i found 2 baby pigeons need help

[emo penguin ftw]

i have previously raised a baby pigeon when i was 10 and it was easy as pie. but it was very young and opened it mouth right up for me. i have baby parot formula from back then still and the syringe. the problem is when we ripped out the gutters my dad found these 2 baby pigeons about 2-3 weeks old, but they wont eat for me at all! they say u just lightly poke the side of the beak like the mother would, or gently open their mouth and put some food down so it understands that your trying to feed it, neither way worked at all. they just look at me, they dont even seem scared. i have them wrapped up in a bowl with paper towels and thats inside of a live-bird carrying kennel thing. what do i do? also i would like to keep them but is it too late for them to like me? please help! (No one will take the pigeons around where i live they have too many)

[JGregg]

I think you should buy some new formula, Kaytee Exact is recommended on this site. One important point is that pigeons do not gape (though some weirdos will!). This means that you will have to gently open the beak and syringe the food in careful not to get the food into the trachea.

By far the easiest method is to feed soaked dogfood. Take dog food soak it in water until soft, gently open the pigeon's beak and poke the food into the throat, and the baby will swallow.

Feed until the crop is full and squishy, not taut. Then feed again when the crop empties. If you over feed you can kill the baby by causing it's crop to become impacted.

[zomg fishies]

i found 2 baby pigeons whilst removing the gutters with my dad. (i once raised a baby pigeon from 1 day til 5 weeks then he disapeerd) so i thought i could just raise these 2. but they wont eat! i have kaytee exstract from when i had the first baby. but these ones are about 3 weeks old and they wont let me open their beaks. if i try to they thrash their heads and try to look away. they arnt hurt and when i hold them they seem to be ok with me. i tried doing the soaked dog food and putting it down their throat... but they thrash so hard while im holding their beaks that im afraid they might hurt themselves so i let go. i really want them to make it! also one seems weaker then the other, he just sits their while the other one is more moving. i was able to dribble water into their beaks a little with a tad bit of gatorade for electrolyts ( i read that helps) and i ache from the loss of my old pal jack the pigeon so i would love for them to live with me so i can have that amazing experience again. but are they too old to grow to me? also alot of ppl keep pigeons as pets and let them wonder around the house, how do they control all the poop? i guess alot of cleaning? PLEASE HELP!

another problem is that when i made this acc they never sent the affirmation email to me so i cant post after this thread so plz dont expect me to respond but plz i would love advice! and if u can leave an email adress that i can contact you at if i need to. thank you very much!

[clucklebeed]

I think you should take it to a vet, though they might not know much about pigeons. And for the poop and keeping them in the house, I hear you can put some kind of diper on them put newspapers around their favorite spots to sit. I hope they make it.

[Charis]

Can you return them to the gutter? How long since you took them?

[Charis]

It would be great if you could post a picture of the poop so we can give you a better opinion.
You can hand feed defrosted corn and peas. Run some hot water over them until they are defrosted and slightly warmed. Put the bird on your lap and hold it next to your body. I f it helps, you can wrap a towel around it or put it in the sleeve of a tee shirt, with the head out the wrist. That confines them without hurting them and makes it easier to handle. Gently open the beak and pop the piece of corn and peas at the back of the mouth over the throat. You will need to feed 40-50 per feeding and every time the birds crop empties until you know it is eating on it's own. This is a very good way to wean baby Pigeons. Most often they start picking the corn and peas up on their own and after they are doing that well, you can introduce seed.
The crop is located right below the throat and when it has food in it it fill up like a little balloon and with peas and corn it will fill squishy.
__________________

[plamenh]

Use somebody's help to feed them if you can't alone.

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by zomg fishies

another problem is that when i made this acc they never sent the affirmation email to me so i cant post after this thread so plz dont expect me to respond but plz i would love advice! and if u can leave an email adress that i can contact you at if i need to. thank you very much!

I just made you a registered user, so feel free to post away. Our records were showing that we were waiting for a reply to the e-mail we sent you.

Terry

[TAWhatley]

Well, I've merged two threads here thinking they are both about the same young pigeons even though there are two different user names for the person starting the threads.

If this isn't right, then I can put the threads back as they were ..

Terry

[zomg fishies]

omg thank you! and yes i made another acc becuase i needed to put up some exstra info and i couldnt find an email in my inbox or spam folder. anyways, the 2 babies are still alive but they absolutely wont let me open their mouths. one of them is scared of me and the other seems ok. they are currently in a box on my back porch, i was hoping the mother might stil be around to feed them but nothings happening. im keeping a close eye on them though

[Trees Gray]

You have to gently pry open the beak, you can use defrosted and drained (not dripping) corn or peas.

Gently open the beak with thumb and forefinger, you can pursued them by gently rubing their beak. Once you get the beak open then put pea/corn inside beak on top of tongue and allow them to close the beak and swallow. Repeat until they have had about a tablespoon or so.

Once they realize they are getting fed it will get easier, don't let them go empty anymore. Make sure they are kept warm.

[zomg fishies]

thank you, hmm i just taught them how to drink water it took like 2 hours... and i dont hav frozen peas or corn, i have corn on a cob and canned beans +corn

[Trees Gray]

Good deal!!!

You can use those in emergency, make sure to wash them (canned corn) and run them thru a strainer, as they can be full of salt and other things.

You can use the corn on the cob, using one peace of corn (not husk or anything that sticks to the corn) at a time, since you got them to drink you can use dry corn, peas, or wild bird seed, just make sure they drink after each feeding.

[zomg fishies]

yay i got one to eat the exstract and hes became easier to feed! now for the other squeaker >

[maryjane]

Great job. You can try making something like this to help them eat:

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

You can use an old Advil bottle (that's very clean obviously) with a small hole cut in the bottom, or something similar if you don't have a large syringe. You can use rubber glove, balloon, or cloth over the part the baby eats from. This is usually easy for them to learn as their parents feed them this way (baby sticks its beak into parent's beak). If you're going with the Kaytee Exact, I just wanted to show you this way as I find it the easiest to feed.

If they get messy, you can fill the sink with a few inches of tepid water and bathe them. They will want to be stretching their wings and learning to fly soon so you'll need to allow them time out of the cage to flap around. As they can't get lift-off for a few weeks, it's easy to spread a big sheet or tarp on the floor of a safe room and let them flap around for a bit each day when they're ready. That way they will be great fliers when it's time to release them. Or are you thinking of keeping them as pets? Let us know if you have any other questions and keep us updated.