Babies! Yay

[malfunctional]

Glad you like them. The wife's under strict instructions has been taking the photos while I'm away. One per day to watch the babies grow. Apparently she now has to physically touch the parents to push them off the nest. I guess they are far less scared of her than of me. So the pics are from close up, hence the quality. I'm still away for another 10 days or so, but I'll be sure to give a good update once I've figured them out. They still need names...

[Siam Sam]

Ah, I see. I thought maybe your business trip had been cancelled.

That is impressive your wife can touch the parents. Big and Little Pidgee would try to stay to guard their squabs, but if we really went too close, they abandoned ship and fled.

[Mindy]

I just found this thread, and enjoyed reading it. Actually made me smile several times. I think the pictures are great. I love the step by step, play by play of "All my Pigeons". Its like a little soap opera. Or Pigeon Opera I should say. Mindy

[malfunctional]

I'm back. So regular updates will happen again now. The little guys are 3 weeks old today but are still a long way off being grown up. They are quite feisty. The smaller one, which I assume is the girl loves to wing slap. I've named here Lucy. She's my first wing slapper! Usually the most any of them have done if I go near them is to try peck me.

The bigger one which I assume is the boy, I've named Joey. Joey has a white patch between his wings just like his Mom. They are really quite cute. Pretty black in all like dad at the moment, which is interesting as the squab, Ben that the parents were brining by before I left was quite a brown colour. I haven't seen Ben, but the wife showed me a video she had taken of Dad angrily chasing another pigeon away. It looked like Ben, but it was difficult to tell.

As for the wife touching the parents, there is more of an explanation. Mom is on the nest at night (or was as they are now old enough to be on their own). So Mom is usually there in the morning when the wife gets up to go to work, feed the pigeons and take the daily photo. Mom of course had completely worked out the drill and would scoot over in the morning for a few seconds for the photo. Then it came to the weekend and the wife slept in a bit. Dad was now on the nest and knew nothing of the routine. He was protecting his kids and didn't understand about the photos, so he stayed put. That's why he actually had to be touched.

Dad still hates to be watched especially when it comes to feeding. He has however worked out my mirror trick. I put a small mirror inside my lounge at the appropriate angle so that I could see the nest without them seeing me. Unfortunately this now doesn't work. Dad gawks whenever I look into the mirror as he can see me just as well from inside. Clever pigeons. I'll have to leave them alone more.

Mom and Dad are still both feeding them, which is good. I thought Mom would have stopped by now. She did with the last batch. She doesn't feed them as much, but she does still feed them. Dad seems to feed them every 30 minutes or so. This seems to be too much but I think it has a lot to do with Dad's food container being within nest sight of the squabs. They see him and cry and he gives in and feeds them a little. Not too much though.

Mom, Dad, Bangers and Abby were all around for food this morning. I haven't seen any stranger pigeons so I guess I can safely say for the moment that the raised food dish has not attracted strays. But just as I wrote this Silverfoot came past. I noticed this as the squabs were screeching for food so I thought one of the parents was back, but it was Silverfoot. Silverfoot is a feral I noticed here several weeks ago, enjoying the free food. I didn't want a pigeon invasion so I chased him away every time he came past. This didn't really help and if he's back now he's been around the entire time I've been away. He is called Silverfoot as I tagged him with silver tape around his leg. The name stuck. It is interesting that the squabs cry when he comes past as they are dead quiet when Bangers and Abby come for food.

From my calculations Bangers and Abby's squabs are around 5 weeks old now. Pretty soon they'll be bringing them around here for some food when they first leave the nest. I'm looking forward to that.

Mom just stopped by to feed them again. That's about 5 feedings in the last 2 hours. They certainly are hungry balls of feathers.

[malfunctional]

Funny thing happened this morning. Mom and Dad seem to have been feeding the youngsters very regularly for the last couple of days. I would say almost every 20 min or so. Today I hadn't heard a squeak out of the little ones before 10am so I went out to check on them. Sure enough they hadn't been fed and neither had Mom and Dad's food been touched.

I saw a pigeon making a bee line for me from a distance, so I headed inside again. Sure enough it was Dad who had seen me and was coming in to protect and feed the youngsters. Then a scrawly, skinny, strange looking pigeon arrive right after him. Another squab I wondered, but then I realised it was Mom. She had obviously found a good place for a bath and had been enjoying herself. She looked far too wet to be able to fly, but it certainly didn't stop her.

The squabs are doing well. Joey is noticeably bigger than Lucy so I think I have the sexes right. They are still only hanging out in the safety zone-the nest. They have been doing wing flaps and stretches and walking around a little in their confined space. I moved one of the plastic struts away on the basket they are in as it keeps catching their wings during exercise.

So when do they leave the nest to run around? I was away for this week with the last squabs and when I came back they were running around enjoying themselves on the balcony and messing everywhere. I think it will be soon though as Joey has been making forlorn looks over the edge of the pot. Then again he usually turns around, scoots his bum out and makes a deposit over the edge. Perhaps that is all that is on his mind. Who knows with pigeons?

Some things seem a little different with these two compared to the last. Perhaps Mom and Dad are a little more experienced, but they seem to spend a lot more time here. In fact with the last bunch, when I eventually saw Mom after she stopped staying over, I didn't even recognise her. Then again they could perhaps have been on another nest as well last time.

