# Crop doesn't empty...



## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Dear people as you know I am handfeeding a squab - today he is four days old. So far things have been well, he ate every few hours and I would refeed him when the crop was empty. Last night at 5am he had a big meal - about 6ml of crop milk substitute. now its 11.30 and his crop still looks as full as after feeding him. I am worried now. What can I do? Why is he not digesting the food? Could an air bubble be blocking something? Shall I just wait? How long? It's been already 6 hours! I think now that I overfed him, I just let him have so much becaus in that advise about handfeeding it says he can have 5ml on day three and should be up to 15ml on day 7, so ithought 6 ml on day four is fine. But his crop does look bloated, though it still feels squishy. I read about applesauce in the other blogs. I cant buy it here, but i coulod cook it? What else can i do? othrwise he is developing so good, he has grown a lot and his opening his yes more and more. I hope thinjgs are not going wrong now


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

How is it now? I would suggest to wait another hour, and make sure the little one has enough warmth so he can digest the food faster (especially around his crop). Apple Cider Vinegar is good for digestion... not sure where you can find it in Mumbai. Not sure about the recipe for cooking it either... might have to ask the Experts!

I hope Pip is ok. Maybe it's better to feed him little but regularly? 2.5ml every 2 hours? It's better because his tiny little body may not be able to absorb too much at one go... Also make sure the food is heated and not cold when you feed him. Babies need warmth (food and surrounding) in order to digest properly...

Sending healing thoughts your way!! Good luck! Do update!


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Thank you dear,
yes I will definetely go back to feed him only tiny amounts once his crop is empty. He was just so eagerly eating! In the eman time I shall try the Papaya-Rehydrating solution thing, cause he is without food for already 9 hours now  Otherwise he seems good. Active as always, opening his eyes more and more. And now of course also begging for food.

God, while reading advice on the net I found a pdf file called squab-raising - that documents closes with recipes for Fried Pigeon, Grilled Pigeon, Pigeon Pie... Makes me happy to be a vegetarian

Lots of love
Helen


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

*Photo*

This is how lil' Pip looks 9 hours after his last meal... What do you say?


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

That looks very bloated  Poor thing... but he is sooo cute!
Hopefully the papaya hydrating feed will sustain him until the crop flattens. 

I found these on the internet where they sell ACV in Mumbai:

Chembur(E): Naturally Yours,Shop No.3, Ground Floor, Neelkanth Commercial Complex,
Chembur station road, Opp. Krishna Sweets/Next to Orchid Hotel, Chembur (E), Mumbai.
Ph:022-3223 0003, 98337 01982 – Timings: 10 AM to 8 PM (Sundays Off)

Vileparle (E): Naturally Yours,Shop No.3, Ground Floor, Meenal Apartments,
Shradanand road, Opp.Navinbhai Thakker Hall, Vileparle (E)
Ph: 022 -3225 7644, 98337 01982 – Timings: 10 AM to 8PM (Sundays Off)

I don't know how far is it from your place... but ACV is essential in a pigeon's diet (in captivity of course). It really helps with their digestion. If you could get it, it would be good.

For now, maybe just keep feeding Pip water to 'slosh' the crop and make it watery...

Good luck! Keep a close eye on him!


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

One more thing, could you maybe warm the papaya water a little bit before feeding him? The warm temperature (but not too hot!) might help...


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Thank you again, dear! I heated it... I think every 2 hours I will give him a tiny bit of that. What is AVC, it's quite a travel to these places but I just talked with my spouse and we can arrange to get it tomorrow around noon! I hope he stays as strong as he is now - I really find it difficult not to feed him! 11 hours the poor little bugger is already fasting...


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi,

Haven't read back over the past replies so this may have been mentioned but I thought I'd suggest another thing to help with a slow crop.
Are you able to get anything like infant apple sauce if you can't get ACV immediately. If so this is helpful if you feed a small amount. It is also good to mix in with their formual from then on.

I'm just going to check back over some older posts as there are other things you can try but I want to be sure about amounts etc before I post.
Please don't keep feeding baby while he's blocked up though, for now it would be better to just give small drops of warm water but not food for now.

