# one baby died in nest - proper procedure?



## dianepage (Jun 9, 2003)

My husband and I have been overjoyed to watch outside our window as two pigeons built their nest, laid two eggs, hatched two babies. We have been tossing out sunflower seeds daily but otherwise leaving the birds to be raised in nature. However, we left town for a long weekend when the babies were 2 weeks old. When we returned the parents were nowhere to be found, and one of the babies had died in the nest (apparently a few days before; it was smaller, and there were flies gathering). When the parents didn't show all day the first day we were back I chatted with someone at our local animal hospital who said the parents had probably abandoned the entire nest because if one baby was sick they would assume that both would be. So I went to buy powdered feed, then approached the baby to drop some in its mouth. (The other bird I removed.) Later that afternoon the mother came back and stared at the nest for a VERY long time before finally eating the seeds I threw for her and feeding the baby. (Hooray!) I plan on letting nature continue to take its course and not interfering -- any thoughts on whether that's proper from someone who may have seen this before??? and whether the parents "disappear" from daily watch after the babies reach a certain age? Many thanks.


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## bigbird (Aug 19, 2000)

There is no way to tell exactly what happened. Are both parents around, or only one parent? Often the "runt" will die, but the parents will continue to feed the larger one anyway. I have never seen pigeons leave their young unless a cat is sitting there and preventing them from comming to the nest.
The best food for young birds will be pigeon feed (seeds) purchased from a pet store or a feed store. The older birds will survive on this, then feed it to the young. A little bowl of water would be nice, so the setting bird does not have to leave in search of water. Feed, water, safety (away from cats) is about all you have to do. The other bird will probably be fine, that is if the parents continue to feed. If the parents leave, give us a heads-up, we can provide some tips for hand feeding.
Good luck,
Carl


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## WhiteWingsCa (Mar 1, 2002)

in our loft, once the babies are around 10-14 days old, the parents start spending less and less time sitting with them in the nest, especially if the weather is warm. (in colder weather, the parents DO stay with the babies more)

In "people age", 2 week old babies are similar to early teenagers. LOL







So mom and dad know it's OK to leave them alone for a bit during the day.


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## dianepage (Jun 9, 2003)

THANK YOU for the reassurance. We've only seen the mother come back the once (yesterday afternoon; the father hasn't been spotted and he was very diligent when the babies were eggs and newly hatched). However, we have tossed out both sunflower seeds, which they love, and a handful of smaller-sized birdseed. The water cup is a great idea. Today the baby -- teenager! -- seems to be fine in the nest itself. So, if there's no repeat visits from probably just the mother, I'll give a shout! (Not to confess, but it just broke our hearts to see the other baby dead; and then yesterday when the mother came back for the first time and for 15 agonizing minutes just STARED at the nest and the remaining baby, looking around and yet not moving toward it -- we cried at the thought she was going to abandon the living baby.) Again, thank you for helping a new "parent".


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