SQUEAKER!! i need help!

[xxmoxiexx]

ok, first squeaker here, so i need ALL advice pertaining to squeakers and what to do. dont know much about them..
second off, she is a baby of a pair of pigeons i feed that have nested in a Dunkin Donuts overhang. i have seen her and her brother peek out within the last few days, both have yellow fuzz, and she has a few pin feathers under beak. I saw her on the ground under the overhang today, on the sidewalk, i peeked under and both parents were there, and little bro too. i know it's probably a flying lesson, so i left her, as i was walking away some little kids started to chase her, and she almost got hit by a car running away, then a couple teenagers were trying to run her over with their bikes. i couldnt reach up their to put her back up with her family, but i can at night when i can bring a ladder out (dont want to do it during the day as to draw attention that 3 pairs of pigeons or more are nesting under the underhang and get people freaked out as to kick them out)
one pair of pigeons, a different pair, has little tiny babies. i went under their a few nights ago because i didnt see Mom or Pop for a few hours and they were chirping little baby chirps, so i had my roomie hoist me on his shoulders well i looked, Mommie was there and little TINY just hatched babies were their. i didnt see Dad, but Mom was there, and i heard the chirping i'm assuming because they are newborn. luckily Mom was there, but thame overhang houses 2 different families, one with my squeaker.
anyways, i'm thinking i should bring her back to Mom and Dad tonight. she has mites, what else should i check before i bring her back? also, it isnt true that Mom and Dad will abandon her because she now smells of me, right?
Also, i've seen a bunch of squeakers lately, and researching it a bit i learned that even if they are alone the parents most of the time are close by or watching. giving them a sort of tough love flying lesson. how do you decide which squeakers need help versus those that dont? besides the obvious, like visible injury?
so, what do i check for on this one, and what do i do with it? feed it? it doesnt eat solid, it tried to peck at seed but couldnt figure out to swallow it. her poos are runny, slimy. either spring to forest green, with a little white OR clear. her crop is very empty. to put her back i cant do it till 2 AM, even after, so should i tube feed, she should be fine until then, right?
what else should i check on her? and for future reference, what guidelines do some of you use before you take a squeaker home, knowing you arent birdnapping it either??

[Victor]

Hi Moxie, try and put the baby back in the nest. It sounds like it may have just fallen out and needs a bit of help from you to do this. It sounds like the baby is too young to receive flight training from the father pigeon. Baby pigeons really do need their parents for proper nurishment and training. The human scent rumor is all it is, and an old wives tale. Don't believe it.

[xxmoxiexx]

oh yea, i want to put her back, i'd hate for Mom and Dad to not like me anymore.
but should i feed now or not?

[Reti]

You can feed her some formula if you have.
What is wrong with the kids in your town? They need a serious educational program.

Reti

[xxmoxiexx]

Reti, it's Boston, people are very East Coast here. lot's of attitude. I miss the West Coast. and, lots of drunk students from any of the hundred colleges here. they all seem to hate Pigeons, and i wonder if a recent article in the paper about getting rid of pigeons has to do with the recently INCREASED hatred towards them, or if it's just warmer and the meanies are out of hibernation.

[alvin]

Originally Posted by Reti

You can feed her some formula if you have.
What is wrong with the kids in your town? They need a serious educational program.

Reti

If by 'Educational' you mean 'a swift kick in the pants', - I agree.

[Reti]

Originally Posted by alvin

If by 'Educational' you me 'a swift kick in the pants', - I agree.

Whatever works.

