# Orphaned pigeon care



## Zeeknos (Feb 3, 2012)

I took in a male and fEmale pigeon that were rescued. Bonded in September. Several clutches! No success. Finally, the mama is sitting on two young Monday night. I am ecstatic and take a photo. I leave them alone Tuesday and go back to their cote Wednesday night and the mother is laying dead on the food counter. She was so fat and healthy! I am still in shock but have found several respurces to learnfrom including this page. They are in my shop in an aquarium on a heatig pad and hay bedding. I have fed them for two days now and got some kaytee exact tonight. They loved it. What now? The male is not interested. How long do I feed them? When do I put them back? Will the male kill them? What happened to Mom? Can my pigeons and doves share an aviary?
Thanks,
Zeeknos


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Zeeknos said:


> I took in a male and fEmale pigeon that were rescued. Bonded in September. Several clutches! No success. Finally, the mama is sitting on two young Monday night. I am ecstatic and take a photo. I leave them alone Tuesday and go back to their cote Wednesday night and the mother is laying dead on the food counter. She was so fat and healthy! I am still in shock but have found several respurces to learnfrom including this page. They are in my shop in an aquarium on a heatig pad and hay bedding. I have fed them for two days now and got some kaytee exact tonight. They loved it. What now? The male is not interested. How long do I feed them? When do I put them back? Will the male kill them? What happened to Mom? Can my pigeons and doves share an aviary?
> Thanks,
> Zeeknos


Sounds like you're going to have to do the whole process your self. If the male is showing disinterest, he's probably not going to take them back.

How old are these babies? I'm I right in thinking about 5 days?

Here's some general info (I'm sure you know lots of this, just covering some bases.) 

When the babies have all the feathers around their beaks (like right up against the cere,) they'll be ready to wean. I can't remember how many weeks this is with pigeons right now...



> Keeping a baby warm
> 
> For the first 10-14 days of its life a pigeon will be brooded by its parents, so a rescued one will need a gentle source of heat. Do not place them in front of the fire or in direct sunshine as they can overheat and die.
> 
> ...


http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/caringforababypigeon.htm


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Zeeknos said:


> I took in a male and fEmale pigeon that were rescued. Bonded in September. Several clutches! No success. Finally, the mama is sitting on two young Monday night. I am ecstatic and take a photo. I leave them alone Tuesday and go back to their cote Wednesday night and the mother is laying dead on the food counter. She was so fat and healthy! I am still in shock but have found several respurces to learnfrom including this page. They are in my shop in an aquarium on a heatig pad and hay bedding. I have fed them for two days now and got some kaytee exact tonight. They loved it. What now? The male is not interested. How long do I feed them? When do I put them back? Will the male kill them? What happened to Mom? Can my pigeons and doves share an aviary?
> Thanks,
> Zeeknos


Specifically which kind of doves.

Mostly, I'm going to say it's not a good idea. It's been done before with varying degrees of success. I've heard of aggressive/pushy ringnecks getting themselves into fights and getting severely injured by pigeons. 

This also depends what kind of pigeons?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Zeeknos said:


> I took in a male and fEmale pigeon that were rescued. Bonded in September. Several clutches! No success. Finally, the mama is sitting on two young Monday night. I am ecstatic and take a photo. I leave them alone Tuesday and go back to their cote Wednesday night and the mother is laying dead on the food counter. She was so fat and healthy! I am still in shock but have found several respurces to learnfrom including this page. They are in my shop in an aquarium on a heatig pad and hay bedding. I have fed them for two days now and got some kaytee exact tonight. They loved it. What now? The male is not interested. How long do I feed them? When do I put them back? Will the male kill them? What happened to Mom? Can my pigeons and doves share an aviary?
> Thanks,
> Zeeknos


You may want to get their droppings tested to see if they maybe harboring a disease, The hen died for a reason so you would want to try to figure that out if you can..if not then I would take the cock bird and have his droppings tested as well. The young can go in the cote when they know how to eat on their own and fly well. I would use a net at first.


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## Zeeknos (Feb 3, 2012)

*Orphaned baby update*

Everyone who replied, thank you very much for your thoughtful and helpful posts. The babies are, to the best of my reckoning, at least 10 days old now and doing well on Kaytee Exact. From what I have been learning here and elsewhere, sounds like I should soon be able to try them out on soft peas or corn. 

