# I found an orphaned baby pigeon , maybe 10 days old what to feed him , we don't have



## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

Is it okay to feed him crushed chickpeas or mungbeans soaked in water for 6 hrs , or hard boiled egg yolk , i can buy jowar from the store tomorrow. I found him on the sidewalk and tried to locate his nest for 1 hr. I'm concerned and any help will be appreciated


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

This one looks like 2 1/2 weeks old. At that age you can feed defrosted green peas. The frozen type you buy in the supermarkets. Defrost a few in lukewarm water.

Easiest way to feed: Put him on your lap (facing to the right if you are righthanded). Reach with your lefthand over his body and head and open the beak with those fingers. Have a pea ready in your righthand and put deep inside the beak over the tongue. If he spits it out, you need to put in deeper. Wait till he swallows and proceed with the next one. Feed 30 peas 3 times daily, total of 90.

After 2 days of handfeeding, you can start leaving a small bowl of peas with him. They quickly learn to eat peas by themselves and then you can start adding small seeds. To get him to drink water: Dip the tip of the beak (not over the nostrils) in a small bowl of water. Peas have a lot of moisture, so don't worry if he does not drink now.


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

Thank you for your assistance, but i don't have peas rn , can buy them tomorrow, should i give him something till then?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Do you have a baby porridge that has very little sugar and milkproducts? Mix with a bit of water, roll into small balls and feed to him. Also try to get him to drink water. The dropping he produced looks good, he has been fed by his parents. So at least he is not producing starvation droppings.


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

I found some peas in the fridge , fed him exactly you said , but the peas even after soaking in lukewarm water feel hard , like they are not smooshed so easily (2 months old) , his crop looks grown , are all green peas the same and should i keep feeding him?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

The peas are fine. I always choose the softer ones to feed. You can get some more of them, just make sure they have been defrosted well. His crop will look big after feeding, but will go down again when the peas are digesting and there will be droppings. Don't feed until the crop is flat again. You can post a photo of his droppings as well.

Do you have a soft blanket to put him on?


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

I don't have soft blanket but i can wrap relatively thick cloth around him , if it is needed because of the temperature, it's 31 C outside and i put his box in a warm corner. Should i make him sit on my lap with cloth around him while i work? , all of his droppings look the same.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He does not need extra heat. At that age they like to lie on something soft. Shape the cloth so that it resembles a nest and put him in the middle.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Also, no direct sun. They can quickly overheat.


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

His droppings have a little white in them , should i feed him more or less? , I've given 30 peas since the morning.He is a little afraid of me and his crop looks like this.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

The white in the droppings is normal, that is called the urates. You will feel the peas in the crop after feeding. Stick to 30 peas 3 times daily. Feel the crop again when it's time for the second feeding around lunchtime. That way you will know when the crop is empty. If he is producing droppings, that means the food is getting digested.

He will be scared of you, he views you as a predator. Do you want him to become tame? If so, spend a lot of time with him. They also like to be scratched around the head, underneath the eyes and beak. That's what the parents do to them.


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

He is pecking and eating off my hand but doesn't want to go into his box , so i setup some large cloth arranged as a nest on my bed and he likes to sit and sleep there , the temperature is normal but does he need more heat? as i read somewhere that baby pigeons need more heat to digest food.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He is fully feathered, so does not need extra heat. Only babies less than 10 days old needs extra heat, depending on the weather.

He looks well. Have you taught him how to drink water? You can put down a large dish with water for him, and play with the water by using your fingers. They like to bath. The white dandruff on the towel is also normal, that's new feathers developing.


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

His neck area is kinda big although he's not having digesting issues , is it canker? , i really appreciate your help so far.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Looks normal to me. If he loses his appetite and start drinking plenty of water, then you will know something is wrong. Other canker symptoms will be: losing feathers on breast area, slow crop and difficulty swallowing. Are you still handfeeding or is he eating by himself?


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

He is eating by himself , i peel the skin off of the bery lightly boiled peas and he pecks from my hand , he has become comfortable and is always asking for more food , but recently today he excreted a very watery dropping , clear fluid and some poop in between. Also should i give all 30 peas at once or divide them? , he also drank some water yesterday by himself.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

If he pecks the peas from your fingers, he will be able to eat them by himself. Put down a bowl of peas and keep your finger in there, encourage him to eat. He will know when to stop when he has had enough, so put down enough peas and keep on refilling. You can also add some small seeds to the peas and he will start eating them later on. As long as he has a good appetite, nothing to worry about. He sounds tame, I hope you are planning on keeping him. He won't know where to find food out there.


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

I am sort of afraid of overfeeding him , he keeps eating even after 30 peas (he doesn't want to eat from a bowl so i put 10-15 peas on my hand and he pecks them), so should i just give him all he wants to eat? cause he's always asking for more food and idk if i am underfeeding him, i heard he can get crop problems if i give him too much. He has become very comfortable with me and my family , climbing their legs and constantly squealing for food , but i have this constant remorse of not being able to find his nest.So , i should put a lot of food and in a bowl and let him eat?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Yes, let him eat as much as he want to. Peas are easy to digest. He will need now more than 30 peas at a time.


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

It had been going well but he developed some sort of big pimple on his beak , started smelling bad and seems to have trouble swallowing as he's having difficulty pecking , and trouble eating, he used to peck very well.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Can you post a photo? It might be the start of pigeon pox (common in India). Can you also check inside his beak and throat for yellowish growths? He might have canker, and this can be treated with metronidazole that you can get from a pharmacy.


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## AdiKen (Apr 13, 2020)

He also has another spot growing


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Yes, pigeonpox. You can apply turmeric mixed with neem or coconut oil to help dry them up. Those growths are going to grow very big, you can check photos online. Just google "pigeonpox images". They will start drying up and fall off in 4 weeks or so. One needs to boost their immunity to help with healing. Apple cider vinegar in the drinking water, 5 ml acv to 1 litre of water. Also vitamins for birds if you can get some.

They sometimes get secondary infections like canker, which can be treated. Did you check inside the beak for yellowish growths? Also check towards back of the throat. Pox can only kill them if it starts growing inside the beak. The canker will kill them, so need treatment.


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