found two baby ringneck doves. please help.

[carly]

we found two baby ringneck doves this morning in our garden. their nest had been blown out of the trees by high winds. we moved them inside into a cardboard box lined with newspaper and clean rags. they have a bowl of water and one of pigeon corn although they will not feed for themselves. one dove had 5ml water soaked weetabix with mashed corn fairly happily from a syringe, the other was very slow to feed and only had about 2ml. i need help generally with all aspects i.e. are they alright in the box? are they feeding enough and of the right food? how can i tell if they are hurt? their feathers look ok with no obvious damage. i also spotted both parents seemingly searching for them in the garden. there is not a suitable place to balance the nest and would it be the right or wrong thing to try to get them back to their parents or care for them ourselves? assuming all is well what would be the right age to 'release' them and how to do that? we guess they are between 1-2 weeks of age

[Feefo]

Hi Carly,

What some members have managed to do is put the babies out in the garden under supervison three times a day to let the parents have a chance at feeding them. Whether they feed them or not depends on whether they recognise them as theirs outside the nest.

Doves that young should take to the syringe and balloon method of feeding described at this link:

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/...j&DuvFeedg.htm

You could also scatter small seeds like canary millet round them to encourage them to test the food and eventually eat it. Another way of feeding them is to make soft pellets out of egg food and water.

Can you let us know where you are? There could be a rehabber close to you who could help.




Cynthia

[carly]

thankyou we are near warrington in the north of england. the birds are feeding a bit better today however it is far too windy to put them outside at the moment, it would blow my 1 year old over if she was out there! how long would it be before the parents refused to take them back? although we have seen the parents out searching again this morning. and how long should they be ouside for, up to an hour?? or what are the best times if any? we also have a few cats that enter our garden, we had to rescue a blue tit two days ago. also would you be able to suggest what age you think they are from the photo? thankou for your help

[kittypaws]

Hi Carly,

I think the babies are probably nearly 3 weeks old - if you decide to feed them yourself they will probably need about 10-15mls of syringe fed food 4 times a day ( 9am, 1pm, 5pm and 9pm) -this should be fed directly into the crop if you can manage that - it gets easier the more times you do it and can help if you have someone to help you by holding the birds for you. I would feed these birds porridge and farleys rusk mix mixed into a sloppy thick soup consistency. Just check their crop has emptied each time you go to feed them.

I know about the weather - tomorrow is supposed to be better!! Placing the doves in the garden whilst watching them for about an hour each time say 9am, 1pm and 4 - 5pm - to see if the parents feed them. The food they give them is the best. As Cynthia says if you can put canary or millet seed down for them too to help them learn to peck will be good too.

If you do decide to feed them you yourself then as they get bigger you can drop the feeds a bit when they are eating more seed.

I think Warrington is Cheshire isn't it? I have found these places on the British Wildlife Helpline Centre - some may or may not be in existence, but if you wanted to pass the doves to them to take care of ( If the parents lose interest I would say) then then perhaps try these places? Just check that they will take doves ( they should do...)

Good luck - these little doves are such sweeties.

Tania xx

Helplines

1.Birkdale
RSPCA
01704 567624
Emergency help for all wildlife


2. Knutsford
Lower Moss Wood Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital
01565 755082
School Lane, Ollerton
Rehab, birds & mammals

3.Macclesfield
(all wildlife)
01625 575421
Lymncroft Terrace, Kerridge
All wildlife

4. Nantwich
RSPCA
01270 610347

Domestic & wildlife

5. Thurstaston
Wirral Country Park Wildlife Rehab Unit
0151 648 4371
Station Road
LRK Birds of prey. Badger licensed. Any wildlife

6. Wilmslow
Broom Cottage Vet Surgery
01625 525175
Chapel Lane
All wildlife injuries
Clough Road
any wildlife
H; 0602 728105. All wildlife

RING THE RSPCA NUMBERS LAST.......

