How Long Till Hatch?

[Guest skippersworld]

I recently bought 3 white fantail pigeons! only had them 2 weeks and to my surprise have a egg laid, not 100% sure if there is only one or two as didnt want to disturb to much!! Once eggs are laid, how long roughly till hatching? Thanks guys =]

[OLDYELLOW]

between 16 to 21 days

[Guest skippersworld]

Longer than i thought, do they always lay 2 eggs orrr????

[Guest cloud 9]

if there ends up 6 eggs u know u got 3 hens

[Guest skippersworld]

So 1 hen will only lay 2 eggs is what your saying!?!?!!

[Guest cloud 9]

ya mate , ive known a hen to lay 3 eggs ,only ever lay 2

[OLDYELLOW]

well if you havent got a pair of both sexes then maybe wise to let them hatch the eggs as may of been fertilised by other birds where you bought them

[Guest IB]

Just posting to make sure that you know the pigeon lays one egg (day1) , skips a day (day2), then lays her second egg (day3). Apologies if you already knew that. If you count 17 days from day2, and check the eggs then, you will probably hear the youngsters inside chipping their way out.

 

Having said all that, it is the wrong time of year for breeding.

[Guest skippersworld]

Thanks for that IB, werent sure of that, complete newbie with all this! Will check in morning if there is one or two eggs! Why is it the wrong time for breeding may i ask?? Thanks again.

[b.massey]

Because its so cold in winter to rear young... Early breeders usually have heaters in loft

[Guest skippersworld]

Was gonna guess that =] Ok, well i dont have heating in there but best way of helping them as i have no way of getting heating in here? Thanks.

[Guest IB]

Thanks for that IB, werent sure of that, complete newbie with all this! Will check in morning if there is one or two eggs! Why is it the wrong time for breeding may i ask?? Thanks again.

 

Daylight hours continue to get shorter until end of December. It will continue to get colder - until February? Unless you have special heat & light facilities, the pigeon is unlikely to sit (incubate) the eggs during very cold nights, the eggs will get chilled and the youngster inside will die. If she does sit at night, and eggs do hatch out, it will still be the coldest, darkest time of the year and again she may not cover the youngster during cold nights, if that happens the youngster cannot maintain its own body heat, it will get chilled and die in minutes.

 

It's much easier to breed when the rest of nature is doing the same, when it starts warming up, and daylight hours are getting longer. It'll be a lot easier on you looking after them too.

[Guest skippersworld]

Ok thank you IB, hopefully nature will take its course!! Anything to do for me to help out?? Fill up the nest with hay every so often or something you to help a bit?

[Guest IB]

Ok thank you IB, hopefully nature will take its course!! Anything to do for me to help out?? Fill up the nest with hay every so often or something you to help a bit?

 

You usually provide a nestbowl and straw, the bird will build its own nest on top of the nestbowl. As your hen has already laid, just put down straw or hay or whatever you can get (make sure its dry) in front of the birds, they'll do the rest.

[Guest skippersworld]

Ok, well ive got 1 nest box in there atm, quite a good size which i packed with straw, will keep adding moring throughout and let them do the rest!! Thanks for the advice!! Hopefully there weather stays ok for um =]