# 4 day old squabs in Berkeley, CA!



## micachu (May 14, 2013)

Hello folks,
I was lucky enough to come across a rock dove mama's nest (no dad to be seen) about a couple weeks ago, and I'd been monitoring the mom's health and making sure the eggs were ok. The mom seemed pretty comfortable with me because I kept my distance, and I even left her some feed that was recommended to me by my local specialty bird shop. The eggs hatched a few days ago and they were doing well, but I noticed the mom wasn't there in the morning, and did not come home last night to incubate her babies. This was out of character for her, so I took them in for the night. 

They were doing well last night, although it was a little hard for me to tell if they had food in their crop or not (first time taking care of birds!). I finely ground up the bird feed from the store and added a bit of salt, sugar, and warm water, and fed them a little bit. I don't have any tubing, so I ended up syringing droplets on their beak, and they would sometimes open their mouth and eat a little bit of it. I wasn't able to feed them too much this way, but they voided A LOT and made little chirping noises. This morning they were doing fine and ate a tiny bit, and they seemed to be fighting each other, although their fleshy beaks weren't doing much damage  Anyways, I've put them back out to the nest for the day to see if the mom will come back, but I checked about 4-5 times last night and she never did. 

What will keep a mom from coming back to her nest? Is there anything I should be doing differently in case the mom doesn't come back? I'm a student and this is currently my finals week, so I don't really have time to go to a pet store. I do have some cat food because I have two cats (don't worry, they never noticed the squabs were home!), but I didn't know if the squabs would like that. Thank you guys! I lurked a ton on this website after the first time I found the nest, and it's very informative.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for your concern over them.

Get them inside now, they need 4 to 5 feedings a day.

You need to use baby bird formula and absolutely NO salt. They need to be warm before being fed and fed only when crop is empty.

Here is a link on caring for baby pigeons:

http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/

Please check this link for a local rehabber or avian vet in your area: http://pij-n-angels.forumotion.net/t95-matilda-s-list-united-states-a-k

A mother pigeon will do everything to get back to her babies, so she may be deceased.


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## micachu (May 14, 2013)

Skyeking said:


> Thank you for your concern over them.
> 
> Get them inside now, they need 4 to 5 feedings a day.
> 
> ...


Thank you Skyeking, I've actually been on that website, as well as a few others, and wanted to know more about how I can improvise with what I already have in my kitchen...  I don't have tubing so I haven't been able to feed them directly into their crop. Should I worry about getting water/food into the nose in their beak? I'll continue to check on them for the rest of the day, and bring them in once it gets cold/dark. Their mama is still nowhere to be found. Should I bring them in? I'm afraid that if I bring them in to feed, the mom will come back and find her babies gone. I brought them in last night as a last resort because they seemed so cold! 


Is it absolutely necessary to contact a rehabber at this point? They seem to be doing well, and pigeons are rather common here and I would think that they would be preoccupied with more "exotic" birds. Thanks!


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## micachu (May 14, 2013)

I just brought them in, after seeing that the mom still hadn't come. Here's a photo of the little darlings! They seem to be fighting a lot... Is this normal?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Yes, but they are looking for food, they are starved. Have you fed them?

YOU DON'T NEED TUBING JUST GET A BABY BOTTLE. pUT A HOLE IN THE NIPPLE AND ALLOW THEM TO PUT THEIR BEAKS INSIDE AND GET THE FOOD. mOM AND DAD FEED THEM BY ALLOWING BABY TO PUT THEIR BEAK INSIDE THEIRS.

At their age you might be able to get some frozen peas, thawed, drained, warmed and fed one at a time.


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## micachu (May 14, 2013)

They seem to be doing better, I did the cut off syringe method and served them a warm mixture of water, pigeon feed, and sugar. They seem pretty content, I put some rice in an old sock as a makeshift heater (my heating pad gets way too hot, even on low). I stopped by where the nest originally was a few times today and haven't seen the mom. 

