Babies on my balcony

[LisaInToronto]

Hi! A new pigeon chick (squab?) just hatched on my balcony this afternoon (very exciting!!!). The baby is so cute! It looks like a little orange piece of fluff flopping around out there in the flower pot. I've been reading up a little bit on your site to get myself up to speed on pigeons, but I'm totally new to this.
I'm a bit concerned because:
1) This is early. The second egg (there are two in the clutch) arrived on July 16, so I thought that made our due date Aug 4;
2) The second egg has not yet hatched. Is it normal that there would be a delay?; and
3) When I discovered the baby, the parents were not there and did not return for about 15 minutes. Is it normal for them to leave a new baby unattended?
...Another interesting thing: The parents did not build a nest, they just used a flower pot on my balcony. Is this the urban bird's instant condo? Or could this indicate a problem? Sorry, that was a lot of questions. Any info is welcome! Thanks!

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Lisa and welcome to the forum

Thank you for taking an interest in the pigeon family on your balcony. They are fun to watch aren't they?

To answer your questions briefly...The second egg should hatch anytime now if it's viable. However if the first egg was incubated from the day it hatched, it's possible for the second one to hatch up to 40 hours later. This would be unusual though. If after 2 days it hasn't hatched, it probably won't.

The parents will leave the nest for short times to feed and drink but for the most part, with new squab(s), there should always be a parent on the nest. Keep on eye on this if you can.

Pigeons are not known for their nest building skills. Often it's just a loose pile of twigs placed in a corner but in your case, the flower pot was easier for them. Flower pots on balconies seem to catch their fancy a lot as many members have mentioned this.

Well, welcome again and have fun watching the pigeons, try to keep the activity to a minimum out there for about a week and watch discretely. After about a week, the parents will leave the babies for longer periods of time but it's nothing to be concerned about.

Keep us posted

[Reti]

Congratulations on the new baby.

The second egg might hatch even 24 hours later, so no worry yet.
Rarely the parents leave the babies unattendet at least not until they are 10 days old. They might had gone to eat, who knows, or maybe something scared them off.
Pigeons don't build great nests, some of them don't build at all, so this is also normal.

Enjoy the babies., they are much fun to watch grow.

Reti

[LisaInToronto]

Hi Brad and Reti,
Thank you for the information. I'm happy to say the second squab arrived on August 2 and both are doing well. The parents are often not with them, but they do not go very far - only to the neighbouring wall of the building. They seem to be on guard, at least. I'll have a pic for you soon.
I'm curious about the idea that the first chick is often male. Is this true? If the sex-determination was genetic, the odds would have to be 50:50. But I know some reptiles have environmental sex-determination so maybe these birds do too?
Lisa

[LisaInToronto]

I should also mention I have two saucer-eyed cats who are quite interested in the new guests (and are, of course, officially banned from the balcony). This may be why the parents are keeping a bit of distance.

[pdpbison]

Hi LizInToronto,

You could set a large shallow Bowl of Water near the nest for the parents to bathe in if they like...

Unless your area affords easy bath times for them somehow otherwise.

Humid underfeathers are their manner of keeping the Eggs ( or Egg, now) humidified for easier hatching...

Phil
Las Vegas

[Trees Gray]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for your interest and concern over the babies.

Yes, cats are one of their most lethal enemies, as they're bite will kill not only from damage to tissue but from deadly bacteria that requires immediate antibiotics.

Treesa

[LisaInToronto]

Hi there,
I put out a little dish of water - thanks for the advice. It's a bit odd that I've been keeping an eye on the squabs the whole day but have not yet seen the parents today. I put a small dish of watered-down cereal right beside the squabs in case the poor things are hungry and dehydrated after a full day of neglect. I haven't seen them touch it yet, though. I hope the parents come back tonight. I'll keep you posted.
Lisa

[LisaInToronto]

5:35pm EST: Mom is back. Thank god.

[Reti]

As the babies grow the parents will leave them for longer periods of time.
Just keep an eye on them and make sure someone is coming to feed them.

They are still too young to feed themselves. When they are about three weeks old you can start offering the babies some food and water.

Reti

[LisaInToronto]

Thanks, Reti. They look good today. The bigger one is even starting to stand. I took away the cereal, which they did not touch, and refilled the water bowl because the parents seem to be making use of it.

[LisaInToronto]

The smaller one is dead this morning.
S/he (I suspect she) hadn't been growing nearly as much as the other squab, and it seemed like the bigger one fared better at the feedings too. Also, the little one's feathers were not coming in nealry as much as the bigger one.
I guess I should go take her out of the nest.

[Trees Gray]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for your care and concern over these feral babies.

So sorry to hear the news, it is sad to see this.

Sometimes the older babies take the advantage and get all the food first, and thrive and grow. This happens because the first egg hatches earlier then the second.

The little one may also have been sick and the parents will sense this, and stop feeding it. Or the baby is sick and doesn't have the strength to compete with the older one for food. This is survival of the fittest.

I have seen my own babies. the biggest one, absolutely drive the parents crazy for food and will get fed everytime upon their return from the feeder. I usually remove the biggest one, then so the smaller on eats first, and after a few days of doing that, the younger one starts to catch up with the bigger one. Then they can pretty much fend for themselves.

But these are my very own domestic pigeons, so I'm able to intervene.

[Reti]

I am so sorry this happened. I have seen it a few times when I had my balcony flock.

Reti

[LisaInToronto]

Thanks for the kind words and insights. My background is in evolutionary biology, so I guess I know all about nature-red-in-tooth-and-claw, but man do I feel guilty! I was attributing the increasing gap in their growth to the sex-size dimorphism, but pulling the little one's body out of the nest today and seeing how really incredibly underdeveloped she was by comparison...
Well, at least the bigger one is strong and shows every indication he will make it. He is really looking like a pigeon now, all feathers and attitude. He puffs up at me when I go out onto the balcony and bats at me with one wing when I get too close. The male parent was there to feed him this morning. I'm looking forward to seeing him helicopter around (I just hope he knows enough to stay away from the edge - the 18th floor doesn't leave much room for error).

Hmm... maybe I'll put up a barrier along the edge at the bottom...