Urgent help...baby pigeons without a mother

[animallover07]

Hi. About 3 days ago I looked out into my terrace/balcony and saw two birds resting in the corner. Since I saw feathers and sticks, black dirt, and mess in the area they were in, I figured that they were either sick or were baby pigeons. I've come to the conclusion that they're baby pigeons since they are smaller than the other birds and have not flown since I've discovered them. So far there have been no signs of their parents, I think they're parents abandoned them. It's been three days already. They do not look like chicks, they have feathers, and are slightly bigger than newborn birds. I've seen them flap their wings but no progress with flying. I've seen them scratch themselves a couple of times since there are a few bugs crawling on them. There is a dark feathered large bird that keeps coming to their nest, and the two baby pigeons start making noises, and I had to scare the dark feathered bird away as it was fighting them. One of the baby pigeons is slightly larger than the other one, and it protects the smaller one whenever the dark feathered or other strange birds come to its nest. I've put small pieces of doughnuts out on the terrace, but the they won't eat it, they eat other small objects, and just a few minutes ago I've put a water bowl near their nest. When I got to close to them, they seem frightened and backed away. I am really confused, since I have no experience with taking care of birds, but it doesn't feel right to just left them there to die or be killed by other larger birds. Can someone please help me, give me advice, since I cannot take them to the vet until the next few days?

[Lovebirds]

Can you tell us where you are in case these babies need intervention? Is the dark colored bird a pigeon also? I don't suppose you could post a picture of the babies? They sound almost grown. The parent birds do not stay with babies this age 24/7. They mostly come and feed them a few times a day and then stay gone. So, the fact that you don't see the parents isn't THAT strange. Are you home watching for the parents or are you gone? It may be that you are just missing the feedings. Also, pigeons eat seeds. Wild bird seed would be fine if these little ones can eat by themselves. Other pigeons and birds like crows and ravens and even a hawk, can beat up these babies or kill them if they are where they can be spotted from the air. That's why I'm wondering what kind of bird this dark feathered bird is.

[animallover07]

I am home watching the pigeons. The dark feathered bird looks like a pigeon, he looks kinda dirty and the feathers on his head are sticking up. I've been watching these guys for the past 3 or 4 days, they looked smaller than the other pigeons I usually see. and one of them has a few yellow or white feathers, I think it's younger than the other one. I'll post a picture of them.

[Lovebirds]

Forgive me if you already know this...........but someone who's not familiar with pigeons could possibly mistake the babies being fed as as "act of violence".... .......the babies flap their wings and carry on something terrible begging to be fed and of course the parent can only feed one at a time, so is it possible that they are being fed by this dark bird? Maybe he's the daddy? Is sounds like, from you description, that these babies are pretty old, say two weeks, and Mom is possibly on a new nest of eggs now, so that leaves Dad with the responsibility of these two.

[animallover07]

no. I doubt they are being fed by the dark bird. I think they are scared of him, he has no food, and he is only coming to their nest because there is food there and a bowl of water.

[Lovebirds]

Well, then, let's put it this way. If you are sure the babies parents are not coming to feed them and it's been 3 days, these babies should be very close to dead. Three days is a long time to go without food for any pigeon and a baby,.......well, that ain't good. So, there's only two choices here really. Either you need to bring the babies in and finish raising them, or they will just starve to death out on your balcony. Sorry to be blunt, but that's the scenario as I see it. Why don't you go ahead and post pictures and let's see what kind of shape these babies are in and then figure this out.

[Charis]

I suspect that the dark bird you are seeing is the dad.
If you could, though, feel right under the babies throat and let us know if there is a bulge. If so, that would indicate the babies are being fed. Also look around the nest for fresh looking poop. That would be another good indication of an attentive dad.
Pictures at this point would be very helpful.

[cyro51]

I think they are scared of him, he has no food

I agree that the dark coloured bird is very probably the parent. The parent pigeons don't carry food in their mouths to the babies, they pump up what they have in their crops. The babies put their beaks inside the parents' beaks to be fed,

That squeaking is probably not fear but hunger, when the little ones see their parents they start to squeal and flutter in order to get fed.

Both adults feed the young and they wouldn't abandon their nest. The only circumstances in which both parents would disappear is if they have been killed at the same time.

Cynthia

[animallover07]

Here are some pictures of them.

[animallover07]

well the dark coloured bird has been gone for a while since I scared him away. I thought he was trying to kill them, since it looked as though they were fighting. but the birds have pooped everyday so far

[Charis]

They look good to me.
Did you try feeling below the throat for a bulge?
I think is's the dad feeding them. Keep an eye out and try to get a picture of the dark bird you see.
Thank you for your diligence and kind heart.

[Pidgey]

You might try going through these search results to see if it looks similar:

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...&search=Search

Pidgey

[animallover07]

your welcome. When the dads feed their babies, do they usually bite them or bite their necks?

[Charis]

NO, They don't bite their necks. When adult pigeons do peck youg birds, the young ones are often scalped or at the least turned into a bloody mess. Are you seeing anything like that?

[animallover07]

it is hard to tell. when the dark coloured bird comes around, the baby pigeons start flapping their wings so it's hard to tell what their doing. but the dark coloured bird has not come back in a while. I have seen him around here everyday though. and recently, an adult pigeon, with normal color, came to my terrace, and was biting one of the birds beaks. I was alarmed so I opened the door and the adult pigeon flew away. Do you think that could've been the mother. also, can pigeons eat worms?