Found a Baby Pigeon!

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Pythonlovers

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Hi everyone Ashleigh here,

So this morning we had landscapers over doing our garden and they where pulling all the dead fronds off the ferns, one of the dead fronds had a nest on it and a baby pigeon fell out!
I have put the little guy in a box with a towel in our room with the heater on so he is nice and toasty, now my only issue is what to feed it!

Here are some photos. I'm 99% sure it's a Pigeon!

IMG_2040.jpgIMG_2039.jpg
 
maybe you could try some sort of hand rearing mixture insectivore mix
lol its either a pigeon or a real ugly canary
 
They're seed eaters, and not that easy to feed at that age because the parents pump the food from their crops down the throat of the baby. You may get a feeding response by lightly pressing the sides of the beak (it will flutter its wings and lunge to receive the food). I used to raise baby Senegal and Chinese turtledoves sometimes, but had to do it one seed at a time (get some mixed large parrot seed, and pick the biggest ones out (I avoided sunflower seeds)). It can be a bit time consuming, but a full crop two or three times a day is all it takes, and they develop really fast. I got them to pick on their own by placing a shallow dish of seeds in front of them, and picking the seeds up in my fingers and trickling them back to the dish - it stimulates their interest and they pick at the falling seeds. They don't know to swallow them for the first day or two, but get the hang of it soon enough. You may want to incorporate a bit of calcium powder into the seed as well.

Probably a dove by the way...

Jamie
 
They're seed eaters, and not that easy to feed at that age because the parents pump the food from their crops down the throat of the baby. You may get a feeding response by lightly pressing the sides of the beak (it will flutter its wings and lunge to receive the food). I used to raise baby Senegal and Chinese turtledoves sometimes, but had to do it one seed at a time (get some mixed large parrot seed, and pick the biggest ones out (I avoided sunflower seeds)). It can be a bit time consuming, but a full crop two or three times a day is all it takes, and they develop really fast. I got them to pick on their own by placing a shallow dish of seeds in front of them, and picking the seeds up in my fingers and trickling them back to the dish - it stimulates their interest and they pick at the falling seeds. They don't know to swallow them for the first day or two, but get the hang of it soon enough. You may want to incorporate a bit of calcium powder into the seed as well.

Probably a dove by the way...

Jamie

Sorry Pythoninfinite, not used to all this bird talk!
What do you mean by a full crop?
 
I know what you could feed that to hahaha.

I think this baby pigeon is between 5-12 days old, baby birds of this size will not last very long without parents. Since there is probably no chance of returning it to its nest I suggest you read this:

Pigeons and Doves
Feeding adult pigeons & doves
Adult birds are seedeaters and eat a variety of seeds and grains.
Feeding baby pigeons & doves
Baby doves and pigeons insert their beaks into the parent bird’s throat to suck their food; they do not gape for food. Feed them enough to fill their crop then wait 2-3 hrs for their crop to empty before feeding again. Once feeding is established they will show by restless behaviour when they need to be fed.
Make sure the baby is warm before feeding or it will not be able to digest its food. Very small babies can be tube fed with a fine plastic tubing attached to the end of a syringe but do not attempt this until you have been shown by a coordinator or experienced member. The food and tubing are warmed and slipped gently down the bird’s throat [right hand side of bird] and slowly released.
A good basic mix:
Soaked Pedigree Puppy Kibble halved dipped into:

  • 200mls warm water
  • 2 tsp apple sauce
  • 1 tsp egg biscuit
  • 2 tsp rice cereal or enough to thicken it to a runny custard consistency.
Self Feeding Doves & Pigeons can be fed on small parrot seed, soaked pedigree puppy kibble and soaked soup mix.
When the baby is larger and feathered it can be fed by gently holding the beak open and hand feeding pellets of granivore mix, soaked soup mix [dried peas, barley, lentils soaked in hot water until softened], soaked Puppy biscuits [based on rice with added vitamins and minerals] and a little scrambled egg. Often the baby will open its beak voluntarily if you use the V between your fingers or your finger and thumb to gently squeeze and push down on the sides of the beak.
As the bird gets bigger and its tail grows, you can begin to add soaked seeds to the diet. These birds take a long time before they feed themselves. Continue to supplementary feed, even when the bird appears to be picking up the seeds, as it sometimes take a while before it can actually pick up and eat enough to survive.

Source: Granivores - Parrots, Pigeons, and Doves - Fauna Rescue SA Inc.

This will not be an easy task unless you are an experienced person who has looked after many birds. I'm sorry but this bird will most likely die.
 
