# Help , 4 month old pigeon doesn't eat by itself



## Esteban Guevara (Mar 6, 2017)

Hi everyone

I'm Esteban and i live in Lima, Peru. A little over 4 months ago , i rescued a baby feral pigeon that had been severely injured mostly in the head, upper right leg and around the femur area . 



















Since that day , 16 december 2016 , i've been taking care of it. I fed him a supplementary baby food called Nestum 5 cereals (wheat flour,oats, barley, corn and rice with probiotics, vitamins and minerals) in the form of porridge, with the help of a syringe of 1 mml and 3 mml ( i fed him like that until about the end of january, also i started to use the 3mml around the middle of the same month) 

The day came when he started to peek at some seeds , and i knew it was time to start to reduce the porridge. When April began , he was already eating a diet of seeds-only. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Duipqdo5QM
This is him eating some corn seeds ,13 january

I think my big mistake was the lack of encouragement: Because he had just started to succesfully eat some seeds , i thought he would learn all by himself . He didn't . Up to this point , i still hand-feed him. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaKekMHGN58
He tries to eat , but as shown in the video he just drops them at the end. And also , he still sees my fingers as a source of food. I think pigeons swallow the seeds by using their tongues, and if that's the case , he's not using it.

Thank you so much if you've read up to this point. So my question is : Is there some way to teach him how to eat? Can i do something to help him excercise the motion of his tongue? 

I've seen a Threat almost the same as mine , but it sadly finished without a solid solution. 
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f87/3-month-old-pigeon-refuses-to-eat-please-help-47365.html

I'll appreciate any kind of help and thanks to all of you in advance. I can see that he's getting tired of this , he wants to eat but he can't ; and i don't think i can keep on doing this for all his life.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Play with the seeds, pick them up with your fingers and drop them again. This will get him more interested. Skip his morning feeding and just let him pick at seeds. He will eventually learn. Is he at least drinking water by himself? If not, also do the same with a small bowl of water. You can also gently dip the tip of his beak into the water (but not over the nostrils otherwise he might aspirate). Do this a couple of times until he starts drinking.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Marina is right. Skip the morning feeding, which will encourage him to eat on his own, because he will be hungry. You could add some different seeds to the mix to make it more interesting, like some split peas, lentils, and a little bit of brown rice maybe. Pigeons also like safflower seed, but just a bit of those as they are high in fat. Give him different shapes and sizes to pick up. Pigeons don't need to start on tiny seeds, many are trained to eat on their own on safflower seed and pigeon mix. I had one baby that went right for the light big Canadian peas that come in most pigeon mixes. 

The thing is that your bird is being picky. He doesn't really want to eat on his own. He wants you to continue to feed him. In other words.............he is spoiled. The easiest way to get him to eat on his own is probably hand feeding him frozen peas which have been defrosted and warmed under warm running water. Then you can leave some with him and he will eventually practice on them. They sometimes learn quicker on them as they are soft and easy to pick up. Here's how you would do that.

If you need to feed peas to a pigeon, hold the bird on your lap and against your body. This gives you more control. Reach from behind his head with one hand and grasp his beak on either side. Now use your free hand to open the beak, and put a pea in, then push it to the back of his throat and over his tongue. Let him close his beak and swallow. Then do another. It gets easier with practice, and the bird also gets more used to it, and won't fight as much. If you can't handle the bird, then use the sleeve cut off a t-shirt, slip it over his head and onto his body, with his head sticking out. This will stop him from being able to fight you so much. Just don't make it tight around his crop area. It helps if you have him facing your right side if you are right handed.


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## Esteban Guevara (Mar 6, 2017)

*Thanks both of you for your answers*

Your messages have given me hope. I'll do as you said Marina B and Jay3 and also i'll buy the seeds that you suggested Jay3. I will be very happy when he finally starts to eat by his own. 

Thank you both once again for the time you've taken to reply to this Thread. I'll post here if any progress or change occurs.


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## Esteban Guevara (Mar 6, 2017)

I tried the method for a week , but since yesterday i've gone back to the 3 meals a day. I tried to encourage him to eat the seeds but everytime he found out that i wasn't going to give him food he just waited looking at me or left the scene , with an angry mood sometimes . 

However , he stills tries to eat the seeds from time to time, without succes of course . I guess i'll have to try another methode . 

P.S : He drinks water by himself , fortunately .


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Did you feed the defrosted peas?
You aren't helping him by feeding him and not making him learn. You will be feeding forever. If you had children would you still be spoon feeding a three year old because he wanted you too?


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