New to Pigeons

[corlenbelspar]

Ok well I have two pigeons that came from the same nest but I don't know much of anything about them. I had to take them because they were going to get thrown into a trash compactor otherwise.

One thing I was wondering was how old they are which would be the first step towards properly caring for them. They don't have their feathers in all the way and they still have some yellow fuzz all over but their beaks are black and large like an adult which I'm sure they grow into and so are their feet. They also can hold on to a perch supervised of course but have a lot of difficulty at first and can't really walk that well yet and mainly just stay in the same place except when they need to defecate or something of that nature.

They also fed themselves seed or at least one did that I know of because some of the bird feeder formula that was stuck on top of his beak had some bird seed stuck in it when I came back to check on them while at work one time and they even prune their own feathers. It looks like their crops are full but I was wondering what exactly I have to do to get them to grab food I hold next to them because it seems like sometimes they will just grab it and other times they just stare at it. I think they're both males because they sometimes start getting into a squabble with each other but the one acts kind of odd because it sleeps most of the day and will start chirping a lot when I hold food out but won't actually grab it.

[Charis]

Baby pigeons this age don't know how to eat on their own and so you are going to need to feed them.
Baby pigeons don't grab food from you hands. Pigeon parents regurgitate food from their crop to feed their babies.
The squabbling you see between the two, is actually a sign of hunger and trying to get one to feed the other.
The crop is located just below the throat. When it's full with food, it will balloon out. It usually takes 4-5 hours for baby pigeons to process a full crop. Once the crop is empty, it's time to be fed again.
Do you have any frozen corn, peas or dry dog food?

[Charis]

I'm concerned that the babies are going to die if you don't get food and water in to them. You can defrost frozen corn and peas under running water. Once then are defrosted, open the baby's mouth and put the corn/peas at the back and they will swallow. Each baby should be feed 25 pieces each feeding. There is more information to give you but this is a start.
Remember, babies go downhill very quickly if not fed.
By the way, where are you located in the event we have a member near by that can help you with them?

[feralpigeon]

Hi corlenbelspar,

Where about's are you located? Those babies will not grab food, they need
to be fed. The feeding intervals depend on the age of the babies.

Have a look at this link and let folks know approximately which stage
of growth the babies you have most closely resemble from the pictures:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f25/da...ment-9500.html

If you let us know your general location, there may be someone close enough
to help you get started, or if you prefer, to continue the care of the babies.

There are also links in the Resource section on methods of feeding babies, but
we need to have a better idea of the age of the babies currently in your care.

fp

[Charis]

Corlen...Are you there? Could you please respond?

[corlenbelspar]

Ok I figured out an easy way to do it. I just stick a bunch of the bird feeder formula in my hand and make a fist with an opening where my thumb and index finger are at and they pretty much think I'm regurgitating food up for them and they eat a lot of it.

Sorry for the late response, that's where I was at.

They look roughly fifteen days old and I live in Montana.

[Charis]

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f25/va...uabs-9682.html

Maybe this will help. What formula are you using?

[corlenbelspar]

I'm using Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding Formula which is... quite literally hand fed at the moment.