[SaffyBoB]

Hi,
My names Saffy i live close to some woods were we seem to have alot of wood pigeons. Yesterday my neighbour came to my door asking me to help with some baby pigeons which fell into her pond (even thought im not bird expert i am looking into becoming a vet and always seems to have some ingured bird or animal to look after). It turns out there was a pigeon nest in the tree above the pond and the nest some how collapsed and the two baby's had fallen into her pond bellow. She had already got them both wrapped up in towels and keeping them warm, we try'd getting them back into the nest but failed due to the nest being wreaked. So i offered to look after them. I am not sure on their age but by the looks i'd say around 2-3 weeks, today i went out and got some baby bird formular and syringe feed them some. They are both currently in a box with old towels next to the rad. I was just wondering if any one could give me any advice on what to do now? I've attached a photo of the two so if u could tell me if they are healthy ect ect
thanks for looking,
Saffy x

 

[Charis]

Hi there...we have oddles of infirmation in this forum that you will find helpful in the care of your new wards.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f20/

You need to feed them every time their crop empties. Here in the states we use a formula called EXACT. Likely you have a hand feeding formula for baby birds at you pet shop. Check out the the link above and them you will have questions and we will be happy to answer them.

 

[Feefo]

Congratulations on becoming a surrogate woodie Mum.

They are young enough to adapt to the "syringe and balloon" method of feeding, which is the closest there is to being fed by their parents:

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/WLR/BabyPij&DuvFeedg.htm

Cynthia

 

[SaffyBoB]

i had already looked at alot of the threads on here about caring for them. the formula u baught is the Exact one, i also tryed feeding with a balloon which was a bit easier than a syringe but either way they will eat the food i give them.
Thanks for both your replys

 

[amyable]

OOOOHHHH !!!! I'm getting withdrawl symptoms, GORGEOUS.
Just the age my two were when I took them on.

I'd say they're about 10/14 days max from what I can see at a guess.
As Cynthia said, perfect for syringe and balloon, they'll love it.

I'm glad you've obviously got things well under control, good luck and keep us posted on their progress, please...

Janet

 

[SaffyBoB]

ive just feed them both and they are snuggling up to go to sleep how long will it be before i can let them go? i just hope they will remember me once they are back out in the wild

 

[amyable]

Hi SaffyBob,

Well the problem you'll have if anything is they will imprint on you very easily. Now that's sound great, but it's not really good for them if they're to survive in the wild. I went through this last week with two I had reared, and having had one before that I possibly kept too long, I realised I had to stay as distant as possible for their sake. (It still didn't stop them from recognising me as soon as I got near).

Woodies as I'm sure you know are very wary of humans, and with just cause in many ways with some peoples attitudes to pigeons. We can rear them easily enough, but we can't teach them about preditors, and also what to eat and how and where to find it. So to just let them go free straight from hand rearing can render them very vulnerable in the wild.

Do try to keep contact to a minimum before and after feeding, it is so so difficult as they are just so darn cute and endearing when they're squeaking at you for food.

Once they're about three weeks old, if you can find a safe cage/enclosure that is preditor proof, it's an idea to place them somewhere in the garden where they can see and hear other birds, preferably Wood Pigeons during the day. I do stress make sure it's safe and that you are able to keep an eye on them from a distance. This will help them to identify they are in fact birds !!

Keep up the feeding obviously, but just give them a taste of outside life and fresh air.

Once you get to the weaning stage, then you can put seeds and greens around them on the ground to encourage them to forage for the food gradually.

Ideally if you are anywhere near a wildlife centre that is pigeon friendly, they would benefit from mixing with other Woodies and then be released with them as a group. I'm lucky I had this option and I took mine to one last week, almost like sending them to 'further education' for pigeons and they are with two others of the same age now. They will be kept in an aviary until they are proficient at self feeding then the aviary is opened for them to leave if they wish, if they want to hang around there, then they can which is great.

Now this sounds painless, but believe me you get so attached to these little bundles, it's the hardest thing in the world to let them go. But for their sakes, when you aren't around to care for them any more, they need all the help they can get to prepare them for their life in the wild.

I did keep a record this time of their weights and progress through the weaning process, so if I can be of any help, please let me know.

Sorry I don't think I ended up answering your original question. They need to be able to self feed and be strong flyers. I'm guessing if mine were four weeks when I took them to the centre, and just starting to fly, they will keep them about another three/four weeks on top of that. So I'd say 7/8 weeks.
Cynthia might be able to answer that more definitely as she has reared far more than I have.

I look forward to hearing how they're gettin on, good luck,

Janet

 

[Feefo]

I suppose that it depends on what part of West Yorkshire you live in, but you could take them to the Three Owls Sanctuary in Rochdale , one of our members took a slightly older baby there a few days ago.

http://www.threeowls.co.uk/

If you telephone them they can also advise on the best age for the transfer.

Cynthia