# Woody Needs Help



## Wideawake (Aug 3, 2008)

Hi,
I’m sure this will have been covered in previous postings but time is of the essence here, so apologies if this question has been asked before.
Unfortunately a tree came down in our garden yesterday, and out popped this grey ball of fluff who is now called woody…He seems to be uninjured and is bright alert and has a mind of his own. It must be said that he was very quiet yesterday, but made it through the night ok, the only snag being that as you can see from the pictures my underwear got chopped up to make him nice and comfortable.
My question are: How old do you think he is? and thus how long is it likely to be before he can be released. We live in North Yorkshire so the environment is pure country which I think stands him in good stead for a successful return to the wild.
Again from the photo’s you will see that we had given him some thawed frozen pea’s as suggested by this forum and a “mush” of corn meal which we have to use a syringe to get him to take. He has taken a pea on his own but seems reluctant to each too much by himself. I have tried the yellow kitchen glove routine but that seems to impress his less…How to the parent pigeons get the babies to open their beaks? At the moment we are having to apply some pressure to get it open and I’m not keen on doing that too much longer.

Any advice would be welcome as we really would like to see this little fellow make it.

Terry


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Terry, thank you for saving this cute baby. I'm not that familiar with the products you have in the UK but someone from there should be on this afternoon. We have had good luck with using dog/cat food chow that has been soaked in water until soft but not mushy and break off pieces and place them towards the back of the throat until they swallow. You can try that until someone can give you the right product to feed.

Babies don't open their beaks for the parents to feed - instead, the babies put their beaks inside the parent's beak and the parent regurgitates "crop milk" into their mouths. You can gently force the baby's beak open but that has to be done in order to feed them. Even though the parents feed them crop milk, it is not the same as milk as we know it which is not good for babies.

This baby looks to be about two weeks old. I would "guesstimate" you would need to keep it another six to eight weeks. We don't release ours until they are self feeding and have stopped squealing and have had enough baths to waterproof their feathers.


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f25/various-methods-to-feed-young-squabs-9682.html

*Did you find this link yet? *
before I found this site I had no clue so I fed a baby pigeon using a shot glass. I used *nutri-start *or *kaytee* formula from *Petsmart* or *Petco*. I dipped the *very very tip* of her beak in it and she kinda started drinking it on her own.

I also had her on low heat to keep her warm and comfortable.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Terry,

Woodies learn what to eat and where to find food from other woodies, so it might be best if you took him to a sanctuary for rehabilitation before release. I have 4 babies at the moment, the youngest is about the same age as yours, I will keep them until they can feed themselves then take them to a sanctuary where they can mix with other woodies and be released as a little flock, preferably somewhere where they won't be shot!

Mine are being fed between 20 and 30 mls of Nutribird three times a day.

Here are some other feeding suggestions:

Ready Brek, made up with water to a creamy consistency, you can add a little Farley's Rusks.

Chick Crumbs, left to soak in hot (not boiling) water for half and hour, liquidised and sieved. As the grow older you can dispense with te sieving but make sure than they are well soaked.

Soaked eggfood.

Try putting the warm food (39 degrees) into a disposable icing bag, cut a little slit in the bag and place Woody's beak in it, moving the bag gently backwards and forwards. He might start to feed himself. They won't eat if the food is too cold.

This is a recipe for older wood pigeons to be fed on that was developed by Karen (I think!) of London Wildcare:

wild bird seed
frozen peas
finely chopped apple
finely chopped peanuts
finely chopped fat balls
finely shredded greens
wholemeal bread crumbs

If you are going to release him don't handle them too much, they will be better off if they distrust humans.

Cynthia


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

> grey ball of fluff who is now called woody


The name of the Pij is Woody.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

> Quote:
> grey ball of fluff who is now called woody
> 
> The name of the Pij is Woody.


Sorry, did I get this wrong? I assume he is called Woody because he is a woodie - wood pigeon...North Yorkshire, in the middle of the country , nesting in tree, grey rump and from what I can see pinky chest? 

Cynthia


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## kittypaws (Sep 18, 2005)

Definitely a woodie!!

Tania xx


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Thanks Tania! 

Was it Karen that developed the woodie recipe?

Cynthia


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

> Sorry, did I get this wrong? I assume he is called Woody because he is a woodie - wood pigeon...North Yorkshire, in the middle of the country , nesting in tree, grey rump and from what I can see pinky chest?


