i found a fledgeling please help

[lotty69]

hi please can anybody help me, yesterday i found a baby pigeon just sitting in the middle of a busy road,cars were swerving round the poor thing,so i turned the car around and went and picked it up.it did not attempt to move away from me either.I wrapped it up in a towel and kept it close so it could feel my body warmth. i have tried to give it some water with a dropper but it is not eating or making any noise. it is preening itself and seems quite content in its cardboard box or on my finger . has anyone got any advice on what i can try to feed it thanks lisa

[Reti]

Hi Lisa,

thank you so much for rescuing this little one.
That he is preening is a good sign that he is not too sick.
Do you have any idea how old the baby might be? is he fully feathered? Does he have any hairs sticking out in between his feathers.
If you think he is young, you can check out the pics of baby Sara on this forum's home page, that should give you an idea of his age.
If you can post a pic of him, that would be great

He needs to drink water and eat.
You can put a deep dish with water in front of him and gently dip his beak into the bowl- keep the nostrils out of the water. If he is old enough to drink by himself he will. Otherwise, you HAVE to give him water with a dropper.
Depending on his age, we will advise you further on what to feed him, seeds or formula which you can get from the pet store.

Did you check him out for any injuries? Also look in his mouth by gently opening his beak. It should be pink and clear of any secretions or growths.
Please keep us updated on this little guy.

Reti

[cyro51]

Hi Lisa,

If you click on "Pigeon Talk", then on "Pigeon Daily" then on "Resources" you will find a post that leads to a link showing the day to day development of a feral pigeon.

There is also another that shows the development of a collared dove and a post on feeding techniques.

If you can give us an idea of what sort of pigeon you have and how old it is we can give better advice on what and how to feed it.

If you let us know where you are we might be able to point you in the direction of someone who can give practical help.

Cynthia (UK)

[JGregg]

Thank you for taking the time to rescue the poor little pigeon!

Where are you located?

[lotty69]

hi reti
by the look of the pics its about 23 days old, it has a few hairs still sticking out from the feathers, i have tried dipping its beak into the water but it just turns its head away. it is spreading its wings and flapping them about when i lift it out of its box. at the mo im unable to show you a pic as camera is broken..

[lotty69]

hi cynthia,
thanks for the info on how to get to the pics it was really helpful, its about 23 days old, but im concerned that i cant get it to eat anything. i live in bournemouth

[lotty69]

i live in bournemouth uk

[Reti]

You will need some formula from the pet store to feed this little one.
If you cannot get it now, there is another alternative to give him baby cereal. You feed him with a dropper or syringe. Another great method is the boloon method. You find this on
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t8531

I hope I got it right.
If you feed baby cereal you won't need to give the baby water.
With this method he eats as much as he needs and you don't have to worry about over- or under feeding.

Please keep him warm, on a heating pad on low.
If you have no heating pad you can use a bottle filled with warm/hot water wrapped in a towel.
Make sure he doesn't get over heated.

You can find more information on this topic on a recently thread in the emergency section of this forum under "seven tragically orphaned pigeons"

Good luck

Reti

He should be ready to eat and drink within a week maybe a little more.
For now, please make sure he gets some food in him.

[pdpbison]

Hi Lotty69,

No harm if you should be so kind as to ensure the little one is able to be warm. A heating-pad with a single layer of Towell on it, set to low or medium and aranged so he may be off of it or on it in some larger box on it's side say, with one end open, will possibly be a comfort to him. Likely he will stay put nicely enough so long as he takes the arrange to be like a Nest of sorts.

Young Pigeons normally eat by inserting their Beak into the throats of their parents, who obliingly open their Beaks for their young to to do so.

It falls to us then, in some manner or other, to either administer food directly into the Crop of the youngster ( via some Syringe or Catheret or thin barrelled 'dropper'), or, more safely for the neophyte ( or, for the Pigeon actually, oweing to dangers of getting food or liquid into their airways instead of their Crops) is to employ some method where they may insert their little Beak 'into' something for being fed. This is the safest and it is quite easy in fact to do.

Some young Pigeons, with a little gentle coaxing, will readily eat from something like a small Shot-Glass or other short narrow diameter container.

Food for them should be wrist temperature or a little less, or tepid anyway, so it does not discourage or chill them to eat it.

For now, you may take some simple ingredients at hand and make a meal for him if you like...such as...

