# Baby pigeon,dove???how do i feed



## cally (Sep 4, 2005)

Yesterday my son brought a baby bird in from the garden which had fallen from the nest into the river at the back of our garden.We have put it in a box with some straw and have been feeding it wholemeal bread soaked in milk which we place in side its beak after carefully opening it as it will not open it on its own.Not sure if this is the correct way though dont want to harm the poor little mite.
Please could you advise what to feed it and how not sure if it is a wood pigeon,collard dove which we get a lot of in soth east england were we live.
i have attached a file of the bird.
look forward to hearing from you cally


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Thank you and your son for rescuing this little baby.
Please do not give him any milk, and the bread doesn't really have any nutritional value for pigeons.
This could be a wood pigeon, I am not sure, but we do have UK members who are very knowledgeable about them. I am sure they will be online soon to give you more advice.


Reti


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hello and Welcome to Pigeons.com

Thank you for rescuing this young pigeon.

Please do not give the bird any milk as dairy is not good for them.

Can you pick up a baby bird feeding formula? It will provide the necessary nutrients for the bird.

If not please go to the daily forum under resources, and there are various methods to feed them and formula to make.

Cynthia will be along soon, she lives in England and will have more resources available in your "neck of the woods".


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi Cally,

Baby pigeons and doves feed by inserting their beaks into the parent's mouth and being given food from the adult's crop.

The way to feed by hand is, as far as possible, to simulate this natural method.

We have found that a large diameter syringe with the tip end cut off, and a piece of vetwrap, self adhesive bandage or any piece of cloth placed over the end with elastic band to keep on, and cross-shaped slits cut in it workds well. The plunger can be slowly depressed to push the food up, having guided the bird's beak into the hole, being careful not to cover the nostrils.

A very makeshift alternative could be a small polythene bag (like a little food bag) with a corner cut off for the bird's beak, gently squeezed to push the food forward for the baby.

Even one of those disposable paper cake icing baggies would do, provided the end is big enough to take the baby's beak.

The food we generally use is Kaytee Exact hand rearing formula for baby birds (Petsmart / Pets At Home) or chick crumbs mixed with warm water.

Human baby food can also be given at a pinch (a liquidy mix, chicken flavor).

Complan is another alternative until something more suitable is obtained.

If none of that is available, you could feed small pieces of 'puppy chow' by hand. 

Ensure the baby is kept warm and quiet, and not in bright sunlight.

John


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

*PS: bird and animal hospitals*

Cally,

If you are anywhere near Horsted Keynes, there is Carla Lane's 'animaline' wildlife sanctuary and hospital. They care for pigeons and doves amongst many others.

If you are anywhere around Chichester area, then there is Brent Lodge Bird & Wildlife Hospital.

John


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## cally (Sep 4, 2005)

*just fed him*

Thankyou for your quick replys i have just gone to the shop and all that is available on a sunday is baby food or wetabix.I gave him some chicken flavoured baby food in a syrindge with the top cut of and the piece of cloth and he seems to have taken some down so hopefully that will do him good.John i dont live near any of those animal rescue places but i will look into it and see whever there are any near us,Thanks again ,
Cally


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

That's good. Ideally, when baby bird has fed, the crop should be fairly full - that is, squidgy like a beanbag, but not tightly stretched. 

We know that using the syringe method can be quite messy sometimes, and there is wastage, so it is difficult to know exactly how much the bird has had.

They are fed again when the crop feels flat and empty.

Oh, waste food can stick to their feathers, so they need wiping down with a warm wet cloth after 

Pics of a really young baby being fed, in this post:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=83575&postcount=5

John


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Cally,

Chicken flavoured baby food (the sort Heinz make, in a jar) is a good choice.

Serve it at body temperature (I think pigeons are a tiny bit warmer than we are) and let him eat until his crop is soft and cushiony.

Another suitable food is chick crumbs soaked in warm (not boiling water) and liquidised.

Can you provide a photo of him in your hand (that will enable us to tell whether he is a wood pigeon or a collared dove). 

This is a link to a thread about hand raising a wood pigeon: http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=10531&referrerid=560 (I have him now, he is gorgeous!)

And this (despite the title...we got it wrong!) is a link to a thread about hand raising a collared dove:http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=11226&referrerid=560 

Cynthia


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## cally (Sep 4, 2005)

*update*

Hi and thankyou for all your help  ,bird is doing well and feeding really good now been out and bought some Kaytee baby bird food and have been feeding every 3-4 hours here is a picture of him as you asked for,
Cally


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## cally (Sep 4, 2005)

I have managed to keep this pigeon alive and he is doing really well but i am wondering when to start feeding him some solid food as he has grown all his feathers now and is starting to refuse me feeding him with the syrindge unless he is really hungry.Could you please tell me what would be the best thing to move onto i have some bird seed.  
Thankyou for your help,
Cally


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi cally, 


What a pretty youngster Wood Pigeon you have there...!

Now, I am used to raising orphan Baby 'Liva', and often Baby doves also, which differ somewhat from the Wood Pigeon in diet and habitat, but most all concerns apply to them all regardless.

Yours is intended to eat a variety of dried Seeds, soft 'fresh' on-the-staulk Seeds, little Berries and tender shoots of vegetation...possibly the odd garden Slug or what.

