Feeding my 3 day old

[Richardm]

Hello again everyone

Some more advive needed please I have been feeding my 3 day old pigeon until her crop is full, i have been syringe feeding her new baby bird formula to the back of her throat which she swallows herself as I am new to this is this ok or should I be inserting a tube down into her crop to syringe the food into, also she has only poop'd twice in the last 2 days which look normal not too wet or hard and her crop takes a long time to go down i.e I feed her this morning at 05.15 and at 08.00 her crop looks as full as it did sraight after her first feed, should I still feed her again like that? also she is in a box filled with straw and a towel with a 60 watt light above the box for heat reading around 85 to 95c should I replace this with a heat pad/matt to warm her from underneath as my brother has one for reptiles, I will be replacing the bulb with a ceramic one which I have in the garage so not to give off light.

Richard

[Pigeonpal2002]

Originally Posted by Richardm

Hello again everyone

Some more advive needed please I have been feeding my 3 day old pigeon until her crop is full, i have been syringe feeding her new baby bird formula to the back of her throat which she swallows herself as I am new to this is this ok or should I be inserting a tube down into her crop to syringe the food into, also she has only poop'd twice in the last 2 days which look normal not too wet or hard and her crop takes a long time to go down i.e I feed her this morning at 05.15 and at 08.00 her crop looks as full as it did sraight after her first feed, should I still feed her again like that? also she is in a box filled with straw and a towel with a 60 watt light above the box for heat reading around 85 to 95c should I replace this with a heat pad/matt to warm her from underneath as my brother has one for reptiles, I will be replacing the bulb with a ceramic one which I have in the garage so not to give off light.

Richard

Hi Richard,

Please don't feed the baby anymore until the crop empties completely now. It sounds like there is a problem. Pooping only twice in 2 days is not normal. Try to massage the crop and see if you can get things moving inside. I would suggest giving her a small amount of water only but it's a bit risky when you don't know what you're doing and in case you get any down her wind pipe.

Tube feeding isn't necessary if this is working well and even if you wanted to, I don't think you'd be able to find a tube that would work on such a young/small baby.

I would replace the light bulb with a heating pad because light bulbs will dry out the area and it should be a little bit humid in the surroundings for the baby.

[pdpbison]

Hi Richard,



Why are you having to feed so young a Baby?

What happenned?



And...

What are you feeding them?



Phil
Las Vegas

[Richardm]

Hi Phil

Basically some kids pulled the nest down and one of the hathlings died and the other survived so i am looking after her as mum was long gone by then, have been given by my local pet store a baby bird food called Nature line, Avian Premium hand feed, baby bird. I think it is designed for Parrots but it was so late in the evening it was all i could get.

Her crop seems to be going down slowly after feeds but has only poop'd twice in 2 or 3 days, i'm concerned. I'm going out later to get a heat pad for her, would the reptile type heat pads be ok?

Cheers

Richard

[Trees Gray]

Try putting a drop of Apple Cider Vinegar in the formula, that may help with slow crop issues.

Most types of heat is fine, as long as you can control the temp and can be set on low. Be sure to put a towel or a soft cloth between the baby and pad, and check it often to make sure it is warm not hot.

[Feefo]

Try to massage the crop and see if you can get things moving inside

That is too dangerous, only last week we had a dove in the UK die when the rescuer massaged its crop to get the air out and it aspirated the crop contents.

Helen (Nooti) suggested giving it warm water to flush the crop with warm water. She also suggested using a catheter tube for feeding directly into the crop.

Cynthia

[Charis]

Originally Posted by cyro51

That is too dangerous, only last week we had a dove in the UK die when the rescuer massaged its crop to get the air out and it aspirated the crop contents.

Helen (Nooti) suggested giving it warm water to flush the crop with warm water. She also suggested using a catheter tube for feeding directly into the crop.

Cynthia

Cynthia, I don't know how experienced Richardm is with all this. Perhaps you could provide more detailed information.

[Maggie-NC]

Hi Richard

First off, it would be so helpful if you would continue to post in your original thread so members can keep up with the progress of your baby. A moderator did merge your second thread with the first so hopefully this new thread can be tacked on to that one as well.

I would not feed the baby anything for 3-4 hours because the crop does need to go down and it needs to begin pooping. Could you describe the syringe you're using and how far it goes down into the throat? We use a syringe with a cat nipple attached and it does go down past the air hole at the back of the throat.

[Richardm]

Hi Maggie

The syringe i'm using has a nozzle around 1/4 " long and i am placing it to the back of the throat but not attempting to go too deep as i do not want to hurt her or damage the crop, my main concern is that she is not pooping but her crop is reducing in size gradually. i have just come in from the local pet store with a heat matt and i will be placing that under a towel and removing the lamp.

I have given her a small drop of apple cider vinegar in her mix earlier around 3 to 4 hours ago but she has still not poop'd yet.

[Charis]

It appears we have threads by two separate individuals merged. Perhaps a Moderator can correct it.

Richard,
Try massaging the baby's bottom with a warm damp cloth to see if you can stimulate pooping.

[Charis]

With the heating pad, sset the temperature on the lowest setting.

[Richardm]

Hi Charis

I took your advise and soaked a cotton pad in some warm water and massage her bottom and within a minute or two she poop'd, that's the first one in nearly a day, do you think it's worth continuing to add apple cider vinegar to her food to help.

Thank you Charis and everyone else for your kind advise

Richard

[flitsnowzoom]

Ummm, maybe now the cork is gone from the back end, the path will flow more freely Charis must know a lot about poop -- she's a real estate agent and must get those boots out from time to time

Keep up what you're doing. It sounds like things are doing better for the two of you.

[Charis]

Originally Posted by Richardm

Hi Charis

I took your advise and soaked a cotton pad in some warm water and massage her bottom and within a minute or two she poop'd, that's the first one in nearly a day, do you think it's worth continuing to add apple cider vinegar to her food to help.

Thank you Charis and everyone else for your kind advise

Richard

Continue with the ACV . I'm glad the baby is pooping. Pooping is good.

[Charis]

Originally Posted by flitsnowzoom

Ummm, maybe now the cork is gone from the back end, the path will flow more freely Charis must know a lot about poop -- she's a real estate agent and must get those boots out from time to time

Keep up what you're doing. It sounds like things are doing better for the two of you.

Yes I do.
You are very funny.