# how do you open a baby pigeon's beak?



## esprit (Jun 2, 2004)

Pl can you help, we've just found a small/baby pigeon on our street in the South of France ... 

WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO FEED IT! We've tried with brown bread in water or milk and it has made movements towards the food but it refuses to open its beak. 

The problem is we don't know how to open the beak without hurting it.

We've read some advice on feeding but we don't have a syringe or similiar type of equipment or any food - it is late at night here.

It's got feathers on the wing and a little bit of down left - although it is completly bald in places (feather pecked??). It seems to have been injured from the fall (blood underneath the wing).

It would be fanastic if you could offer any emergency advice!!


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## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello there and thanks for rescuing the little one









Sounds like you have a squeaker, check out baby sara's pics on the front page to determine the proper age.

Does your baby look something like this? Bigger or younger?
http://community.webshots.com/photo/147972005/148751883XfiAuf 

If he looks like the one in the pic or is even a bit larger then you can get some dog food (not cat food!) and soak it in some water, cut it into bite size pieces and gently open the beak by putting your hand around his head.. Holding his beak open using your index finger and thumb then with your right hand put a piece of food in his mouth and he should swallow. 
Be sure not to get anything in that hole behing the tongue as that is the windpipe and he could easily aspirate or choke.
He should swallow it nicely then you feed until his crop feels full or looks puffy.. This is a crop btw.
<A HREF="http://community.webshots.com/photo/131657719/147118339rKbsAx" TARGET=_blank> http://community.webshots.com/photo/131657719/147118339rKbsAx[/url] 
http://community.webshots.com/photo/145462642/147164212pyMJMc 

Or this: note the pigeon on the right with an empty crop before feeding and the one on the left just got fed and he has a big crop!









If you have any other questions please post..

Mary




[This message has been edited by maryco (edited June 02, 2004).]


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## Falcon-Rider (May 27, 2004)

Try pinching his beak gently on the sides(don't conver his nostrils), if he's hungry (which I assume he is) he'll stand up and stretch up toward up. I have fed a young baby succesfully by using a plasitc sandwhich bag with my hand inside and food kinda in a folded in portion so my fingers could pinch his beak from the outside and his beak would be in the food. if his nostrils get covered clean them off quickly though!


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## crabby21 (Jun 4, 2004)

Hi Espirit --

I find myself taking care of two young pigeons (one under two weeks, the other a bit older). Both have physical problems. I was having a difficult time feeding Bird -2, the older one, and a local agriculture department vet suggested the following, which really seems to work: She told me to take my hand and make a tunnel with my fist, and put it over the baby's beak and eyes (she said birds often look to feed in a dark tunnel as it reminds them of their parent's beak). She did what she described and, voila, the bird parted his his/her beak WIDE OPEN! ( I had been struggling to pry the birds beak open, etc. up until this point.) We have noticed that B-2 will do this until he is full, and more when he likes what we are putting in (papaya and mango are his favorites, but he needs a balanced diet, so we continue to feed him baby "gruel" made of human baby soy milk, water, chick starter feed, and human infant oatmeal cereal -- we do not have access to parakeet/parrot infant food here, but I am having some sent to me). Hope this works.


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