# Obtained a young pigeon, what now?



## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

Hi.

This is my first time posting, but it's also the first time I've ever had a pigeon!

Paloma was found as a featherless baby by a coworker of mine in the rain and he raised her for a week before deciding that he wasn't around enough to take care of it properly. So two days ago, Paloma was given to me.

It's a young pigeon - mostly feathered with a few bald spots and a little bit of yellow tufts remaining, doesn't fly or anything. All the information I've found here has been for baby or old or sick pigeons so I don't really know what to do at this transitional stage.

I've been feeding him/her with bread and water until I noticed that s/he was pecking around a lot so I tried to see if it would pick up seeds. Paloma just went CRAZY for it. Should I just start feeding that way or should I continue with the occassional bread and water? Also, s/he won't drink water on its own. S/he has a habit of putting its beak between my fingers pointing down and opens its beak wide, so I carefully used a squirt bottle to pour water in there. But I can't do that forever.

Also, Paloma can't fly now, so s/he's residing in a large milkcrate with enough space to spread wings, but I figure it'll need a real home soon. Do they need any kind of toys like I see tropical birds have? Bells, mirrors, etc? Right now we have fun keeping Paloma either perched on my hand or head while I watch movies, huddled in my lap with my hands over it or I just let it roam in a small, clean area of my living room. I've only owned cats and dogs before (was petless up until Friday) so I know very very little about birds.

Anyways, sorry for going on and on (and if the changing pronouns annoyed anyone!). I just want to make sure I'm taking good care of Paloma and get everything covered.

Thanks!


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

We have many members who give their birds bells and toys, and mirrors. They enjoy looking at themselves, and playing with toys.

Our member, Pete has a wonderful tame pigeon named Dudley who loves his ball toys, and plays and throws them around so much, he has to go buy new ones, every so often.

I'm sure you will get alot of responses, from everyone.

pigeons adapt very well to their environment and love toys and other things if given to them. You have to experiment. as our pets, having different personalities, will prefer different things.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi and welcome -

Sounds like Paloma has found the right place 

If s/he is picking up seed happily enough and actually eating it rather than just moving it around or dropping it, then I'd continue like that . little pot of seed and the same of water.

If she doesn't seem to be actually eating the seed, then by all means help her out with some little dampened bread pellets (preferably yesterday's wholemeal, as it's healthier  ). If you have or can get dove mix, that would be fine for such a youngster, but bird seed contains goodness too.

If you gently lower Paloma's beak into a small pot of water, but only to below the nostrils, s/he may then drink automatically - they suck up water rather than drink like other birds. If you give her water with the bottle, just dropit into the front of her beak - avoids it squirting into her windpipe (but I'm sure you're doing that bit OK anyway).

Yes, they normally put the beak into the parent's mouth and then, as you saw, open it for the food. In fact, they often still beg for food even when old enough to start flying and eat for themselves 

Oh yes, pigeons very often like to perch on a brick or similar object .. it seems to be instinctive ... though maybe this one is too young to care yet.

John


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Fading dots,

Paloma sounds very young. Could you post a picture so we can get an idea of how old she is? If she will eat seed on her own, that is definitely the best food for her. Bread and water won't give her the necessary vitamins and proteins she needs. See if you can get some pigeon mix at a feed store. You can try taking a small glass, like a shot glass and guide her beak into the water. Pigeons suck up water with their beak like drinking it through a straw. She will get the hang of it eventually.
Thank you for taking in this little one. They make wonderful loving pets and are gentle and sweet birds.

Margarret


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## wildlife-rehab (Jul 8, 2007)

hello
i am currently rearing one of the same age
.
start with feeding him some of the seed so he gets used to the texture, leave a bowl of the seed in the cage/box with him so he also gets used to start picking it up, it is unlikely that he can do this straight away, they normally move it around on the floor for a while, and mostly look quite frustrated with it,
continue to hand feed him an alternate mixture of the seed and the soaked bread in the day, a pigeon of this age will proberly only need feeding 4 times a day now and can be left to work out how to pick up the seed.


good luck with your pigeon.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Hi Fadingdots...

I have a former racing homing pij who can no longer fly due to a partially amputated wing.

His home is a small pet cage: 29"Lx21"Hx23"H. It's big enough that he can flap his wings without touching the sides...

I also hung a bell in the back middle of the cage. When he is in "daddy" mode, he will sit in his nest basket, on his egg, and sometimes pecks at this bell. Sometimes he will grab the clapper and shake the heck out of it! His favorite time to do this, of course, is early in the morning, so I have to get up and let him OUT! His home is next to my bed but covered at night.

