Hawaii Bird Rescue

Let's talk about young doves!!! Unlike many other baby birds, little doves don’t gape (the mouth wide open) begging for food behavior. When they’re hungry they will root around. Parents provide “crop milk” to their babies. Crop milk is a semi-solid excretion that is made by the sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop. The crop is a thin-walled, sac-like food-storage chamber that extends off the esophagus and is normally part of the digestive system. Food can be stored here quickly while the bird is foraging in the open and allows the bird to go back into a secluded area to digest. Most birds have crops, but not all make crop milk.

The crop is normally part of the digestive system, but it shifts its function to milk production just a day or two prior to the eggs’ hatching. This is believed to be caused by hormonal changes. During that time, the parents may stop eating entirely so there is no seed in the crop. Brand new hatchlings aren’t able to digest seed yet, so this is for the better! After several days of feeding crop milk to the babies, the hormone levels taper off and the crop no longer produces as much milk. By this time, the young birds are able to digest regurgitated seeds from mom and dad.

Crop milk is nutrient-dense and contains more protein and fats than human or cow milk. It also has immune-building properties with antioxidants and antibodies from the parent. Both parents produce crop milk, so both are able to feed their babies. This is done by opening their mouths wide and allowing the squab to stick their little heads in and suck it up through their bills like a straw.