Sorry, my mistake. 
I thought the little guy was name Woody because he fell out of a tree.
I missed this part "North Yorkshire" not a clue of location.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I always look for clues on location to establish what sort of pigeon or dove has been rescued, but often get it wrong, like when I assumed that because the dove's eyes had been bathed with tea it was in the UK....turned out to be in Egypt, a place I have never visited, a species of dove I have never seen! 

I wish that entering location was mandatory on registration, we could act so much more quickly then by providing relevant information and contacts immediately.

Cynthia


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## Wideawake (Aug 3, 2008)

Folks

Thanks for all the advise and comments… Woody (who has been called woody because he is a wood pigeon) (hope that clears that one up for everyone) has made it through another night so things are looking a little brighter for him. I will try the methods mentioned for feeding him and will look at moving him to a sanctuary later on.
Any thoughts on when he should be taking solids instead of “mush”


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

At this stage the parents would be feeding increasing amounts of their natural foods to the youngsters. At this time of year they would prefer wheat and barley, some peas and small amounts of clover. You might want to soak the grain in warm water immediately before feeding it, as the adult bird would have held it in the crop, with water, before regurgutating.

Cynthia


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

It sure would be nice to have a "Found A Wood (baby, injured, sick) Pigeon, what do I do?" forum, would save alot of time and confusion.


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## pigeonpoo (Sep 16, 2005)

The trouble with that Trees, is that the majority of people haven't a clue what type of pigeon they have found...even more difficult when they are babies.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I think it would save time for those who do and for those who respond to the thread to help out. There are people who do know, and will still post as if the bird is a feral pigeon and not mention the fact that it is a woodie because they had no idea there is a difference.

Having a distinct forum for woodies, sets them apart.


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## kittypaws (Sep 18, 2005)

We have a young "pigeon" at London Wildcare - it isn't a woodie as doesn't have the white flashes on the wing and it isn't a feral - we think it is a young stock dove, so we hope that he will begin to show this as he gets older. He is very quiet, unlike his 3 woodie companions in their brooder whom get very excited when a syringe full of porridge and rusk heads their way!!

I would add that when I go into the bird ward too, there is an awful lot of squeaking and some of the babies literally climb their cages with glee because it's dinner time!! They do have seed - but I think they like their baby food too.....

Cynthia - not sure if it was Karen's recipe - probably just a handed down one.

Tania xx


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I wish I knew more about stock doves. Do yours have the black wing bars yet? I think my very first rescue must have been a stock dove, because what I remember most clearly was those black, black eyes! That one was very quiet.

Cynthia


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Trees Gray said:


> It sure would be nice to have a "Found A Wood (baby, injured, sick) Pigeon, what do I do?" forum, would save alot of time and confusion.


Done .. The Wood Pigeon and others forum is up and running.

Terry


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you, Terry.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Quick work, Terry!

Just shows how many more people are finding us, too, with the increase in Woodie posts and pigeons in other lands.

John


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Treesa, what a great idea and, Terry, thank you for setting this up.


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## Wideawake (Aug 3, 2008)

Hello everyone,
Thank you all so very much for all the kind responses. Woody is doing better than we could have ever hoped. The little mite eats with the grace of a Sumo wrestler and preens like a Hollywood starlet. Without the support of everyone on this site....well, I'd hate to think what would have happened. I'll keep you informed of his progress and whether we need to take out a second mortgage in order to feed him


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Thanks for the update! 

Cynthia


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## Wideawake (Aug 3, 2008)

*Woody Update*

Hi 
Just thought you might like a little Woody update. As you can see from the photo below he has really made good progress over the last 2 weeks and is almost “all grown up”. However he seems very fussy over his feeding. We have managed to get him of his “mush” which we were having to force feed, and he now eats for himself, however he only seems to want peas and corn….he has a real problem with bird seed and pellets… he will peck at them but wont take them up into his beak…this is a little odd as the peas and corn are 3 times the size of the seed….is it because his beak isn’t strong enough yet or is he just being fussy…..either way we are just so very grateful that his is still around to have these questions asked about his.

Our very best wishes

Terry & Keleigh


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

He is being fussy, but he is still very much a baby! I have just adopted Tweety who is refusing to eat although he is 12 weeks old. Janie, his rescuer, tells me that he likes his mush around the bird seed, spaghettu bol chopped up and banana...but will only eat from a ceramic dish, not a plastic one.

I have just returned from Hallswood, I left my own four juveniles there for release. They were as wild as can be, but settled on Lyz's arm when released into the woodie aviary....

Cynthia

Cynthia


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