[BuckyPlums]

Hello! I rescued a baby dove off the ground in my neighbourhood, with no nest in sight. I took it home to die as it looked rather sick and frail, I would have rather it died in my home than being eaten by the many cats in my neighbourhood. A day passes and it's still alive so I go to the store and buy baby bird formula (parrot). By the way, this dove looks to be a few days old, it's feathers are still growing and it doesn't have many full-grown feathers.

I've been feeding and caring for it for about 6 days and it's been very alive, very eager to eat! Day 7 comes and now it doesn't seem to want to eat anymore. The crop also looks a little full but not really even though I didn't feed it overnight. It doesn't want to eat and I'm quite worried that it will die, what can I do?

(P.S There's no wildlife rehab near me so that's not an option.)

 

[Amreshamu0]

found 18-20 day, old baby, what next?

 

[Marina B]

Can you post a photo of the dove? Are you keeping him warm? They need heat for the food to digest, especially when very young. The formula should also be lukewarm and not too thick. Should be the consistency of tomato ketchup. Don't feed more food until the crop empties. Only feed him warmed up baby applesauce (that you get from supermarkets) diluted with lukewarm water. After feeding, gently massage the crop. Do this until he starts producing droppings and the crop empties.

 

[Marina B]

A young pigeon 18 to 20 days old can be fed defrosted green peas. Just defrost them in lukewarm water and put one at a time deep inside his beak over the tongue to swallow. Feed at least 30 peas 3 times a day.

 

[BuckyPlums]

[

Can you post a photo of the dove? Are you keeping him warm? They need heat for the food to digest, especially when very young. The formula should also be lukewarm and not too thick. Should be the consistency of tomato ketchup. Don't feed more food until the crop empties. Only feed him warmed up baby applesauce (that you get from supermarkets) diluted with lukewarm water. After feeding, gently massage the crop. Do this until he starts producing droppings and the crop empties.

Sure! This was taken on the 17th of Feb, found it on the 16th of Feb.
I have been feeding it baby bird formula, lukewarm and creamy consistency as it says on the packet. They have been eating it fine until now. Something I noticed was that the crop still looks a little full even though I haven't fed it in a long time... It has been making a few dropping but not as much as before.

I'm scared that it might be sick or something.

 

[Marina B]

There are a few diseases that can slow down the crop, canker and yeast especially. Both are treatable. For now, try to get the crop to empty completely by giving the applesauce.

The formula does thicken up a bit after one mix it with the water. I always let it stand for a min or 2 and then add more water to get to the right consistency.

You can actually add some of the applesauce to the formula once a day to help with digestion. Do you have a pharmacy close by? Try to get Nystatin for yeast. Nystatin is very safe to use, it does not get absorbed into the body. He will need 30 000 units per 100 gram birdweight twice a day on an empty crop. Wait half an hour and then feed. Also check inside his beak for yellowish growths. That is one of the symptoms of canker. For this one can use metronidazole, also from a pharmacy. But lets first see if the Nystatin makes a difference.

 

[BuckyPlums]

Thank you but the bird developed breathing problems so we took it to the vet... I think it might die but I'm still hoping it won't.

 

[Marina B]

Sounds as if she might have aspirated some formula. Hopefully she will be ok.

 

[aazeemm]

Hello! I rescued a baby dove off the ground in my neighbourhood, with no nest in sight. I took it home to die as it looked rather sick and frail, I would have rather it died in my home than being eaten by the many cats in my neighbourhood. A day passes and it's still alive so I go to the store and buy baby bird formula (parrot). By the way, this dove looks to be a few days old, it's feathers are still growing and it doesn't have many full-grown feathers.

I've been feeding and caring for it for about 6 days and it's been very alive, very eager to eat! Day 7 comes and now it doesn't seem to want to eat anymore. The crop also looks a little full but not really even though I didn't feed it overnight. It doesn't want to eat and I'm quite worried that it will die, what can I do?

(P.S There's no wildlife rehab near me so that's not an option.)

 

[aazeemm]

This baby pigeon needs warmth and maybe covering it up with a small towel will keep it warmer and help it to recover faster. Otherwise it will die soon.