# [Urgent] Can this pigeon eat on it's own?



## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

Can someone please advise me on how to make sure this pigeon is fed? Crop feels empty and I have a video of him attempting to eat a seed and failing. Please let me know if this pigeon is old enough to eat on it's own.

The video: https://vid.me/2BTJ

Picture of the pigeon:









The pigeons legs//feet have feathers growing on them. I was also wondering how common this is:


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

I should mention, yesterday afternoon I fed the pigeon defrosted peas 40 of them but he hated it! I mean really hated it, but I didn't want him to starve. But the droppings were solid dark and white after that. Today after not feeding any peas for a while the droppings are watery and green. The pigeon has a container of feed available at all times and I scattered some on the ground but again I'm not sure he can eat them yet.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Yes, he is still young and (3 to 4 weeks of age) definitely not weaned. Continue to hand feed peas. Is he drinking water on his own? Have you tried dipping the beak (do not immerse nostrils) gently in water? If he drinks on his own, he should be ready to be weaned.

Encourage him to eat by dropping those seeds around him and moving them with your finger, do this when he is hungry, not after he is fed, hunger being the motivator.

Leave a small spill proof dish of seeds around him 24/7. 

It does take longer for hand fed youngsters to wean, it is much easier when a grown up pigeon shows them how to eat. Be patient, the bird is still young.

You should supplement with calcium/D3 as peas do not provide these very important nutrients.*


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

Skyeking said:


> *Yes, he is still young and (3 to 4 weeks of age) definitely not weaned. Continue to hand feed peas. Is he drinking water on his own? Have you tried dipping the beak (do not immerse nostrils) gently in water? If he drinks on his own, he should be ready to be weaned.
> 
> Encourage him to eat by dropping those seeds around him and moving them with your finger, do this when he is hungry, not after he is fed, hunger being the motivator.
> 
> ...


I tried dipping the beak but he wouldn't drink. I'll try dropping seeds around and moving my finger but he's very timid. He really doesn't enjoy the pea feeding but if that's what he needs to live I will feed that way. How would I go about supplementing? Is there something better I could be feeding him? Thanks


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Skyeking said:


> *Yes, he is still young and (3 to 4 weeks of age) definitely not weaned. Continue to hand feed peas. Is he drinking water on his own? Have you tried dipping the beak (do not immerse nostrils) gently in water? If he drinks on his own, he should be ready to be weaned.
> 
> Encourage him to eat by dropping those seeds around him and moving them with your finger, do this when he is hungry, not after he is fed, hunger being the motivator.
> 
> ...




Agree with this post. It sometimes takes time to wean them over to seed. Sometimes they pick it up right away. If you gently dip the beak into the water several times a day, he will learn to drink. Just don't go over the nostrils.
If seed is left with him, and he isn't fed in the morning, he will be hungry and more inclined to try to pick up the seeds. Wait till maybe noon to feed him and he may be hungry enough to try. 
Also, I would treat for canker.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

Jay3 said:


> Agree with this post. It sometimes takes time to wean them over to seed. Sometimes they pick it up right away. If you gently dip the beak into the water several times a day, he will learn to drink. Just don't go over the nostrils.
> If seed is left with him, and he isn't fed in the morning, he will be hungry and more inclined to try to pick up the seeds. Wait till maybe noon to feed him and he may be hungry enough to try.
> Also, I would treat for canker.


I put 30 peas and several pinches of seed into the beak today. The crop is now full. I'll continue leaving the seed with him hoping he will learn to eat on his own. I treated for feather lice with pyrethrin and I looked inside the mouth there is no sign of canker. I don't have any meds available. 

The pigeon does have a slightly strange sounding squeak. It almost sounds a bit wheezy but not too bad. There is also the occasional honk. I don't have medicine to treat though if there is a disease... All advice is very much appreciated.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If you have pigeons then you do need to keep some meds on hand. 
Leaving the food with him, and not feeding for a few hours is a better idea. If you feed first, then why should he eat? He isn't hungry.
And canker doesn't always show inside. The lack of feathering under the chin is a symptom of canker. Metronidazole can be bought online from pigeon supplies, and also can often be found where they sell tropical fish. It's called Fish Zole. You would need to pick up the one that contains only Metronidazole, and nothing else.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

I left him with the food for over 24 hours before I fed him I hadn't seen him eat anything. If you check the video you can see him trying to eat but not actually able to pick up and consume the seed. He's bare under the wings are you sure that's why there aren't feathers on the chin yet? I'll try to find some medicine for him and if I can't find it locally I'll buy it online. I've had him for 3 days and I haven't seen him successfully eat on his own. I've only fed him twice during that time. I didn't want him to miss out on nutrition while growing.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

