Two Squabs Need Urgent Care in the Bay Area, CA

[karijo]

Hi everyone!

Brooklyn's mom here (he is doing fantastic by the way - standing on my head as I write this!).

A friend of mine who works over at Berkeley Dog & Cat Hospital has taken in two feral baby pigeons, they sound to be maybe 20 days old?, and cannot care for them.

I am going to go pick them up from her today and get some food in them, but I cannot keep them past Wednesday as I will be in New York for 10 days.

Is there anyone around the San Francisco Bay Area who can take in these two orphans ASAP? They shouldn't need more than a few weeks of feeding and care. She says they look pretty good.

Please send me a private message if you can take these guys in, and I will call you right away.
(I live in Oakland, CA)

Thanks!!!!

[Charis]

I will send an email to feralpigeon...probably the closest member to you. Would you please email me your number? charisnp@teleport.com

[karijo]

Thanks! I actually just emailed FP!

[Charis]

Good. So did I.

[karijo]

So, just an update - the two pidgies are doing great.

They are gorgeous! Very very dark checkered birds. I think maybe a boy and a girl, one is a bit bigger overall and puffier in the throat region, the other is more slender, smaller head. Both are eating very well and already getting more comfortable with the idea of having some strange giant taking care of them all of a sudden. This morning they even peeped for food when I went in to check on them.

I am keeping them quarantined from Brooklyn and am getting blood work ups and fecals done this week before I leave hopefully. My friend says she can take them back while I am in NY, but certainly if anybody else can help out I'd appreciate it!

If they can't be released back into the wild I can keep one as a buddy for Brooklyn, if there does turn out to be one girl - or will two boys get along?

Do hand reared feral pigeons ever get successfully released back into the wild? I've never had a problem with any other wild birds, or most adult feral pigeons, but the baby pigeons just seem to get TOO tame and comfortable around people to be safely released.
(and it Brooklyn's case, refuse to actually leave ha ha)

Best,
Kari Jo

[karijo]

Ugh.

OK, so the babies are doing great but I just experienced my first Pigeon Louse Fly scampering across the bathroom floor after the little girl was flapping her wings for some exercise. EW.

I'm going to run to the store and pick up some bird mite spray. I'm guessing these guys are old enough to be treated... They are fully feathered.

Should I treat Brooklyn too? Or is there some other method of preventative care that would be safe? I've kept them in the carrier in the bathroom with the bathroom door shut (it's as far and secluded as I can keep them from Brook), but take them to the kitchen for feedings. I haven't handled Brook without a clothing change and serious hand and arm washing, and have been trying to be mindful of dealing with Brook first, then the babies so to avoid any potential dangers to him.

That said - suggestions on treatments for lice, mites, and whathaveyou?
Thanks!

[Trees Gray]

You need something a little stronger then the lice and mite spray, but the youngsters may only have one or two, you can get rid of them by picking them off of them, or you can spray them with a spray that has permethrin in it. Be sure to cover their faces and beak so the spray doesn't get into their beak, eyes or nostrils. If they are old enough they do like to bathe, and that in itself will scare away those flies.

[Jaye]

If other options for caring for them fall thru, or your friend decides that being a pidge-mom is not her bag (can you imagine ! )...I am in SF and can take them if need be.

20 days old is old enough for the birds to be treated w/a lice spray (most lice sprays have permethrin, don't they ?)...definitely don't let 'em inhale the stuff, though....

If found at 20 days...yes, they can be re-released. My pal Squeaker was rescued at 14 days....she had been wild long enough that she never was much interested in becoming a people-bird...wanted to get back out to the wild. So, a good chance that these guys are the same. If the birdies were younger...more chance they'd bond to humans.

If you and your friend do keep on with raising them, you should read the threads here regarding "soft release" and "to release or not". Lots of info there folks would often not consider....

You have to acclimate 'em to adults...they have to observe adults and how they forage and how they are vigilant and how they spook....you can't just let 'em grow up and then open the box one day and say "bye !"
Also, you want 'em to get some wing exercise in (meaning at least some indoor flying). Also, 45 days old is the youngest you'd wanna let 'em go.
And lastly, you gotta consider where you wanna release 'em....hawk areas, lots of car-traffic areas, areas where there aren't a number of pigeon flocks = very bad locations for a juvenile soft release.

Take care.

[karijo]

Hi! Thanks for the great info!!

Well, I picked up some mite/lice spray and followed some instructions I found on some other fly louse posts regarding soaking the little pidgies in a bath to help rid them of the things.

I filled the sink with a few inches of warm water and both pidgies didn't mind it at all. Didn't see anybody jumping ship though, so I gave them a nice shower of the spray, taking care to shield and avoid their heads. I let it sit a few minutes then hosed them off and towel dried. Then a light misting of the spray under the wings, breast, and on the back and tail. I didn't see any of the fly lice until I was hand feeding - it jumped off then jumped back on before I had a chance to grab it. I cleaned the little kennel I have them in really well outside, and gave THAT a light misting of the spray. *shrug*

I also noticed some of the tiny light brown lice as well by the way. Oh joy.

Hopefully the spray and nice clean quarters will keep the pests at bay.
How likely is it that Brook will pick them up from the other end of the apartment with all my precautions? Any preventative measures I can take? Poor Brook!! He is so clean and unaccustomed to parasites and itchies!

Anyway. I have been letting the babies walk around on the deck to stretch and get used to the outdoors. Meanwhile, I've done bird rescue for a long time and have really never had any issues with any other species getting released except pigeons. I suppose with Brooklyn I shouldn't have given him that little green teddy bear when he was a baby... LOL

Well Jaye - I am happy to let you take them if you want them! And as I said, I've been looking for a female for Brook to have as a buddy, so if she can't be released I wouldn't mind taking her back. (Of course I would love for her to lead a normal wild pigeon life!) The both of them are pretty tame, not fearful at all and make quite a peeping when they hear me or want something from me. I've not been fussing with them besides for feeding times to hopefully keep them from getting too used to human contact.

I live right off Lake Merritt by the way, which is a bird sanctuary and has more pigeons than Trafalgar Square... that's where I have let loose adult feral rehabbed pidgeons that were releasable.

[Charis]

If you want a mate for Brooklyn, Elizabethy has some white king rescues she is needing to find homes for. She's in SF.