[John_D]

Hi Carly,

Cynthia reminded me that we had another member who found two doves, and how she put them outside in the garden for the parents to feed them, and brought them in at night (of course, back in March is was dark that much earlier). It's quite a long thread:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=25947

Also, there is a pigeon & dove friendly sanctuary which is a bit of distance from you, but which was also recommended to Athalie (in the above thread) who is in Manchester:

Three Owls Sanctuary
Wolstenholme Fold
Norden
Rochdale OL11 5UD
Tel: (01706) 642162
Fax: (01706) 659090
24 Hour Helpline: 07973 819389

Email: info@threeowls.co.uk
Rochdale, 12.5 miles from Manchester

Oh, I'd avoid the RSPCA in that area, personally.

John

[Feefo]

I just thought that I would mention that Athalie lives in Middleton and is a lovely person. It would be nice if you two could meet.

Doves fledge at 17 - 21 days, so I think this one is no more than two weeks old, possibly younger.

As John says, it is best to avoid the RSPCA, it is their policy to destroy all feral pigeons handed into their care, and this policy may have been extended to other species that they regard as "pests".

Cynthia

[carly]

we resuced two baby ring neck doves on sunday afer their nest fell from a tree. they are about 3 weeks old. one has not fed all day until about 15ml of weekablix this evening. it is very unresponsive and rolling from side to side what can we do?

[Dezirrae]

Hi Carly,

I was following your thread from yesterday - try updating that thread or send an email to John D who responded to you yesterday. He and Cynthia (Cyro) are the best to be of assistance where you are located. I'll also PM John D. and Cynthia to alert them to this new thread.

Best of luck with these little babies - I'm saying a few prayers for them.

[Skyeking]

I'll combine the threads.

[carly]

thankyou!! you are so kind will let you know how the dove fares tomorrow, not much more to say for tonight. tried to warm it up a bit though, it was shaking poor thing. i guess they lack of food today cant have helped. and sadly it is difficult to get it out in the garden as i have a 3 year old and 1 year old who would not leave it alone. the parents are still out there though. it was also 'hopping' out of the box yesterday and fluttering for 1-2 feet low over the floor. i would be worried if i couldnt catch it again outside. heavy rain is forcast for us for the next couple of days. will keep it warm and do our best. thankyou for your help

[Feefo]

Hi Carly,

Are you making water available to it? Dehydration is a more serious problem than lack of food for a youngster.

Tania has covered feeding and frequency in her post. Always keep an eye on the crop, you should feed until it feels like a soft, partially deflated balloon.

Cynthia

[carly]

sadly one of the babies passed away last night. it was originally the strongest one and the one who refused to feed. the other dove however looks much better. it has/they had a bowlful of water with them and we encouraged them to feed putting its beak to it. however this one is not keen on me feeding it but will let my partner who can only feed it before and after work. it was out in the garden for a good few hours today, maybe two 2 hour stints, 11.30-1.30 and 3.30-5.30, the (i assume) parents were around but i never saw them go to the bird. although when i tried to give it lunch after bring it inside for the first time it clearly had much more strength. i was wondering if the parents could have fed it without me seeing - i wasnt watching it every minute! or if after 4 days they would have given up. if it made a difference i put the original nest next to the box.

[Feefo]

HI Carly,

I am so sorry that one didn't make it. Doveys can be very fragile and some will easily die of the stress of being handled . I have had one that would come to the front of the cage. eager to be tube fed, while another would almost have a heart attack each time it was picked up.

What are the surviving one's poops like? The quality and quantity are a good indicator of how much food it is getting.

Cynthia

[carly]

sorry have been offline for a while. the dove is doing well. it wont feed much from the syringe any more so im just putting the weetabix in a bowl and it eats it itself. it has spent a lot of time out in the garden, sometimes disappearing for 3 hours behind the trees before returning. one night it flew into the window to try and come back inside - it wasnt hurt at all. i was wondering how we would go about 'releasing' it ? thanks for any help, much appreciated

[Feefo]

Um...I think that you have already released it! It would be dangerous to take it to another location, because then it would be likely to make for a stranger's window. Maybe when needs or finds a mate it will stay out and gradually forget about being indoors. Or you could try taking him to the Three Owls Sanctuary to mix with other doves for a while and learn to be wild.

I was just looking at the picture that you posted when you found him and I think the dove was only about a week old...they are fully fledged at three weeks, but your little one just had a tiny tuft of a tail. So he spent very little time with his parents and has probably malimprinted a bit.

The vet gave me a dove of the same age a few days ago, I am taking daily photographs so that I have a record of collared doves' development rate.

Cynthia