L'evolution postembryonnaire du poids du pigeon domestique

Summary

A detailed study of the postembryonic evolution of the weight of the pigeon, by means of daily weighing of the young birds, is given (table). The young bird grows very fast during the first days of its postembryonic life, the classical S shaped growth curve being steep in the beginning. Growth slows down during the period the feeding changes from “crop milk” to grains regurgitated from the crop of the parents, and also during the period that the young bird begins to come out of the nest and to feed on his own (Fig. 1).

The rate of growth is affected by the quantity of food the young bird receives: in normal conditions there are two young for a couple of parents; when there is only one young, it grows faster; the differences are significative till the 16^th day of age (table).