they've done it again! only worse.

[Kittycat784]

Hi all,

I have a pair of ringneck doves that lay eggs everyonce in a while. Though they lay two only one will hatch. this doesn't bother me at all just one less mouth I have to feed. This time both eggs hatched! I was estatic! I woke up the other morning though to find that the parents have ababdoned one chick . the poor thing was half frozen in one corner of the cage. I tried putting it back by the bird who was sitting on them at the time. but they just completley Ignore it, and take care of it's larger sibling. my father says I should just put it outside and let it die but i can't do that so I decided to take care of it myself. i need some tips if anybody has ever raised any sort of chicks before it would be helpful. so far i went to the pet store and bought some hand-feed formula. The baby is only about 1 1/2 - 2 inches long and I normally feed it 2 cc's of this food, and feed it about 4 times a day. I water it alot so it doesn't dry out and keep it on a heating pad turned to low (somewhere between 60-80 degrees F.) dependeing on the time of day. it seems to be doing well. but if anybody has any tips it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks.

 

[galeogirl]

http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/Recipes/handrearingformula.htm

I found this with a google search on "handrearing" and "dove". Hope it helps.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

First off, I don't have any real clue about birds but since they are doves it strikes me that you could possibly run to an anglers shop and buy a little jar with worms. Won't hurt I guess to throw in a few of these. I only assume that worms could be a part of doves diet in the wild.

Re one of them being kicked out - may it be so that that particular kind of dove always does that? Lay 2 eggs in order to be able to pick the stronger baby for rearing? Might it even have been the stronger brother who kicked the weaker one out? Because that happens with quite a number of birds, that the strong kick out the weak so that they can get more food thus upping the chance of at least one surviving.

 

[becca81]

I had ducks when I was little that did the same thing. A few hatched, but one was set aside. We left it alone for a few days until we noticed the male trying to peck it to death. We rescued it, but it died several days later.

In hindsight, we assumed that the parents knew there was something wrong with the baby and focused on the healthy babies. A weak duck was probably not going to be able to thrive and ensure the survival of its species. There was no purpose (to its species) for it to live, which is why I think the male duck was trying to kill it.

 

[Kittycat784]

Thanks, galeo for the site that was helpful. :worship:
I've heard of parents kicking out the babies because one is weak (i used to raise chickens) but I'm not sure if it is because the parents know if there is anything wrong or if it is just because the one is so big that they forgot this one. anyhoo I'll be trying my best to take care of it and if it dies then that is sad but at least I tried unlike my dad.

thanks for all your help.