# baby dove seems weak



## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

we found a dove about a week ago and have been feeding it chick food, he gulped it down all the time and his crop waqs always full, he is about 3 weeks and almost apart from his neck fully feathered. we had been mixing dog food with his feed but have not the last 2 days and he has started pecking at seed and a little water, we use a syring and rudder teat to feed him and all seemed well until this morning. last night we changed his original nest and put him in a new box covered in conifer leaved, he has a very soft cuddly toy to nestle upto or under. he has always been kept in doors in an even temperature. this morning he was cold and shivering and quite lifeless, although he seems to raise a little when feeding, his crop doesnt seem to be full anymore but lets us know when his had enough by constantly pulling away, i dont know what to do and im worried hes on the way out, my daughter would be inconsolably as we have let her look after him, with us monitoring her of course, any help would be great, thank you


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

gray1966 said:


> we found a dove about a week ago and have been feeding it chick food, he gulped it down all the time and his crop waqs always full, he is about 3 weeks and almost apart from his neck fully feathered. we had been mixing dog food with his feed but have not the last 2 days and he has started pecking at seed and a little water, we use a syring and rudder teat to feed him and all seemed well until this morning. last night we changed his original nest and put him in a new box covered in conifer leaved, he has a very soft cuddly toy to nestle upto or under. he has always been kept in doors in an even temperature. this morning he was cold and shivering and quite lifeless, although he seems to raise a little when feeding, his crop doesnt seem to be full anymore but lets us know when his had enough by constantly pulling away, i dont know what to do and im worried hes on the way out, my daughter would be inconsolably as we have let her look after him, with us monitoring her of course, any help would be great, thank you


although I won't be much help I'm afraid, others will be along shortly I'm sure. I'll go alert some members to your thread. In the meantime, can you tell us what the droppings look like? And is this a dove or a pigeon? Also, can you tell us where you are? We have members all over the world and you might get lucky and have someone near that could help. Hang in there...........


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi,

Best without the dog food ... did you mean soaked dog biscuits or real dog food out of a tin? 

What is the chick food the dove has had? We normally use Kaytee 'formula for all baby birds' or 'chick crumbs'.

It's good if he has been trying seeds and has learned to drink.

Does he poop all right? Should be quite firm little 'currants' with a blob of white .. if they are runny, or very green this would indicate a problem.

Is his mouth a healthy pink colour?

WHere are you approximately located, in case we know of anyone in the area who might be able to help - trying to figure what might be wrong without seeing a bird is difficult.

John


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

thanks, im in england, Essex.
Its a ringneck dove, or collard, cant remember, but its dropping are quite watery, and this morning green or water brown, not firm at all. he did get wet yesterday as he jumped from our bird table while we gave him some fresh air, into the bird bath, but it was a very hot day and he seemed to enjoy it, prob nothing, just trying to think of anything different that has happened that may have caused this


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hello,

Can you let us know where you are? There might be someone close by who could help.

Please put the dove on a heat pad or a hot water bottle covered in a towel so that she doesn't waste energy trying to keep warm.

Has her crop been emptying between feeds? If not, wait until it empties befpre feeding her again. If the crop is slow to empty instead of giving her more food give her warm water with a tiny pinch of bicarbonate of soda in it (I think that is called baking soda in the US).

You mentioned chick food...is this chick crumbs? Did you soak and liquidise or just feed them dry? 

Cynthia

Cynthia


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi, sorry to read you're having problems with this little dove.

First off, if he is shivering, he needs some heat to keep him from having to expend his energy shivering to keep warm. If you have a heating pad, place one under his cage part-way with one end off the pad so he can leave it if he gets too hot. You'll need to put a towel between the bottom of the cage and the heating pad. Check the bottom of his cage frequently to make sure its not too hot. Cover the top and 3 sides of the cage (on the outside) with either towels or even plastic to help keep the warmth in.

Could you please expand on exactly what and how much you are feeding him. Also, how is your daughter feeding him? About how long is the rubber teat?

Also, I don't know if conifer leaves are an appropriate bedding material. If he only got this way after you started using this then I would remove it immediately and simply use towels (cloth or paper).


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

Been feeding him chick crumbs, no brand name, soaked and then liquidised, added a chunck or two of dog food, meat as i read it ups the protein levels, only small amount though in plenty of crumb and water, just thick enough it doesnt pour out the bottle when we feed her but like i said have dropped the dog food last couple of days, he looks fine, just not as energetic


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

he was nesting in a conifer tree when we found the nest but its so dirty now we changed it last night, the feed has been about 30ml 3-4 times a day and this was built up gradually though and the hole in the bottle is about 2 ml wide with a 5ml rubber teat


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Leave off the meat dog food and try to pick up the Kaytee Exact because it is a very good product for seed eating birds like your little dove.


