Rescued baby Pigeon from Crow

[Girl]

Hi,I rescued a baby pigeon from a crow attack last week Friday, the crow was on top of the baby pigeon and pulling its feathers out! I think it may have fallen out of its nest and thats how the crow got to it.
I took it to the local animal hospital and was informed that if I handed it to them, it would be pts because pigeons are considered vermin in Melbourne,Australia. I have taken care of it since. Comparing against Sarah's pics, I would estimate it at 2 1/2 - 3 weeks old.
I feed it 1 syringe full 3 times a day because it never seems hungry and always struggles when I try to feed it. After I let it wonder around and put it back into the box, thats the only time it ever chirps unhappily.
Its poo turned green Wed this week and I am alittle worried. It was only 3 days ago, Monday that I took it to the vet and was told that it looked very healthy.
Q1.Comparing it to other pigeon stories, it looks alittle slow in eating on its own and always has to be syringe fed. Is this normal at 2 1/2 - 3 weeks?
Q2. It's Friday tomorrow, should I wait till the end of this week to determine whether the green poo is serious? Is it possible that it could clear on its own? The baby pigeon is quite lively and seems happy and not acting sick.
Q3. I recently changed its feeding formula to Avione Hand Rearing Formula, could this have affected the colour of its poo?
Q4. How much should I be feeding it per day?

I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[Reti]

Thank you so much for rescuing this baby.

Changes in diet can affect the droppings, and formulas can make the dropping pretty liquid.

How many cc's/ml does the syringe have?
How thick is the formula you are feeding him?
At his age you can make the formula a bit thicker and he could eat 20-30cc's at a time, even more.
Also, even he is a bit young yet to feef on his own, you could put out some seeds for him, small seeds are best, he could start pecking on them.

Reti

[Feefo]

Hello,

You might want to try the syringe and balloon method of feeding described in this thread. That is much more satisfying for the baby and rewarding for the feeder. You can introduce small seeds as part of the mixture to wean.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showth...referrerid=560

Cynthia

[Girl]

Here are the pics of my baby pigeon. Sorrie, its alittle dark coz it was taken at night. I will take better ones on the weekend.

[Reti]

Oh, what a cutie!

Terry answered your questions.

The balloon method will definetly cut back ont the feeding time. Please try it.

Please, let us know how the baby is coming along.

Reti

[Girl]

Anyone?
On the 3rd of March in my previous message, I wrote that I started feeding it corn and peas. I was trying to teach it to eat by itself. Step by step, I first fed corn straight into its beak, then let it eat the corn out of my hand, then put the corn onto the ground.
Since the baby pigeon has discovered corn it has taken a tremedous liking to corn. So much so that its like an addiction. I don't know whether its part of the pigeon growing up process, it never use to chirp but it now chirps like crazy and always trys to peck at my hands, looking for corn. Even when I direct it to the ground where the corn is, it still prefers to hop onto my lap and peck at my hands. Every time I walk pass the box (in which I house the baby pigeon), it will start chirping like crazy and standing up with its neck craning to look out of the box. This all happens even after its has been fed and its crop is big.

Q1.Is a baby pigeon like a pet dog in that it lavishes for attention?
Q2.Is it normal for a baby pigeon to get addicted to a particular kind of food? I now started to mix the corn with small seeds and baby pigeon powder formula so it gets the proper nutrition and hopefully reduces its addiction to corn.
Q3.Is it normal/bad/good for a pigeon to be standing up tall like a puppy on its hind legs begging for food?
Q4.How should I discourage/discipline my baby pigeon to stop pecking at my hands? It's beak use to be soft but its growing harder and I'm afraid that it's pecks are going to hurt eventually.

Its only been a week but the change in my baby pigeon is huge since I first got it and I am alittle worried that my baby pigeon is picking up unpigeon like habits, what should I do?

Any advise is welcome.

[Girl]

Reti, in answer to your question,
The syringe is only 6cc's. The thickness of the formula is more like yoghurt with a squirt of plain water at the end. 20-30 ccs! Sounds like I am under feeding him. Its hard to feed a baby bird which never chirps for food, he is more interested in exploring or hopping onto my lap. I actually feel bad for force feeding him.
Q1. What sort of small seeds can I feed him? I have a stick full of small canary seeds I think, but he doesn't show any interest in it. Any other suggestions as to what small seeds that I can easily purchase at a local pet shop?
Q2. How often in a day should I feed him 20-30 cc's? I leave for the gym and work at 6.15am and don't get back till 6.30pm. I normally feed it at 6am, 7pm & 11pm.
Q2. He always shakes his head after being feed, is this normal?
Q3. I fed it boiled peas & corn last night, I even chopped it in half! Is this okie?

Cynthia, thanks for the syringe and ballon method, I will try it on the weekend. Hopefully it will be more appealing to the little one. Will keep you updated. I will post some pics of it soon. It is a mixture of black and white which I thought was unusal in Melb. Most of the pigeons here are either blueish grey, all black, all white (rare) or a brown (very rare). Can pigeons be any colour and is black and white very common?

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by Girl

Q1. What sort of small seeds can I feed him? I have a stick full of small canary seeds I think, but he doesn't show any interest in it. Any other suggestions as to what small seeds that I can easily purchase at a local pet shop?

Canary, finch, or parakeet.

Originally Posted by Girl

Q2. How often in a day should I feed him 20-30 cc's? I leave for the gym and work at 6.15am and don't get back till 6.30pm. I normally feed it at 6am, 7pm & 11pm.

Though it's a long time between 6AM and 6:30PM, the bird should do OK on three feedings per day .. but you need to be getting the 20-30 cc's in each time. I'd definitely try for 30 cc's in the AM.

Originally Posted by Girl

Q2. He always shakes his head after being feed, is this normal?

Not really normal but not really abnormal either. Be very careful that you aren't getting any formula into the respiratory system.

Originally Posted by Girl

Q3. I fed it boiled peas & corn last night, I even chopped it in half! Is this okie?

Yep!

Terry