# I found a baby pigeon - what do I do?



## Jim Marshall (Jul 21, 2008)

Yesterday afternoon I found a baby pigeon on my ground floor window ledge.

I could see an adult bird in the street which I assumed was one of its parents, which I hoped would take care of it. However, over the course of the evening the adult didn't come close and when it started to get dark I decided to take the baby in, there being a lot of cats and the occasional fox in my street.

While it can't fly the bird can flap it's wings as is able to walk about (although it seems happier just sitting) so I don't think it's injured.

It's about the size of an adult bird and has most of its adult plumage, although there are still some baby feathers in place which makes it look very scruffy.

I put it in a fish tank (quite a large one) which I lined with paper. I gave it some moistened wild bird seed in a bowl (which it is roosting on....) The tank is in my garage, on top of the water heater.

I'm not looking for a pet, just to release the bird when it is sensible to do so.

I'm looking for advice:

Did I do the right thing?
What should I do next?
If releasing it immediately isn't the right thing to do, how long should I look after it?

Any advice gratefully accepted,

Thanks

Jim


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Jim Marshall said:


> Did I do the right thing?
> What should I do next?
> If releasing it immediately isn't the right thing to do, how long should I look after it?
> 
> ...



Hi Jim, 

Thanks for your compassion in this situation. Can you tell us where you live, which area, city, continent? This could be of importance to knowing what kind of young pigeon you've rescued. Also, a picture would be great so we can identify the type of pigeon and approximate age.

Keep it warm, calm and in a semi dark area for now. If you have any kind of bird seed or grains around your house, you can try to offer them AFTER trying to get the bird to drink. Offer water before food if possible and if it doesn't seem to know how to drink, place a glass or small bowl in front if it and gently but forcefully dip it's beak into the water so it knows what it is.

Unfortunately, many kind and caring individuals will attempt to rescue young pigeons or doves when they aren't in need of rescuing. I"m not saying that this is the case, but it's possible.

That's your start, try those things now and others will pick up where I left off.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Jim,

You did the right thing. When baby pigeons leave the nest they are able to fly, although their parents will continue to feed them for about a week while they show them around the feeding sites. A pigeon, whether baby or adult, would not last long on ground floor window ledge, it would be too vulnerable to predators and to "black hearted strangers".

Put a bowl of water near it and dip its beak in that to see if it is able to drink. You can also offer it wild bird seed, some can eat well at that age, but I have found several juveniles that are simply unable to eat after they have fledged and the parents have stopped feeding them.

Is it pooping? Can you describe the poops? They are a good indicator of whether the pigeon is getting enough food.

You could put him on the window with supervision to see if the parents return.

Cynthia


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## Jim Marshall (Jul 21, 2008)

*Update*

Brad, Cynthia

Thanks for your swift replies.

Checking the pigeon this morning, he seemed a lot livelier, and had certainly pooped a lot during the night (yellowy-white - looks like pigeon poo!) 

He also seemd to want to fly (flapping his wings strongly), so I let him out into my back garden (which is secure) - and he took off and flew!

He's sitting on my neighbour's house roof right now - well above cat level.

Regards,

Jim


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your concern over this youngster. The youngster may still need your help, because if he is pooping some yellow that may indicate the needs for intervention. If canker is an issue it needs to be treated asap. Where are you located, perhaps we can find some help?


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## Jim Marshall (Jul 21, 2008)

Hi Teresa

He's flown away! As per my earlier previous post, I let him out into my (secure) back garden to see how he did as he seemed s lot brighter this morning, and he flew away (in stages - he spent an hour on my neighbour's roof, but then flew off completely).

Regards,

Jim


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Hi Jim,
Welcome to Pigeon Talk. 

Thanks for helping the little one.
If he does return, please catch him & have a look inside his mouth. It should be nice & pink & free of any obstructions.

We just want to make sure he gets a nice healthy start. 

Cindy


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

> if he is pooping some yellow that may indicate the needs for intervention. If canker is an issue it needs to be treated asap.