I've seen Joey bullying Lucy. Pecking at her. Not too much. Perhaps he bullies past her for more food, hence his size. Mom and Dad stop feeding if I try watch. Yesterday I took her out of the nest for a little while. Messing with nature I know, but I felt a little sorry for her. She was absolutely terrified of me as can be expected but clung to me as much as she could. Obviously they are really scared of heights at this age, which is a good thing and should keep them out of mischief. I put her down on the ground and could see that she was a little shaky on her feet. I now understand how easily splayed leg comes about. She leant against a door to keep her footing and it worked. I put a towel down and she quickly realised she could walk easily on it and darted straight off back to her nest. Unfortunately the pot is a little high for her to climb into directly. She just stood panicked at the edge of the pot. I made a little step to help her climb in, moved her a few feet away and she figured it out first time, headed straight back for the pot and climbed in. Wow, they learn so fast.

[malfunctional]

They learn so fast!

Mom and Dad have been feeding the little ones far less today. I'm not sure why, but I heard them pecking around in their nest. I figure seeing as Dad eats within eye shot of them, they have figured out how to peck for food a lot earlier than usual. Anyway I put a few tiny seeds in their nest with them, and they were gone in no times. They are weaned before even leaving the nest!

[malfunctional]

Lucy has actually obtained an advantage from being bullied. She now knows how to climb back into the nest so she is now now afraid to leave it. This means that when it comes to feeding time and Joey pushes her out of the way to get more food, she just waits and then follows Mom or Dad when they leave the nest. She gets fed outside the nest and can get as much food as Mom or Dad will allow without being bullied out of the way.

On another note, I'm starting to think that Silverfoot is in fact Mash. They look very similar, but are both pretty nondescript. Just plain average pigeon looking. Mash is pretty easy to catch so someone might have caught her and removed her tags, which is why I didn't recognise her. Well that and the fact she had put on a lot of weight. Maybe who ever found her fed her kept her for awhile and fed her well. It seems like a logical explanation. I've been going through photos to try and confirm this, but as I say there are no distinguishing marks, like all my other birds. It certainly explains why one stranger has been hanging around, when I've never had any strangers before.

[goga82]

awwwwwwww
i want more picturessss
ok
pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
i love baby pic
and i see u love those babies

[malfunctional]

More pictures to come soon. Babies are doing well. Lucy, the little one that I taught how to get in and out of the nest has been running around chasing the parents for food. Joey still hasn't moved from the nest. He does stand on the edge and flap his wings wildly. the parents feed them really regularly. None of this waiting for the crop to empty stuff. I don't think Joey's crop has every been empty. Lucy's is always a more manageable size though. Dad has taken to watching his babies quietly from the balcony above. They are right at the edge of the balcony so he can see them well from up there.

Mom is still around and feeding the babies too. Not as often as Dad, but with the last litter she was not around at all. Dad is still guarding the balcony with vigor. Today he was nowhere to be seen and I put out some peanuts and he was there scoffing them away within seconds. Also Bangers and Abby arrived and he was chasing them away before they even landed. Bangers and Abby have become quite braze and desperate for food. They'll eat away for as long as they can bear it with Dad pecking away at them, just to get a few bites.

Pics to come soon. I need a better way of posting them though, as this site only allows 1meg so I have to delete a few of the others first.

[malfunctional]

Bangers and Abby are on egg duty again. That was quick. Their last batch must have just left the nest. They would be 6 weeks old now, so I guess being spring and all it's time for them to make newbies.

As for the little ones on my balcony... Joey still hasn't left the nest yet and Lucy is happily eating on her own with Dad. I think Joey is just lazy.

[malfunctional]

Here is a photo of the little ones. Joey is the puffier one on the left. He also has way more baby fluff than Lucy. Say "Hi"

[malfunctional]

Joey finally got the courage up to leave the nest this morning. He chased Dad around the balcony doing helicopters like a crazy thing. He was flapping his wings for a good couple of minutes. Unfortunately he couldn't climb back in again so I gave him a little help.

[malfunctional]

More eggs may well be on the way on my balcony. Mom and Dad today spent a good deal of time cooing away to each other in the bucket next to the chicks. It's quite a scene. I wish I could photo it, but I don't want to disturb them. Mom and Dad are deep in the bucket with their heads down and their tails out. The chicks are right next to them in the original nest. Joey is crying away for food but Mom and Dad are just enjoying each other's company. Mom makes the strangest cooing noises, quite distinct from Dad's. They are a higher pitched more moaning like sounds.

[malfunctional]

Here is a really cute pic of Lucy. She discovered that the floor in the sun was warm, so she just collapsed and lay there. Isn't she adorable

[malfunctional]

A morning of screaming. Joey has now discovered that he is able to leave the nest. He hasn't quite figured out how to climb back in though so yesterday evening he was sleeping next to it when I got home. Very cute but I put in with his sister none the less. So now that he gets out he runs around chasing Dad for food all the time and screaming like a mad thing. I just wish Dad would feed him to keep him quiet. Lucy on the other hand just eats out of the food bowl with Mom and Dad. She is clearly a step up on the pigeon ladder.