OK, so thats a little dove (Not a native) They are pretty bullet proof and easy to rase. First off, if you want to raise it, head down to a pet shop and buy a baby bird rearing mixture. Next you'll need some syringes, you should be able to buy them from your local vet for very cheap. When I raise them I use something called a J loop. I cut the end off so its a thin soft tube which attaches to the end of the syringe. When feeding, gently hold the head up and open the beak, insert the tube into the beak about a few centre metres down, its really important that you do this. If you don't, and just put the food into the beak they can very easily get the food into there lungs and die. Feed 3 or so times a day, Feed until the crop is firm, but not hard. :)
I have raised dozens of these guys. They are good fun. :)
 
On, and make sure they are warm. DONT ever feed if they are cold. If they feel warm and seem active, they are at a good temp, if they feel cold and aren't very active or responsive they are cold. If they are breathing quickly or panting they are too hot. :)
 
Or alternatively you could make a new nest and put it back. Its very likely that the parents will take it back
 
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Wow everybody, thank you so much for all your help! I'm at work now so I will relay all this information to Jesse! We will try our best to keep this little guy alive!
And if all else fails... I know two hungry Green Tree Pythons....
 
Or alternatively you could make a new nest and put it back. Its very likely that the parents will take it back

This won't happen with a dove, so don't try it. All the helpful info you have been given should work well, the negatives - such as "it will most likely die" - forget them until you've tried. Although of no consequence in the scheme of things, challenges like this are enormously beneficial to your overall skills as an animal manager, and if you succeed you will have added another arrow to the quiver of experience you have.

The crop is basically the first stop for the food when it is ingested - it's a bag that sits in front of the breast, and it is obvious when it is empty or full. In fact, if the bird was fed by its parents this morning, it may still have seeds evident in it - carefully feel the area in front of the breastbone between your fingers - if it has a gritty feel, or you can feel stuff in there, that's the crop.

Jamie
 
the negatives - such as "it will most likely die" - forget them until you've tried.

Sorry if I came off as negative, I wasn't trying to be negative, rather just saying that be prepared for it not to live. I only mention it because I gave someone advice like this once. The animal died and they got all cranky that I neglected to mention its' odds were stacked against it.

tl;dr Don't give up hope, but don't have too much hope either.
 
A cropping needle has got to be one of the handiest tools that "anybody" with snakes or birds could own IMO because someday you are going to need one (straight away) :) B
 
It looks like a common racing pigeon to me. But it is definitely a dove/pigeon and the basic husbandry is the same.

Hand raising them from that age is quite simple however you will need a syringe (at least 10mm dia) and you cut the end off. This creates an artificial beak and the squab will drink from it, usually pretty redily. You push it over the birds beak and this replicates the parents. As the bird grows you may need a bigger syringe. I soak chicken rearing crumbles in hot water (not boiling) and mix 1ml of natural yougurt to the mix and feed around 32-34C, however a bought hand raising mix (1 part water one part mix) is very good to (Roudybush works great). At that age (5-7 days) you need to feed them around 15ml of this every six hours. For the first few days make the mix quite loose as they are susceptible to dehydration at that age. By two weeks they should be having about 40ml per feed and you don't need to increase it after that. At this stage they are very eager to feed and care must be take as they will lunge at the syringe. At 20 days old they will start pecking at seeds and by 28 they can be weaned onto a seed diet. A suitable temp for raising them at this age is around 37-38C.

I have done this successfully many times.

Regards

Wing_Nut
 
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Sorry if I came off as negative, I wasn't trying to be negative, rather just saying that be prepared for it not to live. I only mention it because I gave someone advice like this once. The animal died and they got all cranky that I neglected to mention its' odds were stacked against it.

tl;dr Don't give up hope, but don't have too much hope either.

Yes, it's always good to be mindful of the worst outcomes when dealing with animals! It can be a bit tedious for a few days with these doves, but I remember one in particular that we raised when I was at school, for about 18 months after we released it, it would fly down onto my , or my mother's, head every time one of us went down the street. Very cute, and quite rewarding "feel-good" moments...

Jamie
 
Being Melbourne and found in vegetation, I'd say most likely one of the exotic doves, Senegal or Necklace. They make really flimsy nests in low vegetation.

J
 
In my experience, these types of birds are very hardy, very easy to raise and I would expect that there is a pretty good chance this bird can survive. I have a hen that I raised in this manner who does exactly as Jamie says, it will fly to me and sit on my shoulder whenever it can. She is now 6 years old.

Regards

Wing_Nut
 
A vet or wildlife carer won't take it because its not a native. Like everyone is saying, they are very hardly little buggers. You will be fine. :)
 
If you dont know what a crop is then maybe best get it of to a vet or wildlife carer and let them do it

from Cathy :)

She now knows what a crop is Cathy, so the process of learning has begun already. Why should not knowing what a crop is mean that you pass the problem to someone else and stay in the dark forever yourself???

I might add that most of my experiences were pre cover-all-bases hand rearing mixes were available, hence my primitive reponse initially lol! I've since done many parrots with a range of top-quality hand rearing mixes and they are both convenient and excellent.

Jamie
 
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