Found Fledgling Dove

[Marinarose]

Friday afternoon I happened across what looked like a young adult dove on the stairs to my apartment. It was frightened, but I managed to pass it slowly without incident. Later that night it appeared on my apartment railing about ten feet from my door. I've been taught that the general rule with found wildlife is not to touch it unless it's injured. It seems fine, but looks too young to fly. I went away for the weekend and when I came back Sunday night it was right in front of my door on the apartment railing. Both places on the railing have a lot of poop under them, so I'm assuming that it's being fed. I'm mostly just posting this to check that my actions and assumptions are correct and to see if there's anything that can be done on my end to help, other than exiting exiting the house very quietly for awhile.

[Trees Gray]

Hello and Welcome to Pigeon Talk,

I think your assumptions are probably correct.

Just keep an eye out in the youngster when you are coming and going to make sure it still looks good, active and isn't hurt or anything. If there are no cats or other predators around he should be fine.

[Pidgey]

Just out of curiosity--do you see much by way of solids in those poops? They can keep on pooping for quite awhile without being fed because the body will keep creating bile (the dark green blob if there aren't any solids) and urates (the white stuff). If the poops are pretty flat little splashes with no real substance, especially after drying out, then he might be starving.

Do you see any little yellow hairs sticking out of his feathers near his head?

Pidgey

[pigeonperson]

Normally, assuming this is a city street, a bird that prematurely falls down from a nest, is not going to be fed by the parents. Most of the time, the bird wanders away and the parents can't even find it. Going with the averages, discounting predators for the moment, I think that unless this bird is picked up and cared for and assuming it isn't sick, we can kiss this one goodbye. He has droppings but they're the result of the last of his fluid and the using up of his body fat. I hope this isn't the case and the parents are feeding but I honestly tend to doubt it.

[doggirl]

This is to Donna who was helping me, Cindy, with a pigeon. Can you please call me back? The phone number I wrote down for you is incorrect. Cindy-doggirl

[cyro51]

Hi Cindy,

How is the dove getting along? What sort of dove is it? And how far did it have to did it have to fly to get to your balcony railing?

The number, colour and cosistency of poops are a good indication that it is being fed. The normal poop for a collared dove is a neat little brown deposit about the size of a sultana and the consistency of toothpaste or slighly drier, and I imagine other similar doves are the same.

Cynthia

[AZWhitefeather]

Originally Posted by Marinarose

Friday afternoon I happened across what looked like a young adult dove on the stairs to my apartment. It was frightened, but I managed to pass it slowly without incident. Later that night it appeared on my apartment railing about ten feet from my door. I've been taught that the general rule with found wildlife is not to touch it unless it's injured. It seems fine, but looks too young to fly. I went away for the weekend and when I came back Sunday night it was right in front of my door on the apartment railing.
Both places on the railing have a lot of poop under them, so I'm assuming that it's being fed.
I'm mostly just posting this to check that my actions and assumptions are correct and to see if there's anything that can be done on my end to help, other than exiting exiting the house very quietly for awhile.

This is very possible.
When I found Whitefeather, this being before I found Pigeon-Talk, I had no idea what to do. She was walking around our patio, while I was trying to figure out my plan of action, when all of a sudden a 'Ring-neck dove' flew down & began feeding her.
This was a dove feeding a pigeon & I'm quite sure they weren't related.
However, as far as I'm concerned, the dove saved Whitefeather's life.

Not having a description of the droopings in your situation, I can't comment on whether the baby is or is not being fed, but I can say, from experience, it's very possible he is being fed, whether by his parent or another.

If the baby hadn't been fed during the time you found him (Friday afternoon) to when you posted (Yesterday, early morning) I highly doubt he would have had the strength to remain perched on the railing. JMO.

I hope he's doing OK. Please update when you can.

Cindy

[Pidgey]

I emailed Marinarose with a link back to this thread earlier in case she couldn't find her way back. We'll just have to see.

Pidgey

[Marinarose]

Thanks for all your replies. Sorry about my absence, I thought the forum would auto-alert me to any thread activity. oops. The poops indicate that he was well fed (thick and brown) and he had no yellow feathers. Everything else I'd read suggested that he would be flying in a matter of days. In order to get onto my balcony railing he'd have at least been able to fly three and a half feet up to the rail in front of my door. Monday I woke up to workers sand-blasting the stucco on the side of my building. I ran to the door, but he wasn't there. My boyfriend, who had been in and out of the house before the blasting started said that the dove had been gone since very early in the morning, so I was not too worried. I'm not sure what kind of dove it was, except that it was a soft brown color. I didn't think it was a pideon because it wasn't shaped like one (that's really the only way I can explain my conclusion, which may have been wrong.) Thank you so much for your help and assurance. I had read many of the previous threads before I'd posted mine and I felt much better about it's well-being afterwards, and now you've assured me even further that it was and is probably fine.

[Marinarose]

and thank you pidgey for the link