Discover everything you need to know about pigeon eggs, from hatching, fertility, nutrition, to the transformation of pigeon eggs into baby pigeons. Get answers to all your questions regarding pigeon eggs in one convenient location. Learn how to determine if a pigeon egg is fertile and the process by which pigeon eggs develop into baby pigeons.
How often do pigeons lay eggs?
Figure: Blondinette pigeon
A pigeon is ready to lay eggs after six months age if it gets proper nutrition food, mineral, calcium. After hatching out from egg a baby pigeon takes at least 5 months to 6 months to lay eggs.
If the pigeon gets proper nutrient food, protein and vitamin it can lay eggs after 5 months normally 6 months time period for every pigeon.
If you do not feed your bird proper well then the time can be delayed for laying eggs. It totally depends on your care of pigeon or bird health. So, you have to be careful of your bird’s health. Is it getting proper food or not, clean water, high quality grit mixture, mineral, calcium.
You need to learn what foods you need to feed your pigeon to get lays eggs on the perfect time.
There are many facts people do not know about pigeon eggs breading. A female pigeon can lay eggs without male pigeon if you keep two female pigeon on a cage when they are at proper age to lay eggs they both will lay eggs making pair of two female pigeon.
These eggs are not ready to hatching without male pigeon contribution. Only those eggs can be eaten.
If you keep young male and female pigeon on a cage male pigeon makes wonderful sound to attract female pigeon for pairing up.
Finally female pigeon gets impressed and paired up with the male pigeon and they mates. Male pigeon releases sperms into the female at the mating time which cause the eggs fertile.
Then male female both search hatching pot where the female can lay eggs and also collect nesting material such as their own feature, straw etc.
They both makes sounds on the surface of hatching pot where they make nest for laying eggs. The male pigeon makes wonderful sounds few days on the nest and near the place before laying eggs.
The female pigeon sits on the hatching pot or nest before the day of laying egg. She only leaves the pot at the time of taking foods and water. We can call the day before laying egg preparation day.
The female pigeon gives full attention on the day of laying egg on the nest does not move anywhere.
I tested on my farm if you feed your pigeon early on the day of laying egg you will get egg early. Just make sure you put enough food and water on their feeder.
Normally pigeon lays egg at the evening 6pm-8pm according to my farm experience if you feed early you can get egg between 5pm-6pm which I observed on my farm practically.
Pigeon lays two eggs only. After the laying first egg it will lay another egg the day after tomorrow give one day space.
Figure: Pigeon hatching period
Make sure you are supplying enough food and grit, on this time female pigeon takes more grit from where she can collect calcium which makes the egg shell strong.
Collect the first egg and put an artificial egg on the nest if you are planning to hatch out the egg into baby pigeon.
The pigeon will lay another egg giving one day spacing if you do not remove the egg from the nest the male-female both pigeon will warm the egg which is called hatching but there is a problem on hatching.
Before getting the second egg first egg will be started for baby process it will start coloring red for preparing baby.
If you do not remove first egg from nest second egg baby will be born one day later from the first baby.
Pigeon has a bad nature they feed much the bigger baby day by day second baby will be tiny comparing the first baby. Because maximum parent pigeon always feed the bigger babies they do not care about small baby.
So the ideal solution is to collect first egg when female pigeon lays and put an artificial egg on the nest pot wait for the next egg when it will lay second egg just remove the artificial egg and place first egg on the nest.
Do not forget the second egg laying day mark up the calendar this will help you to determine when you will see the cute baby of pigeon.
How to tell for sure if a pigeon egg is fertile?
When you put two eggs of pigeon for hatching mark up the date the male-female both pigeon will hatch the eggs. They divide the time of hatching making two time shifting one sits on the eggs and remains the eggs warm another move here and there takes foods, fly etc.
Then shift changes another who moves here and there it sits on eggs and who was hatching wake up from pot and takes food relax. This process continues.
You pigeon lays egg but all the eggs are not fertile. If the eggs are laid paring up two female pigeon then do not waste your time on hatching. Because female female pair egg is not fertile and it will not give you baby if you hatch it for one year.
Two females will give you total four eggs they will sit there for hatching which is useless. Pigeon has no sense either it will fertile or not if they pair up with same sex female-female couple.
Only you can get fertile eggs when two young male-female pigeon coupled up. Collect the eggs and put on the hatching pot on the second day of laying egg.
Mark up the date and wait for 4-5 days. Then carefully collect the eggs check it using your mobile light or torch.
Figure: Fertile pigeon eggs
Figure: infertile pigeon egg
If you see the egg is red blood color like vain then the egg is fertile and ready for breeding. If you see the egg the color yellow no red color vein, it is not fertile egg useless.
Just through it into dustbin otherwise the innocent pigeon will hatch it taking hope for getting new babies from it.
In that case you can do two things number 1 rest the pair keeping male and female pigeon in separate cage that is the best idea. Give them at least 20-30 days rest before pairing up if you are fancier. Once a pigeon lays egg it lacks some deficiencies of vitamin, mineral and calcium also.
If you give the pigeon a long rest the deficiencies will regain and you will get high quality eggs with strong egg shell which gives a chance to fertile eggs tends to hope for new baby pigeon.
Number 2 method you can keep those two pigeons in same cage just remove the infertile eggs from hatching pot and place an artificial egg on the pot.
