another "i found this bird" question :)

[mogwai]

alright, been lurking here a few days. My daughter found a pigeon (or is it a dove?) while at a horse riding clinic. The bird had falls into the middle of the arena and seemed somewhat helpless, so she brought it home.

We have been using our vitamix and blending up chik-starter feed (we have chickens also) and my daughter has been feeding the baby 3 or more times per day until the baby birds crop seems full.

Lately, the bird seems to be eating more and more and we are worried that we may not be feeding her enough. Her crop gets really full, but the bird still peeps as it if's still hungry...we've also been giving it water as well...which it seems to drink by itself.

We are just a bit worried and wondering if we are doing things right...here is a picture. I can't seem to tell from the racing-pigeons pictures how old the bird is...any idea?

thanks for the help. Here's a link to a larger picture of Ada (aptly named because my daugher found her at the Alamo Dressage Association show)...
http://home.satx.rr.com/mogwai/images/Ada%20picture%20for%20forum%202.jpg


mogwai

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Mogwai,

Thank you and your daughter for rescuing this little pigeon. This bird appears to be around 20-25 days old to me. What you are feeding sounds good. You want to feed the baby until the crop is full but not hard. Once the crop is empty it's time to feed again. So don't go by a certain number of feedings per day, go by when the crop is empty again. No feedings during the night are necessary at this time. This bird is capable of starting to peck at seeds on it's own now as well. You can offer it a dish of dove seed or wild bird seed and encourage it to peck by showing it with your fingers. It may takes some time for it to learn so keep up the hand feedings but allow it to experiment with pecking for itself as well. Sounds like you're doing a good job. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask:)

[pdpbison]

Hi Magwai,


As Brad says above, yup, yup and yup...

Let them also have free access to some nice Grit...

How are the poos?

Phil

[cyro51]

Thank you for rescuing this baby and looking after it so well.

Well soaked and blended chick starter crumbs are an excellent diet for a pigeon squab.

Squeakers can over eat and will squeak when they are full, so you have been doing the right thing by going by what the crop tells you rather than the hungry cheeps.

He/she looks like a sweet little feral to me! :p

Cynthia

[pdpbison]

Yahhhh...a delicate and maybe dreamy little one...very darling...

Too, even at this age, there is no harm to let them have the choice to rest upon a warm Heating-Pad at night, if they like.

And or to rest now and then for a little while in 'Hand Nest', in one's cupped Hands as it were, or to put one's Hands over them for a few minutes where usually, they will settle down and day dream or nap a little.

Having a little pile of Seeds and spending time with the youngster while one is 'pecking' at the Seeds with your index finger tip, while making little soothing or encouraging sounds, (like "Mmmmm! Nice Seeds! Oh, let's peck them..." and so on in a soft voice, will encourage the little one to tentatively begin pecking, with success and enthusiasm for it soon to follow.

Also, you may gently pretend to preen around it's head and neck now and then, but it might just get all wound up in "feed-me!" excitements, but sometimes one can 'preen' them a little, which is a comfort to them, since their sibling or parent would have been doing this.


Phil
Las Vegas

[mogwai]

thanks for the vote of confidence folks. My daughter is the one primarily caring for it so this is a good shot in the arm for her. We'll keep up the crop feeding technique and give her some lessons in seed eating. I'll also do the warm bottle trick for comfort.

Will the 'rough' look of her go away? We are concerned that she seems rather dishevled...although, she spends plenty of time preening. Do we need to introduce her to baths?

The poopers are somewhat solid most of the time...looks heathly i think...not runny and stuff.

thanks again.

mog

[Reti]

Hi mog,
you could put out a small pan with two inches of water in it and see if s/he wants to take a bath. S/he might still be too young, but generally they love baths.
After the bath wrap her in a towel and if it is too cold she can warm up under a lamp or you can blow dry her with a dryer on a low setting.

Reti

[Victor]

Hi Mogwai and daughter,
Welcome to Pigeon-Talk and as far as "lurking, :eek: " that is cool.We are glad that you decided to come in :) !

As far as her disheveled look, she will be a beauty in a few weeks. All babies are "rough looking" when they are that young.Just be patient. :D

[mogwai]

Thanks to all the wonderful posts in this forum and the replies to our thread, Ada seems to be doing well. My daughter noticed that Ada no longer comes running after her when it's feeding time and following everyone's guidance, we have placed a small bowl of seeds in her cage and can feel some in her crop...doesn't feel like many, but she's getting the hang of it.

Feathers are appearing underneath her wings. She is loosing the small triangular tail feathers and it looks like new ones are growing.

I noticed that some folks recommend vitamin A or E during molting. Is this something we should do to help her along?

Also - should we continue with the 3-4 times feeding schedule (with chicken starter and warm water blended in a vitamix) or begin to taper off more now that she appear to be eating seed?

Any other pointers? Thanks for all the help!

mogwai

[Reti]

Tapering off the feedings will encourage her to eat more seeds. Always check her crop to make sure she is eating enough.
Vit. A and E is not a must if she getting a good balanced diet, but it does help with the feathers. Just be careful not to overdose on the vit A and E cause they can be toxic when given large amounts. Vit A you can give just once a month , vit E you can give three days in a row, that should be enough.

She is a very sweet baby. Thank you for the pic.

Reti

[pdpbison]

Yah...some Baby Ferals are kind of scraggely looking, usually from their previous diet having been lacking somehow I think...many are vivid and completely non-scraggely and have all perfect Feathers. I have had both sorts many times.

The scraggely ones, once on good feed and grit for a while turn out just as full and perfect as any of them...if sometimes maybe a little smaller maybe.

Seeds...

Add a little fresh Olive Oil to the seeds, and the Vitamix powder will stick to the seeds that way...just a little Olive Oil will do, then stirr the Seeds to distribute it evenly.

Also it is good to add a little powdered 'Super Greens' which you can get inexpensively at any Health Food Store...and you can add a little powdered Brewer's Yeast too. I would do these things and not give 'Vitamines' per se.

Oyster Shell Grit is nice for them also...

And, as was mentioned above in one of the posts, allow access to a shallow warm Bath. You can gently splash your fingers in it to inspire the little one, or they might just be eagre on their own. sooner or later they will be really into it anyway, whether or not they are interested now. some at this age are interested in a Bath, some not...varies with the individual.

Peck with them useing your crooked index finger now and then...eating is normally a social thing for Pigeons, even though of course they do eat alone also.

I myself have never caged any growing-up-Babys I was raising, and when they begin to fly, I let them do so all they like. Being indoors of course, in my home, they soon become interested in the highest places possible to roost and spend the night...

So...I try and make sure these and other places to not hold dangers for them from things they might want to try and eat or from other things.

Post Ear-rings for example, should not be left where they can find them...Lol...which I myself do not have, but some of my girlfriends have had them, and tended to leave one or two of them sitting on a night stand or something where aa young newly flying Pigeon could find them and possibly swallow one...so...


Phil
Las Vegas