# Help



## veronicaperez03 (Sep 7, 2007)

One of my family found a baby pigeon outside yesterday and nothing was done about it because we thought the parents might be watching him. Today in the morning the bird is still outside he looks healthy, but everytime I touch him he hits me with his beak on my hand. However he wont open his beak. What do I do? It looks like his startving.


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## SkyofAngels (Jun 28, 2007)

Parent pigeons often leave the nest so that it was by itself does not necessarily mean it is abandoned, pecking your hand could be it defending itself. To tell if it is starving you should look at the crop (lower neck upper chest area) it should look like a water balloon. Is there anyway you can post a picture of the baby? Then maybe we can guess better about its age and condition.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Just in case we've got somebody near you who can assist if need be, where basically are you?

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Incidentally, baby pigeons don't "gape" or open their beaks wide to get food when just about anyone or anything including their parents gets near. Pigeon babies actually stick their beaks inside the beaks of their parents and eat regurgitated food essentially from the backs of their parents' throats.

And his behavior says that he doesn't know you or trust you. If it comes down to him being abandoned, he'll probably get used to you within three days or so if you're the only one feeding him.

You can get an idea of how old he is by looking at the day-to-day pictures on this site:

http://www.speedpigeon.com/baby_racing_pigeon.htm

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

If you're worried about online security or privacy issues, there's no need to worry about disclosing your city--we don't take things like that personal. Anyhow, if you can describe more about the little one's condition (is he in a nest at all or is he just walking around on his own?), we can certainly do our best to walk you through it.

Pidgey


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## veronicaperez03 (Sep 7, 2007)

I went into this website
http://www.lovebirdsloft.homestead.com/SQUABGROWTH.html
according to a picture they have his about 2 weeks old. I brought him inside and I put him inside a shoe box, and he's crying some, and his crop is empty. I also have two doves both females.


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## SkyofAngels (Jun 28, 2007)

I took a look at the pictures you sent me it looks to me like this baby is walking around alot and he could use a feeding from you, I hope his parents didn't meet any hawks or other predators, but right now we will deal with this little one. Okay, if there are any pet stores near you then you can pick up some kaytee baby bird food, you can feed that in a syringe. I have seen some members put a cut baby bottle nipple on the end of the syringe to simulate the parents beak. Can't remember the name of the thread that had that picture but if you search for hand feeding at the top of the screen maybe you can find some useful info.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Had to go to lunch.

Does that mean that you have dove mix for food? At two weeks old, he's not going to know how to self-feed but if he gets REALLY starved, which he should be, it might be pretty easy to teach him. However, you're probably going to need to teach him to drink first so that you know that he's hydrated. Therefore, take a cup of water and add a pinch of salt and sugar and see if he'll drink if you dip his beak in the water. You might have to try dipping your own finger in the water (monkey see; monkey do--sometimes it works) or you may have to try gently pushing the back of his head so that he gets a little of his beak in. Sometimes they figure it out from that.

Pidgey


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## veronicaperez03 (Sep 7, 2007)

Wow, it worked he drank twice


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## veronicaperez03 (Sep 7, 2007)

I also have dove mix however its dry seeds, its the feed doves eat. Hes really hungry.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

They do when they get real thirsty. Once, my Lin was given a pigeon baby about that size that was found in the glass plant where she works. That baby already knew how to peck and drink although it was pretty wilted when she got it to the house. Necessity really is the... "parent figure" (politically correct, sorry) ...of invention.

Let's see if you can teach him to eat dove mix by pecking at some with your finger on a plate or something like that in front of him.

Pidgey


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## veronicaperez03 (Sep 7, 2007)

he wont hes too hungry to do that. He's very desperate.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, you might try holding the bird steady while opening his beak with your fingers. When you do that, you can put in dried peas and corn from your dove mix. You have to do it one grain at a time and give him a minute to swallow each piece. That usually means that you have to let him close his beak and cycle his head a bit. You'd want to get about as much down the bird as would fit in a regular spoon for the moment. Can you try that?

Pidgey


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## darx23 (Aug 27, 2007)

maybe if there is someone with you one person should hold the bird in his arms then you open his beek and put the seed in,first person could also hold his head a bit so he dont fight much,its easier then


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## SkyofAngels (Jun 28, 2007)

Okay so maybe the kaytee then. Did you read some of the other threads about hand feeding? Like when i had a squeaker that needed to be hanfed I gave it softened cat food or dog food until I got the kaytee, if he is desperate for food and you can't get the kaytee maybe you have access to dry dog food of cat food
My thread about my big was called "My bird is too skinny"


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## veronicaperez03 (Sep 7, 2007)

Hes too wild its very obvious he is starving. I tried doing that but I couldnt open his beak, there's noone with me right know and the kaytee I will not be able to get it until late afternoon. I do have dried dog food, and cereal but is that okey for him to eat?
Thanks for your help. Please reply fast.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Whatever you put down the bird, you're still going to have to get it in his beak. Are you saying that he gets really agitated when you've got your hands on or near him and he fidgets too much for you to get your fingernails (if nothing else works) into his beak to get it open?