ACV is Apple Cider Vinegar.

Will post back when I have more info.

Janet


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

ACV = Apple Cider Vinegar, you can buy the brand "Braggs" from the stores I gave you... they sell the exact one that I use.

Yes, please don't feed Pip until the crop flattens. Just warm water (with a _bit_ of salt, a _bit_ of baking soda and honey)... every 4 hours to keep him hydrated. Not sure about papaya puree though as it may be quite thick.

Right now, we need to keep him hydrated while not adding to the pile in his crop.

Once you get the ACV, you can feed him warm water with a tiny drop of ACV.

Please make sure you boil the water first and leave it to cool before feeding him. Bacteria from tap water is bad for the youngster! Also, again, the water must be slightly warm...

Good luck!! Keep us posted.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi, yes I forgot to mention baking soda was good for this as well.

As suggested by Miss SP, warm water with honey and baking soda. The honey will help with keeping energy levels up.

Once things are moving again another thing I was advised to use a while ago when I had a very poorly youngster was to give infant soya formula.
Has a high calorific content but can be fed as liquid until the crop can cope with formula. Then for a while soya mixed with formula until they're ok. This is giving them plenty of calories but with smaller amounts.

For now though we need to get the crop empty before feeding anything at all.

Good luck

Janet


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Dear people, thank you for all the advice. It's not getting any better so far. I really don't know why.  Poor one seems really hungry now. I doubt it will get better over the next few hours. Sigh.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

keep him warm and massage it.. do not give anything else..he was overfed..so it may be tomorrow before it goes down.

If you have to an avain vet can help you out by reverseing the suction to take out what is in there if need be.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

Just hydrate him every 4 hours or so (the warm water + salt + baking soda + honey) and only give him small dosage, not too much ... 

I am sure he is hungry but don't feed him yet. We don't want the food to rot in the crop  That will be dire consequences than the hunger.

And plenty of warmth! Please make sure his crop is warm (close to heater)... Keep warming the hot water bottle if you must. Don't let him get chilled. Keep checking on him.

All the best! Do update.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I would not put anything in that crop right now.


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Yes, don't worry I will surely not feed him anything until the crop is empty! I am already sorry enough for having him fed that much in the first place...
I will keep you posted!

Love
Helen


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

spirit wings said:


> *keep him warm and massage it.. do not give anything else..he was overfed..so it may be tomorrow before it goes down.
> *
> If you have to an avain vet can help you out by reverseing the suction to take out what is in there if need be.


Please...do as recommended. The warmth and massage is very important. If the baby isn't warm enough, he can't process the food. Please note that it's very important to feed, every time, only after the crop has emptied. You see, adding new food to old food, can cause a bacterial infection which can be fatal.
Massaging the crop, helps get things moving. The applesauce or apple cider vinegar, changes the ph balance in the crop and helps get it moving too.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

Charis said:


> Please...do as recommended. The warmth and massage is very important. If the baby isn't warm enough, he can't process the food. Please note that it's very important to feed, every time, only after the crop has emptied. You see, adding new food to old food, can cause a bacterial infection which can be fatal.
> Massaging the crop, helps get things moving. The applesauce or apple cider vinegar, changes the ph balance in the crop and helps get it moving too.


I mentioned all this in the other thread. Anyway we can get these 3 threads on 1 baby combined to alleviate confusion?!!!


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Sorry that I created that thread confusion - How can I get a moderator to fuse these threads? It's 5 am here right now, his crop is emptier but still not empty (it's 24 hours now since his last feed). I would guess that at this rate it will take at least another 12hours.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Have you tried very gently messaging the crop? Has it gone down at all?


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

How is Pip now?


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

It's slowly getting better, but the crop is still not fully empty. I have massaging him a lot, he also as pooed quite a bit. He is now very nervously begging for food. How much longer can I leave him on this diet without threatening his life??? He's been 29 hours without any food and it surely will take another 8 or so... Though I find generally that his crop looks fuller than it feels, it's totally soft, I think there is air inside it as well. Here a pic for update:


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

It looks much, much better. Are you keeping him/her very warm ? Remember, we are talking around 30 degrees C ambient air temperature. 
It _is_ moving through since he is pooping,so my guess is it won't be much monger than you last post before it should be pretty clear and empty. 
But keep that sweet one warm, warm !