He also has a mirror that he sometimes pecks too. I tried the small cat balls with the bell inside but he wasn't that interested. I think Pete's Dudley is the expert in this area!

Besides, Squeaks has 3 cats to chase and keep in line...those are "his" toys!

Some members have stuffed beanie type pigeons that their birds love as their mates IF they are the only pij.

Others will be along with their suggestions and adventures!

WELCOME TO Pigeon-Talk!

    

Shi and Squeaks


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

*update!*

Taking care of Paloma has been time consuming!

I finally located my crappy point-and-shoot digital camera with a flash since it's been too dark when I get home to use my nifty digital slr, so here's some pictures of him; I think it's a him, actually.

((hrm, well, i tried to imput HTML links to the images, but it didn't seem to work, so I'll use this attachment thing for now.))



He's been squeaking up a storm every time either my boyfriend or I just look at him. And somehow, he ALWAYS knows when we're looking... He also charges our feet a lot, pecking at it, pecks at our hands and flaps his wings incessantly. I'm actually concerned about this frenzy he works himself into whenever I'm around.

I've been feeding him very little of the bread and water since he's been drinking when I tip the water cup at him and is able to peck seeds off the ground, out our hands and with some prodding, out of the bowl. But he never stops squeaking and flapping his feathers for more!

He's been starting to explore the apartment a bit, running around in "his room" for a few minutes at a time before plopping down for a nap. He's ALWAYS either running or sleeping.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Can I get you to look inside his beak and throat and see if you can find any little cheesy looking buttons? He's got an alopecia that I don't like the look of.

Pidgey


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

hrm... yea, he's got some cheesy looking gunk at the back of his throat.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

You need to get some Metronidazole pretty quickly...

Pidgey


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

where and how and it's already 8pm...?


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Where are you (basically)?


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

New York City.
I called animal hospitals and got referred to one with an emergency room that'll charge me a lot (as far as my budget goes) just to see the bird, plus extra for antibiotics.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Metronidazole is a drug that we often use against canker (not to be confused with cancer) which is an infection by a flagellating protozoa called a Trichomonad. The real name is Trichomoniasis. They usually all have it (the bug) but some come down with the clinical disease and some don't. There are milder and more severe strains. Your little fellow is showing that it has an inflammatory response going on by way of the lack of feathers in the region from the base of the beak through to the earholes. We've probably got a little time but we don't want to take much.

The drug can be gotten a few different ways but we're going to be in a little bit of a race here. There are some aquarium supply stores that will carry it as a product called "FishZole". There may be pigeon fanciers near you that we can tap for a little bit of that or a related product if necessary. There may also be a member near you with the stuff. We'll do our best to find the quickest way to take care of it or to help you do it.

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Where in NYC? Which neighborhood?

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

You'd really want to go to Animal General and talk to Karen if possible. However, we've got a few members there that might be able to help depending on your location.

Pidgey


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

Queens/Brooklyn border, in Ridgewood.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I'm going to give you the contact information for a fellow there. Do you know how to work the PM system?

Pidgey


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## sabina (Mar 11, 2006)

I'm in NYC and can get you some metronidazole, email me...

But Animal General definitely preferable option, that way can get full check-up for bird...


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, the cavalry has arrived.

Pidgey


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## sabina (Mar 11, 2006)

Pretty quick, huh? And I only check in once or twice a day these days...

So to explain a bit about Animal General, it's a vet hospital on the Upper West Side that sees feral birds for a donation through the Wild Bird Fund. Karen and Rita volunteer their services couple hours/day. So you give what you can (not required, but of course it's best to give something), and they do exam, fecal analysis, give you meds...etc.

So again, while I can get you the meds, it'd be much better to call them in the am and make an appt.


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

huzzah! and I sent you an email, Sabina.

Thank you for the warning Pidgey... I never would've guessed something was wrong, just figured the feathers hadn't grown in yet.


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

And I'll be sure to call them up first thing. Luckily, tomorrow is my day off so I can do whatever I need to to take care of Paloma.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, good. It's nice when things come together this easily. You should see some of the deals where folks live in the boonies.

You're welcome, by the way.

Pidgey


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Ain't this place just the greatest?????


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## sabina (Mar 11, 2006)

Meds will be in hand in half an hour...how's that for service?


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## sabina (Mar 11, 2006)

Oh she's going to have 500mg tablets, someone want to figure out dosing while I find myself some dinner?


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Can't tell the weight of the bird by looking because can't see the keel and chest. How are y'all going to meet--will you be able to see the bird? And how do you typically dose your Met, by dissolving in water or what?

