# at what age are baby pigeons weaned



## james fillbrook (Jan 2, 2009)

at what age are baby pigeons weaned and how do you know if there ready


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Around 20 to 30 days of age. They will wean early if you give the parents their food in the nest box, as the babies watch and learn, they will start playing with the seeds and then picking them up.


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## james fillbrook (Jan 2, 2009)

thanks you see i have order some van reets of a bloke quite far from me well the oppersite side of the country anyways when they came they looked very young so i phoned him up and he said that they were 3 weeks old he also said they would be able to eat and drink on there own is 3 weeks ok for them to go stright into a loft


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

james fillbrook said:


> thanks you see i have order some van reets of a bloke quite far from me well the oppersite side of the country anyways when they came they looked very young so i phoned him up and he said that they were 3 weeks old he also said they would be able to eat and drink on there own is 3 weeks ok for them to go stright into a loft


Have you just gotten these babies? The "bloke" is an idiot. Three weeks old is NOT old enough to be taken from their parents and CERTAINLY not old enough to put in a box and ship somewhere. 
HUMANS are just about the dumbest things on earth sometimes.........


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## james fillbrook (Jan 2, 2009)

theres some pics of them if there not old enough to be on there own what should i do


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

james fillbrook said:


> theres some pics of them if there not old enough to be on there own what should i do


Well, at this point, they're basically going to have to grow up fast. 
I know that with my hand raised babies, although they WOULD eat on their own at this age, I had to "remind" them to eat. I would show them to food a few times a day, by "playing" in it and they would start to squeak and eat.......then I would have to show them the water, again, by "playing" in it to get their attention and they would take a big drink. 
Are these guys eating on their own at all? If so, you've got them now, so all you can do is keep a close eye on them and pay attention to how much feed is disappearing and make sure they are drinking plenty of water.
If they are NOT eating......then I would pop some seeds down their throat and work with them to get them to eat. Shouldn't take much, but if they were still with thier parents, although they would be eating SOME on their own, Dad would still be feeding them a few times a day.


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## james fillbrook (Jan 2, 2009)

Lovebirds said:


> Well, at this point, they're basically going to have to grow up fast.
> I know that with my hand raised babies, although they WOULD eat on their own at this age, I had to "remind" them to eat. I would show them to food a few times a day, by "playing" in it and they would start to squeak and eat.......then I would have to show them the water, again, by "playing" in it to get their attention and they would take a big drink.
> Are these guys eating on their own at all? If so, you've got them now, so all you can do is keep a close eye on them and pay attention to how much feed is disappearing and make sure they are drinking plenty of water.
> If they are NOT eating......then I would pop some seeds down their throat and work with them to get them to eat. Shouldn't take much, but if they were still with thier parents, although they would be eating SOME on their own, Dad would still be feeding them a few times a day.


just checked on them and they both have 3/4 full crops and i now have seen them drink do you think i can put these in with the others


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## james fillbrook (Jan 2, 2009)

and i did not know that they were 3 weeks if i have known i would not of brought them he said WEANED so i thought 6-8 weeks


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

james fillbrook said:


> and i did not know that they were 3 weeks if i have known i would not of brought them he said WEANED so i thought 6-8 weeks


OH, I'm not blaming you at all. How would you know? Someone should take a big stick to the person who sent them to you though.
I would not put them in with your other birds just yet. They really need to have food in front of them 24/7 for AT LEAST a week, maybe longer.......and I would expect your other birds would beat them up because they are so young.


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## james fillbrook (Jan 2, 2009)

ok thanks renee how old do they have to be before they fly


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

james fillbrook said:


> ok thanks renee how old do they have to be before they fly


The youngest I've ever seen fly was 26 days old, but that's not really normal I don't think. Usually, when I wean my babies at 28 days old, they can fly up to a low perch.
I had a little bird once that was raised in an individual pen. I always put my babies in the floor when they're about 18 days old. So one morning I put her in the floor (I thought) but when I went out later, she was back up on the shelf. So, I thought, well, I just forgot to put her down in the floor. I put her in the floor AGAIN. A little while later, I went out and she was BACK UP ON THE SHELF..........little bugger COULD fly...........she's the only one I've ever had to that though.


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## james fillbrook (Jan 2, 2009)

thanks renee


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

The youngest I have ever weaned was around 17 days old! That bird was an exception, however, because it was smart. It ate seeds rather early. Some babies mature faster. Some are not. I have those as well and even in their 4th week, some of them just pecked on seeds and not swallow it. So obviously we can let either nature takes it course or wean around 1 month. I wean around 1 month or 30 days or when they take perch by themselves and I know they can eat by themselves.


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## james fillbrook (Jan 2, 2009)

thanks guys just to let you know they are both fine and eating more than they should lol i am feeding chick crumbs for baby chicks as they are small and will help the grow i am trying
to get them to eat a bit of corn but they not quite there yet
james


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## wolfwood (Jan 26, 2009)

James, you've obviously already gotten advice from the best so I won't go there...but I did notice you asked about putting the new babies with the other birds. If you are going to continue to add to your flock, you need to set up a quarantine space. You need to keep any new bird separated from your existing birds until you know FOR CERTAIN that the new birds are not carrying anything in. This is the case with any new animal of any kind - and the advice here on PT has been to quarantine birds for at least 3 weeks. You're risking ALL of your birds if you introduce newly received birds right away.


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