# need some advice re baby bird



## hayes152 (Feb 11, 2006)

hi ive been on this forum before when i found a pigeon with pmv in feb and i got some great advice (little guy is doing great if not completely mad) so i thought it would be the best place to come for some advice

this morning i found to baby birds on the lawn that the cat had brought from a nest, neither injured but one was dead, they have to be less than a week old as they have sparse fluff and no feathers, the little guy is quite big so he could be a pigeon (his body would fit in an egg cup)

any advice would be greatly appreciated eg how warm he has to be, what to feed him and how often

today hes been drinking from an eye dropper and has eaten some chopped up worm (dont really want to chop up worms thou) and we made a mix of blackfly and water (abit like soup, totally disguisting) he ate both and signals he wants food by opening his mouth and waving his head

were completely clueless what baby birds should eat and how much


please please help

thanks sarah


----------



## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Sarah....do you have any idea what kind of baby bird you have? Also, it might help us to identify him if you can take a picture and post it. We have members in the UK here and they might be able to help too.

Soaked dog or cat kibble in water would be good, then squeeze out some of the excess water would be your best bet for feeding him now. Cut the pieces small enough and place to the back of the throat for the baby to swallow. Keep him warm for sure, at least 90F or 32 C.


----------



## hayes152 (Feb 11, 2006)

hi it wont let me upload the pic, says its too big but its off my phone


----------



## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

If you want, you can email it to me and I'll post it for you. Not sure if a picture will help but it might.


----------



## hayes152 (Feb 11, 2006)

hello thankyou, ive emailed some pics, thanks for the food tip, just soaking some cat biscuits now, sorting out some heating too, hes in a flower pot next to the coffee machine at the mo, keeps him warm but not as warm as you said


----------



## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Hi Sarah,

Please do not feed this bird worms of any kind, as they harbor parasites that can be deadly to birds. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but it's true.

You are best to do as Brad suggested in terms of feeding for now, I am a fairly new member here and there will be others along with more advice for you I am sure.

Best of luck with this little guy.

Ron


----------



## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Sarah and all, 

Here are the pictures....pretty difficult to assess as they are kind of blurry and the baby is so young. Sarah, do you happen to see any other birds nesting out in your garden at the moment, that these babies could have come from?

Are there any cuts or scratches on this baby from your cat? Check carefully for any puncture marks on it's body from your cats' teeth. Please don't feed anymore worms and continue with the soaked cat biscuits for now. Don't give any water either, he will get enough moisture from the soaked biscuits.

This could be a baby blackbird, a jackdaw, or even a magpie, I just can't tell. Sarah, it's going to be a very precarious situation to keep this baby alive...I'm just warning you


----------



## hayes152 (Feb 11, 2006)

thats a relief. dont like to kill the worms, ive been gettin someone else to do that, is he ok to still eat the black fly.

i also have another question about another bird i found in feb.

i found a pigeon and from the help i got off the forum its clear he has pmv. hes fine now (ish, hes stupid still but lovable) and is trying to learn to fly, he no longer walks backwards or twists his head but has gone from being really friendly to really aggressive whenever i go to feed him the last month etc, he grunts, pecks and slaps me really hard with his wings. (i say he but could be a she)
is this normal, its like he recovered his memory and remembered hes supposed to hate humans. i say hate coz he doesnt appear frightened, sometimes hes fine. there like really bad tantrums. could it be due to the season or something, any tips would be great


----------



## hayes152 (Feb 11, 2006)

yeah i know the chances of him surviving are slim but i wont give up on the little guy, theres always a chance, i brought up six baby rabbits last year when their mum died at nine days old. aslong as theres a chance ill always give it ago.

no, no birds nests in the garden, theyve all learned better, weve got to male kittens that kill for fun, we end up with so many alive birds weve rescued from them, some make it and fly off after a day but most die of shock

it could be a magpie as you can see it has light and dark skin were the feathers would grow. the cats are so annoying, they left the bird in the middle of the garden baking in the sun. he does have a little cut so we put the slightest bit of cream on it to seal it

hes just had some soaked cat biscuit, hes gone off to sleep again now

thanks everyone for your help


----------



## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

hayes152 said:


> * he does have a little cut so we put the slightest bit of cream on it to seal it*
> 
> hes just had some soaked cat biscuit, hes gone off to sleep again now
> 
> thanks everyone for your help



Hi again Sarah, 

If this is a cat scratch or bite wound from your cat, this could be very concerning. There is bacteria in a cat's mouth that is, many times, deadly to birds. If you can get your hands on some oral antibiotics (I think it's clavamox in the UK) he may need this. Otherwise, it's out of your hands and we'll just have to wait and see. 

