# Fledgling pigeon



## umleila (Mar 28, 2010)

Hi

Yesterday we found a fledgling pigeon. It looked very shocked and was in an area where there are loads of cats, so we brought it home. It didn't move for a few hours and then after that perked up a bit. I left it with food (my hamster food, wet bread and some corn from a tin and it has access to drinking water) in my open patio, so that it could leave when it recovered.

In the morning it was still there. I have since discovered it can fly, but not very far of high, just a few flaps really. And that it can't eat by itself. I have no idea how old it is, but it seems to missing quite a few feathers around its head area and its tail does not look fully developed.

Today I have fed it a few times a mixture of the above mentioned food. Can anyone tell me how much and how often. Will this pigeon eventually fly off when it can eat or will I be stuck with a pet pigeon? My daughter will be very pleased at the latter, but I amnot so sure.

Any help will be really appreciated and I can try and post a pic later to get a better indication of its age if that will help.

Thanks in advance
Umleila


I live in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia by the way.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Is it a feral pigeon? Can you provide a photo? It sounds as if it is too young to fly.

Is it pooping? If so, can you describe the poops?

First of all you want to make certain that it is not dehydrated. Mix 1/2 desertspoon of glucose, or honey, or sugar and one half teaspon of salt in 1 pint water. Pour some into a container and dip its beak in, that should encourage it to drink.

Once you are satisfied that it is not dehydrated ( I would wait a acouple of hours) and that it will be able to digest food, try popping food into its mouth...corn and peas are good, preferably not tinned, but if that is all you have it will be OK (Pigeon Recovery in the UK use tinned food and they have been rescuing pigeons for a long, long time). This video demonstrates how to pop the seeds in: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU1SO0ZJoow

Try to get 40 piece in the first time but if he eats gratefully at first then loses interest stop and let us know how may pieces he had.

If you have a look at this website, there is a link to a page a page that will help you age the bird and information on different feeding methods and food:

http://pigeonrescueuk.webs.com/rescuingababypigeon.htm

Cynthia


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for taking care of this bird.

Can you post a picture of the bird, so we can try to establish its age? If it is not a full grown pigeon it is possible it cannot feed itself yet nor fly.

Please make sure the bird is warm and keep out of of drafts of air and protect from predators.

Are there any visible signs f injury any injuries? Can you look down the birds throat and see if you can find any lesions?

It is possible the bird is not sick and the reason it is not flying away is because it is still a baby, if so you can feed the baby a baby bird formula.


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## umleila (Mar 28, 2010)

Thanks so much for the quick responses  I will post a pic asap, but I have to recharge my camera.It looks most like pigeon in the"syringe method" pic on the pigeon and dove rescue link you gave me. 

I will try and answer your questions now.

It is a feral pigeon. It is warm. We are in Riyadh and the outside temperature now is about 35 degrees centigrade. It is in a draught proof place and it seems to be in good health, no injuries or lesions that I can see.

I have managed to feed it a few times today. I started on wet bread and then moved on to the corn and even tried a few grains from my daughter's hamster food. The corn seems to be going down the best so far. For each feed it has managed about 10/15 kernels not more though. After that it tries to fly/move away. Should I be forcing it to eat more?

I have water too but it is showing no interest in that at all. I have dipped its head in the bowl with no luck and I resorted to just dropping some down its mouth. I have just added honey and salt and will try again soon.

It can fly but not far or for long. It has an escape route if it needs and could fly away at any time . Thanks for the help so far.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Just for the time being I wouldn't let him have that escape route, he could fly away but not be able to look after himself or keep himself safe.

The pigeon in the syringe photo is Chico, she was that age when I found her, she tried to fly away but crashed into a wall. She had to be syringe fed for a while.

How many times a day are you feeding him the corn? He will need more than 10-15 kernels per feed, even with corn his crop should feel squidgy like a beanie baby when he has had enough...but I think it will be better to see whether he poops and what that looks like before forcing him, because we don't want him to end up with a lot of food in his crop until we are certain that he is digesting it properly.

