# I found a young pigeon need advice



## sjeann (Jul 1, 2008)

Hi!
I found a young pigeon last night running through my barnyard. We had a windstorm the night before. The pigeon has feathers but still a little yellow down on head and body. It has black eyes. I'm quite sure he can't fly yet, but he does seem to be healthy. I have cats so captured it and put it in my old abandoned outdoor pheasant cage. I put a shallow pan of water in the cage and some piles of food- 2 way sctratch,granulated duck food and a little wild bird seed mix, plus a little homemade bread crumbs. Our weather is in the upper 80s but it looks like it may rain soon. There is a covered large wood box in the cage that can be easily accessed by the bird. He is alert today. I'm wondering if he will need to be hand fed some or if he is old enough to eat the food on his own. Also, how long before he will be able to fly, and if there is any other important advise I need. I have found some websites that provide information, just not really sure if he is old enough to eat on his own. Thanks for any help, Sarah


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I just sent you a PM. It's possible that the bird doesn't even know how to drink water yet. Have you seen it attempt to eat or drink?


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## sjeann (Jul 1, 2008)

Hi! Thanks for the quick reply. I really don't know if he has eaten or drank anything. The cage is in my pasture. I will try to take a picture of him. I did not see any other young pigeons when I found him, but wasn't looking for another one. I will look around some in my barnyard. We had a large windstorm that actually blew down one my my trees the night before so my guess is he was blown out of his nest- not even sure how they nest. I have a barn with a lot of pigeons in the loft. I will observe him more to try to get an idea if he is eating- he seems alert. Sarah


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

sjeann said:


> Hi! Thanks for the quick reply. I really don't know if he has eaten or drank anything. The cage is in my pasture. I will try to take a picture of him. I did not see any other young pigeons when I found him, but wasn't looking for another one. I will look around some in my barnyard. We had a large windstorm that actually blew down one my my trees the night before so my guess is he was blown out of his nest- not even sure how they nest. I have a barn with a lot of pigeons in the loft. I will observe him more to try to get an idea if he is eating- he seems alert. Sarah


Is the cage safe from other animals? Racoons, possums, what ever you've got where you are? I would expect that this little guy is from the pigeons in your barn. Pigeons don't normally nest in trees. Doves do, but not pigeons. He might have just fallen out of his nest and isn't old enough to get back to it. 
If you will dip his beak in the water gently and let him know it's there and what it is, he just might take a drink. If not, you would need to give him some water with a syringe or dropper. Just dribble some along the side of his beak and let him swallow it. The same with food. If you can try to get him to eat first, but if he doesn't, you can drop a few seeds in his mouth and let him swallow and he MIGHT get the idea.


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## sjeann (Jul 1, 2008)

Picture of pigeon


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Oh, he's a little guy.  I doubt seriously that he has any idea what water OR seeds/food is. You're going to have to hand feed this little one. Either that, or if you can tell us where you are, we can see if any of our members are close by and can help. 
He's CLOSE to being able to learn to eat/drink, but it will probably take a few days AND a few trys.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi, welcome to the forum and many thanks for looking after this little guy.

Definitely take him out of the pasture. His cage is made of chicken wire and a predator can reach through or even rip it apart. 

Since you have pigeons in your barn, I'm wondering if he came from there. You might try taking him into the barn and see if any of the adults will come to feed it. If you don't see any that are paying him any attention, you will need to put him in a safe area, like an enclosed garage or your home and care for it. It is very close to being able to fend for itself but I estimate it needs another 2-3 weeks.

Let's hope its mom and pop recognize it.


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## sjeann (Jul 1, 2008)

I put the pigeon up in the loft for over an hour and watched while keeping myself hidden. None of the pigeons came down to investigate the baby so I had to take him out and put him back in his cage. He is drinking water on his own but I don't know how to feed him. I mixed some baby bird feed and have an eye dropper but can't get it in his mouth- he won't open it on his own. I tried to pry his mouth open. My daughter will be home soon and hopefully she can help. Does anyone have any tips on how to feed him? I will try again as soon as my daughter gets home.


