Baby dove found on ground (must have fallen out of nest)

[Shira]

Hi Pigeon Talk!
About a year ago I had the exciting experience of raising two dove chicks.
A few months after that I healed an injured dove.
So that's the extent of my experience with birds.
Yesterday, I found a one day old dove chick on the ground. It must have fallen out of its nest. I took the bird in to take care of.
I hadn't had any baby bird formula so until I had a chance to go out to the store, I fed the bird crushed Cheerios mixed with water (a tip I read online).
Anyway, since I found this bird I fed him 4 times. 3 times a Cheerios mixture and once the real baby bird formula.
I have a few concerns about this bird.
1) He hasn't pooped yet
2) His neck and head seem very wobbly. It's hard for him to keep his head up strait.
3) (Doesn't have to do with the bird) I tried uploading pix for you to see but there is an error, what causes that to occur and what do I do so I can show you the pix?

Thanks a lot!!

~Shira~

[Feefo]

Do you know hat sort of dove it is?

At one day old it's head will be wobbly.

Don't feed it again until it poops or until its crop is empty. At one day old the formula should be very thin. The formula should be warmed to 39C.

You could give it a litle warm water and some infant apple sauce, make certain that the ambient tempreature is also warm...at least 80C....is he on a heat pad?

This page on how to hand raise a baby pigeon or dove might help. The quantities of food quoted are for a pigeon, so that has to be taken into account. I would guess that a dove takes half as much as a pigeon per feed, but keep an eye on the crop,


Weigh the dove every day. I will copy and paste a growth chart for a collared dove that you might be able to use as a guideline (epending on what sort of dove you have).

I tried uploading pix for you to see but there is an error, what causes that to occur and what do I do so I can show you the pix?

The site doesn't allow us to upload pix anymore...you have to use another site (eg community webshots) and post a direct link.

Feefo

[Shira]

I don't know what sort of dove it is. I think it's the same as the other doves I raised. I don't know what they're called but you can look at my pictures on my page and see what type of dove it is.
I bought the Kaytee Exact hand feeding formula. I follow the instructions when I feed (It tells me how concentrated the formula should be for each age).
So I guess the reason it wasn't digesting the food was because it wasn't warm enough. I got a 40 watt bulb which will hopefully keep it warm.
What type of scale am I supposed to use to weigh a dove?
Thanks so much for your help!

~Shira~

[Feefo]

Hi Shira,

Remember that the formula thickens once mixed and can thicken in the crop, so leave it a minute and please make certain that it is thin.

I use kitchen scales. A gram scale would also be suitable at that size!

I have no idea what kind of dove that is, you never told us where you are so I don'y even know which species you have whereverr you are.

On the assumption that it might be roughly the size of a Eurasian Collared Dove, this is the weight chart that another member provided after hand raising a collared dove.

Day 5 = 32g
Day 6 = 42g
Day 7 = 50g
Day 8 = 60g
Day 9 = 62g
Day 10 = 69g
Day 11 = 75g
Day 12 = 80g
Day 13 = 84g
Day 14 = 86g
Day 15 = 88g
Day 16 = 91g
Day 17 = 90g
Day 18 = 90g
Day 20 = 98g
Day 22 = 108g
Day 24 = 118g

[Shira]

Since I put the 40 watt bulb it warmed up and finally pooped.
I'm really nervous though b/c now it's shaking in a weird way and every few seconds jumping, like a seizure.

[Feefo]

Have you got a soft toy or something that you can put next to him? They are never alone at that age, it might comfort and reassure him.

[Shira]

shoot!! I think it might have just died.
I'm really creeped out! What do I do???????

[Feefo]

Can you clarify what happened?

If it has died there is not much you can do...but hold it gently in the palms of you hands for a while just to see if it comes to.

[Shira]

Just as I said before, it was shaking and moving uneasily, and then suddenly it just stopped moving. I tried touching it but no response. It's definitely dead.
It may have died because of the sudden temp change

[Feefo]

I am so sorry that it didn't make it.

A baby that age should have its crop emptying and being refilled every two hours, the fact that this wasn't happening means something was seriously wrong, but we can't guess at what or whether the problem was already affecting it when you found it.

Thank you for caring for it.

[Shira]

I feel really bad about what happened; it's really sad!
I hope it wasn't my fault!
Either way, if I wouldn't have rescued it, it would have been eaten by a cat.

[Feefo]

You did your best, which is all we can ever do. Sadly, infant mortality even among human babies is high.

BTW, assuming that all the doves in your album are the same species, I am pretty certain that they are Palm Doves :

http://www.animalphotos.me/bird4-palm.htm

These are about 3 cm smaller than the eurasian collered dove:

http://www.birds.org.il/890-en/Birding-Israel.aspx

This is from the above link:

Chicks: Hatch blind, covered in sparse, yellow down. For the first 5 days they are fed with pigeons milk, which the parents regurgitate into their open beaks. From the age of 5 days, their eyes open and then they put their beaks into their parents’ throats and swallow seeds which have been softened in the crop. Small amounts of pigeons milk are still secreted, until the 12th day. The parents continue to brood the chicks, on the same timetable as during incubation, until they are about a week old. The chicks fledge at 15-16 days, but are capable of flying only at 19 days. From this stage they eat on their own, but continue to roost near their parents a while longer.

[Shira]

Palm Doves sounds right.
Thanks so much for all your help!!
Have a great day!

~Shira~