My question: would the mom stick around for a bit even if she realizes her babies are no longer in the nest? And how much should I be feeding them? They're about 4-5 days old.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*From the pictures, those babies seem to be more then a week old, not a few days old. At that age the mom and dad will leave them for hours by themselves, but they will be close by to keep an eye out between feedings. That may just be the mom. *


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## micachu (May 14, 2013)

Skyeking said:


> *From the pictures, those babies seem to be more then a week old, not a few days old. At that age the mom and dad will leave them for hours by themselves, but they will be close by to keep an eye out between feedings. That may just be the mom. *


Oh ok. Do you suggest I put them back now? I've had them for a couple days now and they are doing well. I really thought they were about 4-5 days old, since I'd been checking on the nest everyday before they hatched, but I guess I could've missed the arrival of the hatchlings since they are sometimes hard to spot under the water. 

On a side note, when would be a good time to start washing them? They've gotten quite dirty from the cut off syringe feedings.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*You can gently wash after each feeding with warm wet wash cloth, make sure they are warm and out of any drafts of air. *


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## micachu (May 14, 2013)

Skyeking said:


> *You can gently wash after each feeding with warm wet wash cloth, make sure they are warm and out of any drafts of air. *


Sounds good, I will try this tonight!


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## JGregg (Jul 28, 2003)

*Wildcare in San Rafael*

Personally I would recommend feeding Kaytee exact hand feeding formula. It is widely available and can be found at most pet stores. Feed the babies until their crops (pouch on the front of the chest) is full but not taut. Feed again when their crops are empty, and prepare fresh food for each feeding. The babies poops should stick together fairly nicely and brownish, not green and watery. I'd keep the babies on a heating pad set on low (non auto-shutoff heating pad).

Wildcare in San Rafael takes pigeons, which gives you an alternative to raising the birds yourself. They will raise the babies and then release them with a flock.

Wildcare

(415) 453-1000 
76 Albert Park Ln, San Rafael, CA 94901
http://www.wildcarebayarea.org/site/PageServer


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

JGregg said:


> ***Personally I would recommend feeding Kaytee exact hand feeding formula. It is widely available and can be found at most pet stores. Feed the babies until their crops (pouch on the front of the chest) is full but not taut. Feed again when their crops are empty, and prepare fresh food for each feeding. The babies poops should stick together fairly nicely and brownish, not green and watery. I'd keep the babies on a heating pad set on low (non auto-shutoff heating pad).
> 
> Wildcare in San Rafael takes pigeons, which gives you an alternative to raising the birds yourself. They will raise the babies and then release them with a flock.
> 
> ...


* Yes, we do too.

Thank you for the wildlife address, that is where they should go.


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## micachu (May 14, 2013)

Skyeking said:


> * Yes, we do too.
> 
> Thank you for the wildlife address, that is where they should go.


Thanks JGregg and Skyeking. I was actually thinking about taking them to MickaCoo Pigeon and Dove Rescue, as it is right in my own city. Does anyone know if they are reputable? Has anyone on Pigeon-Talk had experiences working with them?


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## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

micachu said:


> Thanks JGregg and Skyeking. I was actually thinking about taking them to MickaCoo Pigeon and Dove Rescue, as it is right in my own city. Does anyone know if they are reputable? Has anyone on Pigeon-Talk had experiences working with them?


They are very good and nice people. I have their members friends on FB. No need to worry.


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## micachu (May 14, 2013)

Dima said:


> They are very good and nice people. I have their members friends on FB. No need to worry.


Do they do rehabbing or are they exclusively an adoption/rescue agency? I wasn't sure looking at their website. Ultimately I would like these guys to get socialized, find a flock, and live a wild life!


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## Vet Technician (May 21, 2013)

I would be sure that the mother is not around before giving them away, can you see the nest and reach it? It is important that people realize that it is completely a myth that if you touch a baby bird it will have your scent and the mother will not accept it.


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## micachu (May 14, 2013)

Vet Technician said:


> I would be sure that the mother is not around before giving them away, can you see the nest and reach it? It is important that people realize that it is completely a myth that if you touch a baby bird it will have your scent and the mother will not accept it.


Right, but at this point I'm pretty sure the mom isn't coming back. I've been checking back fairly often and I haven't seen a trace of her since I took the babies in. Unfortunate, but I'm glad I got to them before they died of starvation or heat loss. Currently I'm weighing the options of keeping them vs sending them to a rehabber!


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