# baby pigeon in serious trouble - trying to help



## avoid (May 15, 2010)

Hi,
A while ago 2 pigeons started nesting on my balcony.
They eventually had a nest and 2 eggs that hatched.
One of the baby pigeons died a few days ago and I read on another forum that it is best to leave it there because the parents will take care of it.
Well... they didn't and today I had to take care of it.
The problem is that by taking care of it I had to destroy the nest and the location of the nest since it was compromised by maggots and all sorts of yucky stuff.
I checked the surviving baby pigeon and he seems healthy ... about 10 days old from the pictures I found around here. He is terrified of me but he is okay. 
Unfortunately I had to relocate him about half a meter from where the nest was and about 40cm lower (in a box). I made sure that his parents see him but they don't seem to recognize him. He is crying for food but they only seem to care about the position of the original nest.
I don't want to put the baby where the original nest was since it will surely fall from there in the absence of the nest.
I don't want him to die... but I don't know what else I can do to help it. I am watching just now how the parents are around but don't want to take care of their young.
Please give me some advice on what I can do...

My location is Bucharest, Romania... but I doubt you have someone from around here that might help me.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Please bring the youngster inside. 

Can you buy a baby bird formula from pet store?

He needs to be fed very soon as they can perish quickly from being hungry.

Keep the baby warm out of drafts of air, perhaps in a basket or pet carrier.


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

I have some small seeds that his parents seem to enjoy (I fed them while they were around).
I tried giving those seeds to the baby but it is terrified of me and it wants to bite me.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

avoid said:


> Hi,
> A while ago 2 pigeons started nesting on my balcony.
> They eventually had a nest and 2 eggs that hatched.
> One of the baby pigeons died a few days ago and I read on another forum that it is best to leave it there because the parents will take care of it.
> ...


Is there a reason why you can't retun him to the same location?
I may have a contact for you. Give me a bit.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

avoid said:


> I have some small seeds that his parents seem to enjoy (I fed them while they were around).
> I tried giving those seeds to the baby but it is terrified of me and it wants to bite me.




The baby isn't trying to bite you. That's what they do when they are hungry. They squeel, squeak, flap their little wings and nibble with their beak.
This is a good way to feed the baby...


You can hand feed defrosted corn and peas. Run some hot water over them until they are defrosted and slightly warmed. Put the bird on your lap and hold it next to your body. If it helps, you can wrap a towel around it or put it in the sleeve of a tee shirt, with the head out the wrist. That confines them without hurting them and makes it easier to handle. Gently open the beak and pop the piece of corn and peas at the back of the mouth and over the throat. 
You will need to feed 40-50 per feeding and every time the crop empties until you know the baby is eating on his own. 
This is a wonderful method for teaching babies to eat because they feel the whole food in their mouth and it’s soft and easy to pick up and hang on to. The next step… seeds. 
The crop is located right below the throat and with food it fills up like a little balloon. The peas and corn make it lumpy and squishy.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

This group has a baby of similar age in their care. You can contact them although I still think the parents may take care of this baby. The parents leave babies unattended when they are between 7-10 days old and go off to build a new nest for the next set of babies. The dad returns morning and everning to feed the first set.
You can help by watching to make sure the baby is OK and supplimental feeding, just as I described in the previous post. Certainly, if the baby is in any kind of harms way, bring the baby inside.
http://www.4animals.ro/


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

By peas you mean these: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/images/20070803peas-with-mint.jpg ?
Isn't 50 of those quite a lot for the little baby?
I can put it back where the nest was only that there is no nest and I am sure he'll fall. Should I try to put some towels or something there instead of the nest and move the baby there? Will the parents recognize him after they were already there and saw that the nest and baby are missing?


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

All right:
I found: Frozen peas, frozen rice, frozen corn and frozen slices of mushrooms. Should I defrost them with hot water and try to get the baby pigeon to eat or should I wait and hope that the parents would eventually recognize the baby bird as their youngster? 
I left the baby pigeon in the box and I put pieces of an shirt under it and over it leaving only the head out and it seems to be rather happy like that... no more squeaking and aggressiveness.

I tried contacting 4animals.ro but the phone is out of the coverage area or off... so I'm on my own for now. I also saw there that the small pigeon they have is also eating egg yolk. Would it be a good idea to try with that?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Please defrost the peas and corn and drain completely as mentioned.

Open the beak with your thumb and forefinger and put one pea or corn piece in the back of the beak over the tongue. Allow the baby to swallow, close beak then repeat. I would go for 15 to 20 pieces.

It will get easier and the baby will resist less once it knows it is getting fed. K


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Yes...that's what I mean by peas. Defrost the peas under hot water as described in the post above. Just peas and corn...no mushrooms and no vegetables with a sauce. The baby will do fine without the egg yoke.
Check the crop to see if the baby has food already.The crop is located right below the throat and with food it fills up like a little balloon. The peas and corn make it lumpy and squishy.
__________________


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

I checked his crop and it seems to be full with something like small seeds by the feel of it. I suppose that he/she had some food right before I did the yucky stuff with the nest. I'll check again in the morning (it's 9PM here) and I'll try to feed him/her then if it feels empty.
Thanks a lot for your help. I really appreciate it.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Sounds good. Keep us posted.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

You could try making a nest out of towels or something else, sonething secure that has traction on the bottom. Watch to see if the parents return to feed it.