In a little water in a small pan, warm the water and dissolve some Graham Cracker in it, and you may add also some small kind of Birdseed if you have any handy, and or you could add some Rolled-Oats or other sort of what one calls 'Hot Cereal' and for now, and warm ythe whole of it, (you do not need to make very much, just half a Tea Cup full or so for this round, so) that will be a welcome meal. Make it to the consistancy of a thick 'Soup' and elect some small stubby Whiskey glass or other little container, maybe an empty plastic 35 mm Film cannister even, and put some of the food in there, enough for him to get his Beak into it anyway, as deep as his Beak is long, say...

Gently guide his Beak into this, and if possible, do so with two of your fingers' sides kind of holding his Beak on each side, as you guide it in, this way he may 'feel' a familiar tactile sensation on his tender Beak, which will remind him of how his parents fed him. He may take to this readily, or it may take a few gentle trys for him to understand you wish to feed him in what for him, is a new manner from what he was used to.

More later...and likely from several others here too!


Thank you for grabbing the little Pigeon and saving him..!

Your description is of some very positive indicators, as for his preening and energy generally...this is very good to hear.


When feeding, or when being fed, or when asking to be fed, young Pigeons will usually become quite enthused, and flap their Wings, while pumping their shoulders up and down, and squeaking a good deal, or even running in little circles or figure 8s or the likes. He may also enthusiastically try seeking something 'like' his parent's Beak, with his Beak...this will likely happen with his Beak searching your fingers or the webs of them on your hands.

Also, once you have some tepid food in ready, you may gently massage the sides of his Beak, and this may inspire him to decide you might just be a possibility for feeding him!

Let us know how it is going...

Best wishes,

Phil

[cyro51]

Hi Lisa,

If you can't get it to eat om its own you will have to hand feed it.

Can you get to a pet shop? There you will find "eggfood" which you can make into a formula and feed by the syringe and balloon , baggie of bent spoon methods described in the Resources forum.

Any of these should work for a 23 day old pigeon but if they don't then you can also make egg food into a paste which can be rollod into little balls, dip each ball into water, prise the pigeon's beak open and gently push the ball of food to the back of the throat. The pigeon will swallow it automatically.

Alternatively try a cereal based dog food or soaked dog biscuit, feeding as described.

Cynthia

[lotty69]

hi everyone, well i visited several pet shops today and i couldnt believe that not 1 knew anything about any formula. so i gave up in the end and brought some baby cereal, after several unsucessful attempts this evening i managed to get 3.5mls syringed into this little birdie. hopefully my little feathered friend will become accustiomed to this method of feeding until it has mastered the art of self feeding..
i forgot to ask has anyone any ideas on how to sex my little friend as my children would love to give it a name but they want to know if its a boy or a girl .. lisa

[Reti]

At this age, it is impossible to tell the sex of the bird. When he becomes mature you might get some clues from his behavior.

3-5ml is not enough unless you do it every two hours.
You should be feeding him three times a day about 20-30 cc's each time. Also make sure the consistency of the cereal is thick enough.

You can supplement his feedings with some puppy chow, or any dog food soaked in water until they are soft.
Also you can start feeding him peas, corn, lentils either dry ones, or frozen and thawed, or from a can, One peace at a time, that will give him also the taste of the seeds and soon enough he might be starting eating by himself.
Offer him a dish of seeds and water, so he can learn to start pecking on it.
Usually they learn first to drink and then they start pecking at the seeds.

Please feed him a little more.

Reti

[lotty69]

hi reti,
well today my little friend took 3 feeds of 25cc which im so pleased about, although the poor thing got quite messy with the cereal, so i gave it a tepid water bath and then gently dried it with my hairdryer with my hand in between the heat and the pij. it also attempted to flyfrom my finger but only managed to plop down in front of me. is this a good sign.i also took your advice and put some seed and water in its box, it seemed to have fun today as when i returned home from shopping all of the seeds were all over the floor of its box and in its water lol. bless.
lisa

[Reti]

Hi Lisa,

that is wonderful, that he ate three good meals today.
That he is playing with his food is a very good sign that he will start eating by himself very soon.
When you are sure he is eating don't stop the feedings at once. At first you reduce the feedings to twice a day for 2-3 days, then you do down to once a day 30 cc's and you watch him if indeed he eats his seeds.

You have done a great job with this little one.

Reti

[lotty69]

hi reti
today i managed to get him to feed very well but today my little dove friend has got very waterey brown stools well more like water really, i hope this isnt a bad sign as its been doing really well. it still doesnt make any sounds by it is still preening itself and flapping its wings. do i carry on with the baby cereal or should i stop this and try something else.. i dont want to see this poor little baby poorly.
lisa