# Need help with Pigeon in garden please



## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

Hi,

I came home a couple of hours ago and there was a pigeon sitting on my garden furniture. I thought nothing of it and let him be. When I looked a while later he was still there. I thought it was a bit odd so I went out to him. I slowly went up to within a couple of feet of him but he did not move, he barely turned his head towards me. I took a photo of the poor fella and attached it I hope.. 

I put some bread on the table in front of him and he managed to fly onto the table and eat a very small bit. Since then he has flown back onto the chair which is only about a foot away from the table and that's where he is now.

I don't have a clue when it comes to birds but I hate to see him like that. Is this normal or do you think he's sick??

Any advice is vary welcome..

I'm keeping a close eye out for cats which I know are around somewhere..

Thanks in advance..

Anthony


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, that's actually a dove or another wild variety (it's not your typical feral pigeon) and I don't think he looks like he feels real well. Let's see if we can catch him and get him in a box and away from the predators while we diagnose him. Where, by the way, are you? It might help us find a rehabber in your area if required.

Pidgey


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## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

I apologise for that. It just shows you how much I know about birds. I'm in Dublin, Ireland. 

Any idea on size of box and how to handle him/her into the box?

Thanks for the reply

A


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I suppose that it could be a juvenile wood pigeon. Do you see any little yellow fuzzy hairs on the feathers, especially around the head?

How big is it compared to a regular pigeon that you'd see in the park?

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

The reason why I ask is because it may be fairly easy to catch him if he's a down & out youngster (it happens).

We have another member in Dublin that might could help out. His name or "handle" on here is "Alvin". I'll email him to see if he can come and take a look at this thread.

Pidgey


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## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

Can't really see the yellow feathers. He look larger than the pigeons i've seen..

Here's a closer pic


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## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

That's great.. Any help is very welcome


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I'm no expert on those things but I think that's a woodie and isn't full grown yet. You can get pretty close, can'tcha'? How energetic was he when he jumped on the table? Did he seem to do it real lazily? I think you might be able to slowly just put your hand under him and get him to step on at this point. To be fluffed like that, you can tell he doesn't feel good.

I'll email some other folks but they're near London. I had to settle for PMing Alvin because his options don't allow emailing him directly.

Pidgey


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## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

The move looked quite lazy alright. He didn't seem to have much energy from what I could tell.
Do you mean to try and get him to jump on my hand??

Am I still aiming to get him into a box?

Thanks again for the help

A


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Yeah, that's what I mean (to get him into a box for safety).

Just try slowly putting your hand under him and gently pressure his tummy to see if he will step on. Then you can hold him over to you and maybe cover him with your hand or just gently walk him into the house or garage (preferably into a closed room) and then get him into a laundry basket or a cardboard box with some papers. He could be anything from simply dehydrated to starving to hurt or even sick. It's going to take awhile to figure that out.

Pidgey


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## kittypaws (Sep 18, 2005)

Hi Anthony,

I'm in London so not a lot of help to you geographically - but he is Woodpigeon and a young one at that. We have two members here have experience with woodpigeons so I shall e-mail them to see if they can give you some assistance.

Tania


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Anto,

Pidgey is right, that is a juvenile wood pigeon. They develop the distinctive white ring later on.

Unlike feral pigeons they are not very enthusiastic about dry bread but are often brought up on dampened wholemeal bread by wildlife hospitals

It should not be sitting about like that!

Can you pick it up, wrap it gently in a towel and look inside its mouth? The mouth should be clean and pink.

Despite their size they like small seeds, so if you offer wild burd mix it might eat that. If not, you might have to hand feed, You van use soaked dog biscuits or wholemeal bread with the moisture squeezed out, You have to open the beak and push the food in. Mine really like lettuce so you could chop some up and roll it in the bread.

If you catch it keep it warm (a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel) and covered, they can stress out.

Cynthia


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## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

Tried to do that but he manages to fly away to the nearest wall (just about). He's now on a wall thats joining a neighbours garden so I going to wait to see if he comes back to the table. Is there any other way of catching him??


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## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

He's gone.. Must be in another garden.. Thanks for the help though. I'll keep an eye out for the poor guy..


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

You never know. Do you have any water bowls laying out that birds can drink from?

Pidgey


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Hi Anthony,
When it starts getting dusk he should be pretty easy to catch. They don't see well at night & this little guy definitely looks like he is feeling quite a bit under the weather.  
I'm pretty sure you could walk up behind him & place both hands around his body for an easy catch. He doesn't look like he is in the mood to resist being caught.

This link will take you to the thread: Basic Steps to Saving the Life of a Pigeon or Dove.
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=8822

There could be a number of issues going on, but first & foremost, he needs to be secured & out of harm's way.

Please do keep us posted.

Cindy

Well, since he flew out of range, my theory is pretty much shot.  
I do hope you can catch him.

Cynthia,
Do Wood Pigeon babies fluff up like that if they aren't ill?


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Anto,

Well, perhaps he is just finding his wings and being looked after by his parents. At keast you know that he is strong enough to fly out of reach.

Perhaps you could put some wild bird seed out for him to help him along if he comes back.

Cynthia


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## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

We have feeders but no water bowls. I'll put one out beside where he was and keep a close eye out..


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## kittypaws (Sep 18, 2005)

That's great Anthony - thanks for looking out for the little fella - Cynthia (CYO51) is our Woodpigeon expert!!

Come back if you need more advice there is a wealth of knowledge here and it goes on 24 hours as most members are in the USA.

