# Help!! My baby pigeon won't eat!



## Lia's_lil_pigeons (May 6, 2014)

I have a baby pigeon,I don't know if it is a boy are a girl. I am a summing it's at least 11-12 days old. I have had him/her for 2 days now,and have been feeding him/her water down cheerios. But this morning I went to feed him/her and he/she refused to eat it! I don't know if it is because he/she is full or he/she is sick. Please help! (This bird is wild.) Please help I am only 12 and have no idea what's wrong with him/her.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

How are you feeding the bird? How often? Please post a picture of him to better get his age.


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## Lia's_lil_pigeons (May 6, 2014)

I am feeding him/her every 6 hours because i read online that if it is 11-12 thats what u do. I am feeding him/her thru a suringe. it was fine yesterday very active and all now it's lazy always sleeping and rejecting food


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## Lia's_lil_pigeons (May 6, 2014)

i am having trouble uploading the photo


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

can you get an adult to help you, you may need to call a rehabber but we need to know what state and city you are in. the squab needs to be warm to digest any food.


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## Lia's_lil_pigeons (May 6, 2014)

I have tried calling every rehab place in fort worth texas but no one takes baby pigeons. 
i don't have a heating lamp. i only have a regular lamp i have that over him/her but it does not do much help


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

dried rice in a sock tied at the end can be microwaved and then curled around the baby.. don't make it too hot.. warm. does the baby have any feathers.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I don't know what you are watering down the cheerios with, but if it was milk, then you should know that pigeons can't digest milk. You need to be so careful when feeding with a syringe, as it is very easy to get it down the wrong tube and aspirate them. You would be better off feeding him defrosted peas which have been defrosted and warmed under warm running water. Warm but not hot. These contain moisture also, so they help to give him that. Never give water by syringe. He needs to be kept warm or he can't digest the food. And you do not feed again, until his crop has emptied, and sometimes this can take longer than the 6 hours you are waiting. The crop is a pouch under his throat and on his chest. It will fill up with food when you feed him, and it will go back down again when it empties. You can feel it, and it will feel soft and squishy after you have fed him. It's hard to say how much to feed as I can't be sure of his age or size without seeing a picture of him.
He needs to be kept warm, like on a heating pad, Only set on LOW, no higher, over which you have placed a towel. If you feed him before his crop empties, you will cause more problems. A small bit of warmed baby applesauce fed to him will usually help the crop to empty if it is emptying slow. Be care that that food is warm, as he can't digest it if it is cold. But if it is hot, then you will burn his crop. Please keep trying to upload the pic.
Are your parents helping you with this?


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## Lia's_lil_pigeons (May 6, 2014)

i have tried and now the website is saying i can't post a new thread and other things do i make another account?! and we don't have heating pads at all at least i don't think. i asked my dad to take me to the pet store to buy baby bird feed. do i buy a lamp as well?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

These are the only places I know of in Texas.


Prestonwood Pet Clinic
5242 Meadowcreek Drive Suite 110
Dallas Tx 74248
PH: 972-233-7343
Dr Name Gary Bridges, DVM

ABC Animal and Bird Clinic
11930 Hwy 6 South
Sugar Land, TX 77498
281-495-9445

Duck Police, Pigeon Resource link

Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation
1430 E Cleveland Rd.
Hutchins, TX 75141
972-225-4000
www.rogerswildlife.org/contact.html

Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Inc.
P.O. Box 369
Kendalia, TX 78027
Phone: (830) 336-2725
Fax: (830) 336-3733
Website: www.wildlife-rescue.org


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Lia's_lil_pigeons said:


> i have tried and now the website is saying i can't post a new thread and other things do i make another account?! and we don't have heating pads at all at least i don't think. i asked my dad to take me to the pet store to buy baby bird feed. do i buy a lamp as well?


dried rice in a sock tied at the end can be microwaved and then curled around the baby.. don't make it too hot.. warm. does the baby have any feathers.
__________________
a heating pad that does not shut off would be good.. on low under a towel with the box ontop of the towel. he needs to warm before food.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You may not need the formula if he is old enough, and peas would be safer to feed till he is on seed, if he is close to that age. You need to be careful with heat lamps as it needs to be at a distance to just keep him warm but not too hot. Reptile emitters are better, but a heating pad would be fine if you can get one.


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## Lia's_lil_pigeons (May 6, 2014)

Thanks,but my parents don't want to drive that far. Thank you for you help.


