# I have found a baby pigeon who is not flying



## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

I have found a baby pigeon which is not flying. He does seems like to me 23-24 days old. I found him in the streets. What should i do should i leave him on the street or should i take him in. He wasn't frightened of me at all. He must have fallen of the nest. Can he eat by himself or i have to feed him? What should i do?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

If he can't fly yet, plse bring him in. The best to feed at that age will be defrosted peas. Get a bag of frozen green peas, defrost a few in lukewarm water and do the following:

Put him on your lap against your body (facing him to the right if you are righthanded). Reach with your lefthand over his body and head and open the beak with those fingers. Have a pea ready in your righthand and put deep inside the beak over the tongue. If he spits it out, then you need to put the pea in deeper.

You will need to feed him 30 peas 3 times daily, total of 90 per day. You can dip the tip of the beak (not over the nostrils) in a small bowl of water to get him to drink. Always leave a small bowl of peas with him, they quickly learn to eat peas by themselves and then you can start adding small seeds.

Use a small potplant saucer, the edges of the bowl in the photo is too high. Put him in a cardboardbox on a soft fleezy blanket.


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> If he can't fly yet, plse bring him in. The best to feed at that age will be defrosted peas. Get a bag of frozen green peas, defrost a few in lukewarm water and do the following:
> 
> Put him on your lap against your body (facing him to the right if you are righthanded). Reach with your lefthand over his body and head and open the beak with those fingers. Have a pea ready in your righthand and put deep inside the beak over the tongue. If he spits it out, then you need to put the pea in deeper.
> 
> ...


Is he full right now?

How to tell if his stomach is full.

I cannot feed peas to a pigeon. It is so hard for me.

He does try to fly in the room. He tend to fly but his landing is somewhat awful. Can i feed him seeds? Then how?


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> If he can't fly yet, plse bring him in. The best to feed at that age will be defrosted peas. Get a bag of frozen green peas, defrost a few in lukewarm water and do the following:
> 
> Put him on your lap against your body (facing him to the right if you are righthanded). Reach with your lefthand over his body and head and open the beak with those fingers. Have a pea ready in your righthand and put deep inside the beak over the tongue. If he spits it out, then you need to put the pea in deeper.
> 
> ...


His poop is whitish yellow, Is it something to be concern about?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Have you tried the peas? It's quite easy once you get the hang of it, easier to try feeding him seeds. If he struggles a lot, cover his body and head with a towel and only let the beak stick out. The front part below the head will be quite flat when the crop is empty, only the trachea will be quite visible. The crop is below the trachea.

They usually cooperate when really starving. Just take your time and persist. That's the best way to get food into him. You said he was quite tame, I guess he must be starving. Have you tried dipping his beak into water? Or put the bowl in front of him and "play" with the water by using your fingers.


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> Have you tried the peas? It's quite easy once you get the hang of it, easier to try feeding him seeds. If he struggles a lot, cover his body and head with a towel and only let the beak stick out. The front part below the head will be quite flat when the crop is empty, only the trachea will be quite visible. The crop is below the trachea.
> 
> They usually cooperate when really starving. Just take your time and persist. That's the best way to get food into him. You said he was quite tame, I guess he must be starving. Have you tried dipping his beak into water? Or put the bowl in front of him and "play" with the water by using your fingers.


I fed him two times in the time span of 5 hours, he cooperated for two times, but when the third time i tried to feed him he didn't cooperate, he was shaking his beak didn't took the food. He took water two times first time he drank water like he was really thirsty, but the second time he drank water for 1 second. His poop is watery yellowish white. Is it something to be concerned about? I tried to make him to learn to fly by gently pushing him into the air, and he did successfully landed on the objects above the ground 70% of the time. I took a look under his feathers, his under feathers are still haven't fully grown, i guess that's why he is having difficulty in flying.

On the second thought i am thinking of leaving him outside, i guess he can somewhat fly, he landed fine , when i pushed him to fly. He should fly at this stage, but i don't know why he is not flying.

I AM FEEDING HIM BIRD SEEDS, I HAVE MADE A SOMEWHAT CUSTOM TOOL, I TOOK A SHALLOW PEN AND I DID FILLED IT UP WITH THE BIRD SEEDS, AND I OPEN THE BEAK OF PIGEON THEN I PUT THE PEN INSIDE HIS BEAK AND THEN I SLIDE THE SEEDS INSIDE HIS MOUTH.

I DO IT FOR AROUND 30 TIMES.
HE DOES JUST EAT ABOUT 1/4 SEEDS OF THE PEN AT A TIME.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Are you going to leave him where he was found? You can't just put him anywhere outside, his parents won't find him and he will starve to death.

Is there an improvement in the droppings after being fed? You probably fed him enough the first time. Wait for the seeds to digest before feeding again. There should be plenty of droppings (brown with a white dot on top).


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## Stony (Jan 18, 2020)

Crush some maize and pigeon peas. Mix this with a lil boiled water and try and feed with a syringe. Hygiene is the key here.


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> Are you going to leave him where he was found? You can't just put him anywhere outside, his parents won't find him and he will starve to death.
> 
> Is there an improvement in the droppings after being fed? You probably fed him enough the first time. Wait for the seeds to digest before feeding again. There should be plenty of droppings (brown with a white dot on top).


No i am not going to leave him outside.

His poop has turned now to whitish green with more white in it. 

What do you think how many days he is gonna take to fly? After how many days i can free him in the wild? I will leave him in the same spot where i did found him, or i will leave him in my balcony.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

It will still take a long time before he can be released. He will soon start to fly (no need to force him), but he must be able to eat all kinds of seeds before getting released. He won't know where to find food or shelter, the parents teach them those skills in the wild. It's not so easy releasing them. Older pigeons will also bully him out there when competing for food.