I would cut back on the amount to about 15 cc 3 x a day. He may be eating too much! Sometimes, their little crops just can't handle that amount.

Think I would still take out the conifer. There may be something in the leaves that is harmful. I really don't know but "better safe etc."


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

He could have picked up something from the birdbath if it had been used by other birds.

Cynthia


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

It might be a good idea to give your little dove a pro biotic to help combat any bad bacteria she might have picked up. I use Avipro Plus, but natural yoghurt is also a good probiotic. Just don't give it cold from the fridge, let it warm to body temperature first.

Cynthia


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

possible i suppose but we had only put it out about an hour before, the only changes have been, no dog food, new nesting in its box, getting wet, thats all i can think of, oh and taking it into the garden as it was trying to fly a little so we gave it plenty of room to practise, maybe its just worn out, out house is very warm and it has always stayed indoors, it was quite warm last night so i cant see how he felt cold?


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Unfortunately no one seems to stock Kaytee Exact in the UK , John and I have looked everywhere. But chick crumbs soaked in hot (not boiling) water for half an hour and then liquidised are fine...I agree with Maggie, though, 30 mls 3-4 times a day does seem a lot for a collared dove! Try the 15mls and see how he gets along.

Cynthia


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

just plain yoghurt?


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

i will take the conifer out, already have thanks, even though he seems to be eating, although it is definatly less, his crop doesnt seem to be filling at all?


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Thinking about him getting wet, that could have a temporary effect, if it's the first time he has been exposed to water. Doves and pigeons have to develop their 'waterproofing' oil, and he probably hasn't. Even if adult birds are kept inside a while, they can lose much of the ability to shed water quickly. I gave one of our disabled pigeons a little bath a couple of weeks back, but as she hadn't been in water or rain for quite a time, she got very wet and shivered afterwards despite it being a pleasant, warm day. I took her inside, half wrapped her in a towel and gave her a session with a hair drier on warm, and she was fine again. I think she enjoyed that more than the bath!

I've noticed that any doves we've had, including our pet dove who lives with the pigeons and woodpigeons, seem quite reluctant to bathe, strangely enough.

John


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

i hope im replying to these ok, thanks to everyone for your help, couple more thing though if i may, how old before he flies the nest, and how long to wean him totally of mix and onto seed, and what seed is best, sorry, 1st time lol


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Doves fledge very quickly, between 17 and 21 days, so he should be on an all seed diet pretty soon.

I have found that they like the smaller seeds, wild bird seed with the black sunflower seeds removed initially should be OK. 

Make certain that he is waterproof by spraying him with a mister every day. and a strong and agile flier before release.

Cynthia


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

if he shows an interest in seed, and even if he is eating some, you could try mixing some softened seeds in with the chick crumbs as a top up if he doesn't eat enough by himself at first. He'll only need feeding twice a day, anyway - bearing in mind what's been said about his crop needing to empty, of course - which can be discontinued when you see him taking to the seed and water pots regularly.

Some pet shops (like Pets at Home) used to sell little bags of dove mix, don't know if they still do. Certainly some stores would have it, as people do keep domestic ring necks (same family as collared dove). Otherwise, wild bird seed should be OK, or plain old mixed corn, which is mostly grains like wheat and barley, with some small bits of maize in the mix.

Doves actually fledge pretty quick - in the wild, brought up by parents, they'd be flying OK after 3 weeks. Those raised by people grow up more slowly.

John


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

Thanks cynthia, when his on all seed then, how much do we feed him? or will he just eat until his had enough? should we start misting him now then?


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

thanks john


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Once they are self feeding I let them eat as much as they want.  They have seed available all day.

Cynthia


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## gray1966 (Aug 7, 2007)

Thanks again cynthia


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi again.

I would mist him a little about every other day and it shouldn't take long for him to get water proofed.

We have mourning doves here in North Carolina and it seems to me they mature faster than pigeons. One thing we do is keep small seed and water available in their cages all the time. He will start eating on his own any day now but I would continue to hand feed him until you see he is eating well. Once we see ours are pecking pretty well, we will cut out the mid day hand feeding and after a few more days, cut out the morning feed. After a few more days we stop the evening feed and for the next couple of days watch them carefully and also weigh them to make sure they're not losing too much weight. They will lose a few grams initially but that's ok. You can measure the amount of feed you put in their bowl each morning and the next morning when you put in fresh, measure the old and you can see how much he is eating.

Oh, about the yogurt. Plain is best and I add about half a teaspoon to their formula. It really helps them.

Too, don't worry about your replies - you're doing just fine.


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