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## Lia's_lil_pigeons (May 6, 2014)

He has feathers but they r not fully grown out. Yay my dad found a heating pad!!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

good get him warmed up..it may take a half hour and you can rub him with warm hands in the box on a towel. when he feels warm to touch he can be fed if his crop is empty if his crop has food in it wait for him to poop more and for the food to digest out of the crop or empty from the crop, you can make a "nest" with a towel that is rolled up and made to look like a donunt and put around him. with more paper towels under him.


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## Lia's_lil_pigeons (May 6, 2014)

Great news!! we went to the store and bought some baby bird feed formula and he/she is eat fine!! we found a heat pad so he is nice and toasty! thank you so much for all your help!!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Lia's_lil_pigeons said:


> Great news!! we went to the store and bought some baby bird feed formula and he/she is eat fine!! we found a heat pad so he is nice and toasty! thank you so much for all your help!!


Thats fantastic! good luck with him. remember not to feed too much only feed him when his crop has gone down or almost empty.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's great. Let us know how he does.

Here are some videos on feeding a baby with a cut off syringe. They kind of feed themselves. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1aPHzKZaQE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3GPWhHeG4s&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s5ZY3U2lKU&feature=related


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## Lia's_lil_pigeons (May 6, 2014)

*Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!! THE PIGEON HAS BEEN BITTEN BY MY 2 YEAR OLD CAT!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!! PLEASE SEND ME SOME PLACES TO TAKE HIM/HER I LIVE IN FORT WORTH TEXAS!! PLEASE HELP ME!!! he is not bleeding heavily but he was a cut it looks like it went thru both layers of skin. he/she has had quite a few feathers ripped off please give me links!!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I've sent you the places I know of in Texas, and you said they were too far. I don't know anywhere else in Texas. Maybe your family vet would be kind enough to give you antibiotics for him. Without which, he will likely die of an infection from the cat wounds, as they carry bacteria in their saliva which can be deadly to birds. 

When people have cats or dogs, it is imperative that you keep them separated. This was an accident that shouldn't have happened.


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## CAPERNIUS (May 30, 2014)

spirit wings said:


> Thats fantastic! good luck with him. remember not to feed too much only feed him when his crop has gone down or almost empty.


*Baby bird seed formula?
I'm having the same problem...baby pigeon will not eat...
what is this baby bird feed formula & where can I get some online?? I live in N.W. Indiana...about 70 miles from chicago IL, or about 1 hour drive from South Bend Indiana...*


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## Woodnative (Jul 4, 2010)

CAPERNIUS you may wish to start a new thread. Also, how are you feeding the baby? How old is it? Most Pet stores (and online) carry Kaytee baby bird formula for baby parrots that works well with pigeons. If the baby is older popping in the warmed up frozen peas is easiest (see above for more information on that).


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## CAPERNIUS (May 30, 2014)

*My Pigeon Refuses To Eat....*



Woodnative said:


> CAPERNIUS you may wish to start a new thread. Also, how are you feeding the baby? How old is it? Most Pet stores (and online) carry Kaytee baby bird formula for baby parrots that works well with pigeons. If the baby is older popping in the warmed up frozen peas is easiest (see above for more information on that).


Thank you for the information....

he/she is about 1/4 to 1/2 the size of an adult...

this is a feral pigeon I saved from becoming dinner from a feral cat....

I saved him/her on the 25th of May, so at this writing, it's going on 6 days that she has refused to eat...
I tried...
wild bird seed(WBS)
wild bird seed put through a blender
WBS put through a blender & mixed with water
I've tried sugar water(1t sugar per 16 oz water)
bread

I know if she doesn't eat soon, I'll be burying her.... 

all I have at the moment is a cardboard box...
because she can not fly
(maybe too young, maybe something wrong, I don't know)
The top of the box is open for air circulation....
Even with A/C running in the next room, our apt. is usually on the warm side....
not hot but warm...
I keep fresh water in with him/her changed daily....
complete change of newspaper daily....
When I have held him/her in the past, I have ALWAYS made sure to secure her wings close to her body....
Try to make things as calm as possible, but can still feel heart racing....

I DO NOT want to bury him/her....
want to see him/her grow to adulthood & set free like she should be....*frustrated*


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

CAPERNIUS said:


> Thank you for the information....
> 
> he/she is about 1/4 to 1/2 the size of an adult...
> 
> ...


I'll PM you on how to start a new thread so that more will see your post.


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