# Need advice/trapped wild baby pigeon



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

We had a little mostly white pigeon come in with our birds this morning. Poor little thing was so dirty. Has oil or grease or something on one wing. The rest of it is just plain old dirt. It's quite a young pigeon. I'd say about 3 months old maybe? It's not squeaking......grunted a couple of times, but it's cere is still flesh colored. Problem is, it's a little wild bird. Everett is NOT going to let me keep it here. So, we won't even go there. OK??? 
I have no idea where it came from. We took our birds on a 30 mile toss, so they could have picked it up anywhere along the line I guess. We've got two very small flocks around here. Maybe a dozen birds or less in each one. Will this little one be ok if I release it with one of these flocks? 
I'm going to try to get it cleaned up before I do that. It's just so little and probably a pretty little bird once the dirt is gone.  
I wasn't going to let it in the loft, then we saw that it had what we thought was a band on it's dirty legs, so we got it to trap into the loft. Once captured, it wasn't a band at all, put just a piece of plastic that slid right off it's leg/foot. I actually wonder how it got on there in the first place. Thought, maybe it happened when it was just a little baby. Who knows where it was raised and it just grew up with it on the leg? Not really sure. 
Anyway, advice anyone? 
Oh, it's a little thin, but not bad. I got it to drink some water, but haven't seen it eat yet. Of course it's out in the loft and I'm in the house, but I'll go check on it in a few. Maybe it's never seen a seed before? 
First time I've ever seen a wild "baby" pigeon. We've had adult wild birds show up here before and we just ran them off and they went back to wherever they came from. Couldn't do that to this little young one though. So, I want to help it, but keeping it in my loft is NOT the way I'll be able to do this.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Guess you're going to have to keep it in a box in the house for a bit while you're cleaning it and making sure it's okay, eating and drinking. Post a picture of the bird and the plastic that was on the leg.

Pidgey


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Pidgey said:


> Guess you're going to have to keep it in a box in the house for a bit while you're cleaning it and making sure it's okay, eating and drinking. Post a picture of the bird and the plastic that was on the leg.
> 
> Pidgey


I can post a picture of the bird, but I don't know if the plasitic is still out in the loft or if it got thrown away. I'll check. 
I just went out and it didn't appear to have eaten anything. I force fed it a few seeds to see if I could make it understand what's in the bowl. I've got it out in the loft in an individual breeding pen. Don't think it would be real happy in a box in my house and it CAN fly....that's all I need is a wild pigeon loose in my house...... 
I'll go get a few pics.............be back.........


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

You can see the difference in it's left side and right side. The black on the left side is grease or something sticky. It's legs are very dirty/sticky too. Probably a combination of dirt and grease.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, see, what we'd normally do (gotta' be careful using the "we" as some folks react badly to any suggestion that they might do the same thing) is give the bird a Dawn bath to get the gunk out. If that doesn't work then it'd be something more like the Detachol that Terry uses. Anyhow, the bird's waterproofing is usually shot after a deal like that so you have to give it some time to fix that before you let it go. There's also the matter of making sure that it's eating and drinking. And well.

Welcome to the wonderful world of rehabbing ferals, Renee!

Pidgey


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## pigeonpoo (Sep 16, 2005)

Pretty bird but, I know what you men about not wanting to keep it in the loft. I have a lodger in mine at the moment - its a young racer but, it's the wrong colour - my birds are all white!! I've contacted the owner but, that was two weeks ago and he still hasn't got back to me.  

Sorry, getting distracted here!! Maybe a bath wouldn't go amiss? Sooty(my chimney bird) was covered in sticky tar and soot but, after a good scrub with washing up liquid in warm water and a jolly good rinse, he looked a lot better. I was surprised just how easy it was to wash the bird once the feathers were wet.

You don't want the bird to preen and ingest whatever he's got on himself.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Pidgey said:


> Well, see, what we'd normally do (gotta' be careful using the "we" as some folks react badly to any suggestion that they might do the same thing) is give the bird a Dawn bath to get the gunk out. If that doesn't work then it'd be something more like the Detachol that Terry uses. Anyhow, the bird's waterproofing is usually shot after a deal like that so you have to give it some time to fix that before you let it go. There's also the matter of making sure that it's eating and drinking. And well.
> 
> Welcome to the wonderful world of rehabbing ferals, Renee!
> 
> Pidgey


And I do what when hubby divorces me????  Just kidding..........(I think )...so, ya think one good bath will do the trick?...as far as getting him clean I mean? I just used some regular old hand soap this morning, just to see if it would come off......and of course it didn't........well, some of it did. I DO have some dawn though, so I'll give that a try........


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Ok. Let me ask ya this.........do feral babies have the red eyes like ferals or do they have black eyes? This one has black eyes, but it's old enough that it's not sqeaking any more, so I wonder............maybe this isn't a feral at all? How do I know? If it's not a feral, but a lost unbanded race bird..........oh, boy......I'm fixing to get myself in trouble...........but it does have the red legs like ferals do..........