Pidgey


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## SkyofAngels (Jun 28, 2007)

okay here is what I would do:
put some dry dog food in some warm water until it gets soft but not soggy. Then take a hand towel or something that size and do what we call the bird burrito, wrap him so that his wings are in the towel and it is just his head out not too tight just enough so he won't be all over the place. then open his mouth with one hand if you can a nail in between his beak that helps. Open the beak and put a small soft piece in the back of the throat and then let him swallow.


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## veronicaperez03 (Sep 7, 2007)

Ok I'll try again. Why did he like water with salt and sugar?


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Because he was thirsty and realized he needed it within a very short period of you offering it to him. Drinking's a lot easier for them to learn because it's a natural instinct anyhow. You're going to be feeding him unlike he's ever been fed before just about any way that you do it short of teaching him to peck on his own.

If you feed him puppy chow, they need to be pretty small bits about the size of peas.

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Incidentally, if you're not having success with getting his beak open, it's usually because you're not being firm enough. That means you're not holding his head firmly enough nor working with his beak in the same manner. It's usually due to a confidence problem on your part coupled with the idea that they're so fragile you're going to break them. You certainly don't want to squeeze the life out of them but you can probably be a little firmer than you are.

Pidgey


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## veronicaperez03 (Sep 7, 2007)

I got a vanilla waffer and I mixed it with warm water and I added dove mix and created a soft thick mix. He dove into it twice, and he wants no more. I hope he'll make it until 5pm or so when I can go to by the kaytee.


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## SkyofAngels (Jun 28, 2007)

A vanilla wafer? Did you try the dog food? How about the burrito? 
Well if he if such a fighter than I think he will be ok at least he has enough energy to fight.


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## darx23 (Aug 27, 2007)

yeah,but u should try to feed him more,put it somehow in its mouth,dont wanna be pessimistic but what happenened to me today with baby pigeon,hes energy dropped rapidly
they dont know to eat it at that stage,that doesnt mean hes not hungry,try again if you can,put him beetween your legs and towel around him and then try hold his head and open beak,it should work


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, Veronica didn't exactly say how much the bird actually got down, you know. Might have been a drop and might have been a teaspoonful, just don't know. As a matter of interest, they don't usually starve to death within a mere four or five hours. Another thing to note is that feeding with Kaytee isn't necessarily the safest thing in the world to do for beginners, either. You don't want to think of KayTee as pure salvation--it's nutritionally complete but needs to be given with care.

Pidgey


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## SkyofAngels (Jun 28, 2007)

Veronica if you post your location maybe we have someone near you that can help


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## veronicaperez03 (Sep 7, 2007)

*Success*

First, let me apologize for taking such a long time to write the results of my pigeon. Second, I would like to thank everyone in this thread for your support and for helping us (my pigeon and I) right away. Finally I want to share with you guys what happend. I was a little scared of opening the pigeon's beak with my hands, and also feeding him dog food (But now that I think about it, the pigeons outside eat my dog's food). When I gave my pigeon the dove feed mixed with the vanilla wafer, and water he ate a little. I didn't know how much though. After 20 minutes or so he was still crying. I cut the bottom of an 8oz styrofoam cup and I added dove feed with water just to make it soft for him to swallow it. He would see my fingers and he would start pecking really soft looking for food. In between my fingers I put the cut-out cup with the mix and he started to eat. Thank-God. It has been almost four days and he's doing wonderful. I feed him 3-4 times a day, and once his done eating he goes to his corner in his box and sleeps. There was no need to feed him anything else. Now I wonder if he should be eating anything else that he may need to grow stronger. Is it okay for hime just to eat dove mix and water? And another question I have for you guys pigeon lovers how can I prepare him to let him set him free? I don't want to keep him in a cage for the rest of his life. I know it's going to be hard, but I have too. Thank-you!!!


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for helping this baby.

He might do okay on the dove mix with water. Pigeons eat a variety of grains and legumes, so this diet may provide what he needs for now.

However, you can use a good quality puppy chow (as mentioned) and soak it , drain it well, and break into small pieces and put that on the back of his tongue and allow him to swallow one at a time. He needs a little extra protein now to supplement his diet while he is in this growth spurt.

He should be eating at least four times a day, until his crop is full, the crop needs to empty completely between feedings. 

Here is a list of resources for getting help.

http://www.pigeon-life.net/prd.htm


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