HELP! I Found a pigeon egg!

[Eggs]

Hey guys,

I am new here, and I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I don't have time to search all the threads for all the answers. I was hoping that someone might know what to do if you find a pigeon egg. I came home from work last night, and there on my front door step was a beautiful pigeon standing next to an egg. She seemed to be gaurding it, but wasn't sitting on it. It was really weird. There was no nest of course as I would have noticed that on my way to work in the morning, so I'm assuming she had laid the egg not but a few hours before I discovered it. I tried not to disturb it, but the pigeon flew away when I approached the door, and never returned.

Anyway, I'm kind of at a loss as what to do. I live in Tokyo on the 11th floor of a tall apartment building. I'm a busy guy with little spare time, but I'm also a lover of animals and can't bring myself to just throw it away. So, I did some research and put it in a cotton box that is being heated from underneath by my computer. I know that probably makes some professional breeders' stomachs turn, but I don't know what to do. Any suggestions? If I can get my girlfriend to take care of it, what do we feed it? Or is even trying to raise such an animal impossible? Also, I haven't read anything about the safety of caring for such city dwelling animals. Is it safe? I know pigeons raised by people in more natural settings is supposed to be as safe as raising a cat, but this is Tokyo. A big, dirty, city. hehe. I love it, I really do, but you know... Thanks for any help or suggestions guys.

[christina11]

First of all from what I know this egg shall need a proper Incubator

Second if this egg does hatch it shall be ALOT of work and time taking on your life plus you need to know how to feed this baby pigeon [Squab] properly or it could lead to death and it shall have to be fed every half an hour or so at the begining.

Then if it does turn out to be a nice pigeon that grows up it shall become attatched to you and its your pet for life.Do you have cats that can harm this pigeon and will it be In a safe place house,coop,shed ect.....

Also if you know you wont have time for this egg the best thing to do would be to throw it out But...If you realy do love pigeons go for it ask some questions on feeding tips to local pigeon breeders or instead of hatching this egg you could just buy a young pigeon.

Anyway good luck.

[Lovebirds]

I may be totally off base here but...........that sounds like a young pigeon hen that got surprised by laying an egg. Our young hens will drop their eggs in the floor sometimes and then go on like nothing ever happened. I would just throw the egg out. You don't want the responsibility of a baby pigeon. They are LOTS OF WORK the first week and a half or so. That pigeon will lay her other egg or drop it somewhere else. Just one of those things.......... Thanks for caring though. Most wouldn't even give it a second thought or a first thought for that matter.

[TAWhatley]

Hi Eggs,

Welcome to Pigeon-Talk and thank you for your concern for this egg. I don't think the heat generated by the computer is going to be nearly enough for a successful incubation. The humidity also needs to be controlled and the egg turned several times a day for the first part of the incubation period. Unless you think you can come up with a better incubator set up and then be willing to totally care for the baby pigeon that might result, it's probably best to dispose of the egg.

Terry

[Eggs]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to thank you all for the great advice and kindness to a newbie. My girlfriend and I decided that we just wouldn't have the time to give this bird a proper life, so we opted to dispose of it. But then, my girlfriend was told, that if you find an egg, you can't just throw it in the trash. I guess we are supposed to contact some special animal authorities. I'm not currently living in the states as I may have already mentioned, so I don't know what exactly the rules are. Anyway we'll look into it and have it disposed of the proper way. Sure want to thank you all again. When it comes to animals I'm pretty soft, so I still feel kinda bad, but Matriarch's mention that the mother may indeed have another egg she can lay, makes me feel a little better. Thanks again everyone!

Who knows, maybe someday I'll end up having a pigeon. If only I didn't have so much dam overtime work! Maybe it's something I can do after retirement who knows.

Hoping all your lovely animals live long and healthy,

Sean.

[Trees Gray]

Hi Sean,

We appreciate your kindness and concern over this egg and its parents. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have in regards to our noble ferals that you may not have found answers to.

Thank you for your compassion, I'm glad you are in our corner and was willing to help.