# Baby wood pidgeon fell out of a tree.



## DanRyder

Hey guys im new to the forum and have signed up to gather as much help and info that i can get.

A baby wood pidgeon has fallen out of our conifer tree's in the garden, I looked at some pics on here and i would say its between 5-10 days old. It has all its feathers but never tried to fly when my dog chased it, However it did run.

I have picked it up and brought it inside and put it inside my old rat cage and placed a little tray with warm water porridge oats mushed in there for it. 

Luckily there is a pet shop next to my house so he gave me some seed to help it start pecking. I was going to call the RSPCA but im sure they would just put it down so i never bothered too. There is a Pidgeon place in Birmingham that would take it in but i cannot take it there.

Is it possible to keep these as pets? As i would really like too. Thanks for your time, And please share as much info as you can as i would hate for this to die.

Im a huge animal lover and i have a Dog, 2 Deigo's and i did have 2 rats.


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## amyable

Hi DanRyder,

Welcome to PT and thanks for helping this little guy.

As far as keeping it as a pet first, it's not impossible but you do have to think long term as they do live a lot longer in captivity than in the wild and so it's a long term commitment as once you let it become imprinted it would stand no chance of survival in the wild and so you couldn't release it should your cirumstances change. I just want to point that out in fairness to you, (& the bird), early on as it is something you need to decide.
Woodies are far more nervous than ferals and so need to be mixed with others so that they can learn from them as to what to eat, what are preditors, etc etc if they're to be released, so again, another thing to think about if you decide that it should be raised for release. If so then it would be much better off going to a rescue centre where it can be geared to that.

So.... that aside, for now it needs you to help it to survive.
If you think it's 5-10days old then it will need you to carry on feeding it as the parents would still be doing that at this age and it won't be able to feed itself just yet.

If you can post a picture then we can guage it's age and what stage it's at as far as feeding.

There's a great site belonging to one of our most experience members, Feefo, who has lots of experience with Woodies. It will give you a better idea of it's age and what you need to feed it, and how.

PIGEON and DOVE RESCUE UK. (I must learn to post links sometime!!).

I am in Sutton Coldfield, Nr Aldridge if I can be of any help.

Keep us posted as to how you are getting on and ask any questions so we can guide you along if needed.

Good luck,

Janet


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## DanRyder

Thanks so much for the help, I have no way or getting a picture onto the pc as i cannot transfer it. There is a photo in another thread that i was reading and it looks just like that.

I would like to keep it as a pet but if its best to be released then i will release it.

Im going to try and get in touch with the rescue centre but i doubt i can take it there myself. I will continue to feed it mushed up porridge oats ( With warm water ) And see how he does. He has not tocuhed the food yet but we have only had him for about 3 hours. Anything else i can do?

We have currentl;y used alot of Straw and made a little nest and placed him in it. Is this ok?


I just looked at alot of pictures of baby Woodies and this one is around 8 weeks old. However he is tightly balled up..His head is between his wings and his chest is puffed out. Is he ok? He has plenty of feathers.


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## Feefo

Straw can be a bit risky for pigeons as their poop will make it damp and encourage fungal spores to grow. I usually lone a box with white kitchen toweling

This is the link to information on *Caring For a Baby Pigeon* and there is also a page on *Wood Pigeons*

Here is a list of *Pigeon Friendly Rescue Centres*. Burton Wildlife in Staffordshire might collect if you can help with petrol costs.


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## amyable

Hi again,

I didn't mean to put you off keeping it as a pet, it's just best to really consider what it would entail before the bird gets too reliant on you.
It would need some kind of aviary/cage but also plenty of free time if kept indoors to excercise it's wings. My dogs although very loving go mad at the sound of flapping wings and they would kill a pigeon given the chance, so be careful around your dog until you know how it reacts. Better safe than sorry. 
Baby pigeons are very endearing. Actually this seems to be much older than first thought which might mean it's already more on the wild side. I had one a few weeks ago that had an injured wing, and although it was a youngster, it was wild and very wary of me. It's released now but never got the slightest bit tame and it was about the age of the one you have when it was found.

If it is that age then you could help get some nourishment into him by giving it some defrosted peas or sweetcorn, slightly warm. You just have to hold the bird on your lap and very gently open it's beak and pop a pea into it's mouth and let it swallow.

He's going to be frightened of you and maybe why it's huddled up. Do you know when it fell out of the tree?

Out of interest, which rescue centre have you spoken to, it's always good to know of any that will take in pigeons in case it's one I haven't heard of in Birmingham.

Janet


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