baby pigeons- do i need to keep them warm and fed?

[clawsywp]

2 pigeons had a nest on the balcony

the babies are getting bigger. still lots yellow fur and bald underneath but grey feather quils are very starting to grow. not much thu. they still real babies.
the mummy pigeon i noticed wasnt there today. she was there last night i think but not certain. tonight she is not there. i cant remeber if i saw the father pigeon here today or not. he usually is not around at night time and its the mother pigeon who is.
But i was lying in bed and remebered oh i better check the baby pigeons see if their mother has turned up.

nope they are in the flower pot nest she made all by themselves. and its almsot 12am. it is chilly outside. i went to feel them and a lot of heat is coming off them.
i am worried about their health in the cold all night. it is not freezing but i need a jumper outside and its chilly and they got no real feathers.

so i have made a ehat pad and put them on it and in the airing cupboard and turned the thermostate up so it stays warm in there.

I dont want to take the babies away from teh parents but i cant sleep at night thinking they are cold out there and no mother keeping them warm.

I also worry about feeding them. they pecking at my fingers for food. i have a syringe and baby rice waiting to cool. but i have not ever fed such baby pigeons, and i am scared i will hurt them.
should i try feeding them tonight? they look like this age i would say.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur...&ct=image&cd=1


I am going to try get up at dawn (EUGH) and put them back and hope and pray mother turns up to feed them. the fatehr doesnt usually turn up until later on in teh day.

Help any advice about making sure the parents stay with them please?

[Feefo]

How old are they now Simone? The parents stop sitting on them when they are 10-14 days old, then they keep their distance returning only to feed them.

Cynthia

[clawsywp]

hey cynthia can u wait 1 min i will show u a photo. i wrote down whwen they hatched but i cant find it now

[Lovebirds]

The weather underground says it's 61 degrees there. The babies, if they are as old as the picture should be just fine outside.

[clawsywp]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clawsywp/?saved=1

is 2 photos of one

[clawsywp]

feels colder than 16, 16 is balmy this aint balmy. it says teh lwo should be 15, what temp is too low for baby pigeons?

How come the parents leave the babies by themselves over night? I mean the parents are not any where in sight at all. Is that normal?

I will put them back outside if u think that is best, but it is a bit chilly dont feel 16 out there.

I just dont want nightmares of baby pigeons dying out there while i am happy in bed all safe.

thanks...... is there anything i need to know about them growing up so i dont worry?

[Lovebirds]

Since you've got them inside already, it won't hurt anything.........you just should make sure they are back at "home" before Mom or Dad show up in the morning.

[clawsywp]

yeh but i am going to have to leave them other nights lol. I just worry and i couldnt have it on my concience if mother pigeon was hurt or something and they died from cold or something.
dawn is at 4.30am EUGH
i wrote down when they hatched but cant find the bit of paper.

[clawsywp]

thanks both of u for the help. I am a pigeon novice and have no idea of their lives how they do stuff

[Lovebirds]

If the parents aren't feeding them, then that's different. But at this age, the parents begin to leave them alone more and more. I raise babies in Jan, Feb and March. It's WAY colder than 61.........more like 31 degrees........and my babies do just fine. Your's are even down in a flower pot so the wind doesn't get to them and with two of them....they'll stay warm. Really they will. And every day they'll get more feathers.

[clawsywp]

i will pop them back outside now then. you saw the photos of them right?
They jsut sseem so tiny and fragile and to me it seems even a chill in the air wouldnt be nice for them. I freaked out thinking the parents had run into trouble or something, had no idea they leave so much.

im going to pop them outside now then as i cannot be certain i will wake up at 4.20am,. which is dawn, do the parents show up at dawn? thats only like 4 hours away now anyways.

thjanks a bunch

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by clawsywp

i will pop them back outside now then. you saw the photos of them right?
They jsut sseem so tiny and fragile and to me it seems even a chill in the air wouldnt be nice for them. I freaked out thinking the parents had run into trouble or something, had no idea they leave so much.

im going to pop them outside now then as i cannot be certain i will wake up at 4.20am,. which is dawn, do the parents show up at dawn? thats only like 4 hours away now anyways.

thjanks a bunch

Dawn, or close to it. Soon as they find some food, they'll come to feed the babies. Go get some sleep. The babies will be fine.

[clawsywp]

ok thank you
yeh need sleep thanks a bunch for the advice.
just seems wierd the paretns dont sleep near the babies. the mother used to sit on the nest and the father obviously spendng the night else wehere. i guess she has gone back to where he is.
just seems wierd they leave the babies so far away on my balcony

[amyable]

Hi Simone,

I imagine you getting some much needed sleep right now.
Funny how you're the one sitting up worrying about the babies and the parents are out there somewhere having a good night's sleep !!!! Well hopefully.
Look forward to hearing how they went on and if they came back today.

Janet

[Feefo]

just seems wierd the paretns dont sleep near the babies.

I think that it is to avoid drawing attention to the nest, to keep predators away.

I know that the babies were still eggs on 15 July, but you didn't send out a hatch announcement!!!!

Cynthia