# Help & Advice on baby pigeons needed



## emban (Jun 8, 2010)

Last year my husband and I rescued 4 pigeons, we started with 3 then gained another from a friend, seems we are becoming the local pigeon rescuers!

The youngest of the original 3, Emu paired up with one of the pigeons and came back home to start her family. 

Around day 10 (approx), one of the pigeons died, although we dont know why. We kept a close eye on the second pigeon and noticed when he was breathing, he was blowing bubbles from his nostrils. He seemed like he was shaking and a bit cold, so we brought him in and warmed him up. He seemed ok and we didnt want to interfere too much, so placed him back in his nest. The next day, I checked again and he still had bubbles coming out of his nostril. Our original 3 pigeons were bigger so we didnt know if this was normal or not. Later this day, we found the second one dead. 

We felt very sad. Now there seems to be another 2 eggs that have arrived and we wanted some advice as to whether maybe it was something our pigeons did wrong? And if we notice this again, should we be stepping in?

Any help or advice you can give us would be great.

Thanks.

Emma


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Sounds like it could be a respiratory or other disease/infection. This is very contagious if it is respiratory and needs to be treated.

It would be best to have the parents checked out. If the parents are free-flying they are succeptible to picking up anything that other feral pigeons may have that they are in contact with.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Absolutely...get the parents tested.

Also, just for future consideration keep in mind...when a bird shows illness it is usually not the 'start' of something, but rather something which is very serious. Because avians have a natural tendency to suppress signs of illness so as to not be kicked out of the flock or picked on. 
Very unlike mammals, who can often be given some fast supportive care to be mended well enough, quickly, to fight off whatever illness they may have.

Sorry to hear this happened. Best to learn from it and have those birds checked out. Best of luck.


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## emban (Jun 8, 2010)

thanks for your feedback. will see if i can get them rounded up one by one and taken to the vets. really difficult as one is pretty much wild an the other is now semi-wild and they are taking their usual turns in keeping their eggs warm.

i was told today that it may of been because they have been eating normal bird nuts from my neighbours...would this of been problem for young to digest??

again, your feedback is much appreciated.

thanks.

emma


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Another thing to think about, is swapping the eggs out with pretend ones so you don't have any babies, at least until you know what's going on with the parents.
In addition, it wouldn't be a bad idea to treat the parents for canker if you have done so recently already.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

That's sort of a good idea, actually. You really do not want the parents to start feeding new babies if they haven't been diagnosed and treated yet, you may well end up with a repeat of what happened already....wooden eggs can be ordered online or some people also take 'em and freeze 'em for an hour, let them warm again and return them to the nest, one at a time...but the wooden eggs are a better solution.

Also, as the parents might tend to hold their ground more when sitting eggs, it may actually be easier to catch them (?)


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## emban (Jun 8, 2010)

thank you all very much for the information you have given me. It is much appreciated.

Emma


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