You are doing very well, have faith !


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

Well done! It looks good! Poor baby. Must be starving...

Wait till his crop completely flattens - by the looks of it, as Jaye have mentioned, should be soon. And again, do maintain the warmth!

I believe your parcel should be arriving soon, and when it does, you can feed him proper Kaytee formula...

To prevent this from happening again:
1. Continue keeping him warm! Especially near the crop.
2. Wash utensils well.. and better to sterilize with hot water before usage
3. Prepare Kaytee (when you get it, that is) as per instructions (HEAT up, mix with boiled-water-but-kept-warm, add ACV (if you have already bought it)
4. Feed in small dosage regularly (2.5ml every 2 hours) - but make sure the formula is WARMED everytime!
5. Keep a close eye on him

Thank you for your patience and resilience. You are a wonderful pigeon mommy! I am sure Pip is very grateful for your concern and love! Well done!! Hugs!!


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Dear All,

now, after 38 hours of painful waiting his crop was empty and we decided to recommence feeding. We gave him only 2ml very very thin formula and we also got the ACV to add  Now we are back to the every-two-hours feeding scheme of his first days and will see how that goes through the night - and I will make very sure that his crop his empty each time. Thank you all for your around the clock advice and patience, we are very very grateful for that - it's amazing how fast you start feeling close to such a little creature and how much it worries you when it is not well. I really hope we are getting this little one brought up well. And dear Miss sassy - the parcel supposedly arrived in India and is at the customs right now... I hope they release it soon, they probably really don't understand the content I am really looking forward to feed him Kaytee, knowing that it's the proper nutrition A big hug to you, too. Thank you all again, I will update tomorrow how his crop is doing!
Lots of love Pip, Helen & Kunal


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Helen&Moga said:


> Dear All,
> 
> now, after 38 hours of painful waiting his crop was empty and we decided to recommence feeding. We gave him only 2ml very very thin formula and we also got the ACV to add  Now we are back to the every-two-hours feeding scheme of his first days and will see how that goes through the night - and I will make very sure that his crop his empty each time. Thank you all for your around the clock advice and patience, we are very very grateful for that - it's amazing how fast you start feeling close to such a little creature and how much it worries you when it is not well. I really hope we are getting this little one brought up well. And dear Miss sassy - the parcel supposedly arrived in India and is at the customs right now... I hope they release it soon, they probably really don't understand the content I am really looking forward to feed him Kaytee, knowing that it's the proper nutrition A big hug to you, too. Thank you all again, I will update tomorrow how his crop is doing!
> Lots of love Pip, Helen & Kunal



It does not have to be every two hours.. just watch the crop and it will tell you when to feed him again. and be careful changing formula abruptly you may want to slowley mix the two before using another.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

I am glad the little one is well. Thank heavens!

I'm beginning to worry about the parcel now. I hope they don't think it's suspicious because of the powders! They probably think I'm shipping cocaine or something! _Gasp!_ 

Hopefully all goes well. At least the ACV will help for now.

Throughout the night, I'm not so sure if the 2 hour +/- thing might work.. it may interrupt the baby's sleep if it is awaken to be fed at such short interval. Maybe at night, just a little more - 3ml for the next 5 hours or so..? Best to ask the experts.

Good luck! Keep updating us. I think of you and the baby all the time!


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Well, that is *very* good. I wouldn't quite relax yet, we wanna make sure that she/he can restart that crop OK and absorb the new feedings to keep her/him going...but it is VERY good news that it was moving thru again. Remain vigilant and keep it up.

You are all doing fantastically !


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

How's Pip doing today? Any updates?


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Dear people, Pip is still doing good and I have that feeling that his crop is slowly getting faster - maybe due to the ACV  Anyways, let's hope he stays like that! He's such a joy, totally ruling our presence And: dear Miss Sassy - your parcel seems to have left the customs, we are expecting it tomorrow Biggest hugs and lots of love from India!


