Too young to leave the nest? Brighton, England

Hiya.. Thanks for the quick reply.

I am located in Brighton, England.

I'm almost certain that the nest is in the conifer trees at the bottom of our garden but the trees are quite dense and he may struggle to get back into there, so he spends a fair bit of time in our neighbour's tree which overhangs a garden (and where we can keep an eye on him). It's probably quite a safe place too.

It's hard to tell if he's injured though. We always have pigeons in our garden but I've never seen one like this. He looks quite scruffy with a couple of sort of hairless areas around his face but maybe they always look scruffy at this age. It's good to see his parents are close by. And it's good to know that they still get fed after they've left the nest too. Very reassuring. How long should this go on for. I'm sure he only left the nest a couple of days ago as I think we'd have spotted him if he'd been out sooner.....

Pixie Girl said:

Hiya.. Thanks for the quick reply.

I am located in Brighton, England.

I'm almost certain that the nest is in the conifer trees at the bottom of our garden but the trees are quite dense and he may struggle to get back into there, so he spends a fair bit of time in our neighbour's tree which overhangs a garden (and where we can keep an eye on him). It's probably quite a safe place too.

It's hard to tell if he's injured though. We always have pigeons in our garden but I've never seen one like this. He looks quite scruffy with a couple of sort of hairless areas around his face but maybe they always look scruffy at this age. It's good to see his parents are close by. And it's good to know that they still get fed after they've left the nest too. Very reassuring. How long should this go on for. I'm sure he only left the nest a couple of days ago as I think we'd have spotted him if he'd been out sooner.....

Click to expand...

Pixie Girl said:

He's quite tame too.. he lets us go right up to him and only as we try to touch him does he try to fly away.... I'm not sure if this is a good sign though...

Click to expand...

Is this a wood pigeon???

They are a bit different then a regular pigeon.

Here is a link to different age pigeon babies that might help you figure how old he is:
http://www.speedpigeon.com/baby_racing_pigeon.htm

If the bird isn't feeling well he needs intervention.

We do have many members in UK who can help if necessary.

I'm going to put your location in the title of your thread, to allert our UK members.

Hi,

This is a link to pictures of wood pigeon development. It is a bit patchy.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1307678366044786621iSGUUV

This is what an 18 days old wood pigeon looks like:


I think it would be best if you took him into safety at night time. Watch where the parents go, there is probably another baby still in the nest.

Young wood pigeons are normally in the nest for 22 days.



Cynthia

aw thanks.. just checked out your link and he's a bit more developed that the one in the picture where the tag says 'feeding tips, syringe and balloon'. I wonder, can you remember how old that one was?

Well, if I see him low enough down to be in any danger I'll take him in overnight and then let him out in the morning. However, he's been well out of reach the last 2 nights so at least he should be safe (ish) from predators.

If I do take him in :-

Will he be ok in a cardboard box with straw and paper?
Will he need any food or drink overnight?
Will the parents still love him in the morning?
How long would I need to do this for?
Will I scare him half to death?

Sorry so many questions, but I'm a total novice who just can't stand to see anything suffering...! Especially these beautiful creatures ...

The one in the photo had left the nest but was unable to fly properly. I found him like that in the City Centre. He only had one eye and he had been bullied. The thing is, he was a feral pigeon and they don't necessarily develop at the same rate as woodies.

Will he be ok in a cardboard box with straw and paper? Yes, but as they like to perch put a piece of a branch in with him.

Will he need any food or drink overnight? No

Will the parents still love him in the morning? Yes

How long would I need to do this for? Just until he flies out of your reach when he roosts.

Will I scare him half to death? It should be OK because he is so young. But approach him gently, don't hold him to tight (try to put one hand under him and the other only very lightly over his back. They hate to have their wings "disabled".) If he opens his beak or starts to gasp leave go immediately.

Cynthia

It's a pleasure (albeit very worrying).

I am pleased to say that he's looking a lot better today, and I think he's got a little brother or sister out there with him too. The "kiddies" were up in the same large tree this morning with the parent and the scrawy one, the one I've been worried about, was being fed by the parent. I'm not sure if they spent the whole night up there or whether they made it back to the nest after I'd gone to bed, but they don't seem any the worse for it. And the scrawny one has been flying from branch to branch this morning too, so maybe he's getting the hang of it at last! He's still a bit rubbish at it, but hey, he's just a baby...! what great news.

I just hope they stick around now and use our garden as a base... I would love to see them reach full adulthood and beyond, although I guess they all pretty much look the same as adults. (shame!)

Thanks so much for all your help... What a lovely bunch of people you are!

UPDATE.... to those who read this post and to those who helped....

The baby pigeon I was so worried about at the beginning of last week seems to be doing really well now. He spent most of last week in the tall tree in our garden and for a couple of days he never moved from it (well, not that I saw), and I was rather worried. On Friday, I suddenly noticed all the pigeons were gone from the tree so I'm assuming he took off for a proper fly around.

He's flying much better now and much more often, and he and his little brother or sister, to my delight, came down into the garden yesterday and started eating the 'grown up' bird food we normally put out for the others. They're getting bigger and stronger every day and seem to have made the tall tree in our garden into their new home now that they've left the nest in the other trees. He still has a funny grey beak (maybe all the young ones have this? I don't know?) and he's still quite downy and looks like he's wearing fluffy white shorts (!) but I guess it won't be too long before he looks like all the rest.

Thanks again for your advice people... you put my mind at rest last week!
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