Help with a baby nestling Mourning Dove

[bradygirl]

Hi All....Its been awhile.
I have a baby Mourning Dove that I need to take care of . Crows attacked the parents and nest and tore it apart. I cannot leave it outside because of the crows and cats. I have raised Old fashioned frill Satinette Pigeons with Kaytee Exact.. Should I try to give it that the same way with a syringe covered with like a rubber glove at the end like I did with my last baby pigeon? Any other ideas...I read on one of the posts someone said to add sugar to the formula? should I do that? How thick should I make it. He has feather, but only a few have barely started to open. He definelty needs my help. Please help me out..
Thanks
Bonnie

[philodice]

I would say do it exactly the same way as the pigeon baby, but with less food.


At this age (8 days) my dove parents decided they didn't need to warm the babies anymore. So if your dove looks like this heat might not be vital, just appreciated.
If it looks less feathered than this, The mourning dove baby will need a low heating pad for the next 4 days...My baby doves only needed the heat until the feathers just barely started opening up. They looked pretty naked to me but would be moving off the heating pad. So if the dove you have moves it's head around and flaps his bare arms a bit, and wiggles around in his 'nest' that is a good sign.

[bradygirl]

I have been trying to get him to eat, but he really seems uninterested. I made the kaytee exact .Usually when I hold the food up in the syringe they stick their head in and eat. He doesn't want it that way. Should I force his beak open and make him eat? I tried giving him some ater on my finger but doesn't want that either. I want to save this little one so that I can set him free. I just need him to start eating.

[bradygirl]

The dove has feathers that are just barely starting to open. He can walk, but might be hurt alittle bit. He feel out of a tree onto concrete. He seems to have a good amount of energy, and moves around pretty good. i was worried last night about the heating pad thing, but he seemed toasty enough in the box with timothy grass and washcloths to snuggle under. Especially need help with the eating

Thanks
Bonnie