# Found a naked pigeon/dove



## spongebob281 (Apr 3, 2010)

This morning I went to a local pet store here in houston. There was this guy that came in with a dove inside a small box. He said he just found it and wanted to give it to the shop but the owner wouldn't take it in. Luckily i was there and offered to take care of it. I've had parrots in the past but they were matured. This dove is naked with some feather albeit not a lot. Before I went home I bought some baby bird food formula with a pipette. For now it looks like his chest/stomach is full as I can see there is a big bulge right below his neck. I guess his/her parents fed it just before he fell off the nest. Right now I have in a small kleenex box with dried grass. What should I do next? Please give me all the advice you can as I hate to see it dies. I see there are stickies in this forum., I will read it and in the mean time I need as much info as possible. thanks


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

A picture would be helpful to determine how old the baby is. With all babies, heat is critical. If they aren't kept warm enough, the baby can't process food.
Pigeons do hold a lot of food in their crop. Please only feed this baby when the crop empties...this may take several hours... because adding new food to old food can cause a bacterial infection which may be fatal.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Here are some resources you may find helpful.


http://www.duckpolice.org/BirdWeb/PigeonResourceWeb/pigeonresource.html

Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation
1430 E Cleveland Rd.
Hutchins, TX 75141
972-225-4000
www.rogerswildlife.org/contact.html


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes. We could really use pictures to determine the age of the bird.


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## spongebob281 (Apr 3, 2010)

I dont have any pics. I tried to get one on my cell phone but unable to send it to my email. I'm guessing its about a couple of weeks old as its eyes are still shut. It's probably got evicted because I don't think it can move very far at all. It's been 4 hrs now and the crop is slowly deflating but at a snail pace.


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

If its eyes are shut its really young and do that #3 posting link and that will help you out a whole lot--if it is that young you have lots of work ahead of you--and are you up to it or do you want people to check on a resource to take care of the pigeon baby--where are you located and people have wonderful links on pigeon-talk to help you with but read posting #3 with that link to take care of it....c.hert


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

She's in Houston...that's why I posted Texas resources.


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

Thats good just in case the person wants help because raising a baby is a daunting job..c.hert


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## spongebob281 (Apr 3, 2010)

I think im up for the challenge. I currently have plenty of pets in the home that includes 4 large fish tank salt and fresh, 2 dogs, 2 pet rats, rabbit, turtle. You can almost say my house is a mini zoo. I read the link and it offered a lot of help such as keeping it warm, hand feeding, etc.


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

Keep us all posted on how you and the birdie is doing...or if you have any concerns..c.hert


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

The one concern I have right now is the security of the baby--a kleenex box is not secure especially if you manage to get it stronger and thriving. I would use for now a fish aquarian with a screened lid and put soft kitchen towels on the bottom of it and keep the baby warm but don't overheat in this aquarian--get a temp gage that you can stick to it inside and check the temperature constantly--this should keep it safe and put a rock or something on its screen top to keep it secure. The second danger--a real danger is do not overfeed it and read about the water giving real careful because you don't want the water in its lungs or for it to aspirate the water and a picture would be great if you could get one and I am glad you read all of the information--any concerns please post us so that we can help if you need help ..c.hert


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

They open their eyes by like the 4th or 5th day.

Please don't let the rats near it as rats kill birds. It would really be helpful to know its age. If the baby is not kept warm enough, it cannot digest its food. It will just sit in its crop and go bad.


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## spongebob281 (Apr 3, 2010)

Oh then he's only a couple of days old then if not hours. The rats are in a separate confinement in another room. I have him in my bedroom with a steady temp of 78-80 degree. 

The kleenex box is just a temporary housing. I do have a 10 Gallon fish tank that he will be moving into the next couple of days. My dog's already wanting to sniff and kill him but not on my watch. I'm only giving him a few drops of water. Seems like hes not very fond of liquid.


