# Chilled nestling on ground



## Lswindler (Aug 31, 2019)

Hi, 
I found a very young pigeon on the floor where I work (industrial area with tons of pigeons on the buildings). It is very young, all down, eyes shut, and was cold to the touch but still squirmy and moving around well. There are several broken nests on the walls of the building where it was at (storm came through.) 
Since the baby was chilled I took it home with me and have him in a box of towels with a hot water bottle. A friend of mine raises pigeons and suggested powdered chick starter mixed with water. I finally got the little guy to eat some of it using a jar covered with a rubber glove and a hole cut in it. 
How often and how much should I be giving per feeding? The crop wasn’t completely full but he lost interest and I think was getting cold again, so he’s back in the box and is sleeping. 
Also he is just starting to squeak a little bit here and there. I know nothing about pigeons but am a biologist and have reared other things before, although not birds other than chickens. 
Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!


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## Ladygrey (Dec 10, 2016)

For them to digest the food well, they have to be warm.. use a heat pad instead.. a good set up is a laundry basket with a towel in it layered on top of it paper towels .. paper towels will be your friend.. lol.. then roll a smaller towel length wise and encircle the baby pigeon making a nest of sorts around it. Put a towel over the top of the basket to keep drafts out.. most important put the heat pad under the basket with another towel on top of the heat pad, you don’t want him to get too hot.. so heat pad under a towel, basket on top of towel set on low , cover the top. 

He needs to be warm to digest.. for now feed him your mix, but you need kaytee exact hand feeding formula, feed store or pet store or order online. 
There are differ methods of feeding , do what works for you, I like the large syringe with the end cut off because it has less air.. and the crop can fill with air which is hard to get rid of, so be careful with that.. 

Your friend who has pigeons, would he happen to have any young that are a few days old in his loft.. it is possible parent pair could foster it if watched closely and put in at night.. but that is probably too ideal to be..lol..


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You can google on youtube "how to feed baby pigeon", lots of videos with info available. They do best when kept between 35 and 38 degrees Celsius. The site www.pigeonrescue.co.uk will also give good info. Scroll down to "raising baby pigeon".


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## Lswindler (Aug 31, 2019)

Thank you! Yes I will be getting kaytee formula today. 
He is stronger and now squeaks and opens his eyes, and feeds really well! I just posted a question on the injuries forum because he does make a “popping” noise when he inhales and an air bubble becomes visible under his right wing, which might explain why he is not using his right side much. Since the air bubble is there unless he inhales I can’t really pop it... any ideas?


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## Ladygrey (Dec 10, 2016)

Try not to add more air.. the only thing is to massage him gently, see if you can burp it out.


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