Am I alone in this? I have never had a bird with canker pass yellow poops or yellow urates, and I have never had a bird with yellow poops have canker. I have been having a browse through some relevant pigeon books (Dr Colin Walker's Pigeon Health and Management, F.D W Harper - "Problem Droppings Explained" and "Coughs, Colds, Croaks and Canker" )and although there are loads of symptoms listed (which I must summarise in a separate thread), including watery poops and green diarrhea, there is no mention of canker being linked to yellow poops.

Does anybody have any information or experience of this? Why would canker cause poops to be yellow?

Cynthia


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

In fact, yellow urates would indicate, as the first probability, liver damage from several possible causes including tumors and aflatoxins.

John


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

cyro51 said:


> **Am I alone in this?*
> 
> ** *I have never had a bird with canker pass yellow poops or yellow urates, and I have never had a bird with yellow poops have canker.*
> 
> ...


* Nope.

** While I always check the inside of a bird's mouth when they have been presented to me & I always suggest others to do so, I've never had one with yellow poops.

I've had some birds (not necessarily canker birds) that their urates weren't bright white, rather a bit off white, but never yellow.

Cindy


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

cyro51 said:


> Am I alone in this? I have never had a bird with canker pass yellow poops or yellow urates, and I have never had a bird with yellow poops have canker. I have been having a browse through some relevant pigeon books (Dr Colin Walker's Pigeon Health and Management, F.D W Harper - "Problem Droppings Explained" and "Coughs, Colds, Croaks and Canker" )and although there are loads of symptoms listed (which I must summarise in a separate thread), including watery poops and green diarrhea, there is no mention of canker being linked to yellow poops.
> 
> Does anybody have any information or experience of this? Why would canker cause poops to be yellow?
> 
> Cynthia



Hi Cynthia, 


It probably is regional, or there are regionsl strains of the Trichomonas.


Canker here in the Mojave is - so far as I recall - synonomous with 'chalky' yellow, 'flat-paint' like urates.


Phil
l v


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

pdpbison said:


> Hi Cynthia,
> 
> 
> It probably is regional, or there are regionsl strains of the Trichomonas.
> ...


We pretty much live in the same region (climate wise), Phil, & I don't recall any canker pijjies having yellow or even chalky yellow urates. They may not be textbook droppings, but not yellow.

Cindy


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

So, is what you are saying (in this and in another thread) that in the Mojave, the incidence of crop canker and proventricular is extremely small, but that it almost invariably damages the liver, causing yellow urates?

Do the pigeons with yellow urates have canker in the throat as well?

Cynthia


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Well, I can't speak for Las Vegas, but I will tell you that I am getting buried in WORLD SERIOUS canker cases from here in So Cal .. La Habra to be exact .. these are NASTY and are not responding well to ANYTHING. I'll try to get pics of the poops .. and the birds.

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

AZWhitefeather said:


> We pretty much live in the same region (climate wise), Phil, & I don't recall any canker pijjies having yellow or even chalky yellow urates. They may not be textbook droppings, but not yellow.
> 
> Cindy



Hi Cindy, 


Beats me then...


Around here, they have been 'yellow-chalky' ever since the first time I had a few Canker Babys, which was 1980...


Still 'yellow-chalky' Urates now when I get adults or youngsters or Babys who have it.


Same with Doves...sae with Kestrals, same with Cockateils...far as that goes.


So, rather than being per-se a 'strain' to be conjectured in the Southern Mojave...it may be a local strain or local phenoona which is possibly more just the greater Las Vegas Valley or something.


Granted, other things can cause 'chaulky yellow' Urates also...

But Caner in various Bird Species around here, makes for 'chalky yellow' Urates, reliably...


How 'yellow' is Yellow?


Yellow enough to be called 'yellow' anyway...


So...who knows???


Curious, huh...



Phil
l v


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

cyro51 said:


> So, is what you are saying (in this and in another thread) that in the Mojave, the incidence of crop canker and proventricular is extremely small, but that it almost invariably damages the liver, causing yellow urates?
> 
> Do the pigeons with yellow urates have canker in the throat as well?
> 
> Cynthia




Hi Cynthia, 


I do not know about Canker 'damaging' the Liver, but, the typical 'chaulky yellow' Urates I associate with Canker around here, at least imply to me, that 'spent' Leucocytes are being eliminated along with the usual Urine compositions.


