# Baby Pigeon.



## mollymurphy (Jun 11, 2004)

Hiya!

I found a baby woodpigeon (i think!) sat in the road last night. I picked him up, brought him home and put him in an outdoor rabbit run with another woodpigeon that we've got at the moment. I left them with wild bird seed, pigeon corn and grit, hoping he was old enough to feed himself, but when i checked his crop this morning, it was very sharp, so i syringe-fed him some soaked weetabix, then remembered i've got chick crumbs, so fed him that as well (35.5g of crumbs to 150g of previously-boiled water, soaked for 15mins, then seived.)

Could anyone tell me how old they think he is? And what i should feed him? oh, and how often?!

Thanks very much.

Louise


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Molly, 

What a cute little wood pigeon! We sure are having an influx of people with wood pigeons lately!

The chick crumbs are a good diet for him so keep doing what you're doing that way. Feed him every couple of hours or when his crop empties. The crop is the pouch located underneath the throat that swells when feeding. Don't fill the crop until it's completely full, it should only be about 3/4 full and have a mushy feel to it.

He looks to be around 3 weeks old or so. We have several UK members here and 2; John and Cynthia are well informed about wood pigeons and should provide more information later. 

You seem to be doing a good job so far though!


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## quadbike (Jul 21, 2005)

*woodpigeons*

do you have woodpigeons in canada


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Louise,

Helen once advised me not to feed Woodies more than 30 ml at a time, because they can contract their crops when stressed and the food overflows...this was when I overfed one of just about the same age as yours! So I would give it between 20 and 30 ml in several feeds aiming to between 80 and 120 ml a day.

No less than 80ml a day. 

Is he getting along with the other woodie? They learn to feed themselves quickly if there is another pigeon they can imitate. Collared doves are also good companions and good examples for baby woodies.

Cynthia


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi mollymurphy,


Wow!

Thats a BIG boy!

And what a cutie!


Should be self feeding soon...

Find out about their real diet...see if you can get as close to that as you can...

Whatever it is, is what their Parents would have been feeding him.

See my previous posts if you like, for some tips which will allow you to feed him real foods, and whole Seeds and little Berries and so on, in a Nipple's hollow back...

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=11244


Good luck!

Phil
Las Vegas


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

quadbike said:


> do you have woodpigeons in canada



Hi Quadbike, 

No, unfortunately we don't have these lovely pigeons here in Canada. When I said we've been having an influx of them lately, I meant here in the forum There have been quite a few of them found by members here of late from Europe.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Hi Louise and welcome to Pigeon -Talk! It is great to have another new member from England. That is a cutie you have there.It was very fortunate to have "found" you.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

> There have been quite a few of them found by members here of late from Europe.



Woodpigeons have become our most common garden bird.

Fortunately members in countries that don't have woodpigeons have been watching and learning and learning so they know as much as the rest of us when it comes to their care now.

Cynthia


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## mollymurphy (Jun 11, 2004)

*Thank you!*

Hi everyone! Well thank you all for your help so far.

The baby's doing fine - the only thing i'm worried about is over/under-feeding him - i'm not sure if he's eating by himself at all. I'm still feeding him around 15ml of chick crumbs every 3 hours. He seems to really enjoy them. I was hoping he'd be as easy as a baby blackbird that i had, which just used to scream when it was hungry and open its mouth as soon as i showed him a worm, then he'd stop when he was full! But i guess the woody spent longer with his mum, so doesnt want to open his mouth for me!

As for the other woody that's in with him, they seem to just totally ignore each other, unlike previous pairs that i've had. Is that normal? The older pij is quite badly injured. My sisters' friend is a vet nurse and brought him home for us, saying that he was fine, but needed some rest - the vets obviously never bothered to even LOOK at him, because any fool can see his injuries! I was going to take him to be put to sleep, but he's eating and seems alert, but i think he may have a broken leg and wing. Possibly a dog got him, but i'm not sure. Any advice? I dont want to be cruel, but i wanted to give him a chance.

Are wood pigeons really bad parents or something, because there seems to be orphans everywhere?!

Thanks very much.

Lou. x


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

mollymurphy said:


> But i guess the woody spent longer with his mum, so doesnt want to open his mouth for me!