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Hi Ssjean,

Thanks for trying to help this little guy....

Pigeons don't open their mouths and gape like some other young birds - Click on the following link to read about and see some different methods for feeding young pigeons:

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

Good luck,
Linda


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## sjeann (Jul 1, 2008)

Thank you very much Linda! I just used the baggie approach to feed him and am quite confident he ate enough that he won't starve over night. I found him last night so I am sure he was getting very hungry. Hopefully he makes it through the night-he seems to be doing ok now. Sarah


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## sjeann (Jul 1, 2008)

I fed my pigeon this morning. Trying to encourage him to eat regular food also. I think it is going pretty well. Not sure he is getting enough to eat yet but I think we will both get better at this. I will keep you updated if anything changes  Thanks everyone for your help. 
Sarah


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

sjeann said:


> I fed my pigeon this morning. Trying to encourage him to eat regular food also. I think it is going pretty well. Not sure he is getting enough to eat yet but I think we will both get better at this. I will keep you updated if anything changes  Thanks everyone for your help.
> Sarah



Thanks for the update. We're here if you need us...........


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Sounds like you're doing well. They usually pick up on the hand-feeding pretty quickly. I would think it'll be at least a week before he's able to eat seeds on his own, but try tapping your finger in the seeds so he gets the idea. If you have a heating pad, you can put it on low in with him, with a towel over it. He should enjoy the extra warmth. Good luck and please keep us updated, and feel free to ask any questions you might think of.


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## sjeann (Jul 1, 2008)

Thought I would leave an update. My pigeon is alive and seems to be doing well. He is feeding himself but I am still supplementing him some. He wants to eat only sunflower seeds at this point- I bought him a fresh bag of black oil sunflower seeds and also some millet sprays which I have to break up into seeds to get him to eat them at all. I do have cracked corn, bird seed and granulated duck food he can eat when he is ready. Hopefully a diet at this point of sunflower seeds is ok for him. I will keep him until he is an excellent flyer than hope to release him in the barn loft. I will probably leave another update in a week. Please let me know if there is anything I need to do or know at this point. Thanks very much, Sarah


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

sjeann said:


> Thought I would leave an update. My pigeon is alive and seems to be doing well. He is feeding himself but I am still supplementing him some. He wants to eat only sunflower seeds at this point- I bought him a fresh bag of black oil sunflower seeds and also some millet sprays which I have to break up into seeds to get him to eat them at all. I do have cracked corn, bird seed and granulated duck food he can eat when he is ready. Hopefully a diet at this point of sunflower seeds is ok for him. I will keep him until he is an excellent flyer than hope to release him in the barn loft. I will probably leave another update in a week. Please let me know if there is anything I need to do or know at this point. Thanks very much, Sarah


Sounds like he's doing good. The SF seeds are "ok" for now, but I would offer him the other stuff and hope he decides he likes other things.......I think you've done an outstanding job.


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## sjeann (Jul 1, 2008)

Hi! Just wanted everyone to know I released my pigeon today. I released him in my barn loft- put lots of food and water out and kept an eye on him. He flew up into the top rafters and spent the afternoon there. Other pigeons were with him on and off. About an hour ago, he flew down into the pasture where the other pigeons were. I really think he may have found his mother and father and possibly his sibling  They were all together for quite a while- now I have lost track of him- he is gone with the other pigeons. I will probably keep my eyes out for him for a few days but I am very pleased at how quickly he joined the other pigeons. I think he should be fine and turned out to be a success story! Thanks for the help when I first found him. This is a great forum. I will always have a SPECIAL fondness for pigeons now.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

THANK YOU, SJEANN! You did a great job getting your little one back with the flock! 

Just LOVE these success stories!! 

Hugs

Shi


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