help

[jonny]

hello im just in need of a bit of help i have got a 3 week old pigeon and i have bin feeding it on worms and weetabix in warter can you tell me how i can tell if the crop is full thanks jonny

[myrpalom]

Hello and thank you for caring for this little bird.

Pigeons are vegetarians , they eat SEEDS when they are adults.

For a baby pigeon of this age, you should purchase a ready handrearing mix, for example Kaytee Exact. You mix this with warm water (for quantities, look at the explicative note, for a pigeon of 3 weeks old, it should not be too runny), let it cool down so that the mixture is luke warm and feed the baby with a seringue.

Here is a post about handfeeding of one of our members:

" Here is a very easy hand feeding method used by a lot of us, as it imitates how they eat from their parents. The parent pigeon opens their beak, and the baby actually sticks their own beak into the parent's beak, then swallows the pigeon milk made for him by the parent. This is a very easy hand feeding method and they usually pick it up right away:

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

Feed them until their crop, which is the area on the chest underneath the beak, is full but not stuffed. It should feel like an inflated balloon, soft but firm. It shouldn't be hard. Try to let the crop go down flat in between feedings. You can mix in 1/4 teaspoon of plain yogurt (organic is best) with each feeding and this helps a lot with their digestion. When you mix the formula, be sure to let it sit for a few minutes as it gets thicker. Then add a bit more water until you have the right consistency. You can offer them water between feedings, using the same syringe method pictured above. "

More knowledgable members will soon assist you with more advice.

Myriam

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by jonny

hello im just in need of a bit of help i have got a 3 week old pigeon and i have bin feeding it on worms and weetabix in warter can you tell me how i can tell if the crop is full thanks jonny

Hello and Welcome to pigeon Talk,

Thank you for helping this youngster.

Can you tell us where you are located, perhaps we can find you some help?

[cyro51]

Hi Jonny,

The Weetabix in water is fine, if you put it in a spoon the pigeons might eat on its own until it has had enough. But to answer your question a full crop should feel like a 3/4 full balloon, soft and squidgy.

You could also try scattering very small bird seed around it, to see if it is tempted to start eating on its own. Or you could add some very small wild bird seed or canary seed to the weetabix.

What sort of worms have you been feeding it?

Can you let us know how you came to get this bird? If it was caught by a cat it could need antibiotics. If it fell from the nest its parents might still be around and might feed it if you put it outside (under supervision!) for a while.

Cynthia

[jonny]

hello im in liverpool the pigeon fell of a roof but no sign of mum or dad so i took him in. how many times a day should i feed him a day. and i give it worms from the garden

[Larry_Cologne]

Hello Jonny,

I am an American livng in Germany, so I don't know much about German brands.

Don't feed him garden worms.

Better be safe than sorry. Stay away from worms of any kind. He will need a form of calcium, maybe like small clean chalky rocks, but he will eat these on his own.

He is a baby pigeon? Can he fly? You say he is 3-weeks-old. Have you compared what he looks like with other baby pigeon pictures?

Does he have small, very fine yellow hairs on his feathers?

He will need to eat at least twice a day. Usually early and late. Can you put some seeds in a shot glass (a short glass that holds a "shot" or ounce of whiskey? Don't know if they call it that in England.

If you put seeds on the ground right in front of him, and peck at the seeds with your finger, you can help teach him to eat. But he may still need to be fed, at three weeks of age.

Also he needs to have fresh, clean water, about an inch or so deep, to drink. Change it every day or more often if he poops in it. Pigeons drink like horses, they stick thir beaks down into the water. If you stick his beak in once, he will probably catch on very fast. Let him drink and peck seeds as much as he wants, if you can.

There are a lot of things I am not covering here, so read in the "Help I found a pigeon" section. No chocolate!

I need to get some sleep now, but others will be on-line.

Larry

[cyro51]

While he is that young I would feed him 3 times a day.

As other have said, no garden worms! These are poisonous even for worm eating birds in captivity, and they carry parasites that are harmful to birds.

Here are some other feeding suggestions:

Organix First Porridge (or porridge with banana), mixed into a thick mush, you can open its beak and put a fingerful in his mouth at a time.

Ready Brek, made up with water to a creamy consistency, you can add a little Farley's Rusks.

Chick Crumbs, left to soak in hot (not boiling) water for half and hour, liquidised and sieved. As the grow older you can dispense with te sieving but make sure than they are well soaked.

Soaked eggfood.

Try putting the warm food (39 degrees) into a disposable icing bag, cut a little slit in the bag and place Woody's beak in it, moving the bag gently backwards and forwards. He might start to feed himself. They won't eat if the food is too cold.

This is a recipe for older wood pigeons to be fed on that was developed by Karen (I think!) of London Wildcare:

wild bird seed
frozen peas
finely chopped apple
finely chopped peanuts
finely chopped fat balls
finely shredded greens
wholemeal bread crumbs

If you are going to release him don't handle them too much, they will be better


Cynthia

[wildlife]

Hi Jonny

If you are having problems you could ring Gwen at Southport Swan Rescue on 01704 543391 she is fantastic with young birds and might well take the pigeon off you and look after it until it can be released, you would have to drop it off at their address.
This is a great site with lots of informed helpfull people, if you follow there advice you will be alright.

Regards Wildlife