The pigeon people at this website have a significant amount of respect not only for life, but also for these birds. I have had ringneck doves for years and love them but hadn't found a similar community of interest til now. But pigeons are new to me.

I was never around pigeons except to remove their bodies from the roofs of manufacturing buildings when I was younger. They would winter on our roofs near exhaust vents by the dozens and many would die there. I learned to fear their diseased carcasses, thanks to the stories of co-workers. The two I have are rescued from manufacturing buildings where people tried to harm them.

My reading tells me they have many diseases. I have two questions: how does one best protect them from disease and how does one keep from catching their diseases? I suspect that, as with most things, proper sanitation and cleanliness goes a long way, but I am looking to allay fears here with stories perhaps long overdue about the virtues of having these birds around. Since I doubt I will ever have them around more than a few at a time, I think their relative isolation also will help. 

Thanks, again, everyone!
Zeeknos


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Zeeknos said:


> Everyone who replied, thank you very much for your thoughtful and helpful posts. The babies are, to the best of my reckoning, at least 10 days old now and doing well on Kaytee Exact. From what I have been learning here and elsewhere, sounds like I should soon be able to try them out on soft peas or corn.
> 
> The pigeon people at this website have a significant amount of respect not only for life, but also for these birds. I have had ringneck doves for years and love them but hadn't found a similar community of interest til now. But pigeons are new to me.
> 
> ...


You are very unlikely to get diseases from birds. Unless you eat their future eggs raw or something like that. Even then the risk is minimal unless you have mice in your house to give the birds salmonella that would then show up in the eggs. Generally, you will get diseases from other mammals more than anything. Going out in public with humans is much more dangerous to your health. 

Wash your hands before and after handling each bird until you're sure they're healthy and you'll be fine. Also, keep their enclosures clean to help them stay healthy. Do not use anything fumey to clean with. Vinegar and vinegar water are great and safe. Healthcare with pigeons is the same as it would have been with your ringneck doves. They're related. 

What symptoms of disease do these babies show? I don't see where you've mentioned fluffing/fever or bad poops?

Did you ever find out what happened to the mom bird? Old age? disease?


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## Woodnative (Jul 4, 2010)

As Libis said you are fine. I assume they have been sprayed for external parasites (mites, lice). Even these are bird and in some cases pigeon specific. The biggest risk people can get from pigeons have to deal with moldy droppings in damp, enclosed buildings. Some fanciers also have allergies to droppings from dealing with the dust of lots and lots of pigeons in enclosed dusty lofts for many years. You will unlikely ever catch anything from your pets there and are more likely to catch something from a mammal pet. Use common sense as with all animals, wash hands after handling and keep them healthy with a good diet and keep their living quarters clean within reason.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Woodnative said:


> As Libis said you are fine. I assume they have been sprayed for external parasites (mites, lice). Even these are bird and in some cases pigeon specific. The biggest risk people can get from pigeons have to deal with moldy droppings in damp, enclosed buildings. Some fanciers also have allergies to droppings from dealing with the dust of lots and lots of pigeons in enclosed dusty lofts for many years. You will unlikely ever catch anything from your pets there and are more likely to catch something from a mammal pet. Use common sense as with all animals, wash hands after handling and keep them healthy with a good diet and keep their living quarters clean within reason.


If you find that you are allergic to dust, and come to have more than 4 birds (not just pigeons, but also counting dusty parrots such as cockatiels) in your house, you might invest in a Honeywell HEPA air filter. I did and it's helped with my indoor allergies (we have 12 birds, 2 cats, and a dog in the house.)


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## Zeeknos (Feb 3, 2012)

Zeeknos here. I have a confession to make. I do not know what breed these pigeons are. I googled images and ran through them and kept seeing images of racing pigeons that match the cock and hen I took in. They look like run of the mill pigeons to me. This is from a guy who still spelled their name with a "d" until a few months ago.


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## Woodnative (Jul 4, 2010)

Photo? They were probably ferals.....basically the "wild" pigeons of our cities and farms. Most of them revert to wild type, blue bar or blue checked pigeons. However, depending on their ancestry and genetics may have white on them or "red" or sometimes even crests or some feathers on their feet. They may not be a particular "breed" but they are still "Columba livia".


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