Figure: Artificial egg of pigeon
They will think the eggs are perfect for breeding they will hatch with full duty. You can let your pigeon hatching only 10 days which I personally recommend because when pigeon hatches on the eggs naturally crop milks produces inside their beak which they feed their baby after hatching out from eggs.
If you let the pigeon hatch the eggs after 10 days later crop milks will be produced, they could not feed the crop milk to their baby because infertile eggs can not produce baby the crop milk can without feeding can cause canker or disease to the parents pigeon.
My recommendation is if you have space problem then you can do second process for resting the pair. In this way pigeon can not get proper rest they do not eat properly food-water at the time of hatching.
Pigeon eggs how long to hatch?
Pigeon egg hatching process
Normally new babies come out from eggs after 17-19 days hatching. 16 days is rare for hatching out babies from eggs some pigeon hatches with great care and keeps warm the eggs till babies comes out.
On my experience I got new babies after 17 days hatching process maximum 18 days took on my farm for 10 years pigeon farming experience.
19 days is also rare some pigeon can not keep warm the eggs properly in such case it can be late. Taking good care of pigeon with high quality nutrient food, excellent grit, pure drinking water, proper vitamin, mineral, calcium, zinc feeding to your pigeon will give you fertile eggs which will produce strong healthy babies.
Check the eggs after 4/5 days hatching if the eggs are not fertile then throw it into the garbage it will not produce babies pigeon will work hard hatching eggs but not taking care of their own health.
Give some days at least 20 days rest providing ideal food, vitamin, mineral, calcium, zinc etc which a pigeon need to be healthy and reproduce high quality fertile eggs.
Can you touch a pigeon egg?
Yes of course you can touch pigeon eggs no problem at all. Collect the first egg when the female pigeon lays first egg place an artificial egg on the hatching pot, wait for 1 day the female will lay second egg then place first egg on the pot and remove artificial egg from hatching pot.
Do not place pigeon eggs on cold or hot temperature if you want to produce baby from it just collect the egg and place at normal temperature on a pot.
Do not keep the eggs on refrigerator or oven, keep it where the temperature remains 10-40 degree Celsius otherwise the will not remain productive for baby.
What time do pigeon eggs hatch?
Pigeon hatches eggs 24 hours for 17-19 days without taking any breaks male-female pigeon both divides the duty of hatching making shift.
One hatches other takes rest, foods, water and shift changes another takes rest and have meal with relaxation.
In this way pigeon hatches day-night duty for 17-19 days until baby comes out.
Are pigeon eggs safe to eat?
Pigeon eggs are safe to eat no problem at all. The size of pigeon egg is less than chicken eggs almost half size but the nutrition is enough comparing with the chicken egg.
Pigeon eggs have no fat having high calories according to tiny size.
You can eat pigeon eggs after boiling my personal suggestion pigeon eggs take longer time than chicken eggs boil at least 25-30 minutes for proper boiled that is from my own experience sometimes I take some pigeon eggs.
You can make fry of pigeon eggs it tastes like chicken eggs so do not worry.
Two cautions before taking pigeon eggs first if you have high allergies then do not take it, some people get allergenic after taking pigeon egg if he has.
Second caution before taking pigeon eggs make sure you are taking healthy pigeon’s egg which has no diseases. How can you confirm that very simple just look into the bird if it’s behavior is normal and toilet is normal then it is OK.
I am giving you one best tip to determine your bird or pigeon is sick or not that is just check it’s toilet if the toilet color is green, white, yellow or water color then it is sick. Normal toilets looks like grit color or strong bonded.
Figure: Normal poop of pigeon
Figure: Sick pigeon poop
Can you incubate pigeon eggs?
No incubating of pigeon eggs is not good idea. Suppose you incubate pigeon eggs after 17 days later when pigeon’s baby comes out from egg what will you give it as milk. Parents pigeon has crop milk when they hatch the eggs for 17 days inside their throat or beak.
You can incubate pigeon eggs, baby will hatch out but you can not save the baby without giving crop milk which they get from parents beat.
Figure: Mother pigeon feeding crop milk to babies (photo credit Shamim Ahmed)
Incubation is ideal for chicken or duck eggs because chicken or duck babies eat normal food when they come out from egg no need to take crop milk. That’s the main reason why you cannot incubate pigeon eggs.
How many times a year do pigeons lay eggs?
Pigeon can lay eggs weekly if you remove the eggs from hatching pot. When pigeon lays eggs it gets lacking of calcium, zinc, mineral etc. necessary component. Ideal solution is not let the pigeon laying eggs weekly, if you take egg weekly basis the eggs will not productive day by day the size of the egg will be minimized or tiny.
The health of the pigeon will be damaged so ideal is to take eggs once in a month or one time in two months is very good.
There is another factor of laying eggs which differs place to place. In cold countries breeding time less than warm countries.
The warmer weather countries have benefits that they can breed any time from their pigeon pair such as in Asian countries.
How long does it take for a pigeon to fly?
After hatching out baby pigeon takes crop milk from their parents, 6-9 days later parents pigeon feeds the babies powdered grainy foods.
Figure: 30 days old baby pigeon
25-30 days later gradually the babies learn to eat from their parents they try and finally succeeded.
30-35 days later the babies of pigeon can fly a little bit although their feature grown perfectly. The pigeon baby can fly after 40-50 days later after hatching out from the eggs of pigeon.
