Nestboxes~ Can babies fall out???

[aussiegirl]

As i am a chicken breeder and am very new to pigeons, I wonder about the safety of nestboxes.
Dont the young ones fall out????? please forgive my ignorance, but it goes way against my chook nesting theories.
Chooks nest on the floor for safety reasons for the chicks.
How do pigeon chicks cope with the height?
I have a mumma pidge sitting on her 2 eggs in a nestbox attached to the wall 5 feet high. What now??will they be ok up there?
Just a thought!!!

[Grim]

They naturally nest on cliffs or in caves. The babies will sit tight for the most part until they can fly. They will move around before then but mine in particular stick to the backs of the boxes, and they understand what a drop is and won't jump out until they can fly. (assuming no other cock bird forces them out). Thats why having plenty of boxes is necessary.

[aussiegirl]

Thankyou Grim, that makes sense now!!

[eric98223]

Originally Posted by Grim

They naturally nest on cliffs or in caves. The babies will sit tight for the most part until they can fly. They will move around before then but mine in particular stick to the backs of the boxes, and they understand what a drop is and won't jump out until they can fly. (assuming no other cock bird forces them out). Thats why having plenty of boxes is necessary.

yeah grim where were you when i built my first nestboxes?? lol i attached them to the studs in my loft with no backs (not thinking because the old birds could not fit ) a baby fell through the back down one level and got cut a little by the mesh. i felt terrible!! baby was ok quickly and is all better now, i have never to my knowledge had one fall out the front of a box. they seem to know that it is a place to avoid. i usually set my babies on the floor when they start filling in under the wings usually 3-4 weeks old ..

[Grim]

Well at least he was ok. Good point though even small gaps can lead to the death of a young bird.

[TheSnipes]

Does this mean that I have been installing barrier boards for no reason? Here I worry and put up little boards across the fronts, going to the trouble of using hinges so I can open and clean in there easily, all so the babies can't stumble out the fronts of their boxes and fall to their plump little deaths...only now I find out they're too smart for that

[Grim]

It can't hurt though better to be safe then sorry.

[warriec]

1 in 20 babies fall out of there nest box. each of my nest box have a 3 inch ledge. its rare and you should not worry much

[Snowbird Sue]

Yes, they do fall out of the nest. I have had it happen to me.

[Lovebirds]

The only babies I've ever had "fall" out of the nest, didn't actually fall but were pushed off of the perch that serves as the door on some of my boxes. By the time they are old enough to start wondering around in the box, they can, even if they DO fall, flap their wings good enough to break the fall. It's instinctual. Barriers certainly don't hurt and are a good thing to have "just in case". My individual breeding pens just have shelves with no barrier and I've never had a baby fall off of them. The main problem would be, IF they do fall, fly, jump, get pushed,......whatever, they are stuck on the floor as they can't get back to their box.

[Snowbird Sue]

Baby pigeons do fall out of the nest. They don't have to be pushed, but sometimes if they get brave, and sit on the edge, they can fall out, and they don't need to be pushed.

[jojo67]

i have them enclosed so they can't fall out if hey get pushed are whatever, but i was thinking if you had'nt the fronts, another cock could get to them easy and maybe do harm. at least with the closed front it gives the young a bit of protection when the parents birds are out of the nest. I would be afraid of them falling too if had'nt the fronts. as lovebirds said if one fell out onto the floor it would'nt be able to get back to the nest, it would only take a minute for another bird to do harm if the fall did'nt.

[Snowbird Sue]

Originally Posted by jojo67

i have them enclosed so they can't fall out if hey get pushed are whatever, but i was thinking if you had'nt the fronts, another cock could get to them easy and maybe do harm. at least with the closed front it gives the young a bit of protection when the parents birds are out of the nest. I would be afraid of them falling too if had'nt the fronts. as lovebirds said if one fell out onto the floor it would'nt be able to get back to the nest, it would only take a minute for another bird to do harm if the fall did'nt.

Yes, the first time my birds set, I didn't have the "nest boxes".... I was quite misinformed, and only used a nest with straw. Poor little guy didn't have his "wings" at the time. Now, I have the nest boxes, with the nest inside, and the babies can't fall "out" of them. BUT, in a regular "nest", on a shelf, they sure do. I guess we have to learn by our mistakes.

[aussiegirl]

Originally Posted by Snowbird Sue

Yes, the first time my birds set, I didn't have the "nest boxes".... I was quite misinformed, and only used a nest with straw. Poor little guy didn't have his "wings" at the time. Now, I have the nest boxes, with the nest inside, and the babies can't fall "out" of them. BUT, in a regular "nest", on a shelf, they sure do. I guess we have to learn by our mistakes.

Have your nestboxes got the opening at the top?,
Mine are now 3 weeks old and getting really feathered out. Their box is 4ft high to guard against rats etc. Im worried about them not being able to get back up if they fall out or when they first fly down to floor.
Im not going to move the nest down for fear of the parents abandoning them.
Perhaps if i build a ledge underneath the box so they can have a broken fall?

[Pigeon lower]

i have a full box only open in the front and it has a bar across about a inch off sorta so they can not get over it and parents to roost on it