# I am desparate for some good advices for my baby pigoen.



## mgniayang (Apr 21, 2010)

First of all, i am in the Fresno area. Second, my story is we have a small pigoen pen w/ up to 6 couples. We have a particular female pigeon that will hatch the eggs but won't take care of them after. 

My SITUATION is that i have decided to take care of the surviving baby. I have been researching and now i am hand feeding it with a syringe w/ KAYTEE baby bird formula. 


MY CONCERNS ARE:
I didn't know that the food must always be warm and can only be used right after it was made. i am afraid it might die because the food is cold.

It's five days old now and it is very TINY. 

The eyes haven't opened yet.

It is getting very difficult to feed Baby because it likes to move alot. 

i am afraid of hurting Baby when feeding Baby w/ syringe. I don't know how much force to use because one time i tried to have a steady hand but than Baby kept moving and it ( i think) bent. Now towards the back of Baby's beak is kind of grayish/purple. 

I want Baby to survive, but i have never done this before. I need good in depth details and advices on how to properly feed and take care of a Baby pigeon for the first 2 weeks and so on. PLEASE HELP. It would mean the world to me.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

First of all, if the food is not getting through the crop because it is not warm enough,increase the ambient temprature a bit and put it on a warm hot water bottle wrapped in a towel or warm up some rice in a sock for a couple of minutes, make certain it is warm but not too hot and lie the baby on that. That should get the crop moving. You could also feed it a very little infant sauce. Don't feed it again until the crop empties because the fresh food will just sit on the cold stuff. Then in future warm the food to 39C before feeding. Hotter than that it could scald the crop, so be careful.

Here is a link to a site that explains what to feed babies and how to feed them. It also has a link to a page that provides photos of day-to-day development, so that you can judge whether its growth is too small. The site is aimed at UK rescuers, but should help.:

http://pigeonrescueuk.webs.com/rescuingababypigeon.htm

Can you also provide a photo and let us know what it weighs? If its growth is retarded that can be correceted.... a few years ago we found that a rescuer was feeding a Europan Wood Pigeon far too little, we had to travel down to see her when it was a week old and demonstrated the syringe and balloon method of feeding and the baby thrived after that.

I am hoping that a member in yoiur area might respond and have a look at the baby for you.
This is the link to the baby pigeon development page:

http://www.mumtazticloft.com/BabyPigeons.asp

Feefo


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## mgniayang (Apr 21, 2010)

*Thank You.*

Does it help to know that it does poop, and how should the poop look like?


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Yes, the poop quantity, consistency and colour can be important.

Feefo


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## mgniayang (Apr 21, 2010)

*ok!*

so the poop looks like it has gone through the intestines but when it comes out it's more of a clump. it is the color of the Kaytee baby bird formula i feed it but darker. it is also followed with some liquid and little films of white stuff. Is that normal. i shall take pictures of everything to better aid hose that can help me with my concerns...Soooo, it is a good sign that Baby is pooping right, it means that food is getting digested? One more thing, Baby (the baby pigeon) squeaks at night and i do usually feed it throughout the night if it squeaks, but the site you showed me says that i should stop feeding it if the crop looks full or start feeding it again if the crop looks less full, more empty. Right baby's crop looks full but was squeaking earlier, but now has stopped.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

The poops sound OK to me, but is he growing?

These are the guidelines that I have used for hand rearing, but the quantities are only guidelines, crop sizes vary so you have to keep an eye on that. The crop should be like a squidgy 3/4 full balloon when the pigeon has had enough.

Naked baby pigeons will have two little yellow lumps on their shoulders that become visible when the crop is full. If you see that happen stop feeding (I will try to find a photo!).

At about 1-2 days old the baby only gets 1 cc of food (very thin formula, 1 part powder to 5 parts water + probiotics) every 2 hours by handfeeding .

-Day 3-4 the amount can be doubled to about 3 cc every 3-4 hours or so and the formula should be a tiny bit thicker.

-Day 5-7 you can feed 10-11 cc every 5 hours and the formula should be thicker.

After day 7 you can reduce to 6 hourly feeds.

Feefo


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

White 'films'?

Should be White Paste for Urates...and...Brown ( usually for Babys,) fecal matter.

White films on fecal matter can suggest a Yeast infection...which is probable if Baby has not been consistantly kept adequately warm...and or if food is left sitting before feeding...feeding food which is not about body-temp, thus chilling the Baby...etc.

Food needs to be 'soupy' also, as well as close to body temperature...Babys dehydrate easily otherwise, or, do not get adequate hydration, slowing everything down...

Ample white Urates are a good marker of Baby getting enough water/Hydration with feed times...


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## mgniayang (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes, b4 i did not know that food must always be fresh and cannot be left sitting. THANK YOU. Right now it is about 5-6 days old should the food still be soupy? keep in mind that it is fairly small and that i have feeding the formula at a puddy like substance, NOT soupy. Last but not least how should i nurse it back it proper health.