Likely, his being used to the end of the syringe now, you could instead, gently guide his nuzzleing Beak into a small deep container (such as an old fashioned 'Eye Cup' or a shot Glass) of whole small Seeds and cut up dried Berries and bits of tender greens...

"Goji Berries" are likely available at your local Health Food Store ad may be cut easily into bite-sized bits for the young Beak useing Scizzors...

White Safflower Seeds would prolly be nice, as would Milo and Millet and even Steel Cut Oats, some Parakeet Seed, and some Grit for that matter...and you may lightly coat them in some fresh new Bottle Olive Oil which will oblige various additional powdered suppliments to adhere to them.

Such supplimets may be powdered or fine flaked Sea Weed, powdered pro-biotics, some "Chlorella", powdered 'Super Greens' of about any kind, (get these at any Health food Store) "Nekton-T" or it's likes, beig an avian Vitamine and Mineral suppliment ( get on line by doing a 'google' to order by mail) a little pinch of powdered Garlic even...

Keeping your finger tips initially anyway, for the first few times untill he gets the hang of it, on the sides of his Beak as you so guide it, he will likely 'gobble' these Seeds and so on about the same as his means of eating when his Beak is in the end of the diaphram-syringe...but he will likely need to "feel" your finger tips gently there on his Beak's sides for it to feel 'right'.

This, as an intermediate phase, lets him discover both the tactile and visual association for the Seeds and little chunks of Berries and so on to be recognised as food and for them to be of interest for subsequet pecking experiments to eat them...

After some rounds of this excerecise, you may also peck with him at these sorts of items, having them in a little pile on a white towell which intimates grazeing activities rather than say just in a bowl ( which towell, and having them lightly piled so they will scatter a little, makes it easier for the neophyte pecking Bird to identify them and to grasp them in his Beak)....


...just 'peck' with him useing your index finger in a crook'd position, commenting even as you do so on how nice and tastey and so on these little Seeds and Berries are...and how proud of him you are with his pecking and so on...

Have fun...!

Looks like a sweetie...a big Baby!

I have had quite a few really small Baby Doves lately and so yours looks HUGE in comparison! - some of them when I got them were only about the size of your's head...so yours looks BIG to me now...

Lol...

...show us some new, current images..!


Phil
Las Vegas


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Wild bird food is OK to start, but better if you can get some mixed corn - that is, generally, grains like wheat and barley with some maize mixed in. Alternatively, as he is just a youngster, some purpose mixed dove food. A good pet store should have one or both of those. 

It can be put in a small pot, and at first leave a little scattered in his living quarters. he should begin pecking at it, but can be encouraged with pecking motions of the finger.

At this stage, if he begins to peck and eat, he will need another little pot of water. At first he may not realize what is in the pot, but an be shown by gently immersing his beak below the nostrils, and he may then just slurp a little water up.

Eventually, when he gets onto bigger and harder food, he will need pigeon grit - but no hurry yet.

Once he shows some curiosity, leave him a while to see if he will eat by himself. If he doesn't eat, or only a little (check his crop), then he can be syringe fed. 

At his age, many youngsters will start to pick up and eat seed when available, but still be begging parent for food.

John


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## cally (Sep 4, 2005)

Hi, i tried pecking at the food with my fingers and to my surprise straight away he started to copy me and feed himself,he is so amazing he has also started to perch on the edge of his box and flap his wings and jump down again.Here are some photos of him he has really grown since the last one i sent.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

OMG, he is such a sweetie.
You did a great job with him. He looks wonderful.

Reti


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for helping this baby! Great job!

You can also see if he will take a drink for you now. Gently tip his head into a fresh bowl of water, leaving nostrils out of water. He may surprise you again and take a drink. If he does he will soon be weaned on the seeds.

You can leave a tip proof small bowl of water out for him and seeds, so he can practice while you are not there.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Well done, Cally. You have an intelligent woodie there 

John


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Cally, great job! He is gorgeous. maggie


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## krithi (May 30, 2015)

Hi everyone, i need suggestion. I found a fledgling abandoned in a building. Snakes and cats were there in the lawn so i took him home. he seems to be quiet healthy and calls me when he is hungry. He will open his mouth and i feed him by spoon or ink filler. initially i was giving boiled rice and moong beans. his faeces has beans in not digested form. i soaked urad dal, moong beans, ground nut soaked over night and ground make it paste next day. He enjoys his food. My doubt is is this right food for him? By the way i donno what kind of bird he is. He is trying to fly but he couldnt. His legs are very weak. Kindly suggest me good idea to raise him. also he is not so active. he is sleeping almost all the day and wakes up only for food. What should i do to make him active. Im not keeping him in cage. i allow him to fly or walk all around the home. But he is so inactive. in rare cases he jumps over me ans climbs my hand. Thats very rare. Help him being active. please.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You should start your own thread, that way will get more responses.

This is not a dove or pigeon baby. Looks to me like the young of a insect eating bird. Lets see if others agree with me on that.

Best food to feed will then be dried catfood soaked in warm water till soft and fed to the bird with a tweezer.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Also recommend tint mealworms or very small crickets which you can get at the pet store, or worms from a feed, sporting goods, or tackle store although you have to cut up the large worms to baby size pieces. Also you might want to offer veggie or fruit pieces. Cute little guy!


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