I found a pigeon and I have no clue what to do

[Twiggy]

So, about an hour and a half ago, I found a pigeon on the street. He was trying to sleep on top of a store and the owner of the store got a broom and took it down. Then threw it into the street.
The pigeon stayed in the street, so I'm not sure if his foot is injured, or if anything else is injured. He would have gotten run over if he was still on the street. And I wanted to take him home to make sure he's alright before I let him go.
I've never taken care of a pigeon before.
I currently have him in my cat carrier. There's a bowl of water and two containers of food. One has split peas and the other has a crushed biscuit. Unfortunately, we're out of bread right now. There's a tshirt in there, wrapped in the shape of a nest. And the carrier is lined with newspaper on the bottom.

So, right now, I'd be grateful for any help, tips, or advice.

[KIPPY]

First off, Thank You for helping this little guy out.

I would put a heating pad set on low in the carrier and put a towel on it and place the pij on that.

There's a tshirt in there, wrapped in the shape of a nest

you could keep that in there also.
I would not worry about bread and I would take the crushed biscuit out.

What area do you live in? and can you take and post a picture of the pij?

There's some rehabbers and caring people that belong to the site, someone should be on shortly.

[Pidgey]

If you can take and post a picture of the bird, it might help. He might be sick, starved or both. Do you see any yellow hairs on the ends of his feathers on his neck near his head? Can you describe his poop? Also, where basically are you in case we've got resources in your area?

Pidgey

[Twiggy]

I don't have a heating pad, but it's really warm in my house.
I actually took some photos and I was uploading them when I was posting this thread.
I took the crushed biscuit out. Is there anything else I could give him?
I live in Queens, NY.
I'll take a photo of his poop right now. But here are the photos of him:





He's so cute.

[Pidgey]

Okay, he's a youngster and he doesn't know how to eat or drink yet. You're going to have to teach him. Teaching him to drink will be easier than eating and you should probably do that first. Put your low bowl in front of him and gently push his his head down so that about half of his beak goes in the water. You might have to do it a few times and you might want to fill it about 3/4 full.

Pidgey

[Twiggy]

Ah, okay.
By any chance, can you tell how old he is?

Here's a photo of his poop:

[Pidgey]

After you've given that a few shots, you can work on getting him to eat the split peas. The best way for him to learn is to peck with your finger into the peas close in front of him. You can also touch his beak with your finger and then resume pecking. He might give it a few tries, too. The more you work with him, the more he'll get it. And, the more hungry his is, the faster he'll pick it up. You might also have to hold him while you work his beak open and drop a few in, one at a time. In so doing, you'll need to give him time to swallow each one before putting another in. That's tedious, but it does reinforce the idea that you're trying to teach him how to eat. It could take a day or two for him to get it with several actual episodes but you always leave a small bowl of the stuff with him and keep pecking with your finger every off chance you get.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Hard to say, maybe 3 1/2 to 4 weeks.

Pidgey

[pdpbison]

Hi Twiggi,




You have a lovely youngster there...


Ideally, small whole Seeds, such as 'Finch Seed' or 'Canary Seed' will be easiest for him to deal with.

No Pigeons I have ever seen will willingly eat Lentils or split Peas, even though they all like whole, round, dry Peas of various kinds, and other small Grains.


Your Local Petsart should have what you need...and the 'White Safflower' Seeds are also a good one for youngsters.


Some so called 'Dove Mixes' have both very small whole Seeds and the White Safflower Seeds combined.





Let us know what his poops are looking like? Color, consistancy, how-any since you got him...



As 'pidgey' mentioned - you can guide his Beak for him to drink -


The best way to do this, is to moisten your finger tips in warm water and shake off any excess, then, with your finger tips, gently 'massage' his Beak as an invitation in his terms, to feed or water him, and see if you can encourage him to 'Nuzzle' your finger tips then with his Beak.


His Water should be just a little less than body temperature, or else he will likely refuse to drink...

So, just have a little low Cup of tepid Water, and see if you can get him 'nuzzling' and gently guide his Beak, keeping your finger tips on it as you do so, guise it into the Water and keep your finger tips on the sides of his Beak while he drinks...


I will check back later...


Best wishes..!


Phil
l v

[Twiggy]

Aw, he's so young.
I tried the water and he drank a bit of it. I'll try to get him to eat.
Thanks for all the help. =)

[Pidgey]

Yeah, pretty young. There's no way he can survive "out there" for a few weeks yet--you're all he's got right now. He'll grow on you... literally.

Can he stand up? We might need to think about looking into that leg. Can you get a picture of him sorta' standing up or being held up with the legs dangling?

Pidgey

[pdpbison]

Hi Twiggy,



It is very unlikely he will eat those Lentils or split Peas.


Get some more appropriate kinds of Seeds first thing tomorrow.


He is not starving...he can coast a little and be alright for now.


Possibly...if you can get him to be 'nuzzling', you could let him 'gobble' these if you are holding them in your fingers being brought togather so that your fingers are all straight and making a sort of narrow 'funnel' where he can put his Bea into the end of it, between your finger tips...


Their normal anner of eating is to havetheir Bea in their parent's Throat...where thei open and close their Beak to get foods which are brought up from the parent's Crop...


So, one can feed them 'Seeds' by this method, over a towell, since there is some spilling...


Lentils or split Peas are fine for them, just not what they will tend to eat on their own volition.

At his age, he has never seen food to even associate it's appearance with the experience of being fed, so, he could be fed these, without seeing them.



Phil
l v

[Twiggy]

pdpbison, thanks! =)
I'm a little afraid that I'm going to hurt him when I try to open his beak, but I'll be careful.
He pooped about four times now. And I hot him home about two hours ago. The last time he pooped was about five minutes ago and it looked like this:



I don't have any type of bird food right now. I know we have flax seeds somewhere, but I just can't find them. I found cumin seeds, but I'm not sure if he should eat that or not.

[Twiggy]

[Pidgey]

Oh, those peas will tide him over until you get a chance to look for something better. If you've got any raw, unbuttered, unpopped and unsalted (all of the above) popcorn then you can use that, too. I fed my first bird rolled oats and she learned to eat it pretty well.

That poop looks like it has some solids in it so he's not starving to death. He's not going to die of starvation in a few hours if you don't get some food in him, by the way--it's not an absolute immediate danger.

Pidgey