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Wow.....what fantastic news ! So Pip is now 8 days old and still hanging in there. 

You are doing an excellent job. Keep it up !

Maybe a photo ? 

If I may inquire....have you gotten any antibiotics ? Is this something MissSassy included in the parcel ? Because I would recommend you get some to have on hand ASAP. Amoxycillin/Augmentin, Cipro/Baytril/Enroflaxin, Ceclor, Ampicillin, Penicillin, Cephalexin, 'Triple-Sulpha' (Trimethoprim and Sulfamethoxazole, co-trimoxazole)...anything like this. Human or animal grade.

Usually an overfed baby with a compromised crop will start to get an underlying infection even after the crop begins moving better once it is cleared. I would think you should start antibiotic shortly. I believe, based upon other Indian members here....one or more of these antibiotics is not difficult to acquire over there....


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I have had babies with slow crops that cleared with a bit of applesauce. They were fine and didn't need antibiotics. I don't agree that he should be treated with antibiotics if not needed. Too many antibiotics aren't good for a baby. He will probably be fine.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Ah.

Then we respectfully disagree.

Here's where I'm coming from:

There have been no antibiotics ever given to the baby, so treating with a course now would be the action I would take. It is great that he/she has apparently withstood the crop problems and things are moving again....but...clearly something went wrong and as a result the crop went into some stasis. 

With an overfed baby this young, the possibility of even a slight inhalation of the food/formula is enough to blossom into a full-blown problem, one which can spiral downward rapidly; yet it would not be apparent for a few days afterward; and by then, well....it may be too late to begin meds. 

Again, given she/he has not been medicated on anything else and given she is over a week old now, I think she/he can handle the meds fine. I would tend to be pre-emptive and cut any problem off at the pass right now.

My 2 cents....

H&M.... you have both sides of the coin presented here, so it is your call. 

Best of luck and keep up the good work !


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## jondove (Nov 17, 2011)

I'll add my 1 cent too 

On the one hand, the use of antibiotics to prevent disease is highly controversial in veterinary practice and clearly forbidden in human medicine.

On the other hand, we all know how fast a possible infection can evolve in pigeons, especially babies.

Other factors to take into consideration are the possible risk of liver damage especially at this age, as well as the risk of a yeast infection from antibiotics. I saw on another forum that, together with antibiotics, they recommend a liver protector like silymarin (milk thistle extract) and an antifungal, at least Nystatin, or something stronger.

It's a tough call and I honestly wouldn't know what to do if it was me raising that baby. In any case, I would at least make sure I had all those drugs on hand, just in case...


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Dear people, I don't even want to get started all over again, but I think Pip is not feeling very well, once again. First of all, his crop is again slowing down, despite warmth and ACV in the food. Due to that I have given him very thin formula and now haven't been feeding 8 hours and his crop still doesn't look very empty. I am really worried about having him so undernourished at this state of extensive growing. My biggest worry - he stopped squeaking since yesterday night, before that he was quite active, begging for food... now he is mostly sleeping and even when awake never squeaking. I feel like we are in a vicious circle - because his digestion isn't working well we are feeding him less, which then makes him weaker, honestly for an 8 day old bird he has had far too less food over the last couple of days, but due to his crop we just could neither feed him thicker formula nor higher quantities. We today got the parcel with the kaytee formula and i know i can't just quickly switch his diet - on the other hand my hope is that the enzymes and bacteria in that food will finally prep up his digestion. If I start him now on antibiotics - they might sit as well too long in his crop and secondly will destroy any sort of digestive flora over the next 5-6 days, which might be crucial for him to get things properly moving. Getting the meds is no problem, but dosing it is a bit tricky as we have no weighing scale... I actually have no idea how to make this call. 
Anyways right now I really don't want to feed him at all, but seeing him loosing his power like that is bad. What can we do? Can I again go through a 24 hours clearing stretch? If finding a good avian veterinary wasn't such an near-to-impossible task that would be the thing to do I guess. Right now I hope that he clears up over the next few hours and that I can start him on a kaytee-old-formula-mix and that these enzymes do miracles in his digestion, that he finally becomes hungry and active and fast digesting and that we get out of this vicious circle. Or I stuff the antibotcs into him tonight... makes me feel very uncomfortable, but then maybe if all his crop problem is caused by an underlying infection this would be the way to go. I know none of you can make this call for me, but for any further inputs I am very greatful. I am going to get the meds ready and will try to make a decison over that over night, hopefully with you people's help. Sorry, this seems to be a never ending story. Poor little Pip.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

You needed to have begun an antibiotic immediately. If the crop has slowed and Pip is now acting lethargic....in the absence of an avian vet....I cannot think of anything else I would do other than this. So you made the right decision.