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Renee, 
Not all ferals have red legs. I have ferals that have black legs, feathered feet, crests. short beaks and long beaks. Ferals are beautiful. 
What a pretty little bird that has found you and very needing of you care.
Do you have a dog or cat kennel you can put it in? 
When the weather cools, send it to me. I'll take it.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Charis said:


> Renee,
> Not all ferals have red legs. I have ferals that have black legs, feathered feet, crests. short beaks and long beaks. Ferals are beautiful.
> What a pretty little bird that has found you and very needing of you care.
> Do you have a dog or cat kennel you can put it in?
> When the weather cools, send it to me. I'll take it.


I do have a pet carrier, but the bird is ok where it is now. It's away from all of my birds, but has an aviary so it can get outside. This little guy is unusually calm for a wild bird. I'm sort of surprised. I've only actually seen/held/come close to one feral. It trapped into our loft in MI and we had one heck of time catching the little bugger. I've picked this one up three times now. He doesn't LIKE it, but he doesn't go bonkers like I expected. I've seen one poop. Since he's out in an aviary, I can't see the poops as they all hit the ground six feet below. It looked decent actually. Not perfect, but I've seen worse. I did check his mouth and throat and they look nice and pink. I just gave him a bath in Dawn and he's looking like a drowned rat right now, but I didn't even see any bugs on him. I am however worried that he's not eating. I really believe it's because, one, he's in a strange place and two, maybe he doesn't even know what seeds are. Should I go get him some french fries or bread??? JUST KIDDING.......I did a few seed pops twice, so hopefully he'll get the hang of it. Don't worry, I'm not going to let him starve to death. 
Anyway......are you serious about wanting him? It can be arranged you know. 
OH......and some of the black on that right side is supposed to be there.....LOL.......no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it off. LOL


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Bless you for helping this little guy, Renee. He's pretty cute under the dirt. Maybe he's actually an unbanded domestic, but some ferals are calmer than others, especially when young. Anyway, best of luck getting him cleaned up and re-homed. Like you, I don't want to keep ferals near my domestics because I worry about diseases and parasites. But even those of us who don't intend to be rehabbers sometimes find ourselves involved in rehab. At least that's been my experience. Hope your hubby will be patient with the situation.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Lovebirds said:


> I do have a pet carrier, but the bird is ok where it is now. It's away from all of my birds, but has an aviary so it can get outside. This little guy is unusually calm for a wild bird. I'm sort of surprised. I've only actually seen/held/come close to one feral. It trapped into our loft in MI and we had one heck of time catching the little bugger. I've picked this one up three times now. He doesn't LIKE it, but he doesn't go bonkers like I expected. I've seen one poop. Since he's out in an aviary, I can't see the poops as they all hit the ground six feet below. It looked decent actually. Not perfect, but I've seen worse. I did check his mouth and throat and they look nice and pink. I just gave him a bath in Dawn and he's looking like a drowned rat right now, but I didn't even see any bugs on him. I am however worried that he's not eating. I really believe it's because, one, he's in a strange place and two, maybe he doesn't even know what seeds are. Should I go get him some french fries or bread??? JUST KIDDING.......I did a few seed pops twice, so hopefully he'll get the hang of it. Don't worry, I'm not going to let him starve to death.
> Anyway......are you serious about wanting him? It can be arranged you know.
> OH......and some of the black on that right side is supposed to be there.....LOL.......no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it off. LOL


I know you won't let him starve. It would be easier on the bird to find someone closer to you so he doesn't have to travel so far but I will take him/her. Last thing I need but I will do it. LOL


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Birdmom4ever said:


> Bless you for helping this little guy, Renee. He's pretty cute under the dirt. Maybe he's actually an unbanded domestic, but some ferals are calmer than others, especially when young. Anyway, best of luck getting him cleaned up and re-homed. Like you, I don't want to keep ferals near my domestics because I worry about diseases and parasites. But even those of us who don't intend to be rehabbers sometimes find ourselves involved in rehab. At least that's been my experience. Hope your hubby will be patient with the situation.


Oh, he'll be fine. When I said he wouldn't let me keep it here, I meant permanently. A short stay is ok and the little guy will not be released before he's ready and if someone wants him in the meantime, that can be arranged.