When the babies are that young the parents recognise them by the location of the nest, but I once had to swap a nesting box for another of a different shape because the original one had got wet. The two pigeons involved got very distressed, the hen called for the cock and they kept going into the nest, then getting out and examining the outside. Eventually they abandoned it because there were too many discrepancies. The advantage of returning it to the nest is that when the baby leaves the nest the parents will show it around and show it where to feed. The disadvantage is that we don't know what killed the first one and whether the surviving pigeon is at risk.


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

OK, I woke up the baby pigeon (he wasn't too happy about that) and I made a nest out of the shirt that was in the box (it was already warm) and I put the baby there. The nest is in the exact same position as the old one but doesn't look like the old one (it is way better for sure than what the parents built). I tried adding some small tree branches but I couldn't find so many. Hopefully they will recognize the baby as their own and feed it. 
I also tried to fix it into position so that the baby wouldn't fall, now it only has 2 possible directions in which to fall, the other 2 I blocked. The baby doesn't seem stupid so maybe he will not fall.
In the box the baby was more protected and I am a bit worried about crows and bats (I don't know why we have lots of bats here...) in the current position. Hopefully he'll be al right. 
Hoping for the best...


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Oh, dear, I certainly don't wnat him to come to an untimely end at due to my advice! 

Could you wait until it is daylight? Then you can watch over him and if his parents come and feed him you can take back in. Just until he is big enough to be less vulnerable!.


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

Well... anyway most of this night I'll be awake learning for a certification exam so I'll just stay in the room that has direct visibility to where the baby is.
Crows are asleep already probably and bats don't come close to where they see activity from what I saw.
Anyway, I think the other one just got sick and died, I doubt anything like an attack happened.
And also I had another 2 pigeons this year that grew up on my balcony and now they returned here for the night. Now they are big enough and they can take on any bat at any time


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Perhaps you can put the towels in the box and then the baby on top of the towels in the box, to protect him. it is my feeing that as lndg as he is in the same location, they will continue to feed him.


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

I just made some modifications for added protection and heat while keeping the same location. Now I'm sure he'll be safe for the night even if I fall asleep and also the parents will find him if they return. It is beginning to rain in Bucharest and it will rain for a while and I didn't see any bats flying while it is raining here. 
The baby seems to be comfortable in the new nest so I think it's gonna be fine if the parents return. If not I'll do my best to take care of him.


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

The baby's parents are around and I fed them popcorn kernels and then I checked the baby. I think they fed him because his crop is full and I don't think it could be full from yesterday. One of his parents (the big one) wasn't scared of me any more and he stayed near me while I was checking the baby.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

That is good, I hope that he will be safe and well. Thankk you for rescuing him and for cleaning up the nest,

Have you checked the inside of the baby's mouth, just to be on the safe side? It should be clean (no cheesy deposoits and no blue tinge)>


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

I just checked the inside of his beak, it looks clean. The outside of his beak had some white stuff but I think it was just dirty or something. He is alert, his eyes are wide open and he doesn't want to eat me any more 
He does seem to be breathing quite quickly but the ones before him that are all grown up now were doing about the same and they are just fine now. His beak is a little soft but not very soft, not rubbery like but not as hard like a chicken's beak.
His body temperature is higher than mine and considering I read it should be around 39 centigrade I suppose it's fine. I don't remember where I put my infra-red thermometer but if I find it i'll tell you the exact temperature. 
I offered him some small seeds but he just threw them on the ground so I suppose he just wants to be fed by his parents. That's fine with me.

His parents are around all the time so I don't think they have another nest. They are just eating what I give them and now they seem full and are sun bathing on my outside A/C unit. 
I didn't actually see them feeding the baby but I think I am not supposed to see that happening but I hope they are doing it...


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

*Update*

Hi. I think this is the loveliest update possible:
//see attachment// 

The one that is eating sunflower seeds is the small (now big and learning how to fly) pigeon in question. The others are his mom and dad.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for the pic.

Lovely pigeons!!!

If you are going to continue to feed them, could you offer them some wild bird or pigeon mix and a bowl of fresh water. They would be most greatful. Sunflower seeds can be harsh on their digestion and loaded with fat, a small percent of it in a mix is fine.


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## avoid (May 15, 2010)

I give them all sorts of seeds but the ones thay they love the most are wheat and sunflower. The water is about 1 meter to the left because they kept dropping it to the floor if it was on the table. I found another place for the water that is more stable 
Thanks for all your advice guys, I am really glad that I could help this pigeon.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

As you said, the very best update possible! Thank you!


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## doveone52 (Aug 3, 2009)

Great update! Thanks for the pictures!


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