# Help! raising baby feral (2-3wks)



## whitetail (Apr 17, 2008)

Hi everyone,
I found a baby on the street; vets told me what to do in terms of feeding and that is going well but my concern is that I want it to have a fully successfull pigeon life and I'm fearfull that the connection it is developing with me will make it more tame and more subject to danger. What can I do about this? Never done this before
I have another 8 ferals that I feed in my unit; should I slowly introduce it to them or take it to a park that is 5mins away from where I live, there are lots of pigeons there. I dont mind it visiting but I want it to find it's own place to sleep at night.
Any info is appreciated as I love this little one and want to do the right thing for it.

Whitetail


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

They are naturally social birds and the babies do bond w/caregivers. If you want to release the bird into a local flock, try not to handle the bird between
feedings. If you have a carrier, you could bring it out where you feed the others a few times before you release it. The baby should also get some free
flight time everyday to develop the wing muscles. If you are keeping the bird
in a cage and there is a window that you could put the cage beside so the baby
can watch the outdoor activity, that's a plus. You could also see if there are any rehabbers in your area who are currently raising any babies who would
take yours in so that s/he would be released in a group. Thanks for caring for the little one and, it sounds like some of the other ferals in your area.

fp


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## whitetail (Apr 17, 2008)

Thanks fp for your feed back. I'll be getting a cage tomorrow and puting him by a window so he/she can see the world go by, I'll also put it close to where I feed the others so it can start making friends with them. I havent been handling it except for feeding, so I'm glad I got that right. 
Thanks again.

Whitetail


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Hi Whitetail,
I don’t want to disappoint you, but introducing hand raised baby bird to the wild is tricky process. Babies are educated by their parents to search for food, avoid dangers and predators and other survival skills. You can try to let him come and go to your apartment once he grows, but is critical for his safety to have place to come back for food and security. In any case, only life with you, even in the cage is giving him close to 100% survival chances.


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## starlinglover95 (May 6, 2009)

Plamenh is right, but so is Feralpigeon. if you really want to release him than you need to;
1) DON'T: Hold him very much inbetween feedings. they get attached more and more every time you hold him.
2) DO: Be careful when you clean his enviroment to get it very clean. they can get really sick if it is dirty.

Soft releasing is the best way (in my opinion) to release. once he gets big enough (mostly feathered but can't fly yet) put him in a cage outside and let him see. bring him inside at night. once he can fly if the cage is predator-proof you can leave him outside overnight. as soon as he will pick up put seed in his cage. you can let him out once he can fly and wean him off of the baby bird formula (or whatever you feed him), and onto the bird seed. he will fly in and out as he wants as long as you leave the cage open.
There is probably someone who can explain it better than me.

GOOD LUCK WITH HIM!!


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

plamenh said:


> Hi Whitetail,
> I don’t want to disappoint you, but introducing hand raised baby bird to the wild is tricky process. Babies are educated by their parents to search for food, avoid dangers and predators and other survival skills. You can try to let him come and go to your apartment once he grows, but is critical for his safety to have place to come back for food and security. In any case, only life with you, even in the cage is giving him close to 100% survival chances.


I agree that this would be the best approach.


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## whitetail (Apr 17, 2008)

Thank you again for all the info. I'll keep in touch and let everybody know how it's coming along. 

Whitetail


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