If you know the developmental features of the pigeon chicks, you can determine its age with great accuracy. The chick grows quite quickly, so its appearance changes dramatically in a very short time.
Pigeons have always been not only favorites, but also human helpers. In those days when there were no means of communication, carrier pigeons were especially revered. Currently, lovers of these birds keep them in special rooms - dovecotes, hold competitions between their pets, and breed various decorative breeds.
Features of the behavior of pigeons
These birds quickly get used to their dovecote and never leave it for a long time. In the first year of life, the pigeon finds a mate with which it remains all its life. The relationship between male and female is warm, they always stick together: both while searching for food and in flight. If, for breeding purposes, the pigeon breeder transplants the female into another nest, she invariably returns to her “spouse” after the chicks appear.
About pigeons
Both in captivity and in the "wild" life, each pair of pigeons makes their own nest, which other relatives have no right to occupy. As a rule, the female lays 1-2 eggs, of which chicks appear after 20 days. They do not look very attractive: dark pink skin in small folds, eyes covered with bluish eyelids, beak disproportionately large.
After hatching, the male takes the shells that are no longer needed from the nest. Small pigeons in the first hours of their life have a very weak feather cover. The body of the chick is covered with so few thin feathers that it needs vital heating for it. Parents take turns covering their cubs with their bodies, thereby giving them warmth and protection from the hot sun rays.
The development of chicks is uneven: in the first couple of days, the bulk of the body weight is gained, after which the rate of its growth decreases. The beak grows fastest in pigeons. Within a couple of weeks after birth, it reaches the same size as that of an adult bird. The age of a chick can be determined as follows: if his eyes are completely open, then he is 8-9 days old. If its body has begun to be evenly covered with short fluffy feathers, then the chick is 6-7 days old.
By the end of the first month of life, the bird completely has a uniform dense feather cover. In the same period, the piglet begins to flip from place to place, training its wings and preparing for the first flight. At 7 weeks, he begins to molt and "baby" feathers are replaced by stronger ones. Pigeons grow quickly: after 1-1.5 months they begin to fly, and in 2-3 months they coo. This moment marks the beginning of maturation of the bird.