Welcome to PigeonLife - it is addictive!!   

Tania x


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## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

Thanks again to you all for the advice and info. It amazing to get such a response..

I'm going to keep a very close eye out, you'd never know.. Fingers crossed..

Thanks again and if there are any developments i'll let you know.

A


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

If he comes back and you can get that close to him, what you might try is holding a bowl of water in front of him and twiddling your finger in it. Keep it lower than him and it's best if you stay kinda' down as well. Just slowly creep it closer and closer and see if he looks at it like he's interested. You might decide to put it down on the table or whatever in front of him and then get back. He may go drink from it.

Pidgey


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

HI Cindy,

Yes, they can fluff up a bit without being ill. His eyes look pretty alert in the photo and he hasn't got his head sunk in his chest...but he should be more unapproachable!

Cynthia


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## Anto (Jun 16, 2006)

He had his head sunk into his chest most of the time, it was just when I got close to him his head seemed to raise up a bit.

I'll do that with the water if I see him again..

Thanks again

A


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Cynthia,

Could you tell from the picture how old he is? And he really is a woodie, right?

Pidgey


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Pidgey,

Yes, he really is a woodie, but not sure of age. Over 8 weeks I would think. Woodies can take several months to get their collars.

I have no information on how long wood pigeons have their young with them after leaving the nest but another member (A Wing and a Prayer) is very observant and had the opportunity to watch his garden Woody Dumber and his son Dumber Than Dumber, so I will ask him if he can estimate the age.

Anto, if he was fluffed up with his head in his chest and let you approach then he definitely needs to be caught and nursed back to care! I hope that you catch site of him today.

If you don't see him, please don't feel you have failed. I have had the same experience with garden birds, if they are able to escape from the garden they will because they view being caught by humans as a fate worse than death.

Cynthia


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

*Observations...*

These are A wing and A Prayer's observations on wood pigeons, very worth recording as there is so little information about wild woodpigeons other than what is made available to the shootin' and hunting brigade, which I can't read:

_What a lovely Woodie – very round 

The Woodies that we see in our garden with their parents are younger. Generally, they are all one colour, either a light grey/silver, or, the colour of this little fella’s chest feathers, beigy.

I do not know when the parents discard their young, but I think that once the youngster gets the traditional Woodie markings/plumage – they are on their own. I have never seen a parent with fully coloured youngster together.

From looking at this Woodie, I would venture that it has either just left its parents or about to do so. Generally, when the young Woodies come to the garden, their plumage is a little more clearly defined.

The Woodie in the photo looks to be about 1 month older than when we first see our fluffy Woodies escorted by Dumber. That would place this Woodie somewhere between 6 - 8 weeks old. 

Wood Pigeons love peanuts. But do not over feed them as they tend to choke on large cropfulls. We give our Woodies about 10 peanuts at a time – let them digest/swallow the peanuts – wait a couple of minutes and then give them some more. Woodies can be very gluttonous and will hoover up a whole bag of peanuts at one sitting. They then go off and sit on chimney tops choking. Lately, some of our Woodies come down to the ground and peck sunflower hearts and Corn. My park Woodie loves corn and wholemeal bread rolled into small balls. (the bread should be fresh to do this properly, otherwise moisten older beard first and then roll into balls – make the balls about the size of a dried pea). This is for the park Woodie who is not tame. The garden Woodies fall into a routine pecking order and are much more tame. They seem to like routine.

We feed our Woodies by placing the peanuts on the flat part of the fence posts. Naturally, they spill many but they feel comfortable perched on the fence rather than coming down to the ground. Although, this year their behaviour has been different, many more have appeared in the garden and they have started to forage. It is not unusual to see a Woodpigeon on a London street pecking bits and pieces from the pavement, a behavioural pattern that is new to me._

Cynthia


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## alvin (May 10, 2006)

Oh BUGGER! - I was away for a couple of days. I'm back now.
Any sign of the Woodie? If this was in the last couple of days, it's been very hot in Ireland. Maybe (I hope) he was dehydrated. If so the rain today and yesterday might have helped.

Sorry I wasn't around to help.


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## alvin (May 10, 2006)

Pidgey said:


> Cynthia,
> 
> Could you tell from the picture how old he is? And he really is a woodie, right?
> 
> Pidgey


Yup, he's a woodie. There are only three species in Dublin. Feral, Rock, and Wood.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, you can't stay glued to the computer screen--you still have to live, you know. How hot has it been?

Pidgey


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## alvin (May 10, 2006)

Pidgey said:


> Well, you can't stay glued to the computer screen--you still have to live, you know. How hot has it been?
> 
> Pidgey


Mid to late 80s - About as hot as it gets next to the Atlantic ocean at this lattitude.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

That's about 10 degrees (F) less than it is here in Oklahoma at this time, so not a lot of difference, really--just plain uncomfortable both places.

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

AND, I'm assuming y'all have HUMIDITY...been there, done that...

Anyone for 108 and a DRY heat???  

No rain...lots of sun...


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## mustlovedogs (Jun 3, 2006)

Is it hot there?We had a real hot summer here in Cali a few years ago and had somthing very simular except with a humming bird, it had swallowed a couple of bottle brush prong thing and couldn't swallow so he got dyherated(sp).We were actualy able to walk over , pick him up and put him in a cage.

Sorry babling on.Maybe if you fill a pie pan with some water for him cause he isn't getting any sitting there.


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