How old is the baby pigeon I found?

[Genevieve]

I found my cat sniffing at something under a plastic bag on my verandah this morning, and when I investigated I found a weak little baby pigeon. I've ripped up tissues and put them into a container for it, and I gave it a few drops of water before making up a hot water bottle to put the container on, and i angled a light over it to keep it warm from both sides. As soon as my mum gets home I'll get her to take me up to te supermarket to get some baby cereal to feed it. I'm very happy to report that since I warmed it up it's become more active and has stopped opening and closing its beak, which I think it was doing because it was distressed, and it doesn't appear to be injured at all

What I really want to know is how old it would be. It's got a thinnish covering of short yellowy-brown feathers and a few fluffy adult pigeon feathers around its bottom and on it's stomach. Its head is still bald and its eyes haven't opened yet. It's around 10-12 cms long.

[This message has been edited by Genevieve (edited April 30, 2004).]

[cyro51]

Hello,

If you check Baby Sarah’s photos on the front page you will be able to determine this baby’s age, I think that it is very young but that its eyes may be closed because it is sick and or/weak. It is probably dehydrated and will need that corrected before it can handle food. Is there any chance of getting it to a rehabber who can give it professional rehydration?

Please follow this link for really good advice on how to care for it! http://www.duckpolice.org/BirdWeb/Pi...igeoncare.html

Cynthia

[Genevieve]

thank you for your answer

He seems to be doing quite a bit better now. I gave him a little bit of very diluted (with water) baby cereal and he's become a bit more active than he was earlier. When i found him he'd been laying on cold concrete for God knows how long, but he's got warmth now. I made amistake about his size thoguh. I'm shocking at measuring distances, and when Mum measured him he was only 6 cms long. And the adult feathers I thought he was growing seem to be stuck to him, not growing out of him. He's only got one leg, but the missing one seems to be a natural occurrence. There's no sign that he's been injured. So I suppose he was rejected from the nest by his mother because he's not 'normal', the poor little guy. I didn't like to examine him properly when I first found him, I pretty much left him alone except to check on his progress, but now that he's got used to my voice and being handled I had a proper look at him and he seems younger than I thought. He's still got bald spots where his baby feathers haven't come through yet. He does have some very short eyelash-type feathers though. I shall go and have a look at the pictures to see how old he is

Unfortunately it's too late to ring anyoneabout him tonight as it's just past 10pm in Adelaide.

He's chirping a little now. Is that a good sign?

I've named him Stan after the racing driver Stan Fox who was lovely to me, and was tragically killed a few years ago. Stan meant a lot to me, and this bird does already lol, so I thought the name was appropriate

[Trees Gray]

Hi Genevieve,

Thank you for picking up this needy little baby. It definitely would have died without your immediate help. This baby will never be able to go free because of its handicapp. But that doesn't mean he can't live out a happy normal life if someone will adopt him.

The baby needs to be on baby bird formula as soon as possible. Follow the instructions on the website that Cynthia gave you. Baby needs to eat every 3 to 4 hours.

He is peeping because he is hungry and needs alot of nourishment at this age because he is undergoing a tremendous amount of growth and feathering. The crop should full when he is done eating, like a bean bag infront of them when they sit. Once it empties it is time to fill up again.

You should get it to a rehabber promptly as Cynthia has suggested as it will need extra special care.

Thank you for immediate attention to this matter.

Treesa

[cyro51]

Poor little mite! I would say that if he is squeaking that is a good sign as they squeak with hunger. A very sick pigeon would be beyond hunger.

Pigeons can adjust to living with one leg (I have one) but would find it difficult to forage for food in the wild with that handicap. They use one wing as a crutch, and that can get very worn even in an aviary where there is food available all the time.

Pigeons do, however, make excellent indoor pets!

