Baby pigeons cannot feed on their own, they are fully dependent on their parents. Both parents take care of the babies and feed them until the babies are able to feed themselves.
How do parent pigeons feed a baby?
During the first 2 weeks, the digestive system of a baby pigeon is too fragile to digest seeds and grains. The parent pigeons eat grains and seeds and wait until the seeds and grains break down into an easily-digestible form called pigeon milk, also called crop milk. Unlike animals, pigeons do not have any mammary glands neither this milk is lactose-rich. Pigeons start producing pigeon milk almost 2 days before the chicks hatch out. [1]
To feed pigeon milk to baby pigeons, the parent birds open their beak and let the baby put its beak inside their mouth. The parent birds regurgitate pigeon milk and the baby swallows the feed. The pigeon milk can be clearly seen in the baby’s stomach, it looks like a yellow paste. As pigeon milk is easy to digest, it passes through their system and also provides them with necessary nourishment.
Usually, by the end of 1st week, you can observe the parent pigeons start feeding the baby less-digested feed. The grains and seeds start appearing in the baby’s stomach but at this time, the baby can digest them.
Do baby pigeons eat the same food in the wild, in captivity, and city?
Yes, the diet of baby pigeons is no different in the wild, in captivity, and in the city. The parent birds feed the babies pigeon milk in all environments. Once the baby fledges, it starts feeding itself.
If you are wondering what do baby pigeons eat when they grow up? They eat seeds and grains but they can also eat dry fruits, fruits, vegetables, homemade food and several other things.
When do baby pigeons start feeding themselves?
Usually, baby pigeons start feeding themselves when they are 4 weeks old. But during this time, the babies are still dependent on their parents. They become completely independent when they are 6-8 weeks old and by this time they can fly well.
What to feed an abandoned baby pigeon that you have just found?
If you have recently found an abandoned or orphaned pigeon baby, you need to feed it. Since pigeon babies cannot feed themselves during the first few weeks, they can die of hunger if not fed for several hours. Hand-feeding a baby pigeon with a homemade syringe feeder is no difficult, you can make the feed and the feeder at home.
Also, read this article on How to Take Care of an Abandoned Baby Pigeon to know other aspects of care.
Final Thoughts
The diet and feeding behavior of baby pigeons is somewhat the same as parrot and sparow babies. They take the feed from the parent birds for the first few weeks and then they start going out with the flock to look for seeds and grains.
I tried to explain everything about baby pigeon diet, if there is anything that you’d like to ask, feel free to ask in the comments.
Bilal is a freelance writer and a content creator. He has been in the pigeon hobby for over 15 years. His deep interest in pigeon keeping enabled him to explore the development of various pigeon breeds and share them with the community.