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## pigeonmama (Jan 9, 2005)

Renee,
He can always come up and live with the rest of the little goonie birds in the horse barn if you don't keep him. Just let me know so I can send cost of shipping.
Daryl
P.S., only after you get him squeaky clean


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

OK. This little guy isn't eating. He'll sit in my lap and let me pop seeds down his throat all day and not say a word. He's preening and looking much better than this morning. I mean as far as the dirt. He didn't "look" bad this morning. If I hadn't seen the "band" on it's leg, I never would have let it in my loft to begin with. It seemed fine...........just a wild bird that followed mine home.......I wasn't concerned about it at all, until I saw the "band".......
So, you think he's just scared? or what? I saw it poop again a little while ago and the poops look pretty darn good to me.......
He MUST know how to eat, or he wouldn't be alive..........whether he's a feral or not...........just seems kinda weird to me.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

He is really cute, Renee. Could he be someones pet?

Reti


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Reti said:


> He is really cute, Renee. Could he be someones pet?
> 
> Reti


I have no idea. He was pretty dirty so it's obvious he's been out for a long long time, BUT.....I'm guessing that it's not more than 3 months old. I expect two weeks ago, it was still squeaking............


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Renee,

Thank you for taking on his temporary care and spending time on his/her rehabilitation, I see you already have offers for a home for the little one. I'm sure that will keep the peace.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I think the little guy finally ate some seeds on his own. I had sprinkled some on the floor and most of them are gone. Hopefully he'll start eating now.


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## SueC (Jun 9, 2005)

Was about to ask you to spread the seeds on the floor for the little one. That's how I got Beanie into eating seeds on her own. Seems like they only know how to pick seeds from the ground and not from bowls.


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## A_Smith (Aug 8, 2006)

Birdmom4ever said:


> Bless you for helping this little guy, Renee. He's pretty cute under the dirt. Maybe he's actually an unbanded domestic, but some ferals are calmer than others, especially when young. Anyway, best of luck getting him cleaned up and re-homed. Like you, I don't want to keep ferals near my domestics because I worry about diseases and parasites. But even those of us who don't intend to be rehabbers sometimes find ourselves involved in rehab. At least that's been my experience. Hope your hubby will be patient with the situation.


Just an idea if you have extra leftover vacanation juice, Give the baby a shot. s/he can be the most healthy of the wild flock. The bird is very cute. Looks like an unbanded racer to me. I have one grizzle and I love to watch her fly. If you release into the wild and s/he traps back into your loft it is no longer a stray.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

The line down the nose from the forehead does seem to indicate a racer, unless the picture is deceiving. You should keep the bird.

Pidgey


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Renee, thanks for taking this one in, very sweet of you and your hubby even
though he may not know he's sweet for helping the youngster out. Black eyes?? I watch the youngsters come out on their first jaunts w/their dark eyes, so new to the flock and the 'ropes', and within usually a couple of months they turn into what the adult color is going to be. Or, I'll bring a jouvy home w/the black eyes and watch them change color here.

Interesting that this bird got confused and selected to hook up w/your guys
instead of hanging w/the flock that s/he was born into. Maybe s/he hasn't 
foraged w/the group alot yet and it was just a crazy world and got swept up into it when your 'guys' arrived, following them home. Hard to know for certain how it all transpired, if confusion on this youngsters' part or the youngster has become peripheral to the group because of a health issue. None the less, I'd continue to keep an eye on the feeding, if you handle the jouvenile again, I'd open the beak and smell. If the bird poops while you are assisting in feeding, guess what? I'd sniff that one out too  What the hey, anyway a rehabber can get clues, right? 

On the handling and how easy they handle, maybe temperament, perhaps
being timidly approaching life outside of the 'nest/rearing site', or ....?

Like some others here who have offered to take this bird in even though
they need another bird like a hole in the head.....yeah, I would take this
little beauty and survivor in as well. Thanks again for being a feral rehabber
in the making.

fp


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## stach_n_flash (Mar 15, 2006)

He doesnt look like a ferral t me but it could be. There are a lot of hawks here so most white ones dont live for me to see them... 

If worse comes to worse I would be willing to adopt too. I can provide shiping cost and the box cost too  

So just keep me in mind if worse comes to worse.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

LOL
With all the interest in this bird, maybe we could just do" Round Robin " with it.


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

If we are going to do a round robin w/the baby, then I think 
Daryl will need to move to the west coast....

fp


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

GOSH! Lotsa homes available for this little one! Bless all you Pigeon-Talkers! If we need to have a poll or vote as to who gets this one, just let me know .. otherwise .. just work it out with Renee  

Terry


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## horsesgot6 (May 30, 2007)

What A Very Pretty Bird You Have Found. Hope All Goes Well For Him. Are You Going To Just Let Him Go Or try And Find Him A New Home. I Know My Farels Around Here I Have A Hard Time catching. So I'd Almost Think That Maybe he Just Got Lost From somewhere And May Belong To Someone. Even Before I started Feeding The Farels Out Here At The Farm They Where All Nice And Fat. Now I'm also Feeding Them some Not Alot Of Grain Mix And They eat It With no problem and that Was about The second Day they started eatting on it. 
i hope all goes Well For this Little Guy/Girl. You'll Have To Post A New Picture of Him/her Clean. 
Best Of Luck with The Bird ,
Jennifer


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## horsesgot6 (May 30, 2007)

If A Home Can't Be Found For Him (LOL) I'll Take Him In. 

