# Help, baby pigeon is not digesting food



## sara nobre (Aug 12, 2013)

Hi,

I found a baby pigeon fallen from the nest, age should be between 3 and 4 weeks. Seemed healthy but thin. Not knowing when was his last meal, I gave him a few grains and water with sugar, and the next day he was fine.

I started giving him more grain, but he can't make the digestion - it's very slow. It took 48 hours to digest a quantity that others digest in 6 hours  and all that comes out is diarrhea.

- He has no more symptoms of other diseases, like salmonella or paramoxyvirus, so I think that diarrhea is due to poor digestion.
- He doesn't eat by himself and shows no interest in food, but I think that's normal in his condition.
- I'm giving him water with vinegar (vinegar 0.3ml per 50ml water) to try to help, but it's not helping that much.
- The food mix is good (never had problems with other babies, and i have now 4 more of the same age) but for now I gave up on it.
- Yesterday experienced cooked rice, but the result was the same.
- I'm giving vitamins, but it's not enough.
- The only thing he digested was wafer made of wheat flour, sugar and water (i was desperate) but it aggravated the diarrhea. I thought I'd give him more of this, along with probiotics, but i can´t find the correct dosage of any probiotic sold here (i'm in portugal).

If I do not find a solution, he will not last two more days  please help!
Thank you so much!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

At 3 or 4 weeks, this guy is ready for weaning. Many things can cause slow crop. Could be canker, yeast, anything. What were you feeding him? When you find a bird like that, he first needs to be hydrated and warmed before giving anything to eat, or it can cause problems such as this. Sometimes giving warmed baby applesauce mixed with a bit of warm water will help to get things moving through. As far as probiotics, just give a tiny pinch mixed in with his food. Some mix in a teaspoon of yogurt into the food. 
Have you checked his throat for canker? Although it doesn't always show in their throat. Having the droppings checked by a vet might help to see if there is a bacteria.
Feeding frozen peas which have been defrosted and warmed under warm running water is a good thing to feed, and easy to digest. He should soon learn to pick them up himself, as they are soft and easy to pick up. They also help getting moisture into him. From there you can move onto seed, which is what he should be getting by this age.
So I would try the applesauce, warmed and mixed with a bit of water, and if possible get the droppings checked. And he needs to be kept warm.


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## sara nobre (Aug 12, 2013)

Thank you Jay3.
The throat looks fine, no yellow or white stuff.
I just gave him a bit of warm water, i bought the applesauce and the peas, but i didn't gave him, because he still has most of the meal of 24h hours ago undigested  he's very weak now, i don't know if he will last through the night.

I almost didn't give him food when he arrived, and it's very very hot here in Lisbon, maybe that's one of the problems. I was giving him a mix made of several types of grains, i usually buy this mix and it's good for baby pigeons, it's made for turtledoves (is this the name, a bit smaller than pigeons and grey with a brown stripe on the neck?) and the grains are smaller than the adult pigeon mix.

I was trying very hard to save this baby, i found him in the middle of a square with lots of cars passing by, it was a miracle he wasn't run over by a car.
I'll give you news in the morning (it's 2 am here now). Thank you.


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## sara nobre (Aug 12, 2013)

Morning news: he's very weak, and still didn't completely digest his food (given 36h ago) but i gave him metoclopramide, and after an hour i gave him some applesauce and 4 peas. Waiting for the result


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Syringe Apple Cider Vinegar water dilution (1 tablespoon per half gallon H2O) into the crop until the crop empties even if it takes a day. If you have Metronidazole on hand, the dosage is 50mg's per kilogram, someone here can help you with dosage. If there are no pigeon enthusiasts or vets that will give you some, try a pet store that carries
fish medicine. It is commonly used for aquarium fish. Metronidazole is both an anti-protozoal med and antibiotic and will help w/canker or bacterial infection that might be causing the slow crop. Could also be an obstruction, a canker nodule or something the bird picked at or something the parents ingested and crop fed that isn't digestible.

fp


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You shouldn't feed peas or anything else until the crop empties. You don't want to add new food to old. Usually the baby applesauce works well to get the crop moving.
If you do find Metronidazole in a fish medicine, it is often called Fish Zole. But just make sure that it doesn't contain any thing else, as now they do often make it with other things as well.


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## rifki (Aug 15, 2013)

*Feeding*

Hi

My husband also found a baby pigeon last May. He was about 3-4 weeks old. He did not know how to eat. We gave him kaytee baby formula. See the link below. It shows how to feed baby pigeons. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcAkcstPFJo

A few weeks later I started putting food (like fresh corn pieces) into his throat. Afrerwards he learned eating byhimself.

Since your bird has just left the nest, he probably does not know how to feed himself. I hope he gets better.


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## sara nobre (Aug 12, 2013)

Sorry for the lack of updates, it was national holliday here and i don't have net at home. The baby pigeon died I finally found a way to take him to a vet on wednesday morning. He had a perforated crop, and of course most of the food was coming out undigested, under the skin, while he was starving. The vet told me she thought there was no hope, but she could try surgery, although he would probably die during it. I told her to try anyway, and he survived the surgery, but died 5h later 

I'm really sad about this baby. Still, i learned a lot of things that can help me help others in the future. Thank you so much Jay3, feralpigeon and rifki


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## rifki (Aug 15, 2013)

I am very sorry


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm really sorry you lost the baby. I know you tried. If you have learned from an experience, than it wasn't wasted. Sad for the baby though, but at least he is out of pain now. Thanks for caring.


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