# Found pigeon in Toronto - Not sure if ill



## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

Hi,

I found a pigeon on our balcony. I don't think he is well, and am uncertain as to what to do.

I think he is very young, as he still has a fair amount of yellow down sticking out between his gray feathers.

I can't see anything visibly wrong with him, but he appears very sluggish and weak. He put up no fight when I picked him up, and barely moves or tries to get away.

He did walk very slowly and flap his wings. It seemed like all his limbs were working ok.

I live in downtown Toronto in an apartment building with a dog and a cat.

Any advise or help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Max


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, since he's got downy feathers, it's unlikely that he knows how to eat or drink yet. We need to see if he can drink. Can you try dipping his beak in water a few times to see if he'll give it a try?

Pidgey


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

I brought him inside. He is in a cardboard box with some holes cut in it, with a towel.

I put a little salt and sugar in a bowl of water and dipped his beak in it a couple of time. He just shook the water off his beak. He didn't seem to like it and didn't take a drink.

I got a better look at him. He mainly has gray feathers, but there is a little yellow down around his head and on his chest poking through.

I can't see anything wrong with him, but he seems unnaturally docile. He barely moves at all, even when I touch him.

I wonder if he can fly yet, or if he is just too weak to fly?

- Mark


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

They usually can't fly with the downy feathers. It's certainly possible that he's sick but at that age they're usually being fed by their parents and when you find them away from them, they're often wilted due to privation. Have you got anything like a dropper to start administering the water?

Pidgey


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

I don't have an eyedropper but I do have a very small 1ml syringe. 

Now I am wondering how he got on my 9th floor balcony...

Anyway, thanks for the help. I assume you want me to start giving him water. Any guidelines?

Thanks again,
Max


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, we'd like to see you get about 20 milliliters of the water with the salt and sugar in it into him for the moment. It takes awhile before they start showing some progress from that, on the order of hours. Have there been any poops? If so, what do they look like? Can you post a picture of the bird and the poops, if any?

Pidgey


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

Ok, I will give it a go now and see if I can get him to drink it.

Is there a special technique to it?

No, no poops or anything. He is just asleep in the corner of the box, exactly where I left him. I almost feel bad for disturbing him.

Thanks,
Max


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, under those circumstances, disturbing his sleep will probably be saving his life since when they start down that road it's often a one-way street without intervention.

You can hold him down, cradled in your lap and then open his beak to dribble it in. Frankly, you're going to run a little risk of him getting a little down his windpipe if you're not careful. There are basically two ways to proceed--one where you're very slow about it and it takes quite awhile to get 20 syringes full down him, or somewhat faster by inserting the syringe down past the glottis (opening to the airway that you can see just behind the base of the tongue) and putting it down a little quicker. In point of fact, there's an awful lot of room back there and you just point the syringe to follow the line of the roof of the beak. Bear to the bird's right for the most part.

Pidgey


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

Here are some pictures of him....

- Max


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, he's about three weeks old and he must have fallen to your balcony from above somewhere because there's no way he can fly with those wings.

Pidgey


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

max6166 said:


> I don't have an eyedropper but I do have a very small 1ml syringe.
> 
> Now I am wondering how he got on my 9th floor balcony...
> 
> ...


Maybe tomorrow you can get a bigger one from your vet....a 12 cc would be a nice size. Ask for a couple of them.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

For food, we can work with thawed frozen peas and/or corn; puppy chow, dried peas and popcorn (must be raw with no salt or butter), wheat, milo, lentils, wild bird seed... you got any of that?

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

He looks in a little better shape than I imagined from your description, by the way. I think we've got a little more time to turn the tide than just the next few hours. And he doesn't look obviously ill, thank goodness.

Pidgey


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

Thank you very much for all the help! I can't tell you how great it is to have you virtually by my side. 

I am trying to give him the water. I am worried about it getting down his windpipe and choking him though. I gave him a little and he made some slightly gurgling noises.

I am also having a bit of trouble keeping his beak open. I am not finding a straightforward way to pry it open and hold it while I administer the water. 

Also, the beak seems very fragile and I am worried about hurting him. How wide it will open? How much force can I use?

The last few posts now have me concerned about next steps. How long will I have to nurse him? Can he go back into the wild and if so, when? etc.. 


Thanks again,
Max


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

I have frozen peas, popcorn, dog chow, cat chow, dog food, cat food. 

Earlier I bought some unsalted trail mix with lots of little seeds, nuts and raisins.

- Max


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, it's not going to be that difficult for very long. If all goes according to plan, he'll be quite happy with you as parent in about three days or less. Here are some threads on feeding them to give you some ideas:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=16235

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=9682

Their beaks are usually tougher than you think unless a disease process weakens them, which is usually pretty obvious. I usually hold my left hand over their backs while cradling their heads between my middle and ring fingers (the hand's upside down). At that point, you can hold their beaks open with your left thumb and index finger while you're working with a syringe. That doesn't work for everyone, though, so sometimes you have to find your own way. You can also restrain them by wrapping them in a towel in the "bird burrito" method--you just don't want to get it so tight that they can't breathe as they need movement in their ribcage in order to take in air (they don't have a "diaphragm" like we do).

