Found very young pigeon outside my door

[AnimalsRus]

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This pigeon most likely came from my roof top as we have lots of them here. They like the weather.

I bought the hand fed formula and some other foods, not knowing how old it was.

I put it on a heating pad under a two towels but not before putting it in a strainer with shredded paper and a few large feathers. I don't know if it is good for it but I put a brand new feather duster on top of it and it loves it. Everytime I try to move the feather duster, it finds it's way back under it. Anyhow, the strainer is ontop of the towels and strainer, and towels with heating pad are inside a cat kennel. I have a themometer in it that is reading 90 degrees. I have given it water mixed with salt and water as I read in another post here, the heating pad is on low, and I have tried to hydrate it but found it in the rain and it doesn't really look dehydrated. I was working in the yard last nite where I found the bird this morning. So it wasn't there last nite. It's eyes are big and bright and it is squawking. It was very cold and wet when I found it. It's not opening it's mouth to eat or drink. I am very patiently trying to squeeze the water in it's mouth without drowning it as I have given it about 2 cc of food formula 2 times so far. It's crop is not filling up. It's still looks like a balloon and feels like it as well. I killed a bird onetime when I was about 6 from giving it food. Not exactly sure what happend but know that I have been death afraid of over feeding birds or just plain feeding them since. I don't have any experience with feeding birds but love animals and try to help any strays that come along. I took some pics. I looked on this site to try and get a fair age and I am guessing around 2 weeks give or take a day. It's feathers are really hard like paint dried on them. There is pins present and a very red bare spot on the back of the neck. It almost looks like it is bleeding it's so red. The cats that live on my door stop for some reason didn't see this little bundle, or maybe they did. Not sure but do know that the Tom cat outside would have torn it apart if it seen it. When found the poor thing was barely moving and no noise. Now 3 hours later, it's lifting its head, walking, squawking and wants to be loved. What else should I know and do. How much food should I be giving it through the syringe(forgive my spelling) I am mixing 1 part powder to 6 parts water, is this correct? I am giving water with sugar and salt every 10-15 mins. Can you help me determine age and how much water and food it should be getting and if it should be starting to eat on it's own or not and so forth. Just the basics for now. I did search the post but there is so much info I don't know what to really look at. At this moment I just want to get it through the nite. Thanks for any help. Oh by the way, I run a forum at www.africancichlids.net. I am known as Malawi Mother and love my african cichlids. This is the first time I have had to go outside to get advise. I hope these pics show up well, my camera stinks.

[maryjane]

Hello Malawi Mother, and thanks for saving this baby! What a lucky guy he is. You have a great set up for him, with the heating pad, and especially the feather duster. They love to sit under those. Is his crop rounded out at all? It shouldn't feel hard or stretched, if it feels somewhat soft and round, that is perfect. I'm not sure what baby bird feed you have, but if possible try to pick up some baby bird formula at the pet shop; Kaytee is a common brand. There are directions for mixing on the canister. The best way I've found to hand-feed is this:

http://picasaweb.google.com/awrats3333/BabyFeeding

The parent pigeon will let the baby put its beak into their beak, and this feeding method works much the same. It only takes a hand-fed baby one or two tries to pick it up usually, and then when they see it they will stick their beak right into it. Make sure there is room for him in the carrier to scoot off the heating pad if he is too warm. He is at a good age, old enough to not be so "fragile" as the new ones.

I would feed him every four hours or so. The crop should go down almost flat by the next feeding time. Don't feed too much; a bit at a time over a few minutes until you can see how it looks. The crop, again, should be full but not huge, pliable and soft after feeding. Make sure the formula is warm but not too warm, just test on the inside of your wrist as with baby milk. The formula should be mixed and allowed to sit for a few minutes for the water to soak in. Then usually add some more water until you have a consistency like melted ice cream. You might try dipping his beak (up to the nostrils) into a bowl of warm water, a lot of times this will trigger the instinct to drink.

In between feedings please give him some warm water, using the same method as the feeding method. You should find this MUCH easier than trying to force feed, I find that practically impossible! And frustrating, too. At that age I usually let them go overnight for six or seven hours without feeding and they do fine. Just a feeding before you go to sleep and one when you wake up. You can sprinkle some seeds around him but he probably won't be eating them yet. Please ask if you have any more questions or thoughts. Good luck!

[AnimalsRus]

Thanks for the response, I am feeding it that brand mentioned. When I fed it last two times, I wasn't sure if it got enough food. Most of it just shot out all over the place. Should I feed again the way described in the link you sent? Will it stop eating when it's had enough? Was it right to do 6parts water and 1 part formula? Yes I did give it water the way you described with putting it in a little dipping cup and it naturally stuck it's beak down but water did get into it's nostrils. We dried it up. Would you agree that it is about 2 weeks old judging by the pics I sent? Is it normal for that deep red rich bald spot to be on the back of it's neck? And finally, the crop is very soft almost airy feeling, like a balloon but not taunt. Is that normal?

