Pigeon milk

Pigeon milk is a nutrient-rich secretion produced by the crop of pigeons and doves to feed their young. Both parents produce it, and chicks consume it directly from the adult’s beak.

Crop: An expandable pouch in the esophagus of many birds that stores and sometimes processes food. Pigeon milk is produced by cells lining this pouch.
Squab: A young pigeon, especially one raised for food. Squabs depend on crop milk during their earliest days after hatching.
Mammalian milk: A nutrient-rich fluid produced by mammary glands to feed young mammals. It serves a similar feeding role, but comes from different organs and tissues.
Pigeon crop: The expandable esophageal pouch in pigeons that stores food and produces crop milk. Its structure changes during breeding to support secretion.
Prolactin: A hormone involved in reproduction, parental behavior, and milk production in mammals and birds. Rising prolactin levels stimulate crop changes associated with secretion.
Pigeon breeding: The managed reproduction of domestic pigeons for traits, sport, or production. Breeding schedules and chick care must account for both parents’ crop-milk feeding.
Lactation: The production and secretion of milk by mammary glands. Pigeon milk is not produced by mammary glands and is not true lactation.
Bird: A warm-blooded vertebrate with feathers, a beak, and wings. Pigeons belong to the bird group, whose feeding strategies vary widely.
Crop epithelium: The layer of cells lining a bird’s crop. Its cells proliferate and shed to form the protein- and fat-rich secretion.
Pigeon racing: A sport in which trained homing pigeons race back to their lofts. Racing lofts raise young pigeons through the crop-milk-dependent stage.

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