Once on Anti-Canker Meds, the 'chaulky yellow' Urates are seen to change to 'White' by day three or four...or sooner in light infections or early ones.


Of say any 'twenty' Canker Pigeons I would get, over however many weeks or months that would take...


One in twenty ( if that many and it probably a lesser percentage really than that, ) would appear to have a Canker related inflamitory debriss issue conjectured or deduced to be blocking the Crop's passage to the Stomach...and, causing a Static or very 'slow' Crop...which may or may not then show Candida troubles or Yeast troubles in addition or consequence.


The other Nineteen ( say, ) would have it in their Throats, clearly visible, with no Crop issues as such...regardless of how plugged the Throat may be...where, if I can still Tube Feed, the Crop behaves just fine...and their elimination and digestion functions seem to proceed just fine.


Very rarely, if possibly twice ever, only once for sure, ( such as I just had these last few days, ) has been where the Throat is 'clear' and the Crop and digestive and elimination functions appear uneffected...but there is a conjectured Canker-related inflamitory debris artefact blocking the mid Esophagus.


Less rarely, if still rare, are those horrible ones who's Beaks and mouth are severely effected, where loss of the Beak or at least one half of it seems threatening, and or who are effected in this way, in addition to their Throats.


And all of these few whom I have had, wiht the horrible 'Mouth' infections, their Crops and digestive and eliminitory functions seemed to function just fine, so long as I was able to tube feed them, which, usually, I could.


Usually, any Blocked Crops I have gotten in, have been a Candida issue, or a foreign object issue with Candida attending...and, not from any detectable Canker ( when I have had my Vet take 'swabs' to determine whether my 'Candida' guess was correct...and in addition, whether Canker seemed to be indicated also )...where, the verdict would be 'Candida' and these tended to recover either on my naive but usually effective ACV-Water regimen, or, via tube adminstrations of 'Nystatin' or 'Medistatin'...



I do not know why there would be differences in how an Organism tends to effect a given species in differing regions, nor, how those regions would be defined, other than for actual surveys of the syndromes or presentations of these kinds of cases to be compiled, and, then, compared to a geographical distribution of rough percentages of 'kinds' of Cases, so to speak.


Please forgive me for all the many times passesd, where, based on my own limited and provincial, naive, empirical, conjectures or experience however so, I have so often asked or implored or admonished about 'chalky yellow Urates' as being an indicator of probable 'Canker'.


I really had no way of knowing, that this was possibly something not universal or widely seen by observant others in their Canker Pigeons or Doves, or as may be.


But here, it has been a steady and reliable association anyway.


I have had a few Pigeons where what I thought was Canker at first, was actually some weird form of Thrush/Candida or possibly Salmonella, or I knew not what, making for a curious Orange-ish color, 'moulded', slick, shiney thing on and along the side of their Throat, and these did not show 'yellow chalky Urates' and these required regimens different from those who actually had Canker in order to improve.



Best wishes..!


Thanks for running through this with me...


It is a good thing to pause and share notes on.



Phil
Las Vegas


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

TAWhatley said:


> Well, I can't speak for Las Vegas, but I will tell you that I am getting buried in WORLD SERIOUS canker cases from here in So Cal .. La Habra to be exact .. these are NASTY and are not responding well to ANYTHING. I'll try to get pics of the poops .. and the birds.
> 
> Terry




"Berimax" used to work very well for all the Canker ones I used to get...


You may have some in the Cubbard still...if you did not use it all up yet.


Sorry to hear of these...

Oye...


Good luck Terry..!!!


...do these show 'yellow chalky Urates'?





Phil
l v


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Here is a link I just found with some helpful information.

Though canker issues may or may not be indicated by chalky yellow poops, it is indicative of liver issues. Intervention would still be necessary I think.



http://fowlfacts.proboards40.com/in...=ffanswerstoquestions&thread=1093&page=1#2207


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## little bird (Aug 11, 2006)

interesting link......expanding Poopology101


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