Thanks again.

[nikku-chan]

It looks about 2 weeks old to me! give or take a little.
That is how the crop is meant to feel after feeding- like a balloon that has deflated a little, so it is a bit squishy.

It is better to feed like in the link if you can, because trying to squirt formula down the throat could go down the wrong way and kill the baby, if you're not careful.

[AnimalsRus]

ok thanks for the response. Yea I was going to try and feed that way next was just wondering if I should wait the four hours from last feeding because I don't think it got too much food the last feeding.

[feralpigeon]

Hi AnimalsRus,

Have a look at the Resource Section:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f25/

You'll find these "Stickies" of particular interest:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=16235

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=13601

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=9918

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=9682

This link will help you to evaluate the age of your rescue:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=9500

This is a good link for basics:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=8822

The crop shouldn't be too tight, or filled w/air, in fact when feeding the
baby, you can normally 'see' the formula as the baby eats, filling the crop.
A note of caution that the formula should not be heated in the microwave,
and should be tested on the inside of your wrist before feeding for temperature range comfort. A warmed baby is better able to digest the food
s/he ingests, another good reason to take some time looking through the
above links, it will just give you a more 'rounded' look at the issue of feeding
a baby. Hope this helps...

fp

[feralpigeon]

Originally Posted by AnimalsRus

ok thanks for the response. Yea I was going to try and feed that way next was just wondering if I should wait the four hours from last feeding because I don't think it got too much food the last feeding.

The crop should be plump, but not taught....and yes, you can go by
visuals in addition to your wrist watch.

fp

[AnimalsRus]

So we made it through the nite. The little squeaker is doing ok. Looks more alert today. Did start feeding it through the syringe with the rubber glove over it. It does work a whole lot better than what I was doing prior. I am still not sure it's getting enough though by the time the food is all over the place, leaking, spilling, spitting, what have you.

Is it possible to bathes these little creatures? It seems to be a mess. I haven't seen any kind of bird lice or bugs on it. The very first time I had ever held a baby bird, I was covered in bird lice within minutes. It was a scary thing for a little girl.

I'm going to start looking into a bird rescue or something. I just really can't afford to get attached to another animal. I saved three day old kittens from dump truck two years ago. Well two of the kittens anyways, one of them died 10 days later from a parasite. The rest of the litter was destroyed from the dump truck. I did have to set my alarm clock to go off every two hours for feedings and teaching it to go potty. Not to mention the dump truck did infact catch this kitten's foot and did some pretty bad damage to it. The vet was amazed that the foot didn't have to come off. Anyhow, the kitten is now two years old. Her name is Miracle and she believes she is human. She drinks from the water tap and sleeps with me every nite. She is spoiled rotten. This is what happens when your own children grow up and you think you may want another baby. Surprise! Anyhooch, thanks to everyone for their advise, it really did help. If I get one of those bird water feeders, will the babe drink from it? Just wondering if it's getting enough water.

[Maggie-NC]

Thank you so much for rescuing this baby. I wouldn't be very concerned right now about giving it water since it should be getting a sufficient amount from the formula you give it.

The baby is very young, 2-3 weeks old, I think. Do the feathers look like they have something stuck to them or is the baby just dirty and feathers matted from getting wet. I think I would wait a few days for it to stabilize before giving it a full bath - just make sure the feathers are dry and he is kept warm.

[maryjane]

Good job making it through the night!

Make sure the hole in the rubber glove isn't too large. He should just be able to stick his beak in with a tiny bit of resistance....that way the formula doesn't spill out around the beak too much. It is a messy process for sure. You can fill your bathroom sink with an inch or two of warm water, plop the baby in there, and then use dip a cloth in the water to wipe him, or use a small cup (I use the little blue scooper that comes with the big cans of Kaytee) to pour water over the messy parts. Then gently dry him off with a towel and pop him back onto his heating pad. Then I would change the heating pad towel in about fifteen minutes as it will be damp.

That's wonderful to hear about the kitties you helped, and your spoiled one. I know we would all love to see pictures if you have any. Many of my cats came from feral colonies as filthy, grungy, wild little spitfire kittens that I bottle fed. Now of course they are fat and spoiled lol.

You can mix a bit of plain yogurt in with the formula to help digestion. With a baby that age, I usually feed nearly a full 12 ml syringe for each feeding. You can adjust it a bit as he gets older. I usually do one scoop formula to two scoops water, mix and let sit, and then add another half scoop of water or so. You want it somewhere between runny and solidified. Like melted ice cream or a little more watery than a good pancake batter.