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, supposing the bird weighs 200 grams and the dose will be 100 mg/kg, PO, BID then we're at 20 milligrams per dose for the bird, twice a day (let's go a week for now). If you're going to dissolve it then put half the tablet in 14 milliliters of water and give one milliliter per dose, twice daily. And crush the crud outa' the pill before you put it in and shake the fool outa' the water each time you draw a syringeful.

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, I understand that fadingdots (I get that sometimes after I've banged my head) will be picking up a prescription at a pharmacy. That said, it will be up to fadingdots to help with a best guess on the bird's weight as well as whether there is a syringe handy (unless that was included in the prescription) with which to do liquid dosing. It is possible to cut the pill up into pieces and that's not that bad to do but we'll just have to wait and see what fadingdots would rather do.

Pidgey


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

Ugh, subway left without me and I couldn't get to the pharmacy before it closed (four stops away was the only one open after 9pm). Now I'm just sweaty from running and worried for the lil bird.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, I don't think you're in that bad of danger at this point. If the bird's eating good, poops are coming out regularly and there's not horrific swelling then we've probably got that much time at least. 

Pidgey


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

he's eating and pooping solidly a lot.
I can't tell if there's any swelling (where would it be?), but there was a lot of cheesy gunk, that makes me nervous. At this point I'm happy he's so noisy cause at least it means he's doing alright.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

For now, consider the dosing stuff in the earlier posts and get with Sabina to help you through figuring out how you're going to actually dose the bird. I gotta' go home!

Pidgey


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## sabina (Mar 11, 2006)

I think now she'll just wait to go to AG, it would only be a couple hours difference anyway.


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

Aye, I'm waiting. He's still demanding food from me and running around, so I think he'll be ok for the next... 12 hours or so. He flaps his wings for food like a small child pounding its fists on the table.

I'll update tomorrow on how things go!


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

*Update!*

Paloma is doing great, Animal General is a really marvelous place!
They squeezed me in at 3pm because of his symptoms, gave me better tools for feeding him and a bunch of medicine. Turns out on top of the parasite, he has yeast problems. And they showed me how to administer the pill medication and gave me a syringe for the liquid.

We'll go back in two weeks for a check-up, but right now he's happy to be back in his home and not traveling by box on the subways!


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Go ahead and detail the meds. We sometimes use old threads (this one will be one someday) to point back to. And it helps us keep current, too.

Pidgey


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

He's taking Spartrix 10mg, one tablet orally once a day for five days, stopping treatment for 3 days, then starting up at the same regiment for another 5 days.

The liquid is called Nystatin and he's to take .5mL twice a day for 7 days.

I think he might've been overfed yesterday because he started regurgitating seeds last night while I slept. I'm keeping an eye on him in case it continues. If so, I'll call them again tomorrow to see what's up. His appetite continues to go strong, so I'm not too worried.


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## sabina (Mar 11, 2006)

The Spartrix sometimes makes them throw up, so it's best to give 2 hrs apart from food.


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

Update on Paloma:

I've been giving him his meds according to the labels and he seems to be doing alright. Always eating, always pooping... he learned how to get out of his house so we just let him run squealing from room to room when we're around to watch after him. And he certainly is a squeaky one...

Most of his yellow baby feathers are gone, but he's still losing some big feathers now and I don't think that should be happening? I'm going to make an appointment for a follow-up with Animal General in the next few days to make sure he's doing alright.

He eats on his own now when we leave a dish out with seeds and water. No flying, but he's climbing and jumping like a fiend. Since he's so active, it makes me think he's going to be alright. Everyone who comes by absolutely loves him and try to get him to perch on their shoulders or shoes or hands. He's so friendly and seems to enjoy the attention


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Sounds like Paloma is doing very well and probably going through a "baby" molt where the baby feathers are being shed and adult feathers coming in. Still, it's a good idea to have a "well baby checkup" at AG  Thank you for the good news update!

Terry


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for everything you have done to help the youngster, and please do update us again when necessary.


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## fadingdots (Jul 8, 2007)

Paloma died yesterday.

Unfortunately, he ran under my boyfriend's foot as he was stepping down from a chair and was crushed. He died in our hands just a few seconds afterwards, there was nothing we could do for him.

My boyfriend is devastated at being the cause of the death of our baby bird. I know we gave him the best life possible - cage-free, all the food he could stuff down his beak and constantly being the center of attention in ours and our visitors lives - but it was shorter than we thought it would be. Hell, we went away for just a couple days and had a friend stay over as a bird sitter to make sure he wasn't lonely or hungry.

We loved him so much.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

What a terrible tragedy. I am so very sorry for the loss of little Paloma. 

Terry


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

I am so sorry to hear of your loss of little Paloma. I know you gave him wonderful care and love and will him dearly. 

Margarret


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