# Am I doing this right? Found a baby dove



## Lulumaguloo (Aug 29, 2012)

HI Everyone! I'm new to this site and I have a million questions! 
Thank you Libis and Dima for helping me find the right button. 

Last Thursday afternoon I found a baby bird with NO feather just fuzz and pins on the little wings abandoned on a really big side walk in the building I work in. It was really hot and I didn't see any other birds or nests around I waited about half an hour and he was still there chirping up a storm. So I took him in. I bought him Exact baby bird food formula. At the beginning I didn't know what kind of bird he was so I was feeding him every 2 hours from sunrise to sunset. I used a turkey baster for feeding him he puts his beak inside to eat. He wasn't always hungry for those feedings. But he ate a pooped well. I keep him in a box with tissue paper and napkins on a heating pad. I googled baby dove and a bunch of pictures of him popped up. I've named him Beacon because the series of buildings i work in is called the Beacon Center. He now has feathers and seems healthy. His poop is always brown and white. Now I feed him at 7am, 10:30am, 2pm, 5pm, 9:30pm. He used to FILL his crop now he doesn't fill it that much which is why I feed him so often.

My questions:

How often am I supposed to feed him?
How old is he?
How and when do I start to wean him?
He gets really dirty during feedings sometimes. I've been using a moist paper towel to get most of it off. When and how should I bathe him?
What kind of dove/bird is he? I know some are illegal to keep.
When and should I take him to the vet?
If he is an illegal type of bird will the vet take him from me/tell on me?

I guess that's enough for now and any extra advise you give that i didn't ask about would be GREAT! Thank you!








This is the day I found him.








This is how I feed him. I make him wear a bib. I'm sure its not too tight.








This is him yesterday morning. I've had him 7 days today.


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Looking good! I bet he's starting to hop out of his box at that age!

I'm guessing we're a little mourning dove, which is a protected species. It would be best to contact a wildlife rehab center before he gets too tame towards humans. See what their instructions are for you. Either let them take him, or if they don't have room you might have to get him the rest of the way grown up and then release him.


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I love the head trough the paper towl idea!!!


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

spirit wings said:


> I love the head trough the paper towl idea!!!


*............*


----------



## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

Hi Lulu,
Welcome to PT and thank you for rescuing the little one. I can see from the pic. how much joy and effort you put in him..and having to wake up in the night every 2 - 3 hr for a week

The baby dove,(it's a dove in my opinion (mourning dove)) seems to be 2 - 3 weeks old. If he survived so far, he will do well further. 

You have to start feeding him when crop is empty. Otherwise it may get sour crop. Also if the instructions for Kaytee Exact are not followed accordingly (ex. not well mixed or not right temperature ) the food would stay in the crop for too long. I think he is old enough that you introduce him to defrosted peas hand feeding method which makes the transition to seeds. Kaytee Exact should also be continued, it has all the nutrients and vitamins. He is healthy so i don't see the point in taking him to the vet, unless you want a professional avian vet to answer all your questions.
Does his crop empties? If not, then give him Apple juice and massage his crop.


----------



## Lulumaguloo (Aug 29, 2012)

Yes his crop empties. He is not hopping out of his box yet. Is that bad? I really hope he's not illegal to keep. I really really really want to keep him. Here are some more pics to help confirm (or deny?) that he is a mourning dove. 

[img=http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/971/imag0494x.th.jpg]
[img=http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/3827/imag0496i.th.jpg]
[img=http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/6789/imag0011en.th.jpg]
[img=http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/6536/imag0500s.th.jpg]



I JUST noticed that one of his eyes is a little watery. Doesn't seem good. 
My heart sank a little when someone said he was a mourning dove. My heart finished sinking when I saw his eye.  What am i doing wrong?


----------



## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

Food probably got in his eye or when you were wiping him off the food.
Just keep an eye on his eye for now 

May be he is too young to fly, i see that he stays on your finger. Soon he will start flapping and stretching his wings.


----------



## Lulumaguloo (Aug 29, 2012)

He is stretching and flapping. Also he is still preening. So the eye is NOT a reason the freak out?


----------



## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

_
My heart sank a little when someone said he was a mourning dove. My heart finished sinking when I saw his eye.  What am i doing wrong?
_

Don't need to be superstitious. I have 6 -10 mourning doves coming in the backyard and waiting for food every evening for many years.


----------



## Lulumaguloo (Aug 29, 2012)

spirit wings said:


> I love the head trough the paper towl idea!!!


Thanks, he REALLY needed a bib he is a messy eater.


----------



## Lulumaguloo (Aug 29, 2012)

Dima said:


> _
> _
> 
> Don't need to be superstitious. I have 6 -10 mourning doves coming in the backyard and waiting for food every evening for many years.


Thanks that does make me feel a little better 

I only wanted to take him to the vet in case he needed shots or something. Its awesome if that's not necessary. 

OK any ideas on when he might be old enough to bathe?


----------



## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

Unlike pigeons, doves do not really bathe. At this stage you should not attempt to bath him; it's risky. When he is grown you can put a shallow dish with water ( 2 inches of water deep).
Some members on PT have doves and they can advise more on this matter.


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Doves do bathe, but wait till he's older (it depends on the bird's personality. Also, I've found that each dove has different temperature preferences.) 

Either way, this little guy is protected under the migratory bird act and is illegal to keep unless you have special permission from the state/feds or a rehab license.


----------



## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

I don't think anyone is going to get you for having this little guy. As long as you don't flaunt it. My non-releasable mourning dove Jasper just passed away last month  He was about 3 years old. I have no idea what happened, he just up and died. But I like to think he had a better and longer life with me than he would have on his own.


----------



## beatlemike (Nov 28, 2009)

I hope you keep the bird. I dont think you need to worry about getting in trouble. That little guy grows up and he will follow you around the house like a dog. Good luck to you!


----------



## Lulumaguloo (Aug 29, 2012)

Thanks guys! I love him SO much. But I haven't really decided what to do. If I do keep him I'll post pics of him all grown up. Maybe I could slowly release him once he can fly. .


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Lulumaguloo said:


> Thanks guys! I love him SO much. But I haven't really decided what to do. If I do keep him I'll post pics of him all grown up. Maybe I could slowly release him once he can fly. .


Yeah, little doveys will grab right onto your heartstrings, huh?


----------



## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

MaryOfExeter said:


> I don't think anyone is going to get you for having this little guy. As long as you don't flaunt it. My non-releasable mourning dove Jasper just passed away last month  He was about 3 years old. I have no idea what happened, he just up and died. But I like to think he had a better and longer life with me than he would have on his own.


I am sorry for the loss. May be he was already old by the time you had rescued him. He must have a good life with you, no doubt.


----------

