A young pigeon kinda fell into my lap...help!

[CaptainRon]

What appears to be a young pigeon was in the water behind my boat splashing around. It was totaly water-logged and was covered with some sort of crud that was all in it's feathers. I got him out of the water and set him on the dock. He started to walk away from me and 3 gulls started to go after him, so I picked him up and cleaned and dried him off. I have him in a box sitting on the back of my boat. He'll drink water, but I have no idea what to feed him. He's definately not an adult and it looks like he probably is just old enough to start learning how to fly. Any advice anybody can give would be appreciated. I have absolutely no experience with pigeons or any bird for that matter...

[pdpbison]

Hi CaptainRon,


Wow, Pigeons seem to have all sorts of adventures..!

Good thing you came along when you did, they do not really swim very well.


For now, three things -

If he is less than a month old, you may get some decent guess by refering to the images led to from this link:

http://www.speedpigeon.com/baby_racing_pigeon.htm

Next, find a way for him to be warm...'warm' as in our body temperature kind of warm, if you have an electric heating pad, put a hand towell on it, and use that, set it to 'low', or possibly to medium if a weakish model, put it in a box with a very light cloth over the top, so the Bird can be off of the heating pad as the Bird elects...hypothermia is dangerous for them...but overheating is to be avoided of course also.

If you do not have an electric Heating pad, then maybe set him up in a bathroom (Toilet lid "down") where a space heater or wall heater might be run to make it a decidedly warm area for him to spend the rest of the night and get truely dry...

Next, see if you can post an image somewhere and a link for us to see it...

Good work there!

Till next,


Phil
Las Vegas

[John_D]

Hi Capn

Thanks for fishing the bird out - amazing what you find in the ocean

If he is newly fledged then he should be able to eat grains, but he may be on the borderline between being fed and self-feeding. I'd put some mixed corn, or bird seed, in a small pot and also scatter a little in front of him and see if he shows interest in pecking at it and eating.

Maybe you could check him over and see if he has any obvious wounds, too.

I see Phil has posted the link to help find his age

If he does not show any interest in the food, do get back to us - there are various fairly simple ways to feed young pigeons. The thing with them is they do not 'gape' for food when young, as most other birds do, so the feeding technique is a bit different for them.

John (UK)

[CaptainRon]

Thanks for the advice, He seems to be a bit more active today. I put some breadcrumbs down in front of him and let him out to walk around a bit. He seems to show some interest in pecking at things on the ground and ate some of the breadcrumbs. I'll go and get some birdseed for him and see how he takes to that. He's more than happy to take a drink of water so I suppose that is a good sign. He seems to be in pretty good health and I cannot see any wounds of any sort.

[Trees Gray]

Hello and welcome to Pgeons.com

Thank you for offering the youngster a place to stay until he gets his flying skills down.

Glad to see he seems fine and eating on his own. Thank you for getting him some wild bird seed.

[Pidgey]

Captain Ron,

We have a member here that lives in Oakland who goes by the handle of "feralpigeon." I don't want to speak for fp but fp might could help you with this one. fp won't be on until much later today as fp's got a problem (works for a living). If you could email one of us with your contact info, we can forward it on to fp and see if fp can get in touch with you after work.

If you're commanding an aircraft carrier, you might need to check fp's security clearance because fp's quite the feisty one. However, a day in the brig might do fp some good.

Pidgey

[pdpbison]

Hi Cap'n Ron,

Well, so far so good...

Sure, get them some ice Bird Seed and see what happens...if they are an effective self-feeder and peck well and so on, then that is very good indeed.

Often it is the neophyte fliers, who may or may not yet have the pecking and self-feeding skills, whom we find in these various perils. They do not yet have the flying stamina for much distance, and can get themselves into all sorts of troubles, get seperated from their parents, and starve or become ill or emaciated from lack of nutrition.

So, yes, get some nice Bird Seed and see if this one fills their Crop...their Crop is on the front of their chest in effect, above their breastbone, below their neck. You can feel it while it is empty and check it later to see how full it is.

If they are eating enough, they will poop about 40 to 50 moist firm 'Raisen' sized poopies in 24 hours...

Let us know...or if fp takes over...either way...


Now you know also whenever you are out on the Water, to have your eyes peeled for Bird-Overboard...!


Phil
Las Vegas

[CaptainRon]

I looked on that website and from the pictures it looks as if he's probably about 20 days old maybe. The only thing different about this pigeon is that he has a hooked beak. He's definately a pigeon, is he just a different species?
Oh ya...I put that birdseed in front of him and he's chowing down on it....

Ron

[Trees Gray]

Thank you for your kindness towards this needy youngster.

Can you post a picture of this bird? We would be interested in seing what he looks like. Just want to be sure he is normal, however there are breeds of pigeons with hooked beaks.

I'm glad he is enjoying the bird seed, seems a little young to be picking up and eating seed, but I am glad he is self-sufficient.

[CaptainRon]

I'll try to get a picture posted so everyone can see him. I'm probably wrong about his age...I can just barely see a little purple and green on his neck, so maybe he is a little older than I guessed. Its kind of comical watching him try to peck at the seed that he slings everywhere. He gets his beak stuck on the threads if the mat that i set him on. I think he's discovered that its a bit easier eating out of the dish.

[JGregg]

Hi Captain Ron,

Thanks for helping the poor little water logged pigeon. You can take the pigeon to Wildcare http://form2.relevanttools.com/eis-c...ges/index.html if the pigeon is not injured. They put down animals which are not releaseable. I'd check the pigeon out with Feralpigeon beforehand though.

I'll give FP a jingle for you!

[pdpbison]

Hi Captain Ron,


You have me worried now with that 'curved Beak' mention and the 'slinging'...might not be anything, but...

Can you post some images somewhere? Or send some to me for me to put up in my 'webshots' ( free posting service, you could google it and do it also if you wanted to post them yourself...) or something?

I am pdp1@earthlik.net if you would want to send images to me...


Get some good closeups so his whole face from ythe front, and also so his profiles are shown...

Best wishes,

Phil
Las Vegas

[feralpigeon]

here...Hi CaptainRon, I not only work but have to run errands and do chores for
Pidgey the Poo after work, so I've been on the run. But I would gladly give a peak at your new aquaintance and talk to you about some of your options. Don't know where your at with it and if you are enjoying your friend and would like to stay the course until this pij is releasable or not. Anyway, check your private email here at PT and we can talk on the phone tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks again for rescuing this bird from the water and the gulls and providing a supportive environment for him/her to get their bearings in.

Best,

fp

[v2rot8]

Oh, Captain Ron, I could tell you stories of my little girl slinging seeds all over the place to get to her most favorite tasty treats....PEANUTS!

They learn, these little kids. Something suggested to me was to spread the seeds on a towel. It allows the seeds to "float" a bit, and it helps them learn how to grasp the seeds in their beaks.

[feralpigeon]

HI folks,

Just an update on Capn Ron's little one. It is indeed a feral pigeon w/a beak that looks like it belongs to a seagull. It should be flying in a week or so. Ron
preferred not to continue with it, so it is here until he/she can fend for itself and I will introduce it into a nearby flock.