They actually take some time to learn, the more well fed they are, the late they will learn to eat because to try to eat they should have will to eat. 
When he is trying to pick up the seeds, that shows he is trying to learn. Give him some time, he will start eating. Keep the feed available with him all the time. 
At night feed him well if you see the crop is empty so he doesn't remain hungry for long night hours.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You can also leave some peas in a small bowl for him. That's easier to pick up than seeds. And when he's capable of eating the peas by himself, start mixing in some small seeds.

I received a youngster on Thursday that I had to forcefeed peas, and today he was able to eat the peas on his own. Can be done.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

So there is no chance of the pigeon starving to death? I will leave the seed out 24/7 and try putting some peas as was mentioned. I'm not sure if it makes a difference but I should mention this is a feral pigeon.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Well until he does know how to eat on his own, he will need to be fed. Feed the defrosted and warmed peas for a few more days, then leave some with him. Eventually he will start trying to pick them up on his own. They seem to learn quicker with the peas as they are soft and easy to pick up. Once he does that, then move on to seed. But until he does successfully pick up and eat the peas on his own, then you need to hand feed them to him.
After a few days of hand feeding them to him, then wait until later in the am to handfeed. Put the warmed peas in with him, and see if he will try. This is a good time because he is hungry which helps to motivate him to try. If he hasn't eaten by lunch time, then feed him. Try again the next morning. He will learn.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Astounding said:


> So there is no chance of the pigeon starving to death? I will leave the seed out 24/7 and try putting some peas as was mentioned. I'm not sure if it makes a difference but I should mention this is a feral pigeon.


You don't have to starve the pigeon, you have to hand feed him until he weans. 
Jay has explained well about how to do it so it would be good for him to go by that advice. 
Thanks for caring for him.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

Thanks for all of the advice. He's going crazy for peas! He squeaks and flaps his wings and comes running for them. Then he gobbles them all up as fast as he can! I'm trying to teach him to pick up and eat small seeds now. 

Here is a picture:

http://imgur.com/JDDTaAs


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's great. You can add some defrosted and warmed corn to it if you like. But he should be able to change over to seed fairly easily.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Glad to hear he is eating well. Looking very cute in pic. Thanks to share.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Very glad to hear he is eating well. Cute bird! You are doing a great thing, helping him.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

*Squeaker Update*

Here are pictures of his droppings from last night and this morning (the grit you see in the slightly undigested peas fell onto the dropping when I moved the box, it wasnt in the dropping) The first and last pictures are from this morning:

http://imgur.com/a/ki2cQ

Here he is on our first trip, and basking in the sun!:

http://imgur.com/a/dE0AR

Here is a video of him learning to eat seeds and drinking water =):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py-ZHWRfBOM


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

He is adorable learning to eat. What has he been eating other than the seeds?
You can put larger seeds in his dish. You want him to get used to eating things other then the tiny millet, or he won't want them later one. Just mostly millet isn't all that nutritious either.


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## AndreiS (Jul 28, 2013)

He is too small to eat on his own. If he is not sick, he should like to eat seeds, in fact he should ask you "desperately" to give him food. If it doesn't squeak for food, probably is sick.

Instead of peas, you can try to feed him moistured pellets. They are nutritionally complete and very consistent so he will gain weight rapidly.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Nothing wrong with this bird, he is doing well. Just add more variety of seeds and he will start eating them as well. Good job.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

Jay3 said:


> He is adorable learning to eat. What has he been eating other than the seeds?
> You can put larger seeds in his dish. You want him to get used to eating things other then the tiny millet, or he won't want them later one. Just mostly millet isn't all that nutritious either.


The mix I've been giving him is Sunseed Sunscription Vita Pigeon formula. It's calcium fortified with vitamins and minerals. It contains millet, oat groats, split green peas, steel cut corn, canary grass seed, safflower seed, wheat, etc. He's also been getting fresh peas. He only weighs 7.8 ounces today which I think is up to 10 grams less than when I weighed him a few days ago. I can't find where I wrote down what he weighed then but it was a little over 8 ounces. My understanding is that when fully grown he should weigh between 9-13 ounces.

I'm getting a lot of advice but I need to know exactly what to do please. He doesn't like being force fed so I don't want to do that. *What food* should I feed him in *what way* and how can I be sure he's *getting enough*? He's currently standing on my coffee table in the sun eating pigeon mix and fresh peas from his food cup.

