Young Pigeon Found in Chicago 2/2/02

[MB]

Hello,

Picked up a young pigeon last night that is having problems walking especially on one leg. I took it to a wildlife refuge and they confirmed that the legs were not broken but were very week. They also confirmed that it was a young pigeon probably abandoned. It is also apparent that the bird does not know how to fly quite yet. So here are my questions:

1. What should I do to its legs to increase circulation and strength?

2. How do I teach it how to fly?

3. I was informed to start feeding it 20cc of formula twice a day but how long will it take for it to start eating dry food?

4. How long does it usually take for a pigeon to get used to its new environment?

5. How often should it drink water?

Your responses are appreciated.

Regards,

MB

[TAWhatley]

Hi MB and welcome to pigeons.com! Thank you so much for helping this needy young pigeon. I'll try to answer your questions in general, but could you please take a look at the pictures of Baby Sara from the home page and give us a guesstimate as to how old the bird is. You will also find good information by clicking on the Resources link at the top of the home page.


1. What should I do to its legs to increase circulation and strength?

Keep the bird very warm and start off with an electrolyte fluid such as Pedialyte instead of water. Try giving the bird some calcium .. can be in the form of a Tums smashed and dissolved in water or electrolyte.


2. How do I teach it how to fly?

Let's not worry about that just now. When it regains its strength and is old enough, it will know how to fly on its own and will just need a safe space to perfect the flying skills.

3. I was informed to start feeding it 20cc of formula twice a day but how long will it take for it to start eating dry food?

At about three-four weeks of age unless the baby is in extremely poor condition. If that is the case, it may be longer before it is able to self feed.

4. How long does it usually take for a pigeon to get used to its new environment?

Depending on the age not very long .. if this is a very young pigeon, it will quickly learn that you are provider of food, warmth, and love. An older baby will be more skittish but with gentle care, slow movements, and easy talking from you will calm down.

5. How often should it drink water?

Since you are feeding formula, the bird will get the water from the formula.

A lot of this really depends on how old the bird is, so if you can let us know, it will be a great help.

Is the bird fully feathered except for perhaps under the wings? Any little yellow "feather sprouts" still present?

Again, thank you for your kindness. We'll look forward to trying to help you raise this little one.

Terry Whatley

[AZWhitefeather]

Good evening & Welcome to Pigeons.com,
First I would like to thank you for rescuing & caring for this little fella.
Let's see if I can answer a few of your questions.
1. This one I'm going to leave for a more experienced member, who I'm sure will be along shortly.
2. They will teach themselves to fly, providing there are no problems with the wings.
3. If you are not sure of the age, on the home page you can click on Baby Sara. Her growth chart will give you an idea of the age of your pij. Seems to me they should be fed more than twice a day, but again will leave that to the more experienced in that area.
4. If he is young, I believe he should adapt quite soon without incident
5. Always have water available, again depending on his age he may not know how to drink. Gently dip the tip his beak in the water. They actually drink like a cat or dog, in that they don't raise their beak like other birds do.
As I stated, other member will be along to further assist you.
Any other questions or comments let us know. We will help in any way possible.
Please give us an update on how things are coming along.
Cindy

[MB]

Hello Terry,

I appreciate your response. After viewing the photos, I would say he is between 34-36 days old. Any other suggestions based on the age and condition?

MB

[TAWhatley]

Hi MB,

Here is a response from another of our moderators, Mary. I'm going to put it here so we don't have a thread going in two different sections .. it will be in General from now on.

Terry Whatley
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Hello and welcome to pigeons.com

Thanks you for helping this baby pigeon in need!

Do you have any idea how old the baby is? Can you take a look at the homepage under "baby Sara's"
photos to determine the age..

This baby could have 'Splayed' legs, do they seem to look like they are far apart in an strange position?
Or are they just limp and weak?
I think I was told that giving vitamin D3 would help..

If the baby is younger than 14 days old you can syringe/tube feed using baby bird formula, don't get
anything in the hole behind the tongue as that is the windpipe and the baby could easily aspirate and
die.
Go beyond the windpipe and squirt the food down the right side of the bird (your left).


If the squab is 14 or older you can start handfeeding either with soaked seeds or dog food (NOT cat
food!) Soak some seeds (Wild bird seed) for 4 hours in water then gently open his beak with your right
hand and put some in with your left, he will do the rest and swallow.
With the dog food, simply soak some up and then cut into small pieces so that you can put it in his
mouth..
You feed until his crop (Puffy chest pouch) is full and feeling mushy but not hard or that means it's too
full and he could choke.

Pigeons younger than 16 days old don't drink water, At about 15 days you can leave dry seeds around
and try pecking at them with your finger to help teach him to self feed.

Pigeons don't need to be taught to fly, they will learn on their own, I never taught a baby to fly and all
flew away just fine.

Keep the baby warm if he is not fully feathered and in a quite, safe place away from any other animals or
little children.

Keep us posted and if you can get a photo of the legs it might help to determine what the problem is..

Mary

[TAWhatley]

Hi MB,

Thanks for the quick reply. At more than 30 days old, I think we may be dealing with some health and/or nutrition problems with the bird. Mary's question about splayed legs needs to be answered. Also her suggestion about the vitamins is a good one.

See if you can get either the Tums or calcium glutonate syrup along with vitamin D3 and get some into the bird. Assuming the legs are not splayed, this should help.

You also need to try to gently open the beak of the bird and look inside the mouth and throat. If you see any whitish/yellowish cottage cheesy looking things, let us know as this needs to be treated ASAP.

Keep us posted.

Terry Whatley

[MB]

Hello Again,

Mary/Terry, the legs don't look like they are spayed, just weak and limp. They were much worse last night but this morning the pigeon is showing some movement in one of them. How much of a dosage should I give the pigeon, regarding Vitamin D3 and calcium on a daily basis?

Thanks again for all your help.

MB

[TAWhatley]

Hi MB,

Here is a copy of an old post from someone who knows all the ins and outs of calcium and vitamins ..
---------------------------------------------

A calcium suppliment certainly would not hurt at this point. Walgreen's pharmacy can get you Calcionate
Syrup. Give .3 cc's 3X weekly with a 1 cc syringe. Do you know how to safely orally dose a pigeon with a
syringe?

Another fix would be to pulverize Tums and mix with water to form an emulsion, and administer with a
syringe. Say, .5 cc's 3X weekly.

At any rate, fortify the water with a D-3 vitamin like Nekton-S.
---------------------------------------------
Terry Whatley

[maryco]

Hello

Thanks Terry for transffering my post over..

I have had afew squeakers come in who were unable to stand on their feet, your baby might just need some rest/rehydration and food to get better, My Kuzoo here was flopped down and too tired to even stand so I brought him in and he was just fine.

Also be sure to check the mouth as Terry said, Use a flashlight and look closely inside.

Please keep us posted and let's hope he recovers quickly

Mary

[This message has been edited by maryco (edited March 02, 2003).]

[MB]

Hello Terry,

Regarding on how to safely administer oral medication, I would assume it would be the same as feeding him. The wildlife preserve gave us a syringe with a long tube attached. We have been using this to administer the food mixture into the crop. Would I do the same with the medication?

Thanks again,

MB

------------------
MB

[TAWhatley]

Hi MB,

Yes, use the syringe and tube for the medication also. You are certainly doing a terrific job in caring for this bird!

Can you post the name, address, and phone for the wildlife center that helped you? Daniel, who is a member here, is compiling a list of vets, rehab centers, and such that are willing to help pigeons. Sounds like your center is such a place.

Terry Whatley