# Hand Raising....



## randy24fan01 (Jul 21, 2001)

Carl,any information on this subject would be helpfull....My hen laid egss on the 21st. when can I expect the new arrivals?









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Randy


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## lukekerttu (Jan 9, 2001)

17 or 18 days and hand raising is a hard job. that is what i think carl told me i have never done it i would like to 

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luke


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## randy24fan01 (Jul 21, 2001)

thanks luke I'm looking forward to it ...

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Randy


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## bigbird (Aug 19, 2000)

Depending upon the weather, the incubation time is from 14 to 18 days…the chicks will hatch usually on the 17th or 18 day. The parents will allow for a drying out period and then begin feeding the babies small amounts of “pigeon milk” produced in the hen and the cock. I have raised baby pigeons from day one however; I think the best time to take a baby from the nest is on the 7th to 8th day, 10 days maximum. When you decide to make the commitment to hand raising, there is no turning back. You will be hand feeding the baby 5 times a day minimum (7 am, 12 noon, 5 pm, 10 pm and 2 am), until day 10, then you can drop the 2 am feeding, but be sure to feed a little extra at the 10 pm feeding. Four times a day will continue until the baby is weaned and ready to eat for itself (this time varies from bird to bird). I have had birds weaned at about 3 weeks; others have taken over 5 weeks. 
I do not believe the baby should be exposed to other pigeons while being raised. 
I have never hand raised two birds at once, one at a time is enough for me. 
The feeding process and amounts will vary with the bird. I will not go into the details here but will try to post something on the Pigeons.com web site soon regarding feed and daily care of a hand fed baby pigeon.
Regards,
Carl


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## raynjudy (Aug 22, 2000)

Baby pigeons double their weight in the first 48-hours on mom AND dad's pigeon milk.
And though there are recipes to synthesize pigeon milk, the custom pigeon enzymes and antibodies are all good to go in the natural crop milk of the parents.

Information on how to syringe feed a baby pigeon can be found by navigating the home page. There are variations on how to do this.

Our very own Terri managed to raise a very sassy pigeon named Dinky, without using a syringe at all!

I'd do as carl suggests and let mom & dad jump-start the little one for 5-8 days first.
And as Carl says, there's no turning back here. Pigeons have lived up to 30-years under ideal conditions. You are beginning a long term commitment...

--Ray

PS. There's nothing like a pigeon friend!


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