Cynthia

[Genevieve]

Hi Trees Gray there's no need at all to thank me. It's my pleasure to help him out. My biggest hatred/phobia is animal cruelty and if I hadn't done anything to help then I'd have been guilty of that. Tomorrow I'll ring my local pet shops to see who sells baby bird formula, and ring my vet to get a list of people in my area who take in orphaned and injured birds. Although I would love to keep Stan as I've become very attachedd and already consider myself his mother. He seems to recognize that I'm helping because he didn't struggle at all when I fed him a little while ago, and as far as I can tell he finds being held in my hand calming. He ate quite a bit more this time than the first time I fed him which was nice to see. He's trying to move around but he's all wobbly like a foal when it tries to walk when it's a newborn. I'll have to get a bigger box to put him in very soon I think, with him becoming so active and all lol.

Thank you both for reassuring me about the chirping. I figured it wasn't from pain because he'd have done it whenever I touched him if it was, but it's still nice to have the reassurance.

And thank you for the link Cynthia, it's been very helpful. I'm still on there having a look and I've found some great information.

Gee it's nice to see that there are people out there who care so much for animals

I'll keep you posted on Stan's progress!!

[Genevieve]

yay Stan just had his third feeding and ate more again, and has had his first proper poo!! He's already responding to my voice too. Mum went in to see him and spoke to him, thenb rought him out to me, and when he heard my voice he became ten times as active

I'm not so sure he is apigeon now though. If anyone's willing to help identify which breed of bird he is I'll take a webcam picture and send it to them. I would be interested to know what he is.

Well time for me to set my alarm for thenext feeding and grab some sleep now lol. ooroo!

[Genevieve]

oh and the adult pigeon feathers I thought he wsa growing turned out just to be stuck to him. All but one have come off with a gentle pull. And he does have two legs, the one I thought was misssing was tucked up tightly against his body. He's stretched it out a bit but it is deformed, and that's whta the last pigeon feather is stuck to.

[Trees Gray]

Please do send a picture of the baby to any of us, just click on to the ? mark next to the name and you will find our e-mail address.

Keep us updated.

Thank you

Treesa

[Genevieve]

wonderful I'll just feed Stan and take a pic. Won't be geat quality because it's a webcam lol

[Genevieve]

I've sent the pics Trees Gray.Lol I don't know how something can be so ugly yet so cute at the same time!

Good news about his leg. He does have two working ones. It's just that one was all scrunched up against his body when I found him and it was stuck there with feathers, which were obscuring the view and made it look like he only had one. I guess they stuck to him because of his being wet after he hatched.

He's done a second poo btw!! While I was holding and feeding him of course hahah

[Genevieve]

Good news on the feather front...Stan'sfeathers have come in slightly thicker overnight although he does still have some bald spots tey're less noticeable.

He seems to enjoy his feedings and licks it up with his little tongue. i squeze a drop out onto the end of the syringe and put it near his beak and his tonguedarts in and out, eating it. He's become stronger since I rescued him and I have a good feeling he's going to make it.

How loong untl their eyes open? I thought I saw one slightly open andthen close again today during a feeding, but I suspect it was my imagination

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Animals are there for you through thick and thin...shame most people aren't like that

[Genevieve]

oh geez ,look at all the typos in that last message. lol 'motherhood' is taking its toll already. i'm sooo tired after all the alarm settings to get up and feed Stan. and just the general worrying abotu him wears me out. I can see why mothers of human babies say it's worth it. Stan sure is, and he's not even human lol

He's done a third proper poo btw. Is that normal? i've had him since 0930am yesterday and it's now 1650 today. He has had other bowel movements, but they've been watery, more like serum than poo,

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Animals are there for you through thick and thin...shame most people aren't like that

[This message has been edited by Genevieve (edited May 01, 2004).]

[cyro51]

Hi Genevieve,

It is a very good sign that he is passing normal poops. How many times are you feeding him and how much? ASre you feeding him Kaytee Exact baby bird formula??

The reason I am asking is that he needs extra
enzymes for the first few days to digest the food properly and grow.

Cynthia

[cyro51]

Hi Genevieve,

I have bumped up Ernie's post in the General Discussion section because she raised a five day old baby and developed a clever way of feeding it.

Cynthia