If you look at this page it shows the whole syringe feeding method, the last picture is of Chico with a full crop. She used to take up to 40 mls per feed.

http://www.pigeon-aid.org.uk/pa/html/syringe_method.html

Cynthia


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

You can hand feed defrosted corn and peas. Run some hot water over them until they are defrosted and slightly warmed. Put the bird on your lap and hold it next to your body. If it helps, you can wrap a towel around him or put it in the sleeve of a tee shirt, with the head out the wrist. Doing one or the other will confine the bird, making him easier to handle. Gently open the beak and pop the piece of corn and peas at the back of the mouth and over the throat. 
You will need to feed 40-50 per feeding and every time the bird’s crop empties until you know he is eating on their own. 
This is a wonderful method for teaching babies to eat because they feel the whole food in their mouth and it’s soft and easy to pick up and hang on to. The next step… seeds. 
The crop is located right below the throat and with food it fills up like a little balloon. The peas and corn make it lumpy and squishy.


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## umleila (Mar 28, 2010)

Thanks for the towel tip. It really worked well. I woke up this morning and the pigeon had flown really high. I had to get a friend to come round with some ladders to get it back. Unfortunately, it is going to happen again because there is no way I can close that area off. 

I have noticed that it can now drink water by itself but I am not sure about the feeding. I fed it around 35 corn kernels this morning. Its poo was a bit watery and white and green. It now seems more yellow.

Here is a pic from this morning sorry its blurry.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Well done thus far. Where are you located? 

Terry


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## umleila (Mar 28, 2010)

I am in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Could you check inside its mouth and throat? It should all be clean and pink.

Cynthia


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## umleila (Mar 28, 2010)

It's mouth seems fine. Any idea how old it is from the pic? And also how long I will have to keep hand feeding it? It has tried to escape twice today and each time we have managed to get it back, but I am not sure how long that will be possible. I am worried that we won't get there in time and a cat will. 

My daughter has completely fallen in love with it. It is very cute but I am not quite as besotted yet!

Thanks


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

umleila said:


> It's mouth seems fine. Any idea how old it is from the pic? And also how long I will have to keep hand feeding it? It has tried to escape twice today and each time we have managed to get it back, but I am not sure how long that will be possible. I am worried that we won't get there in time and a cat will.
> 
> My daughter has completely fallen in love with it. It is very cute but I am not quite as besotted yet!
> 
> Thanks


Thank you for helping this little sweetie.

I don't blame your daughter, he is adorable!

The bird looks like a pigeon until you look at the face and beak-then it looks more like a dove.

It does look to be about 3 weeks old. Do you have a carrier you can put him in to protect him from the cat, or a seperate room to keep cats away?

If you put a spill proof deep bowl with seed infront of him 24/7 he may start to eat on his own, especially if he is already drinking on his own. Leave some seeds around him on the towel and move them around with your finger-that may generate a desire and interest to eat on his own. Also leave a nice spill proof bowl of water for him.

Have you looked INSIDE the beak and down the throat? It should look clean and pink. If he is not feeling well he may not desire to learn to eat.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

> The bird looks like a pigeon until you look at the face and beak-then it looks more like a dove.


I think that it has been pecked at...that is why he looks like Chico, she had also been pecked around the head and neck.

Cynthia


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## umleila (Mar 28, 2010)

Feefo said:


> I think that it has been pecked at...that is why he looks like Chico, she had also been pecked around the head and neck.
> 
> Cynthia


Aww poor thing. It does look a bit bedgraggled. On a positive note, it just tried to peck at the seeds and dried corn I have been feeding it. It escaped again and we got it back.

In answer to a previous post, I don't have a cat. I just live in an area where there are many strays and I am worried about them getting to it. At the moment it is outside in my patio which has very high walls but she can now fly that high. 

I can't bring her inside the house because my DH would not agree. So this is where she has to stay for the time being. At least I know now that she is starting to try and eat.

I moved onto the seeds and dried corn because her poo looked very runny. Would unpopped popcorn be ok too? At the moment I am picking out seeds from hamster food.


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## YaSin11 (Jul 23, 2009)

Great bird Welcome to PT. Just a quick note: PLS try to put it in a cage or make sure it does not fly away. It could be fatal. You are doing great..give it time, you'll get hooked like your daughter  Good luck,peace, YaSin


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