# Help! Ive never raised a pigeon before!



## Katie J (Oct 26, 2007)

Hi Everyone
Im brand new to all this, as I have only just begun looking after pigeons as pets. I dont know much about pigeons, although I have done A LOT of research on them over the past couple of weeks. I am young and unexperienced in raising baby birds, but I am willing to listen and learn if I can keep my baby pigeon alive

I have 2 pure white pigeons, who last week became parents to their 2 babies, however, they only cared for one of their babies, and left the other one to starve and freeze in the opposite side of the hutch. I couldnt bare to just let it die, so I have been caring it for it ever since. I honestly thought it was going to die, but thanks to this site, I managed to find information (such as keeping the baby really warm) that saved the little ones life.. 

The little one (who I have named Kiwi) has been wrapped in my scarf beside a heater for the past 2 days. Since then, she has completely changed. She was stone cold, couldnt open her eyes and was really stiff.. but now shes got her eyes open all the time, wont stop squawking and is moving around!
I like in the UK, and have bought some special bird egg food (EMP) for it, however it doesnt seem to like it, so i have been feeding it weetabix with warm water. Is this ok for a bird its age? It eats it off a spoon, but Im scared itll go down the wrong hole and choke the baby. Is this possible if the bird is feeding itself?

Any information and advice will be so helpful, as I have never raised a baby bird before.

many thanks to anyone who replies 

Love Katie and Kiwi x


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Welcome to pigeon talk. 

Have you tried removing the healthy baby and substituting it with the weak one for a bit to see if they will feed it?

Do you know whether the baby was fed at all by its parents? On what date was it born?

You could try Canary rearing mix, Nutrabird or Kaytee Exact (if you can find it). I use chick rearing crumbs, soaked in hot (not boiling) water for half an hour then liquidised and strained. A baby will need to receive it as thin as tea initially, building up to a thicker mix as it grows older.

There is also a recipe for Pigeon Milk substitute at this thread: 

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=15236&referrerid=560

It requires enzymes for the first three days, I have some and so does a member in London area.

The bent spoon method of feeding is one that is used with success. I think that whatever method you choose has its risks.

This link to the Kaytee site has a video on how to syringe feed pigeons:

http://www.kaytee.com/companion_animals/birds/hand_feeding/#video

I think that it includes how much to feed and how often, but there is more information on that which I shall add. The regularity of the feeds is important as the babies can become dehydrated.

This is a link to various methods of feeding:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=9682&referrerid=560

And this is what Helen, one of our moderators, says about the quantity and frequency of feeding:



> For the first meal, 1ml of natural yogurt or probiotic is recommended.
> For the first 24 hours, 1ml at each feeding, every 2 hours including during the night. If you miss feedings the bird will become weak very quickly.
> By day 2, 2 mls will be needed at each feeding and by day 3 if they are growing well, you could be up to 5 mls. At 1 week, they should be on 15mls and will only need feeding every 6 hours. Then you can get a nights sleep.


I am in Norwich. If you let us know where you are we might have someone experienced in handraising pigeons close to you, who can help .

Cynthia


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## Katie J (Oct 26, 2007)

Thankyou for the advice, it is greatly appreciated

The baby hatched 12 days ago

I have tried swapping the babies over, but the parents didnt do anything, and because at the time she was so weak, I removed her. I also tried leaving both the babies in there together to see if theyd get fed, but the other baby (her brother or sister) began attacking her, so yet again I was forced to take her out

She seems to be fine, although she will not stop "tweeting"! I dont think shes in any distress, and I offer her food all the time, but she only seems to be calmed when shes cupped in my hands.

Shes very cute but very messy! Im too afraid i'll hurt her as I have never tube fed/syringed a baby bird before, so aslong as shes not in any real danger, I might as well carry on spoon feeding her

x


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

> as shes not in any real danger, I might as well carry on spoon feeding her


I agree. Just weigh her daily to make sure that she is gaining weight steadily. You could also get Ty's Serenity the Dove of Peace to place by her in the nest, maybe then she won't make so many demands on you. I have resorted to Serenity both as a nest mate for babies and as a mate for an adult white pigeon, they all loved her!

Cynthia


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## Katie J (Oct 26, 2007)

Awww that picture is so cute!
yeah, thats a really good idea, id never thought of that
ill post some pictures of little Kiwi in a bit
im a bit worried though, because her brother/sister is a lot bigger than her, nearly double in size 
i weighed her just a minute ago, and shes only 4 ounces, bless her! is this normal for a baby her age? (12 days)

x


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

That is about 120 gms, which doesn't sound too bad to me. The difference in size could be because Kiwi had a bad start, she could have been rejected by her parents because she wasn't completely healthy or she could be getting too little food. But as long as she is gaining weight that is a good sign.