What general area are you located in? We might very well have members nearby who can take him now, or when he's older. Be careful about taking him just anywhere, as often even sanctuaries will put to sleep a bird that needs to be hand fed, since they don't have the resources or people on hand to feed it. Many vets will do the same thing, especially for a pigeon. There are always exceptions though.

[AnimalsRus]

I'm so glad you asked to see pics of my kitty Miracle. I love showing her off. She is treated just like one our own children and she knows it.

Also wanted to make statement on baths for squeaker. Yes the bird seemed to have red gluey stuff all around the crown of it's head. Instead of bathing, I took warm wet cotton q-tips and cleaned all the red stuff away. It took a long time to get the matty stuff off. Thought it was blood. Was looking for injury like cat bites perhaps but didn't see anything that would cause alarm. She did enjoy all the rubbing as she slept though most of it. I also used a warm wet wash cloth to clean under the wings and all around. The bird was evacuating this morning which I was happy to see. Nothing makes me more nervouse then to see an animal not evacuating. Usually means I am doing something wrong. Anyhow, she is eatting just fine and drinking. Getting ready to feed her again. I don't know if it is a he or she but usually call everything a she till I know different hehehe. here are some pics of spoiled brat.
The first kitty is Timmy, Miracle's twin brother. He died at 10 days old

Timmy.jpg

Miracle and Timmy.jpg

Feeding time.jpg

[AnimalsRus]

Miracle and Me.jpg

Miracle and Pepper2.jpg

s big feet.jpg

[Reti]

Miracle is just adorable. Her name suits her perfectly for all she went through.

Reti

[AnimalsRus]

Thank you for your comments. The reason Miracle survived and her brother didn't was because I started Miracle on a sulfa drug right away. I couldn't get help from a vet, they didn't want to bottle feed and said they would just give it to the humaine society to destroy. How humaine is that? I don't know. My own personal opinion. Anyhooch, the sulfa killed the parasite in the intestines that Miracle and her brother and probably all the other kittens had. Unfortunatly Mircale was the only one that got the meds because when I found her, the skin was completely torn back all the way up her foot. I posted for help on the internet and this wonderful lady that was working in the rescue efforts of animals for Hurricane Katrina got intouch with me and gave me her credit card number and told me to take her to the vet and get her taken care of at any cost. So I did just that. This was about 1 week after I had already had Miracle and was treating the foot with salt baths and antibiotic cream and sulfa drugs. By the time the vet saw her, she was already healing with a very big scab and the vet even then said, she would probably lose the foot. But she never did and I am so glad. She does have a large scar that runs up her foot, and you do have to be careful not to mess with the foot, but she does walk on it just fine and runs and climbs and beats up my other cat. She may get arthritis in it early in life and then again, she has so much spunk and spirit, she may not. Timmy (her twin) did not get to the vet in time. He was 9 days old by the time we got it to the vet and he was already dying. He was severly dehydrated. Not eating or drinking. They put fluids in him but the vet said he probably wouldn't survive the nite and he died in my hands the very next day. It was one of the saddest days I have ever had. We really had no idea he was that sick until it was just too late. He was bottle feeding up til the last 3 days of his life so we didn't think there was a problem until then. Anyhow, we gave him a nice burial. To be perfectly honest with you, Miracle is such a handful even going on 3 years old May 10, that I really don't think I could have handled two of them. The reason I call them twins was because Timmy and Miracle come from my two outside cats. Mama has been fixed since then. But the two kittens had the same exact white markings with grey fur and striped tails. Niether two of them look anything like their parents.

I live in Glendale AZ for those who wanted to know. I have decided that it would be best for me to hand feed the little squeaker and then find another habitat or something where it can be released or kept as a pet. I'm not sure about any of that. Then again, I could become very attatched by then and may end up just building a coupe or something. Does anyone actually keep indoor adult pigeons? I am curious. Never done this before. I have had all kinds of birds but always from the pet store, grown, and parrots.

[maryjane]

Wonderful pictures. That is a shame about Timmy. I have bottle-fed many, many kittens and when they get sick, it is very hard for them to recover a lot of the time. It sounds like you did all you could. Miracle is a true miracle.

Glad the red stuff came off the baby. As for keeping adult pigeons indoors..... we have several members who do that. Mr. Squeaks (Shi) has a pigeon named Squeaks who is her only pigeon and thinks she is his mate. He has a pigeon diaper; there is a member on here, Boni, who makes them and they are great. A tame house-pigeon quickly becomes a member of the family, just like a cat or dog (or kid lol). They quickly start bossing around the other animals, of course.