9 Facts On Do Pigeon Eggs Hatch? Why, When, How

Piyali Das

9 Facts On Do Pigeon Eggs Hatch? Why, When, How

The process by which a fully formed animal comes out after egg incubation by breaking its eggshell, is known as hatching. Let us know if pigeon hatch eggs or not.

Pigeon eggs hatch and a baby Pigeon, squab comes out of it by breaking the eggshells. To make an egg hatch, continuous incubation is a must, that is why both the parent pigeons continue incubation in shifts all day long. So that their healthy offspring can come out of it

When do pigeon eggs hatch?

Egg hatching completely depends on the incubation period. Though it might vary from species to species a little. Let us know when pigeon eggs hatch.

Pigeon eggs hatch when the baby pigeon under the eggshell becomes completely developed to come out. Throughout the incubation period, the embryo of the fertilized egg gets nourishment, forms different tissues, organs, systems and develops into a complete creature. 

How do pigeon eggs hatch?

After complete development, the baby Pigeon comes out of the egg by hatching, but the process of how the egg hatch is also crucial. Let us find out.

The baby Pigeon has a temporary organ in front of its bill called egg teeth through which it scratches the eggshell continuously in a rotating manner. That is how they make the large end of the egg weaker and at last burst that area of shell by hitting outwards to come out. 

How long do pigeon eggs take to hatch?

The timing of egg hatching differs from species to species. Let us find out how long pigeon eggs take to hatch mostly.

Mostly the pigeon eggs take 18-19 days of incubation to hatch. But again, this varies from species to species just as in case of mourning dove which takes 14 days of incubation to hatch. On other hand, Victoria crowned pigeon eggs take up to 29 days of incubation to hatch.

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Apart from these, several other factors like season and temperature can also affect the time of hatching. 

Do all pigeon eggs hatch?

Most pigeon species tend to lay two eggs in each clutch, three to four times minimum in a year. Let us find out if all pigeon eggs hatch or not.

All pigeon eggs do not hatch. Only healthy fertilized eggs which get enough incubation hatch. If a female does not come in contact with a male pigeon, then she is able to lay unfertilized eggs, but those eggs do not hatch. 

Some eggs are not hatched because they are not healthy enough to develop into a baby. Some are also eaten by predators before hatching.

Image credit: Pigeon egg by Sanjay ach licensed under (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Do pigeon eggs hatch at the same time?

Pigeon eggs do not hatch at the same time. It can happen that an egg hatch at the 18th day of incubation whereas next time when the same pair lay eggs, that may hatch at the 19th day of incubation. Also, both eggs from a clutch also hatch at different times. 

After laying the first egg, the pigeon lays its second egg after 24 to 48 hours. After having the first egg, the mother starts incubating it. That is why the first egg gets more incubation time and hatches first.

Pigeon eggs hatch time?

Pigeon eggs hatching time varies according to their breeding seasons. Let us know about the time and month when pigeon eggs hatch.

Pigeon eggs usually hatch after 16-19 days of incubation. But may vary from species to species.

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What month do pigeon eggs hatch?

In most cases pigeon eggs hatch between March to July and September to November. Because this is the prior time of pigeon breeding. But in the case of feral pigeons, they breed almost any time of the whole year, meaning their eggs are hatched throughout the year after incubation.

Wood pigeon egg hatching time?

Wood pigeons mostly breed between March to August, but some also breed during November and December. Hence wood pigeon eggs mostly hatch between March to August after 17 days of incubation.

Fantail pigeon egg hatching time?

Fantail pigeon egg mostly hatch during spring and summer. This is because Just like most other pigeons, fantail pigeons mostly mate during the spring and summers and their eggs hatch after 17 days of incubation.

What happens when pigeon eggs hatch?

When pigeon eggs hatch, baby squabs come out with closed eyes and also do not have feathers in the body. After some hours, they open their eyes and get nourishment by feeding crop milk from their parents. They then slowly develop feathers and becomes ready to fly. 

Image credit: Baby pigeon by Leenient licensed under (CC BY 2.0)

How to help a pigeon egg hatch?

Pigeon eggs mostly do not need external help to hatch but if parents abandon eggs or the baby fails to come out after incubation, they may need help from outside.

Following are some ways to help a pigeon egg hatch:

  • With the help of foster parents
  • With the help of an artificial incubator
  • By breaking the outer shell

With the help of foster parents

If abandoned pigeon eggs are found, the best way to help them hatch is with the help of foster parents. Just place the pigeon egg with the original eggs of foster parents. When it is ready to hatch, the abandoned eggs will hatch along with the rest. This is a natural method to help hatch pigeon eggs.

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With the help of an artificial incubator

In absence of ideal foster parents, we can help a pigeon egg to hatch with the help of artificial incubator. The only requirement is to maintain a temperature of around 37.8 degree C with optimum humidity of 65%. The artificial incubator helps to maintain favorable environment for pigeon eggs to hatch.

By breaking the outer shell

If it is found that after enough incubation a pigeon egg fails to hatch, it means that the hatchling somehow fails to break the wall of the outer shell and come out. In those cases, breaking the outer shell wall at the appropriate side can be helpful.

Conclusion

Pigeon egg hatching is a crucial process. Here we discussed certain facts related to pigeon egg hatching and how we can help them to hatch. Hope this article is helpful to you.

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