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## mgniayang (Apr 21, 2010)

it is about five-six days old and is barely getting bigger. I read somewhere that hand fed pigeon develop slower, is it true? Right now i am just very afraid of the food in its crop going sour and harmful. Baby is very warm right now and ihope that it can digest properly before i feed him/her again. Baby is right next to me and through it seems to be sleeping, it is twitching alot and even sqeaks. Equivalent to a person sleep talking.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

Only mix as much Kaytee as you are going to use for 1 feeding at a time. I use 1 scoop Kaytee to 2 scoops warm water. (do the wrist test)
For single babies, I always put a little stuffed animal in for them to snuggle with. They get lonely and if they hear you up and about they'll start squeaking for attention and companionship also. 
I use the "bottle method", once they get the hang of it, it's much easier - they do all the work Good luck


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Don't let it get too warm...remember that they can't move away from direct heat. If it opens its beak it means it is overheated. 80C should be OK.

This is a picture of the air bubbles on the shoulders (indicated by the arrows). You will notice that the crop on the arrowed baby is stretched, which means he has been overfilled:


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## Tayzi (Apr 10, 2010)

I am currently rearing a 15 day old Dove, who I found when he was 3 days old. He has had problems with gaining weight and was tiny, then on day 11 he started to put weight on. It is worrying but with the help of this site and especially Feefo and Amyable, who have been wonderfull things seem to be progressing well.
He also has the white in his poops I too had to ask all these questions, and you might find it a good idea if its taking time to feed him put his food bowl over a dish of hot water to keep it warm, but remember not to let it get too hot, and check the temperature before continuing to feed him.
And Splat too twitches when he sleeps and makes little squeaky sounds, must be dreaming!
Good Luck with the little one, and try to post a pic.
Rachel


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I am so glad you posted, Rachel! I was going to send you a link, it is so much more helpful and reassuring to be able to discuss things with someone who is also hand raising a baby.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

squeaking even when full is normal baby pigeon behavior, if we fed them every time they were squeaking they wouldn't make it and would just blow up i swear, they see movement, hear something, see something move, the wind blows they squeak.
i usually put a heating pad on low under the kennel or cage i am keeping them in.
for little ones i use a shallow bowl lined with lots and lots of paper towels to make them cozy and replace with clean ones every time i feed.
i also cover most of the cage to help keep the heat in until they start feathering.
the poops looking like the food means he wasn't digesting the food properly which hopefully will improve with warmth and warm food.
i eyeball the kaytee mixing a little hot water in then letting it sit 30 seconds or so and adding a little more hot water if it's too thick.


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## mgniayang (Apr 21, 2010)

*Charging a leg and an arm.*

DAMN! I know that vet fees are important so that they can continue to help people, but DAMN. It is $52.60 for an exam, beak to feet, for my baby pigoen! Is there anyone who can help me out? i feel FREAKIN hopeless BUT i will not give up!


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

This clinic has a doctor that can see your pigeon. I have told them that you baby many have canker in the crop.
The doctor is there Monday-Thursday...9:30- 11:45 am. He has some time available The cost of consultaion is $47.50, half the amount of the cost in my city. Of course it's totally up to you what you do but I wanted you to have the information so you can decide for yourself.
Best of luck.

Central Veterinary Hospital 5245 Central Ave Fremont, CA 94536-6532 (510) 797-7387;


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## mgniayang (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes Baby looks like the one in the picture to the left! right now i am waiting for the crop to god own. it is down but now i notice lumps! What can it be? what can i do? i have been advise to give Baby luke warm water to help it go down. So i gave it a few drop s of luke warm water. Baby is warm but i have not fed it a whole alot since 12:30. This morning i fed it a little 4-5 small pumps w/ the syringe until i saw the crop and became concern.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

mgniayang said:


> Yes Baby looks like the one in the picture to the left! right now i am waiting for the crop to god own. it is down but now i notice lumps! What can it be? what can i do? i have been advise to give Baby luke warm water to help it go down. So i gave it a few drop s of luke warm water. Baby is warm but i have not fed it a whole alot since 12:30. This morning i fed it a little 4-5 small pumps w/ the syringe until i saw the crop and became concern.


Have you ever raised a baby pigeon before?


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## mgniayang (Apr 21, 2010)

No. This is the first time i have ever raised a baby pigeon. I am very new to hand feeding. I have raised chicks before using an incubater, but this is totaly different.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

They are very different. A common mistake newbe's make is to continue feeding when the baby's crop already has food in it. Baby pigeons squeel and beg to be fed even when they are full.
Another common mistake is not keeping the baby warm enough. 
Yet another, not feeding enough as the baby grows.


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