young pigeon found on my balcony

[Jebo]

Hello,

I found this morning ayoung pigeon on my balcony, I believ his mother is dead, as there is an adult pigeon lying dead on the ground.

I have looked at the pictures and it is about 20 days old. We gave it water and bird feed and a carton box to shelter. It is walking around and moving it wings.

What do we need to do, as we live in England and it is around 10 degrees celcius at day.

Please give us some advice and help!

[bklowe]

Thanks for caring for this little one. Bring s/he inside if possible and keep warm. Is s/he eating or drinking ? To determine this check the water container to see if the level has dropped, with the seed check back and see if it has been disturbed. Cover the carton with a towel and keep s/he in a quiet place, checking s/he occasinally. Pigeons fledge at about 30 to 36 days old. There are alot of excellent members on this site from th UK, I am sure they will be along to help.

[Feefo]

Hi Jebo,

Where in England are you? I am in Norwich ut we have members dotted all over the country and we might be able to find someone that can take the little one in.

In the meantime it will need to be kept warm (but not next to a heater or in direct sunshine) , draught free and fed.

Dog food makes a good emergency food for pigeons, you can soak the biscuits, then open the pigeon's beak and gently poke bits of soaked biscuit in. Or you can do the same with tinned dog food. Feed until the crop (at the front of te chest) is squishy, but not hard.

If you can get to Pets at Home and buy some Cee Dee egg food this can be soaked and rolled into pellets which can be fed the same way as dog biscuits.

You could also fill a cup with luke warm water and dip its beak in it. Pigeons suck up water and will ofetn drink automatically if you dip their beaks in it.

Cynthia

[Jebo]

Hello,

We live in Newcastle upon Tyne. We have called the local animal shelter and they say to leave it outside and just give it seeds and water. They say that in most cases the young pigeon dies because of the fear for humans. Therfore we decided to leave it outside, where it is safe from cats and on our balcony it stays dry. The pigeon is eating and drinking at the moment.

However adult pigeons have found the food too and they are pushing the young pigeon away... Is this normal??? The young pigeon starts to wheese everytime the adult pigeons arrive...

What should I do?

Thank you

[John_D]

Hi Jebo,

The animal shelter doesn't understand pigeons, I'd say. They certainly are not scared to death by humans! I have a very little one (10 days) on my balcony in a 'cave' I set up - I had to reach over him to fill the food dish I put at the back for the parents, and he reared up, clicked his beak and tried to peck me with that soft beak I do this so my mated pair of ferals get enough, whilst raising their 'kid', and the other guys don't take it from them.

Check the sound the little one makes - is it a squeaking sound? He may well just be begging for an adult to feed him. The do that even if they can eat.

If you are sure he is eating (not just pecking and dropping) seed and is drinking, he is doing good. If the others are grabbing it, though, he may not get sufficient. He could need a 'guard' whilst feeding, or supplementary feeding, like Cynthia suggests.

Is there any sign of the other parent at all - specially at night? My main concern, apart from ensuring he eats & drinks OK, would be that he is warm enough at night. Does he get in the shelter and is it windproof? They do get their body temperature adjustment sorted fairly quickly, but I wouldn't take chances if it drops down to zero.

John

[Jebo]

Hi John,

He is eating for sure, he picks up the seeds and doesn't drop them again. However I haven't seen him drinking.

He is in his shelter almost all day, only in the morning it gets out and walks around on the balcony. Where it is trying to fly.

I don't know if there is another parent, as many other pigeons come here and are not ""nice"to him? How should I recognice a parent?

Thank you,

Jeroen

[John_D]

Sounds like he's managing pretty good

If there was a surviving parent, it would almost certainly respond to squeaks and engage the birds beak in his/hers and feed.

Sounds like you have a little guy there who is determined to survive on his own if need be!

John

[Jebo]

He is defenately managing good!

He is out his shelter all day and walks around and tries to fly. When he is tired he sits on the edge of the balcony and watches other birds.

He is also growing very fast and almost all yellow hairs are gone! However he is awake very early and wakes me up with all the noises he is making

Jeroen

[Feefo]

Have you taken a peek outside when he is making a racket in the morning? It may well be that that is when he is being fed by one of the parents and that is why he is so noisy.

Cynthia

[Jebo]

Hi,

In the morning I can see him from the bedroom and no other pigeons are there. He is just enjoying a new day I guess He is also eating by himself all day, so i don't think he needs his parents to help him???

Regards

Jeroen

[John_D]

Hi Jeroen,

Guess he's getting near to fledging and, with his determination, he'll likely take off one day and join up with others. Also quite possibly come back with them to seek food.

Sounds like a pretty independent little character

John

[Jebo]

Hi John,

Guess what, he took off this morning!!! Do you think it will survive, as his flying skils aren't that well developed yet?

Thank you,

Jeroen