# Semi Ferrel Racing Pigeon Abandoned Nest



## chachaday (Jul 10, 2019)

*Semi Feral Racing Pigeon Abandoned Nest*

Good morning;

In advance, thank you for your kind help and advice. I have read posts for 2 days and have a good idea what people have posted on this topic and at the same time I humbly have no clue, so I appreciate any help and kind words. 

Short story is- old owner had 150+ pigeons/racing pigeons. (1) remained when we bought the house 1 year ago. "Birdie" is an exceptional flyer and has become my buddy. He is very independent and has a 4" gap in the coop and comes and goes as he wants and keeps a pretty regular schedule. He has mated twice with other pigeons from elsewhere in our coop- first wife was killed by a hawk. 2nd wife was a stunning racing pigeon and they were quite the couple- she was banded on the leg but would not let me get near her to read the band so we made sure she had food, water, and taught her how to come and go safely in the coop to stay protected. She was not very street smart but picked up things from him over the past 2-3 weeks. 

They nested, 2 eggs on 6/30. All going swimmingly well until Sunday she never came home. Likely a hawk situation or sif he belonged to the racing pigeon person who may live within a miles and maybe went home for food and got locked up, or she abandoned nest for whatever reason (but she and Birdie were quite the pair so I can't imagine she left him). Bottom line- she did not come back and Birdie (male) sat on the nest for 36 straight hours but then he finally got off the nest and went to his roost to sleep- eggs went from warm to cold in an hour (68 at night). The farm's incubator is not working so I had to make a decision, leave the eggs cold or try something else-he was off the eggs for a few hours and was definitely not going back that night and they were definitely going to sit in 68-degree weather for 10 hours. 

So deep thought that went into what to do (I dealt with a similar situation years ago)- so I made a makeshift incubator with a shoe box, incubator, thermometer, and cooking probe thermometer, and eggs got warmed up to 98. THat was "rescue" night 1 of Day 1 and Day 8 or 9 of eggs' life. 
Rescue Day 2, I decided giving the eggs back to Birdie was going to land me in the same position at night if he even sayt on them, so I called the wildlife rescue in San Diego area,,,to my dismay, they closed its doors July 8th- are you kidding me...oh well. So, I candled the eggs and both looked different but were moving- one appeared to be clearer with more veins and the other more fully developed darker and definite movement. 

My main problem is the makeshift incubator and keeping the temps at 98-100, I do have water for humidity in there and that is working well- it's the heat that concerns me...I can't hold the air at 98-100 with a heating pad, so I am holding the egg shells at 97-101- I am careful not to overheat but that could mean underheating at 95/96 if moved just slightly off the heating element of the pad. Honestly, I have no doubt hatching the eggs are a long shot this way and if hatched the next step is another long shot, but I have done it before and had success, so I am willing to try again. I have ordered a new tiny incubator, syringes, baby bird food just in case. And am trying to find a racing/homing pigeon owner near me to adopt the eggs.

Today is Rescue Day 3, eggs Day 10. I did not want to bother the eggs so I candled quickly and did not see the movement like yesterday- but decided to not bother the eggs as I am using a just a flashlight to candle and it is hard to see adequately. 

My questions are:

-Makeshift heating pad incubator- any tips (the small one I bought arrives tomorrow so just need a few more hours)
-Candled eggs---does anyone have pictures of healthy eggs candled at Day 8 to 10? Since these look different and I am near certain they were laid within 12 hours of each other. I have searched online but not a good road map for pigeon eggs by day like other birds have online- this would be awesome if someone could send me. 
-Should I just ride out the 19 days between the self-made and new incubator that will come tomorrow? And if they hatch they hatch and forget candling and bothering the eggs etc?
- I read about handling the eggs too much- I have been turning every 4 to 8 hours wearing nitrile surgeon gloves- and candled twice yesterday and once today trying to see if they are alive...assume every 8 hours turning is enough?
-I have put feelers out on 2 racing pigeon sites in the US and on Nextdoor.com trying to find an owner of the racing pigeons locally so I see as I can take the eggs to him and let his crew try to adopt- is there a good resource for racing/homing pigeon owners to help track someone local down- I know it is a dedicated group and could be the best solution for the eggs to just go into another nest?? Any San Diego solutions?
-Any other kind comments or advice?

Mahalos for your kindness. ....and BTW, Birdie brings me so much joy- he literally sits with me as I garden and I can call him out of the air to come say hi. He is one handsome smart cookie !


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## Ladygrey (Dec 10, 2016)

To adopt eggs out to a foster pair, your eggs need to be on the same time line as the foster pair have with their own eggs, then foster pairs eggs removed and these put in their nest. , if the timeline is off more than three or four days , the foster pair depending on their timeline, would give up too soon, or if too early may not have pigeon milk to feed the new hatchlings. Most racing hobbiest will not be breeding now, they breed in feb to early spring, then separate the pairs. Not all do but a lot do. 

If by chance these eggs hatch, it will be difficult to replicate the immunities that are given by natural pigeon milk and harder even to feed hatchlings. 

What needs to be done if you like this pigeon, is build him an aviary and keep him safe, 
He seems savvy and that is good but one day he won’t come back as they do not last from birds of pray as a lone bird. Then if you do find another loft you could get him a mate, then use fake eggs for hatch control. 

Purposefully creating more pigeons to fly free all the time so hawks can eat them is not a good situation. Hawks will enter a loft if not secure. 

People who fly birds have many, a flock , and the flying is restricted, it is called loft flying and done when the keeper is there to keep an eye on things.. and the birds are mostly safe in their loft with aviaries for sunlight and fresh air. They are trained to go back in the loft when offered a feeding.


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