he lets me pick them up. I do one at a time and hold him for a few minutes stroking his feathers and back and then i place him back in the nest and dad accepts him under is wing instantly. Then i repeat with the other. And when i am holding them he can see the whole time. I actually sit in the cage with them. its hilarious and it's fun they are so adorable.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

that is wonderful. must be a big cage....lol...


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

its about 3 feet high but i open up the top and stick my head out that XD


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

oh thats right you got the pink cage... sweet. hope all continues to go well., keep us updated with pics!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

They're cute, but they should have some sort of nesting material under them. In the natural they would gather it for their nest.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

*todays pics *

I took these a little bit ago.









Dad and babies. Valentine is the one whose head you cant see.









Little fluffy Frogger


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

The parents are spending more and more time off of the nest. Last night they were off the majority of the night. They still need a bit of feathers but wont it be soon when they leave the nest to find food [seeds]?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

dovelove<3 said:


> The parents are spending more and more time off of the nest. Last night they were off the majority of the night. They still need a bit of feathers but wont it be soon when they leave the nest to find food [seeds]?


It is common for parents to start leaving the babies alone around fourteen days of age (that is with pigeons, and since doves mature quicker it may be normal) , my pigeon babies were just feathering when mom stopped the night duty but were close by.

How are they acting otherwise, are the babies getting fed well, and do they look well? 

Given the history of the parents, I would BE very concerned and keep a close eye on them.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

Yes they are being fed well. The dad is only one i have seen feeding though. but thats normal at this age i heard. He feeds them and leaves or feds them and starts cooing over and over. Not sure why he does it in the nest instead of next to her like usual. Last night was the first night neither of them were on the nest. They were perched about a foot away though. The babies look fine to me. They are actively preening their feathers right now. the rest of the time they are sleeping.


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## DoveNoob (Jan 25, 2010)

dovelove<3 said:


> Yes they are being fed well. The dad is only one i have seen feeding though. but thats normal at this age i heard. He feeds them and leaves or feds them and starts cooing over and over. Not sure why he does it in the nest instead of next to her like usual. Last night was the first night neither of them were on the nest. They were perched about a foot away though. The babies look fine to me. They are actively preening their feathers right now. the rest of the time they are sleeping.


I'm happy to here that My doves have done the same


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## StanelyPidge09 (May 22, 2009)

they are soo pink! Are they king pigeons?


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

StanelyPidge09 said:


> they are soo pink! Are they king pigeons?


No, they aren't pigeons. They are Doves.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

everything seems normal, doves build terrible nests, only using a few scraps most times...the basket bottom seems sufficent, when the parents do not stay with them as much is a good time to dump the poop out of the bottom, but you probably already know that..lol.. weaning is a bit tricky and they still have a ways to go, but you will need to watch them close at that point and you may be the one who shows them the feed and peck at it with your finger to get them interested, they usually learn from the parent birds by watching, at that point they will be out of the basket and on the bottom of the cage, so make sure you have feed where they can see it and get at it.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

spirit wings is right in that they learn by watching. While the babies are still in the nest box, I offer the parents seed and peanuts at the box by hand. The babies see them taking it from me, and eventually they will too. This way, they learn to eat on their own, and also learn that I am friend, not foe. By the time they do come out, they will take seed from me easily. Of course, it helps if you have parents that are friendly toward you. If not, they will learn that too.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

Thanks for the tips. The parents actually wont eat seed from my hand. But I have been putting a little in the nest box at times and have watched the parents eat from there. Once the babies leave the nest I will move the seed container to the ground and that way they will see the parents feeding from it there too. Theyre is always seed scattered as well from the parents. No matter what i do it ends up there XD Ive made covers and everything. But oh well. Either way it gets eaten.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Once they're out of the nest and beginning to eat seed, you can try offering it to them in a small lid from a jar. It may take a little while, but they will probably get used to this and take it from you. If you start when they are young, you may be able to get them friendlier to you than their parents are. They will learn to trust you.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

as far as seed scatter, I do this with my doves and it works well...


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

I will try the lid thing. I have been trying to hold them every day to get the used to being held. Today Vals wings were shaking up and down when I was holding him and Frogger was doing the same and trying to walk all around my hands. I dont think they like being held even though I have been doing it for almost a week now. I guess now that they are stronger and can move around they dont want to be held. Just like a toddler I suppose. Frogger almost tumbled out of the nest not long after I put him back. He was standing near the edge when the parents flew to the nest. BOTH of them came and they havent done that in a while. But that made frogger come back in the nest. Which was good.

I have tried that same thing only with a slightly different container. It still ended up all over XD Now i just have a huge seed container with a slanted bottom and i put plastic over the big opening and cut a small hole. It seems to be working pretty good for now. still some seed but not as much. I supposed its basically the same set up though as those.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If his wings were shaking when you held him, it sounds as if he was begging from you. Think he wanted you to feed him. I don't think it was because he didn't want to be held. That is how they beg for food.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

Jay3 said:


> If his wings were shaking when you held him, it sounds as if he was begging from you. Think he wanted you to feed him. I don't think it was because he didn't want to be held. That is how they beg for food.