You are now 'overthinking' a bit. The Kaytee is the right food, and the antibiotic is the right decision. In the balance of concerns between being temporarily undernourished vs. having the right med administered, the latter needs to take precedent.
Indeed, an oral delivery into a slow crop is not going to get the meds absorbed as quickly as one would like, but again....as there are no vets, you cannot tube-empty the crop yourself, and you have no injectible med....the oral dosing will do.

As far as dosing, what antibiotic is it...and what dose are you giving ?

There is no doubt that at 8 days old he is old enough to take antibiotic. I certainly would not add any add'l med to that regimen, just the antibiotic.

I have no idea how much he weighs...but an 8-day old would be perhaps around 120 grams, I am guessing (about 1/3 the weight of a healthy adult).

I want to say that I agree that one should not give an antibiotic as a 'preventative'. 

My concern was and is that there was a good chance of an underlying infection already present; it probably began when the crop first had problems emptying...which is quite common; and this appears to be the case. 

The signs you describe are not great; but there is still hope and time. I think you need to keep Pip warm, do the same steps you did before in trying to get the crop to move, and keep going with the antibiotic.


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Dear All,

I am so sorry to tell you all that Pip has died. We decided to take him to Bombay's Animal-hospital. Which was a bad decision. The "doc" behaved like he had never seen a bird before, he didn't know the word "crop". He force fed Pip one drop of "strengthening" solution, which looked so horrible that I feared he would aspirate right there. When i asked about crop flushing, he just shrugged and said - it's very difficult and that he is no bird specialist (and that there is no bird specialist in mUmbai). I asked for antibiotics and he didn't know anything about it. Finally he sort of agreed that it would be good if something would be done and attempted to feed Pip a drop of liquid Paraffin as a laxative (???), but that with the hard tube end of a syringe - I stopped him and volunteered to do it myself at home, the way we have always very easily been feeding him. We went home and decided to give him antibiotics on our own - but it was too late, and the journey to the vet maybe too distressful. When I took him out of his box he was opening his beak wide grasping for air and he died in my hand within two more breaths. Kunal and me are both very sad. We have burried him . I am still replaying when and what went wrong and which action at which point would have changed this outcome. We really felt for this little heart. We are missing him. He was truly beautiful.
So was your help. Sorry we didn't make it.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

I am so so sorry.

Please don't start going over things though and torturing yourselves, you did everything you could.

We could go on endlessly trying to work out what would have made a difference but no-one can say for sure what turned the tables.

It is the hardest thing to replicate a parent's care and you took this on and couldn't have cared more.

Bless Pip and the love he gave you in his short life.

Thank you for sharing his story and please take care of yourselves, I know this is hard for you.

Janet x


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm so sorry you lost him. I know how hard you tried for him.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

I too am very sorry.... and shed a tear for little Pip.

Let me tell you something, however.
*
The both of you did everything you could have done.* It was quite amazing that you were able to get him all the way to Today. 

I said in my first reply on your original thread: raising from a newborn baby is very, very, very tricky. Even very experienced bird people, those who have been doing it for years and years, have difficulty doing it and are oftentimes not successful.

This is the situation you were presented with. Too late to just allow the egg to die...and unfortunately too early to take over feeding and caring for a newly hatched baby. Even if Pip's parents had been able to hatch him and feed him for just 2 or 3 days....ohhhhh, the odds would have been so much more in his favor.....

