# baby feral pigeon 25-27 days old



## defstef (Feb 22, 2007)

Greetings pigeon lovers

Three years ago you all helped me with a feral pigeon I found with a mangled foot. I took him to a "wildlife organization" which promptly put it down saying it could not survive on one foot. I then found out this was false from some posts which followed. 

Sooooo, as fate would have it I have found a baby feral pigeon who 
i think is 25-27 days old. He seems strong and healthy. He is fully feathered with very few yellow hairs on his head. He can get some are but can't fly. I found him beneath an overpass in a horrible part of town on a busy road. So adorable. For obvious reasons I am not taking him to any wildlife organizations - for fear they might feed him to a red tail which I've heard happens.

So here are my questions - 
Should he be eating on his own? 

And more specifically, I found him at about 2pm. He would not eat. I left him in a box with some pigeon seed, some water and doughy bread and went to work till 9:30pm. He's been pooping all over me since I got home - does this mean that he ate while I was gone? 

If not this means I have to force him to eat right? 

And do I feed him soaked pigeon seed, baby food, or soft bread - all answers I have seen on the net - which I also don't trust. I want info from pigoen lovers - the real experts.

I would so appreciate some help because I am worried sick that he is not eating. Thank you so much!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Do you have frozen peas or corn? You can defrost them in warm water, and open the birds beak and pop them in toward the back of the tongue. He should swallow. Then pop another one. Feed about 40 to 50. Wait til the crop empties to feed him again. To get him to drink, put a small bowl of water in front of him, and gently dip his beak into it, but not over his nose. He will catch on in time. Let us know how it goes. After a few feedings, he should be picking up the peas and corn by himself. Then you can try seed.


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## fresnobirdman (Dec 27, 2008)

if the bird is fully feathered you should be fine. 
ofcourse its too young to take off yet but another 3 weeks or sooner it will take off by itself or it can either stay at your place.

keep track of the feed you feed him so you know weather its eating or not. or just feel its crop.

o yea and check for any pest on that feral get some ant killer powder and apply on the bird dont miss the butt and under the wings.

if you dont know what to feed him you can just feed him rice if you dont have anything to feed him or feed him pellets if you have any.


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## defstef (Feb 22, 2007)

*pigeon eating!*

Thanks so much for your help. Luckily he ate on his own this morning. I feed a bunch of pigeons every morning on my backyard table. They let me get pretty close so I plopped the little guy on the table and sure enough, he started pecking away at the seeds. The funny thing is that he still wants the other birds to feed him. Inbetween pecks he would run up to an adult and flap his wings and squawk...they just pecked him on his head and sent him away. Very funny.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm glad he's eating! He's still a bit too young to be out there on his own. They can really hurt him without the protection of his parents. I hope you brought him back in to grow up a bit longer.


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## defstef (Feb 22, 2007)

Oh yes. He comes in with me...but he isn't too crazy about it. Funny thing is, he only eats with the other pigeons. When will I know when it is his time to be rereleased?


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Actually - your method's _ALMOST_ fantastic ! As Jay3 said - you don't wanna leave him out there unprotected. Also the other danger is that _in a short while he might just be able to take flight _and end up someplace where you cannot reach him ! That would be bad news because he'd still be WAY too young to release. Can you post a photo ? Baby shouldn't be released prior to 6 weeks old (personally - better to wait 7-plus weeks). My suggestion - keep feeding him with your feral pals - BUT put him in a cage on the ground so they can feed around him. This way he will start to clue into feral pigeon behaviour - and he will be secure in the cage. That's one-half of the *soft-release method *right there ! BTW - good save !


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