OH!  well if thats what it meant them i guess thats a good thing  They consider me food. I actually fed them each a little of formula once before. Frogger didnt like it but Val ate a bit. Maybe I will do that a couple times more. I just like feeding the babies


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

dovelove<3 said:


> OH!  well if thats what it meant them i guess thats a good thing  They consider me food. I actually fed them each a little of formula before. Frogger didnt like it but Val ate a bit. Maybe I will do that a couple times more. I just like feeding the babies


When I hand feed babies, that's what they do when I pick them up. They beg for food, just as they do from the parents. It isn't because they don't want to be handled. They want food.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

Its funny that they remember that when I only did it once XD It was cuz they kept beggin dad for food but he was too focused on mating with mom to notice. So I tried feeding them a little just to tide them over until dad decided to feed them. Luckily dad decided to be let his paternal hormones regain control and he fed them not much later.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yes very good way to get them used to you, and some helpful nutrients to boot!


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

I just held them again and they were doing the wing thing. I offered them formula but they didnt want any part of it XD Just licked the tips of there beaks and then shook their heads. And when i tried to offer again they moved away. Silly birds.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

dovelove<3 said:


> I just held them again and they were doing the wing thing. I offered them formula but they didnt want any part of it XD Just licked the tips of there beaks and then shook their heads. And when i tried to offer again they moved away. Silly birds.


How did you offer it?


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

I offered by placing the tip of their beak into the bottle so they would taste the formula. Thats how i did it last time and Val pulled away and licked his beak and then the 2nd time he started eating but this time when i did it the 2nd time they just kept moving their heads and facing away from whereever I put the bottle. I tried a couple times and then stopped because I had to get ready to leave. Ill try again another day.


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## StanelyPidge09 (May 22, 2009)

dovelove<3 said:


> No, they aren't pigeons. They are Doves.


Oh, haha, silly me! Shows how much I know!


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

its ok. With the way their beaks look Id think they were pigeons too if i didnt know better.


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## Pawbla (Jan 6, 2009)

They're so cute and fluffy D:


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

Pawbla said:


> They're so cute and fluffy D:


Yes they are 

The past couple days I have been holding them in my hand and then slanting it and they start flapping. Im hoping this will help work their wings and get them strong. Its cute when they do it. I tried to get a picture but its hard to take one while holding a flapping bird in one hand and trying to to use other underneath to catch them if they slip XD They also started to perch on my fingers although frogger has a little bit of trouble because of his webbed toes. I think he will be alright though


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Ya know, when they're ready, they will flap for exercise on their own. If you do that it makes them feel that they are going to fall. It scares them. That's why they flap. All you will accomplish is to make them feel insecure when you are holding them. Don't think that's what you want to do. Just let them develop and do what they do when they are ready to do it.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

Jay3 said:


> Ya know, when they're ready, they will flap for exercise on their own. If you do that it makes them feel that they are going to fall. It scares them. That's why they flap. All you will accomplish is to make them feel insecure when you are holding them. Don't think that's what you want to do. Just let them develop and do what they do when they are ready to do it.


Oh.. yah probably not the best idea then. I wont do it anymore.  They like to snuggle their faces in my hair.  Guess its soft like feathers and they are looking for a beak.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

I have raised from the egg 10 baby doves. At this age you can now take them from the nest as often as you like. Hold them securely in your hand, cupped warmly, or place them in your lap. They will become friendly to you. They will get interested in seed soon. Hold some in your hand or feed them one seed at a time after they have more feathers.
You want to hold them a lot before they start flying, which will happen sooner than you think. (like, day 30) They will really like you, and fly to you when you hold up seed.

You are very lucky your birds sat as long as they did. My birds say good bye to sitting on the nest when the dovelets are eight days old, even if I don't touch them at all.

http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2769892/26/Columbia_Livia_Keeping_Pigeons
This is a short description of ringneck dove behaviors and what they mean. Now you can 'speak dove'.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

I have been holding them everyday. yesterday and today i set them down on a towel at the cage opening and i let them walk around a little. They are so wobbly, its adorable. Val was trying to jump/fly up on top of stuff. he isnt quite there yet.  i also have been putting a little pile of seed in the towel to. the parents come down and eat from it. Frogger was lying on the towel and there was a seed 2-3 inches in front of him. He stretched his neck out as far as he could and tried to get it but couldnt reach and he was too lazy to walk over to it XD He didnt seem interested after that though. Hopefully soon.