You Have A Great Day,
Jennifer 

Maybe A poll would Be A good idea For This little One (LOL) But Isn't It So Nice that So Many People Want Him.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I *THINK* I've got a home for this little one. I'm waiting on the guy to call me back. He's local so I wouldn't have to ship the bird. If this doesn't work out, I'll need someone to take it. This guy is the only person I know around here that has pigeons but doesn't race and really doesn't care whether the bird is banded or not. He just likes pigeons. Has a BIG building and the last time I was there, he only had about 6 or 8 birds. He could easily house 100 in the building where they are.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Hey, I have first dibs!  
It's ok let the fellow with the big building have him only if you think it would be a good place.


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## pigeonmama (Jan 9, 2005)

Lovebirds said:


> I *THINK* I've got a home for this little one.
> 
> Yes, in Maine, or it's a double batch of legless frogs for you, my girl.
> Daryl


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Well, Mr. Davis called me this afternoon and he's coming by tomorrow and get this little one. I wouldn't give it to him if I didn't think he would take care of it. You guys should know that............Daryl.....I know you would take it in a heart beat. I'm saving you for that case that's going to pop up one day and I have NO WHERE TO TURN........and it will happen, trust me.......


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Renee, I'm happy to hear there will be a good outcome for this little one. That is one smart cookie.


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## A_Smith (Aug 8, 2006)

Sounds like s/he is going to a good home. Now if that person has a computer have them join PT and keep us updated.


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Renee, if this man has a big building and only a half a dozen pigeons, maybe
we should be shipping to him??  Is he a retired breeder, a rehabber,
a you fill in the blank?.....and does he know about health programs for the 
pigeons and have meds on hand? You know, the whole PT tenth degree, lol.

Really, maybe he should join. Does he surf the net?

fp


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Yeah, Renee, as "surrogate" parent/worriers, we need to know more about this guy...just to be on the safe side!  

Wishing the little one ALL THE BEST with lots of HUGS and SCRITCHES!  

Shi & Squeaks


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

I'm glad you found someone nearby, Renee. I know our kind PT members who offered would provide good homes, but it sounds like this guy can provide an excellent home for this pigeon. No shipping is a huge bonus, too.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Well, let's see............he found out about pigeons accidently through a friend of a friend. At some point, I believe he will join our club and race with us. He wanted to this year, but got into the game too late. The building that he has for his few birds needs some work and Everett is going to help him out with that. Nest boxes, perches, aviaries, etc..........
As far as him taking in all of our strays.........I don't think that would be such a good idea. He's got a lot to learn about birds and our club members are helping him out with that, but for now, he needs to go slow.
If we have some birds come up here that I think he might be interested in, I'll sure give a yell to him. We'll have to take it as it comes. 
As for this little bird, he will take care of it and it will be MUCH better off than it was when I got it a few days ago. No more dumpster diving or wallowing around in oil pits or whatever this poor little guy got into. Mr. Davis also has some young birds that are about the same age as this little one, so it will be very happy there. He's not so happy here right now as I have him isolated and all alone. I'm sure he'll be happy to see some other pigeons.......
So you guys can stop worrying...........you should know that I wouldn't let him have the bird if I wasn't sure it would be ok. I plan on raising some babies for him next year, so if I am willing to give him one of MY birds, he's got to be ok. 
PS: I doubt he does much computer stuff.......I'll have to ask him.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

*One more pic........*

before she goes to her new home. The color you see now belongs there.  Mr. Davis got tied up at work and couldn't come over today. Well, not till after dark, so I told him he'd have to wait and pick her up during daylight hours.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Renee,
She is really a pretty bird. 
She looks like she has a heart on her back, almost.
I think she's a Siberian Snow Homer. Looks just like one.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

What a gorgeous bird.

Reti


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Wow! Such a pretty pretty!!

Mr. Davis is one lucky new owner!

HUGS AND SCRITCHES!!

Shi & Squeaks


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Gorgeous bird, Renee! I'm glad you found a good home for him or her!

Terry


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## naturegirl (Nov 7, 2005)

That bird is beautiful Renee it amazes me when I watch the pigeons at the river the beautiful colors thay have. I hope everything works well maybe you could keep it?  

Cindy


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Very pretty little pij, Renee. You did a good job cleaning her up. I really like her markings and I'm glad she's going to a good home.


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

She really does look like a Siberian Snow Homer....really pretty bird.

fp


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

LOL Renee, she sure cleaned up nice. Markings are stunning. Mr. Davis is going to be a lucky person to have this beauty. Thanks for finding her a good home and I still say she is mighty smart to have blended in with your guys.


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