Thanks so much


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You really don't have to forcefeed him anymore. He seems to be eating fine on his own, and will be getting better at it every day. Just give him a variety of seeds, he might only in the beginning eat the ones he's able to swallow, but will eventually learn to eat the others.

So relax now and enjoy your bird.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Yes looking at the video, he is eating well and seems fine. If any day you feel he hasn't eaten enough, you can hand feed some peas at night as suggested before, let him eat on his own rest of the time. He will catch up the weight also, you shouldn't be worried when he is eating and drinking fine. 
Looking cute.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

AndreiS said:


> He is too small to eat on his own. If he is not sick, he should like to eat seeds, in fact he should ask you "desperately" to give him food. If it doesn't squeak for food, probably is sick.
> 
> Instead of peas, you can try to feed him moistured pellets. They are nutritionally complete and very consistent so he will gain weight rapidly.



Andrei, Why is he too small to eat on his own? He's doing very well. Hand feeding him now would be going backwards.

As far as the mix you are giving, then that's fine. Just looked like a lot of millet is all. You're doing fine and so is he. We weigh birds in grams, not ounces. He will catch up. If you don't have a gram scale then you won't really be getting an exact weight on him. Don't worry, he will gain.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

His crop seems slow and his droppings are very small but normal looking. Can someone please advise? I fed him pigeon mix and 2 peanuts broken into 1/4s around 9am this morning and now it's 8pm and he didnt seem hungry and when I felt his crop there were seeds in there.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Isn't he eating on his own? I chop the peanuts smaller than 1/4. Do you not leave food with him 24/7? 8:00 is late to be feeding him. Maybe he's tired. Why are you feeding him now. Just leave a dish of food with him and he will eat when he wants.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

He still can't pick up large seeds like split pea or cracked corn. He can pick up peanut chunks though. I'm feeding him http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Seed-Company-BSS01082-25-Pound/dp/B004UMMT26 and peanuts as treats.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

No problem with that. My 6 months old bird can't eat peas and corns yet even I introduced these things since start. 
They will learn to eat them if they are interested in them. Their choices vary, some prefer something,others something else.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If he can eat peanut chunks then he can pick those things up. He just doesn't want them. He is choosing what he knows he likes. Don't over do with peanuts as they are high in fat and too many aren't good for him.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

Jay3 said:


> If he can eat peanut chunks then he can pick those things up. He just doesn't want them. He is choosing what he knows he likes. Don't over do with peanuts as they are high in fat and too many aren't good for him.


If I hold a grain of wheat or a split pea or a piece of cracked corn he tries to pick it up but his little beak chatters and then he drops it. Maybe the peanuts being softer help him grab it? Or it's so delicious it causes him to be able to eat it somehow? I see him try to pick these grains up on his own and the same thing happens. He tries a few times then seems to get frustrated and gives up.

How many peanuts can he safely eat? He flies to my hand or shoulder for a peanut chunk every time I call him!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

He is spoiled. He just doesn't want anything else. He drops them on purpose. He's got you wrapped.............


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Astounding said:


> How many peanuts can he safely eat? He flies to my hand or shoulder for a peanut chunk every time I call him!


I wouldn't give them more than 4 peanuts, that too not daily. I know they like them but many things we like may harm us. Have to be careful.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Jay3 said:


> He is spoiled. He just doesn't want anything else. He drops them on purpose. He's got you wrapped.............





Jay3 said:


> If he can eat peanut chunks then he can pick those things up. He just doesn't want them. He is choosing what he knows he likes. Don't over do with peanuts as they are high in fat and too many aren't good for him.


*AGREE ^ ^ This is definitely the case. He is putting out the effort for something that tastes great. Take away the peanuts for now, and give him only the pigeon seed. I have seen this with my pigeons. Once he eats everything on his "plate" then introduce the peanuts, but only as a snack.*


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Skyeking said:


> *AGREE ^ ^ This is definitely the case. He is putting out the effort for something that tastes great. Take away the peanuts for now, and give him only the pigeon seed. I have seen this with my pigeons. Once he eats everything on his "plate" then introduce the peanuts, but only as a snack.*



Excellent idea! Tough love. LOL.


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## Astounding (Aug 27, 2015)

I cut back on the peanuts and he cleans his plate now =) He still tries to trick me into giving him peanuts though. Thank you for the advice.

Basking in the sun:


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's a great shot. Cute bird.


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