Thanks for the link philodice. Very interesting


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

Im thinking they will be leaving the nest on their own soon.  This morning i woke up and only saw one of the babies in the nest. I looked around but didnt see him on the bottom of the cage. Turned out he was on the shelf behind the nest. 10 minutes later he was back in the nest. They are now flying/jumping up on to things when i have them out of the cage. They can only get about a 2 inches though. And if it has grip they pull themselves the rest of the way with their feet. Frogger most of the time just likes to lay down and sleep or watch. Val is a little explorer though. I had him on my arm close to a perch and he jumped right over to it. Dad is getting jealous.  I was letting the babies peck at the seeds in my hand and dad decided HE wanted the seeds so he came over and stood on my hand and ate them. I was surprised. I couldnt move though or he would fly away. I dont think he realized it was my hand or something. Just that it was where the babies were getting food and he wanted it. They both seem interested in seeds but they dont have the pecking and eating down yet. Val has picked up a couple but i think he just drops them or flings them. I dont know if he has actually eaten any. Probably soon though.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's great. Soon they will be eating seed.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

Val took his 1st flight this morning. He was perched on my leg and flew up almost to their nest [about 2 feet up] but he missed and landed on the ground  I notice today that dad can be kind of aggressive towards them when they arent in the nest. I sit outside the cage now with them and keep the door open so mom and dad can come out too. Dad is fine when i let the babies walk around outside the cage but as soon as they go near the door and dad is inside he makes a strange noise and jumps at them and pecks. I push him away when he does it and pull the babies away from the door. Val likes to perch on the opening though. Not sure what dads problem was. As soon as i put them back in the nest he was back to being nice again.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

when they are weaned they probably will need a cage of their own as he will just see them as intruders at a certain point.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

They're about 5 weeks old now. They are growing up. The parents start losing patience with them, and the babies can get kind of pesty. They do start to push them away. If they were in a loft, they would start to push them out of the nest box. As they get older you will have to give them their own space.

Edit: Oops! I see we were posting at the same time. LOL.


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## Startail Fan (Oct 20, 2009)

Can we some updated pic's ??


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm sorry, I just went in a counted again. The babies are only 3 weeks old, not 5. Sorry. They start pushing them out somewhere after a month or so, so I don't know why he is doing that now. Maybe he thinks you are going to offer seed or something. My pigeons will sometimes push them away like that if I am offering seed or treats.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

Yah they are only 3 weeks old now.  I have their own space ready for them once they are bigger. Its branched off of the big cage but it can be closed off if it needs to be also. 
I lent my camera to a friend i get it back tomorrow. So i will get some pictures then.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

*pictures taken 3/8/10*









Frogger & Val [valentine] sitting on my hand









Val & Frogger playing with seeds.









Val: He flew up there on his own from the ground.









How Frogger got his name


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

*Family photo: 3/8/10*









left -> right: Chick[mom], Frogger, Mick[dad], Val 

I cant wait for them to get older so i know their genders. Im thinking Val is female and Frogger is male. Just based off of their body shape. Val is smaller and has a slender head like moms even though he was bigger when they were younger. You can see it in the 1st updated pic. Im just gonna stick with "he" for now.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Omgarsh! what lovely little babies!... Im so glad you are enjoying the young ones after all you have been through with your pair... you made some changes and did some medicating and learned alot and it shows now...


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

spirit wings said:


> Omgarsh! what lovely little babies!... Im so glad you are enjoying the young ones after all you have been through with your pair... you made some changes and did some medicating and learned alot and it shows now...


Thank you  Im very excited about these two. They arent staying in the nest anymore. And the parents are being aggressive at times and pecking. I've placed them back in the nest a few times only to come back later with them on the ground or on the shelf near the nest. Im putting them back in now for the night so they can snuggle together and sleep. I have watched them begging for food with no success but once i put them back in the nest. Dad attempted to feed them. I think they are just becoming too much for him because they are always fighting eachother for him and poking him in the head and flapping their wings into everyone. Its nuts watching them. Im hoping to get them to eat seeds soon. They arent taking to them just yet, they mostly just play.


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

They have offically "fled" the nest now. Im fairly sure they arent being fed by the parents anymore. I've seen them both eating seed so hopefully thats enough. Holding them today i could feel a mostly full crop on frogger but i couldnt feel anything on Val. Although when feeling the parents i couldnt feel a crop on them either. Does it get to the point you cant feel it anymore? They are heading towards 4 weeks now. At what age do they begin to drink water? I would assume it was the same age as seeds but i dont want to rush them. Im pretty sure the havent drank any on their own yet. The closest they have come to water was when they fell in to the dish as dad was bathing. Their tail feathers are about 3 inches long now. Maybe a little less. They sure do grow up fast  The agressiveness from the parents has increased. i see them both pecking now but for the most part the parents have just been staying away. Mom is more agressive towards Val and dad is more agressive towards Frogger. I have witnessed the youngins jumping on top of the adults as well. Its very curious behavior. And the "fighting pair" make me believe even more that Val is female and Frogger is male. That would make is same sex fighting which would make sense right? Who knows. Im keeping an eye on them. The first sign of extreme behavior and they will be separated.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If they're eating seeds, and not being fed by the parents, then they must be drinking water. If they eat seed they need water. Why not hold a small dish up to them and see if they drink?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yes you can even dip the beak in the water to show them where it is...


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

spirit wings said:


> yes you can even dip the beak in the water to show them where it is...


Thanks. Meant to say that!


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## dovelove<3 (May 28, 2009)

I dipped there beaks and they both drank a huge amount. So they know where it is now.  I kind of figured they should be drinking water now that they were eating seeds but i wasnt completely sure. They are now though.


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