Small youngsters

[REDCHEQHEN]

We bought two pairs of birds for stock - although the cocks are 08 - the hens are 09 - and possibly latebreds at that. One of the hens laid 2 quite small eggs, but they have hatched out - the youngsters were very tiny and at a week old tomorrow - I daresay it will be another week before they will be big enough to ring. I might add that it is highly likely that the hen was egg bound for a few days - as she laid both eggs the same day - and they hatched only 2 weeks (14 days ) after being laid - though the eggs were clean. The other pairs first eggs were clear. The youngsters are healthy looking - but still look about 2 or 3 days old as they were so small to start with - are they worth persevering with do you think?

[ALF]

If they were mine Susan i would get rid of to tell you the truth

[owen101]

was told little youngshoude weeded out straight away

[Novice]

Hatching after 2 weeks is outwith my experience but as you say may be due to being egg bound.

My feeling is the youngsters will be of little use as racers but I would be tempted to let them survive simply to see how they do.

[Guest IB]

Sounds like these eggs began incubating while still inside the hen. Think it was Zolt? (co-author of 'vets tips for pigeon fanciers') that had a case of this, the  autopsy pics (gruesome) were on his website.

 

If they are normal, thriving youngsters, honestly see no reason to worry about their size.

[Guest Owen]

I am sorry, but if you are trying to breed racing pigeons, these youngsters are unlikely to be any good. It is not easy to win pigeon races and only the best of pigeons can do it. Birds that are weak and underdeveloped will have very little chance of achieving anything. On the other hand, it is sometimes nice to just enjoy looking after birds. And it is not always neccessary to want to win. So I would say that, if you want to be a top flyer, you will need to get rid of weaklings. If you want to enjoy keeping pigeons then there is no reason why you can not enjoy these little chaps.

[Glancy+Jones]

i agree with owen 100%

[jimmy white]

i havent seen many yb,s that havent had a perfect start in life really come to anything, but as with pigeons, who knows ,,

[north wales novice-]

i agree with Owen and Jimmy Whites posts and have great admiration for their knowledge ... but beleive they are both being too polite . my way would be to do away with them , and i am as a soft as a brush .      andy .

[cheq hedgehog]

leave them be till thay grow i heard a old timer say that his partner in the sport ta kill a little runt in the nest before half the size of its nest mate and he went against him and the bird turned out ta be the best bird he ever owed true story

[blaz]

:)birds win all shapes and sizes hear are 3 ways to see if birds are any good   one of the best pigeons i have is one of the smallest.best of luck with them

[mackems]

good stuff in little bundles give them a chance there is always a story to tell behind a true champion  :-/

[Guest ROCKYandRAMBO]

id put them in the bin , if there weak now they will only cause you more trouble in the end and it costs the same to feed a bad pigeon as it does a gd one

[Guest mick bowler]

It all depends on yourself IMO. You have to be happy with the birds you have. I never keep any bird i have doubts over, especially YBs, i want to walk in the loft and enjoy the experience and not be looking at the negatives, and experience has taught me these sames ones, 9 from 10 times, will fail at what they are there to do..

[REDCHEQHEN]

If I was ever bothered about the cost of pigeon racing I would give up!

 

I took photos this morning - these are only babies I've got at the moment

 

 

[Guest mick bowler]

They look ok, have you rung them???

[REDCHEQHEN]

They look ok, have you rung them???

 

the 7 day old ones - no - they appear to have doubled in size overnight LOL !! (all the maples have disappeared!)

 

The 11 day old ones were rung several days ago

[Guest mick bowler]

JUst give them a go, see how they come out. I dont really ever go by how old they are, as have found different birds and families have different growth rates, but i do not like "retarded" babies and thats the ones that are sprouting feathers when undersized, they look odd, with their "bulging eyes too.

[Guest j.bamling]

They look Fine susan

funny things can happen with breeding from latebreds

If it was me i would let them grow & see what the feathering is like that will tell you more but they look ok to me

[Guest j.bamling]

Looking at the first pic 7 days old they will want ringing tomorrow so 8 days is normal for some familys of pigeons i have some myself what need to be ringed at this age i also have some what need to be ringed 2 days earlier than this but the parents of these

have legs like david beckham  ;D ;D

[Guest lvlasked]

a bit harsh to call a undersized doo a "Retarded" would you like it if your chil was Retarded Every Living Person Or Animal in the world as the right to live on earth

[budgie]

They will be fine Champions come in all shapes and sizes.

[Guest IB]

Auto-suggestion in some minds linking small with weak and sickly. These birds aren't said to be either weak or sickly. They are said to be small, they have still to come to 'the second big spurt' phase, and small pigeons are as good as any other.

[Guest Owen]

Susan, now that I have seen your birds, they look to be fine. The time to worry is when they are constantly squeaking for food. Or if their crops are empty and they are squirting liquid droppings everywhere.

I think I would give them a chance, if they appear to be contented. If you have had this family of birds for some time, you ought to be able to see a patern in there rate of growth. My own birds grow quite fast and I have to ring them at 6 days. But I am used to it and I am prepared most of the time. I have to confess that I have a pot of Vasoline in the shed, in case I am a bit slow. If you want some tips on feeding babies, pm me and I will tell you how to speed their growth rate up.

Best of luck

Owen

[clocky]

Give them a chance