Baby wood pigeon found in road

[Pirus]

Hi there,

I usually care for sick and injured birds that can be helped and released back into the wild without too much problem.

Anything else I usually send to the local rescue lady who deals with more serious issues that I do not know about.

I found a baby wood pigeon in the road last night, it had been raining heavily all day and he was cold and wet so I thought he could just be exhausted. I have put him in a large cage with food and water but he hasnt gone near it as far as I know.

I have another wood pigeon that cant be released and that is a female so I put him with her to see if he would copy her eating and drinking but he just sat there and didnt do much. He is strong and doesnt seem injured, I am thinking he is just too young to fly and maybe feed himself.

If he has not ate anything by tomorrow I will have to force feed him myself. Any suggestions on what to feed him? I have left pea, sweetcorn, seed and water out for him but he seems just to be happy to lie down and rest.

No signs of injury but I am not sure how old he is, he has fully developed feathers but his beak is still grey and his eyes are dark also not like the adult ones with the bright ring around the pupil and the coloured beak.

Any suggestions on what I should do would be greatly appreciated, I just want to get this baby bird fit and strong so I can release it in my back garden as there are lots of wood pigeons about here.

[Feefo]

It would be better to keep him apart from other pigeons, woodies don't often show up with PMV but it is a possibility and often just sitting unmoving can be the first symptom. Our local wildlife sanctuary and the avian vet think that a lot of her recent rescues have died of PMV, even garden birds, so there is something bad going around. There was also an outbreak at another wildlife centre down south, they reckon that it was spread to the resident pigeons by wild birds.

Have you warmed and rehydrated him yet? If not, please put him on a warm heat pad or hottie for an hour, the mix 1 pint water with 1/2 tablespoon honey or sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt, dip his beak in that to encourage him to drink.

Check underneath his wings for injuries. Trauma damage can take time to appear, a woodie with a wing injury that I collected last Friday suddenly became unable to stand yesterday, he falls on his side.

Check the inside of his mouth for the possibility of canker.

Check his poops, woodies are susceptible to coccidia.

Does he stand at all? Are his feet flat or curled? Woodies can suffer from calcium and Vitamin D3 deficiency and from vitamin B2 deficiency

If you have to force feed him use the defrosted peas, still warm. He may not recognise them as food, but fledging woodies tend to love them and they can be lifesavers.

[spirit wings]

he may be too young to eat on his own.. I would go ahead and hand feed him.. also you may not want him near your other pigeon in case he has a dieseas. If in doubt call your rehabber friend.

[Pirus]

He seems fine, when I have tried to pick him up he seems strong and no problems with his wings, today I have woke up and he has been around the seed and peas that I left as they are all moved about and there is bedding in the water so I am hoping that he has managed to do it himself.

He moves about just fine, been lying down a lot resting, I have him in a cage with a cover on and he seems to enjoy the comfort.

I will try and get a photo of him up shortly for you to see if you can tell how old he is.

[pigeonpoo]

Bless him. You know, he is probably just messing with the seed and doesn't know yet how to eat himself. What are his poops like? Colour consistency?

If he doesn't get some food and liquid in him soon, he will die. Please, please get the photos up asap so that the experts on here can help you.

[PigeonQueen]

Where are you based? A wildlife sanctuary might be near to you or someone who knows about caring for woodies.