New babies .Help, please!

[patib]

We rescued baby pigeons from a destroyed nest. 1 newborn, 1 egg (which hatched 4 hrs. later). Mother is gone! I did a lot of research and called our local wildlife rescue for details on keeping these little hatchlings!

So far, so good. I'm keeping them warm, dry and hand feeding them 4 times a day. They did real well for the first 6 days. Eating via the syringe/baloon method...attacking the food.( Nutri- Start Baby Bird Formula about 1 and a half tablespoons each).

I need your help! A few questions for any experts ,please. Last feeding was last night at 5:30 pm. By 8-9 am they are normally peeping hungry. This morning their crops were half full, which confused me. Today, they feed pretty well at 9am but not great at 1pm l day, very little peeping and they were a bit lathergic. By 6 pm the crops were still a bit bloated so I fed them just enough so they wouldn't dehydrate. I checked them at 8pm and they seem to be a lot perkier but still very full. I will let them sleep and hopfully empty out for mroning.

Question: is the Nutri-start formula too hard to process for their system? ( I am making the formula like loose pudding) They are soiling and wetting fairly well. Should I wait until their crops are empty to feed them? I am afraid to over feed them but don't want them to dehydrate. Should I consider another formula?

I am growing attached to these little orphans and would like to keep them. But if they put in another day like today, I will have to think about giving them to the wildlife rescue at the risk of doing something to harm them.

Wildlife resue didn't offer much help other than suggesting giving them pedeilte water. But I did not do this yet.

Any experienced advice would be greatly apprecaited.

Thank you!

Pati b

[kippermom]

There is another part of this site called "Found a Pigeon..now what"..there are threads covering almost every conceivable issue you describe.
Where are you located exactly? There may be members nearby who could assist. Make sure you keep them warm..without a parent on them 24/7, heat is going to a big issue for them. Heating pad, rice bag, hot water bottle etc...a towel or blankie is not enough. If you still have questions after you review the other threads..ask them..but your location is really important too!
Thanks for stepping in for these little guys..don't they grow before your eyes?

[patib]

Thanks for getting bck so quickly...I read through many of the posts. I live in Southern New Jersey and the Medford Wildlife has been a bit helpful....

I've kept them clean dry and on a warm heating pad since I found them and they seem to love it. [i]My concern was/is that I know I overfed them as they were very bloated![/I But they seemed hungry and wanted to eat. Do thay not know to refuse food when full? Sorry, I am too new this.

]I feel so badly... (good thing I did a better job with my human babies!. They seemed a bit better by 8 pm.

I hope they digest overnight! If they are still half full at 8 am should I give them a little sterile water and try a normal noon feeding? or try a little formula then feed them regularly when they are good and empty ?

Would you reccommend using yogurt for digestion as was suggested here? How much and how often?

Sorry to ask so many questions...but once I get this situation under control I think they will do much better. They are frisky and seem to love when I cup them in my hands. I hope I can keep them.

Thanks again!

[maryjane]

Sounds like you're doing a great job. Sometimes they can get air in their crop while eating and this is likely what the problem is. Feel the crops and make sure that there isn't a thick or "sludgy" amount of formula at the bottom, just in case. That would mean the formula wasn't digested and is sitting in the crop. If it is air, you can gently massage the crop and some air may come out. I would wait to feed them, you can offer them water using the same set-up with balloon and syringe so they don't get dehydrated. Pedialite is fine to use with water, or a bit of salt and sugar. Of course the water should be warm (room-temperature). Heat is essential and it sounds like you have that part covered. When you do start feeding them again, try adding a 1/4 teaspoon of plain yogurt to the food, I do it twice a day generally when feeding babies. If it is air, it will hopefully go down soon. If you do feel any formula hardening at the bottom of the crop, then we can go from there. Try not to worry too much, just keep up what you're doing and ask any more questions you can think of.

[kippermom]

I am not an expert and hopefully someone with more experience with babies will be along soon...
Not sure they will refuse food when they are full...so follow the instructions on the food package as to amount, timing and also consistency based on the age of the birds. I have always used Kaytee brand, but I would expect them to be similar...the amount you were feeding sounds like alot? Crop is the best indicator that they have been fed enough. If the crop is still full when you think you sould feed them next, just give them some water and wait until the next feeding and see if they seem "emptier" then and watch that they poop. Hydrating water can include a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar dissolved in room temp water.
My understanding is that the baby formulas are intended to be both complete and also digestible so they may not need probiotics (yogurt) yet.
Sounds like you are doing a great job so far. Heat, hydration, appropriate food...so unless you notice specific abnormal symptoms (refusing food or water, real runny, green, or bloody poops etc., discharges, swellings...continuing lethargy, weakness)...they seem to be on the right track.
Stay tuned here for more advice as the experts weigh in!

[patib]

Thank you so much for the encouragement.... my little guys were still pretty full cropped this morning, so I decided it would be best to take them to the Woodruff Wildlife Center in Medford, NJ ; a great facility.

It seems my concerns were well founded. Their crops were impacted. Despite the fact that they were pooping a lot, it wasn't enough to deplete their food supply. I was giving them exactly what the formual instructions called for and they did great for 5 days...but that 6th day they seemed to just store the day's food. Since I was so new at this, I didn't want to chance hand feeding pedelite or water in fear of making things worse.

They are chipper and active despite being over plump, so hopefully Woodruff will know what to do with them. I enjoyed my brief time with my little downy friends. I know I saved their lives and that's a good thing.

But it takes a lot of knowledge, time and patience to replace what a mother bird does so naturally. I am in awe of their inborn skills!

I won't be able to look at another baby bird without thinking of my 2 little peeps! It was a nice experience and I learned a lot.

Thanks again!

Pati b

[maryjane]

This isn't uncommon and can happen to even the most experienced hand-feeders. I'm sure you did nothing wrong but in fact you did save their lives. If you ever come across more, try making the formula a bit thinner, that's the only tip I can think of; the same thing happened to me with one of mine and I was making the formula a bit too thick. Sounds like they'll be fine, great job.