Reti

[feralpigeon]

I give a baby a pretty close look over, Moxie when I find them grounded. I swear, the Overpass pijies wait for me and then push them off the ledge when
they are sick. The birds in the flock who are jouveniles are pretty fully feathered before they start showing up with the flock. And yes, the parents
do sometimes both lounge around close to the nest when the babies are a bit
older, but it sounds as though you are saying they are yellow fuz w/a few pin
feathers? If this is so and the baby lands on the ground in the morning after you put it back, then definitely take the baby home, Moxie.

fp

[xxmoxiexx]

ok, i returned her to the overhang. i almost dropped her when i put her back. luckily i didnt. i was on my roomates shoulders, standing, with him standing also, and holding onto a bar that i was afraid would break and then the whole darn overhang woulda come with it.
so, a few families are up there. where i put her i thought is where she came from. wasnt so. what assume is the male half of this couple, started pecking her and she was SCREAMING and running and i couldnt get back up in time to stop it, luckily she jumped down to a flourescent light that ran the length of the overhang and got back with brother, Mom and dad. i wonder if thats how she fell to start with. because her brother was over there and thats why i put her there. the brother went back to mom, and thats when she started to get pecked by meanie.
maybe she's a he and the male saw competition?
anyways, i'm worried about her/him. i'm gonna check early AM to make sure she's not out on the sidewalk again.

follow link to see pics of her, i've exceeded my photo storage at this forum, so see her here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8406470@N06/

[feralpigeon]

Moxie, that is one gorgeous youngster on the verge of coming into their own.
Looks very healthy, though I know that looks aren't always the last word.
Didn't this bird run from you when you first tried to pick it up? Would seem that
way. Anyway, this bird should be flying or trying to if not already, then in pretty short order.

fp

[Lady Tarheel]

Moxie, that is one beautiful baby - looks so much like our Mr. Humphries they could be siblings. She is so very close to being on her own - I would say just a few more days and she'll be flying. I would keep an eye on her but it is always so much better for them to let mom and dad continue with her care. Looks like they have done a wonderful job so far.

You do have some terrific pigeon adventures.



fp - I think you're right about the parents pushing them off the ledge when they see you coming - we've thought our bridge parents see the word "sucker" on our faces a mile away.

[feralpigeon]

Originally Posted by Lady Tarheel

......

fp - I think you're right about the parents pushing them off the ledge when they see you coming - we've thought our bridge parents see the word "sucker" on our faces a mile away.

ROFL, Maggie, they have us all 'pigeon-holed'

fp

[xxmoxiexx]

yes, she's a beauty. her beak is black and pink, and her toes are pink with a black line running up them. looks like she has leg warmers on! Or fish nets!
already she's dressing like a rebellious teenager!
Maggie, adventure is right! a cop car came cruising up as soon as we started to walk away and just parked there to watch the building! it looked like we were tryng to cut the alarm or get onto the roof! who would break into a Dunkin' Donuts', i dont know.
plus, we were carrying a ladder and i was yelling "get me back up there!!" when the mean male started to peck her!!
fp, she started to run, but not fast and not far. it was very easy to catch her. i would think her mom and dad woulda seen all the action and done something, but she's too heavy for them to carry now i suppose. it's funny i have been watching them and i just happened off of the bus and saw her there. plus, there is a ton of hawks here now, and her being there alone would of been a death sentence. so why would the parent leave her there alone instead of being next to her?

[Victor]

Hi Moxie, Nice looking young bird you have there.

I suspect the parents are coaxing their pigeon to move on...it is beyond the age that they feed it. The parents are "encoraging" the bird to leave.

[sabina]

Wow she looks like Coco! Very pretty!
Back to your question about squeakers before....when to leave them alone...I think all the squeakers we've picked up were in obvious bad shape. Eg one I found was disoriented and puffed up, not moving out of people's way. Others were very badly feathered, ie missing a lot. They were all starving with sharp keels. Sometimes we find them at dusk when all the other pigeons have all gone home. So those are some possible clues. The healthy squeakers we see are flying around, eating seeds at our window or on the roof.
Hmm let me think back...I guess Coco seemed relatively healthy, but she was stranded on the sidewalk or on top of a garbage can or something, had probably fallen from the nest. So even seemingly healthy squeakers that are on the ground, if there's no way for them to get back up to the nest, if they don't know how to fly or eat on their own, then they're not going to make it.
Does that help a bit? Does that sound about right to other squeaker rescuers?