It was a very difficult position to be in...and you did _extremely_ well. Trust me, I am the KING of beating myself up in situations when a patient or bird I cared for...and loved... has passed on my 'watch'. You can go back and say you should have done this or that....but there is no point to it. Nobody here knows exactly what it was which he succumbed to. It may have been this, or that, or something he already had by the time he hatched.

You did the best you could have, and you gave little Pip the gift of these days of life ! He would not have had them otherwise.

And he knew you were his friend, and he knew you loved him. And you all touched each other. Today, it seems there was no point to all of this, only heartache. But perhaps one day it will be revealed that, in fact.... there was. 

You can also rest now knowing he is in a better place, where his soul can fly free and he need not suffer any longer.

You both are good people and you gave it your best. That is all we can ever try to do. If only the world had more humans like yourselves.

Thank you for finding this Forum....and I hope you both will come back now and again. 

I am going to guess that you will again come across a Pigeon (or other animal) in need. When that happens, once again I am sure you will do your best.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Ive been following this story from the start & really hoped that everything would work out well. 
I know what it feels like to hold & watch a bird (which has ultimately become part of your life) take its last breaths & pass on while you are totally helpless.
As Jaye says, if the parents had been around even for a couple of days the odds would have been so much better. 
Theres nothing you can blame yourself for doing or not doing.
Your intervention from the start gave this little one a chance that it otherwise would not have had. 
You really did your very best & sometimes with one so young, even for an experianced person, the odds are just totally against you no matter how hard you try.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

I've been following this also, and I'm so sorry Pip didn't make it. Newly hatched babies are very difficult to raise. You did a wonderful job with him to get him as far as you did. Most of us have experienced that helpless feeling and sadness. But you gave him a chance and you did your best. I'm so sorry.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

I am extremely saddened about this. I wish the parcel could have arrive sooner - or if I could have done something else to help... 

Pip was well loved by you. Thank you for everything you have done for him. 

Krikky and I will always remember him. Take care and God bless, always!


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## Helen&Moga (Mar 10, 2012)

Thank you all so much. It really helps hearing your soothing words and knowing that there are other people around who understand our grief. We are in a country where even most humans do not receive that much care or medical help - so a few of our friends thought we were a bit nuts cooking special cropmilk recipes or hunting for ACV. I know we tried as good as we could and I do not regret having taken up this challenge. We learned a lot from Pip - first of all I learned how beautiful birds really are and that they just as any other beings have so specific characters. They are absolute individuals and no one is replacable. Pip was quite a character from the word go. I can't put it in words but I think he was a really special little fellow and I think he was remarkably strong. He really deserved to live and I know that beating oneself up doesn't help, but I think someone with more experience could have managed to get him through... Another thing Pip has reminded me of is how important is to live every single moment, every day counts. For a week nearly everything else in our lives stopped or was woven around being with Pip, feeding him at the right times, changing his water bottles, massaging his crop. The day he died I was keeping him a long while on my chest, a warming lamp on us and him nestled on my skin and wrapped in a towel. I was massaging him and he would doze off. I couldn't help but cry, because I could feel his energy wearing off. Life was leaving him bit by bit. Just the day before he had been super active, squeaking nonstop. He wouldnt twitter anymore and he would mostly keep his eyes closed. It was the fisrt day that I didn't feel much hope. The night when we returned from that doomed animal-hospital and I took him out of his box and saw him gasping we knew it was over. I held him in my palm and he was struggling to breath for a few seconds, then he just laid his little head down in my palm and stopped breathing. Kunal and me both howled like wounded wolves. It's just so sad to accept when a battle is lost. We both felt like small children who just can't stop crying. I still do, but I know I can't reverse anything and have to ultimately just accept it. But both of us think that Pip was such a beautiful experience. I have heard of a few NGOs in Bombay who take care of wounded street animals, and after seeing what a lousy jobs even vets seem to do, we both think of volunteering somewhere. And dear Miss Sassy, who send us this beautiful parcel of which Pip couldn't profit anymore - I promise you I will make these things reach some pigeons in distress in this town who will need it! It will save someone else.
Thank you all again. It's really soothing to know that others understand how painful it can be to "only loose a bird".

I will keep revisiting you. This has been a truly loving and caring community.
Thank you.
Kunal and Helen


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