He needs to be fed when he's warm and often. Probably every 1/2 hour morning till night. He will let you know when he's had enough to eat and shouldn't gape when he's full after a feeding. The cat kibble will be ok for now, but he's also going to need a more varied diet with real insects and some fruit too. Don't know about the black flies, but I would hold off on them too for now.


Good luck and best wishes for this little survivour!


----------



## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

hayes152 said:
 

> thats a relief. dont like to kill the worms, ive been gettin someone else to do that, is he ok to still eat the black fly.
> 
> *i also have another question about another bird i found in feb.
> 
> ...




As for the pigeon, this is very typical behavior of a male pigeon when they hit about four months old (sometimes earlier or later). He is trying to round you up into his nest. Does he have a special area he "owns"? If you go over to him while he's in his sleeping area and pet him, kind of pat him on the back, it will make him very happy. The pecking and grabbing of the hand will continue (such as when they grab between your fingers and then attempt to move your hand somewhere else by tugging), as this is how they treat their mates when they think it's time to mate. You could have an aggressive female, but it sounds like typical pigeon male behavior to me. Males that have bonded with humans often do female mating behaviors; kind of hunkering down as if they're ready to be mounted. Embarrassing, yes, but I've heard this of many male pigeons that live with humans (including many of my own). Then you just pat his back several times and he will be as proud as can be for awhile, until it's time to do it again lol. Included in this is a lot of "Darth-Vadering", the swooping of wings and tail feathers along the ground while strutting, and different cooing than usual (more insistant). Spend a little extra time with him and let us know how he's doing.....and good luck on the baby bird too!


----------



## hayes152 (Feb 11, 2006)

yeah hes got his own hutch up high in the garage that he sleeps in and then he goes out in the garage during the day, what you described definately sounds like his behav. he often tugs my hand but he only behave s like that when hes in his hutch, not when hes on the floor, ill give the patting thing a try, anything to stop him attacking my hand, i bet he is male coz when hes chatting away and battering me with his wing he also struts and sticks out his chest.. funny... i should tape it and send it to a tv station


----------



## Tippy (Jul 26, 2006)

*website for feeding*

Hi there!
I'm fairyly new to helping birds myself (as in only a few days new to this) but I was directed to a website by a local bird rehaber who has been raising wild birds etc for the past 9 years with great success, so I feel this is a credible site:

www.rivernet.net/~nbiggs

It gives advice on preparing a mash diet for the little guys.
As a heads up, the consistency of the mash diet is the most difficult of making it, but it can be thought of as the consistency of a thicker pea soup. 
The website also has links to other helpful sites.


Hope this helps!
Good luck!

Tippy


----------



## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Tippy said:


> so I feel this is a credible site:
> 
> www.rivernet.net/~nbiggs
> 
> ...


Hi Tippy...your link doesn't seem to be working. Welcome to the forum though


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Pigeonpal2002 said:


> Hi Tippy...your link doesn't seem to be working. Welcome to the forum though



It is working now.


----------



## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi Tippy, welcome to the forum. I enjoyed the link you provided. It's always nice to have different places to go to for help.

A really good standby food for songbirds until you can get what you need for a formula is Gerber's Chicken baby food, #2, and simply use a 1 cc syringe to draw it up and pop into the baby. Watch the crop on the side of their neck and put in about 1-2 cc initially until you see how the crop expands.


----------



## hayes152 (Feb 11, 2006)

hi, just an update, unfortunately the baby bird died the day after my posts, brave little fighter thou.

still got my crazy pigeon, hes running riot in my garage, terrorising my rabbits, hes a right bully, he gets a big new pen tomo as his base, aswell as flying im my garage. he really defends his current hutch, i tried him infront of a mirror and he doesnt do anything so dont know if almeida is a boy or girl. he struts about enough so guessing male, he has that pmv virus, is he dangerous to other birds for life or is there just a set period, he couldnt ever be set free coz hes silly but was just wondering


thanks for all your help as always


----------

