Found young Pigeon: HELP!!!

[TAWhatley]

Please read the thread in the General section titled "2 Hatchlings" .. there is a wealth of great information about feeding babies and alternative methods for doing so.

Take care not to get too forceful and end up injuring the youngster, but you do have to manage to get it to eat/drink or you have to manage to feed it.

Have a look at the thread I noted, and please keep us posted.

Terry

[tinkerbelle]

It does seem like I'm hurting it... It's deathly afraid of me now. Whenever I touch it it squeaks... I live in US, Illinois, Naperville... some 2 hrs southwwest of chicago.

[tinkerbelle]

I got about half a teaspoon in... how do I know when she's full??

[Lin Hansen]

Hi Brooke and Tinkerbelle,

Can Tinkerbelle possibly use the "balloon over the syringe" method....may be easier than forcing their beaks open...I am trying to copy and paste what I mean from another post...don't know if it will work. If it doesn't, Tinkerbelle, click on Search option and type in "balloon syringe" and click on the thread that pops up...It will instruct you on what to do and even has a picture attached. *********************************

This has been successfully used for baby pigeons. It may work for yours if he is still at an age where he would only seek food from the parent (not pecking for own food).Syringe with end cut off, and a piece of ordinary plastic balloon stuck over the end, and a slit cut in the balloon. Baby's beak guided through slit so it could eat mixture as if naturally feeding from parent's beak/mouth, with frequent stops to ensure baby got air. You could use Kaytee Exact or liquidised chick crumbs. At least it may get some food in him.

(pic attached)


Other possibility - soak peas, maize (maybe some small grains too) from pigeon mix (or peas, maize from a friozen vegetables pack) in fresh boiled water for 30 mins. Feed one by one direct into his mouth. A juvenile can take maybe 40 - 50 items in one session. Takes a while, but again it gets food in him.

John
Attached Images


Okay, think it took the words but not the picture....do what I said with the Search option to see the picture.

Hope this helps

Linda

[Lin Hansen]

Hi....

Didn't mean to be repetitive.....Terry's reply got posted while I was busy fooling around with my reply....Terry's right...just click on "two hatchlings."

Good luck

[vgri]

Tinkerbelle,
If you have a hard time keeping it still to its mouth, you may want to try to gently wrap it up in an old T-shirt or towel. If you warm up the cloth a litle, maybe for a few seconds in the microwave, he may fight you less. Talk to him with low voice as you approach him. It is important that you get some food into him or at least water.
Violeta

[TAWhatley]

Tink .. a half teaspoon is not nearly enough. You need to feed until the crop (the area on the chest at the base of the neck) is plump from being full of food. You can actually see/watch the crop fill out as you feed. Keep doing the best you can, but for sure, read the thread that I posted (2 Hatchlings) and also note what Linda and Violeta have posted.

Terry

[tinkerbelle]

I've gotten a few teaspoons into her... All while you helpful peeps were posting this stuff. She does fight, but not so badly I can't hold her... the only thing I still don't get is this crop thing. Is it the whole fuzzy thing above her chest? It seems a little squishy now that I've got something in her, if you feel through the feathers a bit. I've been feeding her that Kaytee exact stuff, and it seems to work fine. She still doesn't have proper feathers on the undersides of her wings, and on her sides, and also there's this long bone thing with noe feathers on it down the middle of her belly. If she really stretches it sticks out alot. Is this OK? This is my first time with a pigeon, and the last bird I have, a fledgeling songbird, died overnight, probably because my mother made me put it outside overnight.

I just went and chiecked on her, and she's in the corner of her box, looking quite alert. I think I'll put a hot water bottle in a corner of her cage... I guess if she's cold she can move toward it, if not, she can go to the other end of the box...

[tinkerbelle]

I estimate that I've fed her about 2.5 teaspoons now. Should I feed her more? Her crop... or at least what I think is the crop... is a little squishy now.

[TAWhatley]

Well done Tink! Now you're getting there .. yes, the squishy thing is the crop and it should be filled with food until it feels kind of like a beanie baby or a nice fresh marshmallow. Warmth is very, very important for baby birds as well as sick or injured birds. Just being warm and having water can often save a life. I know it's hard to "tell" Mom stuff .. but the warmth is so very important.

You've probably fed enough for right now. Wait for the crop (squishy thing) to empty (go flat) and then feed again .. that will probably be morning for you. You don't need to sit up all night doing this .. even birds have to sleep.

You have good instincts about this .. keep it up and keep us posted.

Terry

[tinkerbelle]

Aaaw, thanks! Yes, I think I'll go to bed now. I've let her rest since I last posted, for about half an hour, then tried that suggestion of wrapping her in a t-shirt so she doesn't struggle that much. It seems to help a little, and she's taking this pretty well, too. I fed her another half a teaspoon, after which she really started to squirm, so I figured she'd had enough. She's also been pooping quite alot... I think that's good...? She has a big cardboard box, about 1.5' by 2'. That hot water bottle is a medium glass jar, wrapped in a few layers of paper towel, and she has newspaper, like 7 layers, on the floor. I wouldn't say this is instinct... I'va had alot of help from all you guys... thank you all so much! I'll stay in touch, I'll probably be back on tomorrow morn!

[tinkerbelle]

Update! Aldwyn is doing quite well, and I am surprised he/she is even alive. Every other bird I've had has died (that's one other bird). He/she looks fine, and I think there's actually new feathers on the undersides of his wings, though I'm not sure. I'm getting better at feeding Aldwyn, too, but he/she has been pecking at everything he/she can reach, and squeaking like crazy. Have I maybe not been feeding Aldwyn enough?

[vgri]

Congratulations for keeping your bird alive Tinkerbelle! If the bird is pecking, it may very well be that she is still hungry. Ideally she should switch on seeds fairly soon. I don't remember what did you last write about bird seeds: did you manage to get her any? If she has seeds available, is she pecking at them? Can you tell if she is eating them? How does the crop feel? Half full? Full? Keep up the good work! You are doing very well!
Violeta

[re lee]

The fast method I have used for many years. When I have hand fed young or sub raised youngbirds. I use a catheter syringe. 30 and 60 cc. Then use chick starter. I run warm water put the chick starter in a bowwl mix it let it sit. It will swell up as it asorbs the water. If a little more water is needed I add more. Try to keep it a little soupy. Then when it cools to just warm I put it in the syringe. Open the young birds beak. And shoot it down the throat Until the crop is full. You can easyly quess The amount on the birds age. And It takes just less then a second to feed the bird. chick startere is medicated. So it helps keep the young bird healthy too.

[tinkerbelle]

Well I've got a big jar of Kaytee exact baby bird hand feeding formula, and I've been feeding that to her through a syringe, but I can only get in a little at a time, abpout 1/8 of a teaspoon. Last night I fed her and I'm pretty sure her crop was full... but when I enter the room and go to pick her up, she squeaks, jiggles her wings a little, and starts pecking my fingers like crazy. She doesn't stop squeaking until I leave. Today I put a bowl of water in and she actually took a drink. On the first day when we got her, she wouldn't drink water. I also put in a little dry and soaked rice, little pieces of bread, and a bit of finely chopped horseradish. She pecked at the rice a bit, but I'm not sure she ate much. Should I maybe try to leave some of the baby formula in there too? I'm in the same room now and she's been squeaking nonstop since I entered and put my hands near her...