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

Usually when its a baby bird its get liquid from its food because of the danger of killing it by it breathing in the liquid and since its so small it can get into its lungs so you need to really be careful I would put the liquid in the food that you are feeding it and to give you more confidence that it is possible look at this address: http://kjcii.webs.com/handfeeding.htm and it is a simple picture showing a very young baby and what she fed it but I think yours is a lot younger but hers was from birth too at about 3 or 4 days of age a task she did want but her birds survive and its the pictures that are confidence builders to let you know its possible. Do not overfeed it and be real careful of giving it liquid and depend on the liquid in the food mostly at this young young age...c.hert


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Baby pigeons are not easy to raise, as there are so many things that can go wrong. You really would be better off getting it to an experienced individual. They should be kept in temperatures closer to 90 for it to be able to digest its food, or it will just sit in the crop and go bad. And as was mentioned, it is easy to aspirate one this little. He will need feeding every few hours, or when the crop empties.


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## spongebob281 (Apr 3, 2010)

it's been 24hrs since i first found him. The crop has gone down but not as fast as I'd like. He's under a bright light to provide warmth. That ought to quicken his digestion up a bit I hope.


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

Don't put him under a bright light this could really hurt him at this age--keep him warm yes but no bright lights maybe on the side or something....watch him carefully and you need to start feeding him for when they begin to go down--they go---He needs to eat every 2 or 3 hours little by little and have hydration in the food....You are going to lose this little baby if you don't do right and do you need help because you have links in Texas to try and I am glad that he is secure and your watching the temperature and when you move him to an aquarian adjust the temperature lower about 80-85 because in small spaces it gets hotter and that should be enough some people say 90 but I like somewhat cooler in a aquarian or if you use a small basket something lined so he won"t get caught in things--line with towels (tea towels) or something(white freezer paper-taped) and a soft towel for him to be on and then throw a towel over the basket and keep him away from all other animals like you are doing--then maybe raise the temperature a bit highter--depends on what you are putting him in but you must start feeding him and let us know how this is working......c.hert


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

With a young baby pigeon *never add food if there is already food in the crop*. My guess is that if the crop isn't emptying, the baby isn't warm enough or you over fed. The temp needs to be at least 95 degrees, as baby birds are unable to regulate their own body heat and the temperature of a bird is much higher than that of a human...106 degrees. 
It's ok to have a light over the baby for warmth and a heating pad underneath the baby, set on the lowest setting. You can also put a cloth over the baby to keep the warmth in. With the lamp over...put you hand underneath it, and on top of the baby...hold it there for 3-4 minutes. If it feel too hot to you...it's too hot for the baby. Buy a digital thermometer and put it next to the baby.

If you think the crop just isn't emptying, you can feed the baby 1 cc of warmed applesauce and gently massage the crop...not too hard because you don't want to aspirate contents of the crop into the lungs. If the baby has developed sour crop or stagnant crop, the applesauce will change the Ph balance and help the crop to empty.

A picture would be very helpful.


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## spongebob281 (Apr 3, 2010)

Ok i took some pics. not the greatest quality but you can see his crop is still somewhat full.


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## spongebob281 (Apr 3, 2010)

http://s384.photobucket.com/home/spongebob281/index


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I don't think you have a pigeon at all, but rather a dove. The best would be to turn it over to a licensed rehabber.
I'm sorry...I can't tell any thing from your pictures about the crop.


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## spongebob281 (Apr 3, 2010)

I called a couple of places here in Houston. One of which is no longer doing bird rehab but she did give me some sound advice. The other one i called no one pick up.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

spongebob281 said:


> I called a couple of places here in Houston. One of which is no longer doing bird rehab but she did give me some sound advice. The other one i called no one pick up.



Did the former rehabber happen to know of any rehabbers that may be able to take the liitle dove? Might be worth giving a call back to ask.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

You can also call the resources I gave you earlier on and ask them for a referral in your area.


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

How's the baby doing and what has been done for it and has anyone contacted you or them? c.hert


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## spongebob281 (Apr 3, 2010)

SOrry to report. The little guy didn't make it. His crop soften a bit but never fully emptied like it should. I tried massaging for half an hour to no avail. I called the number in the link and some of it is way out of my area. I really tried my best to help but i guess it not meant to be. Thanks for all your advices.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

I'm very sorry the little one didn't make it. Thank you so much for trying.

Terry


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