How much and how often are you feeding her? 

Cynthia


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## Katie J (Oct 26, 2007)

Well she hasnt really got a set feeding routine yet, because she's always squeaking and I never know why, so I just offer her food. She eats about a tea spoon of food (EMP mixed in with weetabix and warm water) at a time about every 3 hours. From the research Ive done, Ive found that I dont need to feed her overnight, but on a couple of occassions when shes been quite loud, Ive got up and given her some food.
Is there a certain age when they can go onto more solid foods?
she seems to only eat the egg food mix when its in the weetabix, so Im assuming she doesnt like the taste of it!

x


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## darx23 (Aug 27, 2007)

you can start giving her seeds,at about two weeks age they start to learn to pickup the seeds by themself,just feed it as usual and leave some seed so baby can mess around with it and with time she will get good at it


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Katie,

I think she isn't getting enough to eat. At least, not at each feed.

A teaspoonful is 5 ml which she would have been getting at every feed when she was three days old. By now she should be getting 15-20 ml 4 times a day increasing to 30 - 40 ml 3 times a day when she is 20 days old.

But the quantity depends on her crop size, so keep an eye on that because overfeeding can stretch her crop or cause the crop contents to spill into the mouth with the risk of aspiration.

Try her on Redy Brek, it should be served warm and not too thin at her age.

Cynthia


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Hi Katie and welcome....you are in the right place! Sounds like you are doing a great job with little Kiwi. Cynthia, that is the cutest picture, it's hard to tell at first which is the pij and which is the stuffy.


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## Katie J (Oct 26, 2007)

Thankyou, Im so glad Ive been able to keep Kiwi alive, I was so sure she was going to die the other day

In regards to Cynthia's comment, Kiwi did seem to eat quite a bit more this evening. It may have been because I kept it out for longer instead of taking it away as soon as she looked uninterested. Since then, shes been fast asleep, for the longest period of time in ages!

Ive taken some photos, (which I'll upload when I can work out how!!) so you can have a look at the little one youve all been advising me on! 

x


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## Katie J (Oct 26, 2007)

Baby Kiwi!

One of the pics is feeding time...Kiwi isnt the most co-ordinated pigeon and seems to just dive or fall into the food!.. very very messy!!


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Katie,

Kiwi is a doll! You have done well to hand raise such a young pigeon. But if that is a recent photo them she looks very underdeveloped. I can understand why you have been giving her a single teaspoon at a time! She should be at the same stage of development as her sibling.

In the photo the food looks a bit thiick for such an tiny pigeon, you might need to water it down a bit if her crop isn't emptying over night.

Have a read of this thread http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=16763&referrerid=560

It is about a wood pigeon that wasn't developing because he was receiving too little food, and how quickly he progressed when his feeding was changed. If Kiwi grows properly once she is receiving larger meals, the we can rule disease out. Otherwise we have to consider the possibility of paratyphoid.


Cynthia


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## Katie J (Oct 26, 2007)

In response to Cynthia, Thankyou for noticing her food was a bit too thick. I have watered her food down a bit and Kiwi seems to eat more now, as she seems to be able to eat is much easier. I have weighed her again today and she is 1 oz heavier than yesterday, so shes now 5 oz

She is a very messy eater, so would I be able to give her a small bath to get it off? because when her food sticks to her, it goes rock hard, and I dont want it to hurt her or for her to be in pain if it gets pulled off her bare tummy!


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Katie J said:


> In response to Cynthia, Thankyou for noticing her food was a bit too thick. I have watered her food down a bit and Kiwi seems to eat more now, as she seems to be able to eat is much easier. I have weighed her again today and she is 1 oz heavier than yesterday, so shes now 5 oz
> 
> She is a very messy eater, so would I be able to give her a small bath to get it off? because when her food sticks to her, it goes rock hard, and I dont want it to hurt her or for her to be in pain if it gets pulled off her bare tummy!


I have actually given a baby this little a bath in warm water, about an inch deep, just to get the stuck food off and then wrap them in a towel and make sure they are perfectly dry before putting them back in whatever I'm keeping them in. Didn't hurt mine a bit. Just don't let it get cold and chilled.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

With an older bird I found out by accident that a saline mix dissolved the rock hard bits that developed around her face however careful I was to wipe her down after every meal. I used the sterile saline that you can buy at Boots.

Cynthia


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