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Thawed frozen peas will be pretty good for now because they're full of water as well as being easy to roll down the beak into the gullet without the danger of aspiration (breathing into the windpipe). You'd like to get about 20 down him.

Pidgey


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

This is starting to feel very overwhelming. Those links about feeding seem much more involved than I had anticipated. 

As well, I am not doing so well myself at the moment, to put it mildly. I'll do my best to look after the little guy, but this is going to be tough.

I don't know how I would manage without your help.

How long will I have to nurse him for? 

Do I leave the skin on the peas?


- Max


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Yes, the peas go down whole. At this nestling's age, he'd normally be gobbling somewhat-dampened whole seeds from inside the back of his parents' beaks. 

I know, it's a little daunting at first but you're all he's got at the moment. I just about starved my first rescued pigeon for several days before getting the hang of feeding her. Or, rather, effectively teaching her to self-feed. It's just the first little bit that we've got to get through. You can keep trying to dip his beak in water from time to time and he's eventually going to get it. Right now, there's a little bit of a trust issue, you understand. That'll pass in time.

Pidgey


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

Thanks, Pidgey.

He seems to have a little more energy now. He has started struggling quite a bit whenever I try to open his beak, while he wouldn't move an inch before. 

I am just slowly dripping the water onto the tip of his beak now, and he is slowly drinking it. I have only managed to get 7ml of water into him in 40 minutes, but it is getting inside him. 

- Max


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

max6166 said:


> *This is starting to feel very overwhelming*. Those links about feeding seem much more involved than I had anticipated.
> 
> As well, I am not doing so well myself at the moment, to put it mildly. I'll do my best to look after the little guy, but this is going to be tough.
> 
> - Max


Hello there, 

It's really not as difficult as it seems and a pigeon this age isn't really very delicate or a lot of work. I know it must see very overwhelming to you now, but you sound like you're familiar with and an animal lover at heart. 

This bird might even try to eat some seeds on it's own at this point. If you get some wild bird seed tomorrow and show it with your finger by "pecking" at the seeds, he might follow your example and eat some. 

I hope YOU'LL be ok too but try not to feel frazzled.


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

Hi Pigeonpal2002,

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I can't describe how tough this is going to be to deal with but I'll try to manage.

I really need help though as I have no idea what comes next.

How often do I feed him? How much? What do I feed him?

How much water does he need a day?

How long do I need to look after him? How will I know when he is ready to leave?

I fed him 5 thawed peas. He started to struggle quite hard and definitely didn't want to eat any more. He started to chirp loudly too while he was squirming.

How quickly can he be fed? Can I just feed him 20 peas one after the other, or does he need a few minutes between each one?


Take care,
Max


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Oh, they can gobble down quite a bit very quickly when they're feeding--the faster they do, the more safe they are from predators that are just waiting for them to put their heads down. That said, you can feed them as fast as they're comfortable with (and they're never very comfortable with you at first because you're not their parent).

Do you have a scale with which to weigh the bird?

Pidgey


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

You can feed one right after the other and he's struggling because this method of feeding is entirely new to him. 5 peas just won't do it. 
Have you tried wrapping him in a towel? You will get the hang of it...just takes a while.
Several weeks ago we had a woman post that had found a young pigeon in your area. She did find a wild life center that took it. I can't now, but this afternoon, I'll try to find her email address and find out where she took it.


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

Hi Charis,

Yes, I got in contact with the Toronto Wildlife Centre and they will take care of him. They were very nice, and have full medical facilities. 

They seemed to really want me to being him there so that they can take care of him. I am bringing him there shortly.

Thanks,
Mark


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for letting us know-that sounds perfect for him, please do update us when you drop him off.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

max6166 said:


> Hi Charis,
> 
> Yes, I got in contact with the Toronto Wildlife Centre and they will take care of him. They were very nice, and have full medical facilities.
> 
> ...


Good. That must be where the other member took the baby she found. I did email her but haven't heard back. Glad you have it handled. Great job all around on your part.


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## max6166 (Apr 29, 2008)

Well, I dropped the little fellow off at the Toronto Wildlife Centre earlier today. 

Really fantastic place and people, with a true passion for animals. I am sure he will receive excellent care there. 

They immediately took him in to see the vet and gave me a quick tour. There were quite a few pigeons, and they have developed a fairly standardized system for rehabilitating them. 

As I understood it, they would likely keep him there for a number of months, slowly acclimatizing him to the wild as part of a small flock, before finally releasing his flock.

Thanks to everyone, especially Pidgey. I don't know how I would have made it through the last 24 hours without all your help.

Take care,
Max


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