# Baby mourning dove



## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

Last Saturday a landscaper removed a dying hemlock tree and as it turns out there was a mourning dove nest in it. I was able to locate one very tiny featherless baby on the ground. I retrieved the nest and put it into another tree and put the baby back in. The parent bird was hanging around very close so I assumed it would return to the baby. However, I checked about five hours later which was now 10:00 at night (and getting ready to pour rain) and the baby was ice cold, the parent never returned to the nest. I figured it would probably die either way but I just couldn't leave the cold little thing out there so I brought it in and warmed it up. After it warmed up and seemed to be doing okay I looked up on the internet what to feed it. Long story short, to my surprise, I have been feeding it for 6 days and it now has lots of feathers and has tripled it's weight. I did not realize until a couple of days into it that it was a protected wild animal that I was not licensed to treat. So, I spent parts of two days trying to locate a rehabber that would take it, unsuccessfully. Everyone either said they couldn't take it or just didn't respond to my emails and phone messages. So what I am trying to figure out is how do I successfully wean and release this little guy back into the wild. I sure don't want to go to all this work to hand feed it only to have it die because it is unprepared to fend for itself in the wild. Although I am an animal lover, I have no experience with birds. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

You would call your game warden and he should come get it and take it to a rehabber.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

natalya2 said:


> How do I find the number for the game warden?


Internet, call information, local law enforcement.... Etc... Back when I was a kid we called it the phone book...lol..


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

I found it, thank you. So they will not just destroy the bird?


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

natalya2 said:


> I found it, thank you. So they will not just destroy the bird?


They dispatch unreleasable injured if they can not be used for education purposes. Most can be.


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

So I called the warden office and no they will not come pick it up. However, they did give me an additional name to try calling and said "good luck".


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Where are you and are you sure they are mourning doves?


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

There is just one and I'm pretty sure it's a mourning dove. I am attaching a photo of what it looks like now. And I live in Georgia.


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## JennyM (Sep 21, 2015)

aw so cute!! it looks like a little pine cone! I hope you can find someone to take him/her and then release back to the wild.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

natalya2 said:


> So I called the warden office and no they will not come pick it up. However, they did give me an additional name to try calling and said "good luck".


I hope the contact worked out. Some have time to come pick up wildlife some do not. They have to deal with allot more than just wildlife. These people usual will have connections to rehabbers.


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

Yes, I was able to find a vet that does wildlife rehab although I did have to drive 1.5 hours. I hope it will be okay, she did not seem very experienced with doves and said she had never seen one that small. (It was triple the size it was when I rescued it!) Anyway, she has it now so I really hope it will survive.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Wow, good for you! Very kind to go through all that.


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

I'm a softy and believe life is a special gift. Even the tiniest life is precious to God! 

Matthew 10:29 - 'not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge'


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Amen!.........,,


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

I found out this morning that the baby dove did not make it. The vet said it died while it was being fed. I am thinking it must have aspirated the food. I am so sad. I was not comfortable with the skill level of the vet from the beginning and now I regret having brought it there. She did not seem to know much at all about rehabbing doves.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

That is so so sad! How can she claim to be a bird rehabber and not even be able to feed a baby like that? And he was not that young either.

I wanted to post and tell you to just keep the baby, but I'm from another country and don't know how strict they are in your country about keeping some species of birds.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

natalya2 said:


> I found out this morning that the baby dove did not make it. The vet said it died while it was being fed. I am thinking it must have aspirated the food. I am so sad. I was not comfortable with the skill level of the vet from the beginning and now I regret having brought it there. She did not seem to know much at all about rehabbing doves.


Always trust you're instincts. You did what you could,and more than allot of folks. Sorry about the news.


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

Marina B said:


> That is so so sad! How can she claim to be a bird rehabber and not even be able to feed a baby like that? And he was not that young either.
> 
> I wanted to post and tell you to just keep the baby, but I'm from another country and don't know how strict they are in your country about keeping some species of birds.


I so wish you had told me that! I was trusting what another poster told me, that it was in the best interests of the baby to bring it to a rehabber. I know it sounds crazy but I have cried for two days over that silly little bird! I had spent a week caring for it very carefully, setting an alarm every couple of hours around the clock, making sure that the temperature was exactly right, being sure it's crop was empty before I fed it, weighing it every day to make sure it was gaining weight, getting the food at just the right temperature and consistency and carefully cleaning it afterwards. I also noticed that it's one leg was starting to splay so I carefully taped it's legs together and after four days it was standing straight! When I rescued it it had no feathers and in the week I had it it's weight tripled and it had feathered out nicely - it was thriving! It was so cute how it would preen and carefully clean each feather. All that effort to save it's life to no avail. I am heartbroken.

I attached photos of the first day I rescued it and the last day before I took it to the "rehabber"...so sad.


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

Whytpigeon said:


> Always trust you're instincts. You did what you could,and more than allot of folks. Sorry about the news.


Seriously? You are the one that told me to call the warden and take it to a rehabber!!! I regret taking your advice, it was not in the best interests of the bird and my heart is broken. This is what the rehabber told me "The Dove was doing well and we were going to release it soon but yesterday during its morning feeding it fell limp and despite our best efforts to revive him the Dove passed away." Does that sound like she knew what she was doing? It was only two weeks old and had never even seen another bird or dove and she was going to release it soon??? I have read enough online to know that that was a death sentence even if it had survived long enough to be released. She should not be on the wardens list as a bird rehabber!!


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I know how you must feel, I once cried for a whole week when a baby pigeon I had for 2 weeks died from some disease and nothing I tried seemed to help. One gets so easily attached to these little babies and the guilt will always be there for not making a different decision. 

Hopefully lots of people will read this thread and come to the conclusion that rehabbers are not always the best choice. Keep well.


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

Marina B said:


> I know how you must feel, I once cried for a whole week when a baby pigeon I had for 2 weeks died from some disease and nothing I tried seemed to help. One gets so easily attached to these little babies and the guilt will always be there for not making a different decision.
> 
> Hopefully lots of people will read this thread and come to the conclusion that rehabbers are not always the best choice. Keep well.


Thank you for your kind words. You have been of comfort to me.


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## JennyM (Sep 21, 2015)

this is so sad  I am sorry this cute little baby passed away because they didn't know how to feed it! You did an amazing job taking care of him, so don't feel bad about your decision, you only wanted the best for him.


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## natalya2 (Mar 18, 2016)

JennyM said:


> this is so sad  I am sorry this cute little baby passed away because they didn't know how to feed it! You did an amazing job taking care of him, so don't feel bad about your decision, you only wanted the best for him.


Thank you for your kind words.


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## colombireali (Mar 16, 2016)

My heart is with you. I suggest you not to let mind get into it and wander and wander and struggle with thoughts of guilt. As you beautifully quoted
'not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge'
And that it very true. Yon can call if Father or God or Life, but all that happens is not just random stuff, independently from our human point of view.
Just live the sacred pain and your heart will heal all the wounds and bring growth and evolution. As Gibran once wrote: "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain."

I give you a big hug


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