Found young Pigeon: HELP!!!

[tinkerbelle]

Me and my friend were walking home from school and we found a young pidgeon, under a bridge, on the sidewalk. We left for a while, but when we came back his mother still wasn't there. We tried again, but to no avail. So we took him home. He has a little yellow fluff still around his neck and head, sticking out through the feathers, and his sides have undeveloped feathers. His beak also looks kind of bulgy, probably because he does not have fully developed feathers around his mouth. He seems kind of sleepy and squeaks when you pick him up or move him around in his box too much. He won't eat; we've offered water, some dry rice, and bread. He is currently being kept in a cardboard box, about 1.5' by 2'. There are no visible injuries, and he doesn't seem to favor one foot or wing over the other.

Does anyone have any suggestions? This is what happened to my other fledgeling. It wasn't a pigeon, but a songbird, but he wouldn't eat and died overnight. I'm sort of frantic here. Somebody please help!!

[tinkerbelle]

O btw, there is no band on his foot or anything, and (s)he can't fly yet.

[Brooke]

Hello,

Go to the pet store, or if you have one near you, a bird store and buy a baby bird formula. A good one that I have always used is by Kaytee and I think that it is called baby bird formula. You will have to use a syringe to feed it to him. You can usually get one of these free at any pharmacist. Just make sure you take the needle off. Open his mouth and put the syringe in as far as it will go and deposit the food. Make sure the food is warm, but not too hot. I usually warm the water before I mix it with food. You will want to do this three to four times daily. It is too young to eat seed and bread, and at this point it needs the nutrition from the formula. Don't worry you can help the baby bird. I have saved many pigeons this way! The food is cheap and will last a long time if you keep it in the freezer. THanks for helping the sweet baby. It will quickly warm up to you and depend on you. Please let us know what happens.

Brooke

[tinkerbelle]

Is he really that young? He's looks almost fully grown to me... Maybe I can go bike to the pet store sometime today. Is there anything I can do in the meantime? I read somwhere that a temporary food for songbirds is soaked catfood... would this work for a couple of hours? I have a mother who might not be too happy when she comes home... :/ ^.^

[Brooke]

Yes, he is very young. THe yellow are downy feathers which protect the squab from cold before the feathers grow in and he is probably making small noises because he is hungry. Try to get the food as soon as possible. In the meantime you could try to syringe water into the mouth or put water in a small bowl next to it and see if it drinks. I am sure that it is thirsty, usually the formula has enough water in it, but who knows how long the baby hasn't eaten for. You could also try putting very small bird seed, like millet, to see if it will take a couple. IT will probably just peck at the food and release it since it is probably still too young. Keep it warm, but not too hot so that you don't dehydrate it.

[Brooke]

As for your mother, tell her that baby pigeons are pretty clean since they can't fly, and that you won't get any diseases from it (a common and ignorant myth). just put a paper towel under the little baby and change it when it needs to be changed- usually soon after they eat. It won't make a lot of noise. If you can't keep it until it is old enough, try to find someone in your area that will take it and care for it. What state/city/country do you live, maybe someone on this site could help out. I would be happy to take it if you are near Seattle, WA.

[tinkerbelle]

Well he's got feathers... there's just down sticking out from under it. I'm working on getting some pictures so you can see exactly what I mean. I'm not very good at explaining...

-Tinks

[tinkerbelle]

Let's see if this works... My camera is very bad, but there is yellow down sticking out through his feathers around his neck, head, and even wings.

[tinkerbelle]

Grrrr those are worse than I thought. I need a new camera. But you can see how he's almost completely grey, he's got feathers, and his wings look fully formed to me. He also has huge feet. His beak is kind of lumpy, too.

[tinkerbelle]

Me and my friend (with whom I share this account) named him/her Aldwyn. It means 'Old Friend', according to her. She may be on sometime later... for now, this is Tinks.

[tinkerbelle]

I tried getting some closeup pictures of his head, but they turned out really bad, sorry. I need a new camera.

[tinkerbelle]

Can anyone tell me how old he/she is and what I should feed him/her? Should I still go with the baby formula?

[TAWhatley]

Looks like two and a half to three weeks old. See if the bird will peck at some small seeds like finch, canary, or parakeet. It may be just about old enough to start eating and drinking on its own. If it doesn't seem to catch on to eating seeds, you will need to feed it the baby bird formula.

Terry

[tinkerbelle]

Thanks... She wouldn't eat anything hard i offered or drink from a little cup, and I've gotten some baby formula. There's just one huge problem... she won't open her mouth, and if I try to get it open, she struggles and now she's really afraid. She squeaks and shivers if she sees the syringe. But I did get a little bit in, I think... What should I do??

[Brooke]

You have to force the pigeon to open it's mouth. I usually will pry the mouth open with one hand and then force the syringe in with the other. YOu may want another person to hold the mouth open for you. It takes awhile to get used to it. You have to force it to eat. You won't hurt it, although it seems like it when it wiggles to get out of your grasp. Try it. Where do you live? (country, state, city?)