# Have 0 experience, please help



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Hello everyone, kids found this little one in our barn, on the floor. We have barn cats so he wasn’t safe there. The pigeon nests are way up in the rafters and are unreachable. I need advice regarding how to keep “him” alive. I’ve done a bit of research and for the last day and a half, have been feeding him Katee formula from a soft syringe. I don’t know how old he is, his weight is 3 ounces. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Estimated age, how much to feed him, how can I prepare him for life on his own, should I put him back in the barn as high as I can get him? We have named him Louis Livingston, or as my boys call him, LL cool Bird. Thank you kindly. J


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

About a week old. You can feed 10 - 15 ml every 6 hours. Google on youtube "how to feed baby pigeon", plenty of video's available. Also check this website www.pigeonrescue.co.uk scroll down to "caring for baby pigeon". There's photo's of what a full crop looks like, the crop should empty inbetween feedings. He is still young, and might need additional warmth. If you don't have a heatpad, a hotwaterbottle covered with a soft blanket will do. Heat is important for the digestion of the food.

Let us know how he is doing. At about 3 weeks old, you can start introducing him to seed. You can teach him then how to drink water by dipping the tip of the beak (not over the nostrils) in a small bowl of water.


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Thanks for the info. I’m not very internet savvy! I’ll check out the sites and keep you posted on our little dude. Cheers!


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Hi again, 

Our pigeon is shedding little black and silvery specks all over the place. He ‘s growing in size and seems to be growing feathers. Is this shedding normal?


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Yes, that's normal. Great to hear he is doing well!


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Are you feeding him with the cut-off syringe method?


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

I have a little plastic container with a balloon slipped over the top. Balloon has a skit in it and he sticks his beak in feeds himself. He eats 30 mls every 6 hours and weighs 6.1 ounces on an empty crop. Does that seem ok?


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

This was taken last week he’s grown since then and his most of his yellow is gone


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Looks perfect to me! Well done!


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Why, thank you! I bough a bad of pigeon seed I’ll start weening him next week re your advice. Any idea when he will grow out of the high pitched squeek-chirp? I also built a nest for him in the barn and give him barn time every day to get used to it.


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

The squeaky sound they make will still last for quite a while. The latest one I've raised still did that sound at 6 weeks old, but then to have his head scratched. So they also need a bit of love and scratching especially round the head area. Like getting groomed by their parents. They still do that sound even if they are able to eat seeds. Then the sound will change to a hoarse croaking which is quite funny and they will eventually be able to coo.


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

So still a while to go with the squeak! Ok.. sorry about typos I just put my glasses on now. He gets lots of scratches and love.. maybe too much, he’ll never want to leave! Thanks again for helping, I appreciate all your info. I’ll keep you posted.


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

They sometimes do get human imprinted when raised from a very young age, so will rather associate with humans than pigeons.


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Hi again, so something new, for the last 2 days he has been pecking. First the inside of his nest that I made him and when he sits on me, he’ll peck me. Not hard, it doesn’t hurt but it’s something he hasn’t done before. Maybe I should start him on seed? If so, how would you recommend I wean him off the Kaytee formula?


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You can put a dish with small seeds (all shapes and sizes) down for him in his "nest". To get him interested, you can use your fingers to play with the seeds. He will be curious and start pecking. Once he starts eating, make sure he swallows the seed and not just drop them. You can still continue to feed him formula in the evening until this is not necessary any more.

Do the same with a dish of water, he will need to drink water when he starts eating seeds.


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Sounds good, I’ll give it a go. Thanks again.


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Hello again, so Lewis is doing great he starting to fly or fly down from where he’s perched flapping and exercising his wings. Seems to be getting disinterested in the Kaytee formula the more he eats seed. My questions are.. can I give him something else along with the seed like fruit or berries and when he does get some flying skills what am I going to do with him? At what age should I let him go? That question is sort of vague but I really don’t know. Should I leave him in the barn with the family that he came from? How can I tell he is doing well? I live on a farm and dont want to keep him as a pet when he could be free with all the other animals and birds around here. Thanks again.


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

So he is now about 4 weeks old, still very young. Do you have a cage? Doesn't need to be very big. You can start introducing him to the flock in your barn by putting him inside there every day for a couple of hours (inside the cage for protection). You will need to keep him for another month or so. Let him practise flying inside your house. It's not all about eating and drinking well, he also needs to be older to defend himself against other pigeons. No need to give him fruit, they like chopped up spinach.


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Yes, he’s about a month now and big, can’t believe how much he has grown. I did make a “nest” for him in the barn but after learning that other pigeons can be aggressive, I’ll make a cage. We have a big sunroom where he stays and is learning to fly. I think he’s doing really well. Thanks again.


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Ok.. so Lewis is flying at about 10-12 feet high and is weaned off the Katee formula. He’s eating seed and drinking water. He’s strong and knows how to peck hard. He follows me around the farm flying from awning to awning, not too high but high enough where I can’t reach him. If he loses sight of me he’ll quickly catch up to where I am. I’m wondering what the next step is. I have a cage for him in the barn but feel bad leaving him in there at all, let alone overnight. I keep thinking the cats are all around him taunting him. I can’t have him in the house any longer so I just began keeping him in a smaller wooden shed during the day. Its not very tall but has rafters he can sit in and I have food and water for him in there. I’m wondering what the next step is. If I let him go on his own will he know better not to go around the cats? (He loves my dog) Will he join the other 3 pigeons in the barn? We have crows and turkey vultures and other bigger birds all around the surrounding forest, will they see him as prey? I’d like to give him the best chance at survival. The couple of times I did take him in the barn with the pigeons and let him fly, the cats were right there waiting in the wings and he doesn’t fly high enough to get out of harms way. I know if I wasn’t there, the cats would pounce. Just at a loss right now as to what my/his next step should be. Anybody?


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Why can he no longer be in the house?
If he loves your dog, then he may never view the cats as predators. How would he know? Can you not keep him in a cage in the barn during the day so that the other pigeons can get used to him, and him to them? Of course put the cage where the cats cannot get near it.


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

That is what has been suggested to me in the past, to put him in a cage in the barn to hopefully learn from and be accepted by the others . I was in there tonight thinking of what to do and I suppose I could screw the cage to a wooden beam that I could reach by ladder. My barn cats are acrobats, I find them in places I thought impossible to reach but I do know they can’t scale a beam. That is the only sensible option. Thanks to everyone who has given me guidance, I appreciate it. Take care. J


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I hope things work out well for him. Sometimes they get a bit wilder when spending time with other pigeons and less time with humans. He was very small when you found him, so he might be human imprinted. See how it goes, otherwise just buildt him a nice aviary for his own protection. Chances are big you will find more babies to rear in the future.


----------



## 74360 (Aug 6, 2018)

Thank you, Marina B. I appreciate your guidance and advice over the past month. I’ll make sure Lewis is well taken care of. Thanks again, all the best. J


----------