Hi Louise, 

Glad to hear that the baby is still doing well. Pigeons don't gape for food like songbirds do so this is why she won't open her mouth to be fed.


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## mollymurphy (Jun 11, 2004)

*Ohhhh!*

Ohhhhh! Well i never knew that! Come to think of it, i've never actually seen a baby pigeon gape, so i should've realised! Thank you! x


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Louise,

If the adult woodie is eating then please give him a chance of living. Most rehabbers put them down beccause they suffer such stress in captivity, yours sounds as it it might make it. While there is a will to live I think that they should be helped.

Why do you think that his wing and leg are broken?

The injured wing should be immobilised. It will be difficilt to do with a woodie, you will probably need your sister's friend to help you but what I did with a feral is wind a bit of micropore bandage (it is very light and doesn't damage the feathers) round the injured wing and the body. It mustn't be too tight, because that can cause the pigeon to suffocate. 

With feral pigeons I would tie the flight feathers to the tail, but Woodies can drop their feathers with the least provocation so I would not try this with a woodie.

I place a piece of towel in the shape of a doughnut for them to rest on if they have an injured leg. To splint it you would have to know the location of the fracture.

Woodies don't make bad parents, but I think they are classified as game birds and get shot. They also fly straight out into the traffic so a lot of them get killed that way.  That leaves orphans. Also their nests are badly constructed and can collapse.

Cynthia


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## mollymurphy (Jun 11, 2004)

*Sad news*

Unfortunately, when i got up yesterday morning. the adult pigeon had just died - well, he was still warm and floppy, so that's my guess. I think his injuries must've got the better of him.  I'm a bit confused really, because he was fine when i checked on him the night before. This leaves my baby woody all by himself. I've moved him and his run right into the garden (instead of being round the side of my house) so he can see all of the other birds and pigeons we get on the bird table. He seems happy enough and he's started feeding himself now. How will i know when he's ready to be released? He's started exercising his wings by randomly flapping round the run, so he's very eager!!! Oh, and when he's ready, should i let him go where i found him (but away from the middle of the road, obviously!) or should i find a better place?

Thanks very much!

Louise.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Louise,

When he is strong enough to fly will it be possible for him to be released in your garden? Then if you leave food out he will know where to find food while he gains experience foraging.

If you let him exercise his wings inside sometimes you will ensure that he is strong.

Is he open to some rain at the moment? If not, spray a bit of clean water on him with a mister each day, to speed up the waterproofing.

I am so sorry about the adult! It must have been a shocjk to you as his death was unexpected.

Cynthia


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## mollymurphy (Jun 11, 2004)

*So far, so good.*

Yeah, he can be released in my garden. I get a lot of woodies in it, eating all the food, so he should fit in nicely! 

He's open to the rain, so water-proofing shouldn't be a problem. He's in a 10ft X 3ft rabbit run, a third of which is sheltered, but he sometimes sits in the rain anyway!

In the wild, what age do the babies leave their parents?

And one more question, what should his poo look like?! Because he seems to be doing 2 different types! He's eating completely by himself now. He's on a mixture of grit, wild bird seed and 3 types of pigeon corn. One poo is like a dark brown and ****** and dries up quite quickly, the other is a beige and clear colour, which stays sloppy - is that bad? He seems perfectly fine in himself.

Thanks.

Lou.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Louise,

All I can say is that the poo that you see is consistent with what my wood pigeons produce! 

The sitting in the rain is healthy too.

They leave the nest at about 35 days but their parents carry on feeding them for a while.

Cynthia


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## mollymurphy (Jun 11, 2004)

*He's free!*

Hello everyone. I'm really sorry, I’ve been away on holiday for 2 weeks in Devon and this is the first chance i've had to let you know that my baby is now free! While i was away, my boyfriend was looking after the baby pij, and a week into my holiday, he accidentally let him escape! Fortunately he was able to fly, and has been coming back to feed in my garden ever since.

Thank you all for your help!

Now does anyone know anything about baby hedgehogs......?!

Lou.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

That is wonderful news, Lou! Well done!!!!!

Try a google search for "hedgehog rescue". Hedgehogs are so much more popular with the general public and authorities than pigeons that there is a great network of rescuers. And, having taken a 98gm hedgehog to our Norfolk groupd last year I must say they do an excellent job! They also raised £1500 on their open day last year.

Cynthia


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