[Guest]

Hi.. I'm new to this board so please bear with me..!

We have a baby pigeon in our garden and am not sure if he's ok or not. He's quite big and very fluffy so I don't think he's very mature and his feathers are very downy. He's rubbish at flying and flounders from one place to another spending a lot time in each place. The good news is his parents are still feeding him... I don't know much about pigeons but it looks as though they are regurgitating food for him. I guess my question is really whether the parents still continue feeding well after the baby leaves the nest or has he left the nest too soon? I can't find any info on the development of the baby. I'm sure I'm worrying over nothing as he doesn't seem as though he's too much in danger, but I don't want to leave him to his own devices if he's too young to have left the nest. Any info will be gratefully appreciated.

Many thanks

 

[Skyeking]

Where are you located? Do you know where the nest is located?

Parent bird, as in the father, does continue to feed him for some time while he is fledging.
If he is not flying well on his own, it is a good idea to keep an eye out. He needs to be able to fly well to enable him to escape predators.

If there are any predators near, and the baby can't fly well enough to fly high up and get out of harms way , secure him please.

 

[Pixie Girl]

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]

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...

 

[Skyeking]

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.....

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...

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.

 

[Pixie Girl]

Aw thanks that would be great.
Yes he is a wood pigeon... he's gonna be beautiful soon.... I love them.... 'll check out that link you sent. Thanks for that.

 

[Pixie Girl]

I can't get the pictures to load properly but I would imagine he's around 18 days old...I'll update this when the pictures load and if I can see it any more clearly...

 

[Feefo]

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

 

[Pixie Girl]

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 ...

 

[Feefo]

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

 

[Pixie Girl]

Ah thanks so much.. that's really great of you to give me all that advice.

I'll make a little nesty up for him when I get home then, just in case he needs us tonight.

I hope he's ok. I hope he's flying ok by later on or I won't sleep properly (again!)

 

[Pixie Girl]

Hi Cynthia... aw I can see the picture in your post more clearly this time... Blimey - my one looks very different to that .... much more 'wood pigeon-like' than that, so maybe mine's considerably older, which is good news. Mine looks almost like a grown up wood pigeon except he's more downy and his head is darker grey than the adult and small and out of proportion with his body compared to the adult, and his eyes look quite dark. I would not have know that the bird in your picture was a wood pigeon whereas mine definitely looks like a wood pigeon as an adult (just much fluffier) so I'm guessing my one is much older... I hope so anyway. Cheers again!

 

[Pixie Girl]

He's sitting out there in a really tall tree at the moment totally out of reach... and it's nearly 9pm. There's another pigeon with him, one his parents I guess... is it ok for him to stay out on that branch all night...? surely this is not normal!!

 

[Feefo]

Actually that is perfectly normal for a wood pigeon! They roost in trees and it is quite disconcerting to see them on the bare branches in winter.

Cynthia

 

[Guest]

Aw really? Ah that's great news... I feel much better for knowing that. Cheers!

 

[Pixie Girl]

Ah that's great news... I do wish he'd go and tuck himself up in his nest though! Still, he knows best eh! Cheers!

 

[maryjane]

Thanks for keeping an eye on this little guy.

 

[Pixie Girl]

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!

 

[Pixie Girl]

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!
x

 

[ian price]

hi pixie girl sounds like a wood pigeon