Do you live in a apartment with a balcony? Are there other pigeons around where you are staying? Is there a park closeby where pigeons are getting fed? You will need to keep him at least another month or so.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Can you post another photo of his droppings?


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> It will still take a long time before he can be released. He will soon start to fly (no need to force him), but he must be able to eat all kinds of seeds before getting released. He won't know where to find food or shelter, the parents teach them those skills in the wild. It's not so easy releasing them. Older pigeons will also bully him out there when competing for food.
> 
> Do you live in a apartment with a balcony? Are there other pigeons around where you are staying? Is there a park closeby where pigeons are getting fed? You will need to keep him at least another month or so.


Yes i do live in a apartment with a balcony, pigeons tend to come in my balcony space when i do leave there some food. But only 1-2 pigeons come not too many. I found him in the neighbourhood. So his parent must be nearby. I am pretty sure of that.

I fed him this morning, I slept very late in the night at 2:30 am and he was not sleeping at that time, so i did turned off the lights so that he can sleep. But i think that he didn't sleep enough in the night.

Here are the pictures of him after getting fed. Please tell me after looking at the pictures that he is full or not? That's how i will understand that how much i need to feed him one time.

Here are i am also attaching pictures of his box, overnight poop and his under feathers.

Can i use flash while taking his photos?

Thank you for helping him.


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> It will still take a long time before he can be released. He will soon start to fly (no need to force him), but he must be able to eat all kinds of seeds before getting released. He won't know where to find food or shelter, the parents teach them those skills in the wild. It's not so easy releasing them. Older pigeons will also bully him out there when competing for food.
> 
> Do you live in a apartment with a balcony? Are there other pigeons around where you are staying? Is there a park closeby where pigeons are getting fed? You will need to keep him at least another month or so.


Here are the pictures


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> It will still take a long time before he can be released. He will soon start to fly (no need to force him), but he must be able to eat all kinds of seeds before getting released. He won't know where to find food or shelter, the parents teach them those skills in the wild. It's not so easy releasing them. Older pigeons will also bully him out there when competing for food.
> 
> Do you live in a apartment with a balcony? Are there other pigeons around where you are staying? Is there a park closeby where pigeons are getting fed? You will need to keep him at least another month or so.


Here are the pictures


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

He looks quite well fed, continue with what you are doing. The droppings have more solids in them, although the urates are a bit yellow. Can you take a flashlight and check deep inside the back of the throat for yellowish growths that might indicate canker? This disease is quite common amongst fledglings, but can easily be treated.

Other symptoms will be: drinking plenty of water, losing feathers on breast area, making rotating movements of the crop after feeding, having difficulty swallowing, sitting fluffed up.

You can put a brick inside the box for him to perch on. When he is ready to go (wait at least another month), you can always do a soft release from your balcony. We can chat about that later. His parents are still around, but might not recognize him now if you put him back outside.


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> He looks quite well fed, continue with what you are doing. The droppings have more solids in them, although the urates are a bit yellow. Can you take a flashlight and check deep inside the back of the throat for yellowish growths that might indicate canker? This disease is quite common amongst fledglings, but can easily be treated.
> 
> Other symptoms will be: drinking plenty of water, losing feathers on breast area, making rotating movements of the crop after feeding, having difficulty swallowing, sitting fluffed up.
> 
> You can put a brick inside the box for him to perch on. When he is ready to go (wait at least another month), you can always do a soft release from your balcony. We can chat about that later. His parents are still around, but might not recognize him now if you put him back outside.


I fed him tonight and i fed him 28-30 servings. When i fed him for 29th time he was gasping for air he was opening his beak to the skies. I fed him for the 30th serving and he did that again like he was gasping for air so i did stopped feeding him. He was gasping for couple of times. His crop is inflated like balloon. Did i overfeed him? That's why he was gasping for air? His crop was even inflated while after i was feeing him, i fed him last time in the morning 11 hours earlier. Could it be possible that he was already full at that time and his crop was not empty. He was gasping for air for couple of times.
I will be more carefull from next time.

He is not eating or drinking by himself. I need to force him to eat or drink.

I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS PLEASE ANSWER THEM SO THAT I CAN HELP HIM.

1. How many times i should feed him everyday? Right now i am feeding him two times morning or evening.

2. How many times i should force him to drink water in the day? Right now i am making him to drink water 3-4 times in a day.

4. Will soft food like cerelec or grind seeds mixed with water will be easy to slide down his throat easily. If that is true i can feed him it by the syringe.

5. How to tell if a pigeon is hungry?

6. I keep him all day in the box. Should i leave him on the floor out of box for few hours in the day? Does he get bored.

7. Will he starts flying automatically? Will he come out of the box by himself? Right now he just sits in the box all day.

8. Is i am hampering his growth to fly by keeping him in the box?

9. How to make him learn to eat and drink food by himself?

10. Is he gonna take 1 month to be able to release in the wild. I thought that he will be ready to fly in one week?

Thank you for the help.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Feed him 3 times a day, I'm not sure how much seeds. Maybe 1 teaspoon at each feeding. Make sure there are plenty of droppings inbetween feeding. If he does not get hungry inbetween feedings, then he won't start eating seeds by himself. They usually drink water after eating, so after getting fed, dip his beak into the waterbowl.

You can let him out of the box to excersize, he will start flapping his wings and start flying small distances. Flying by himself does not mean he is ready for release. In nature they follow the parents around after they have fledged and are still dependant upon the parents.

Try to get a mixed dove seed mixture (seeds of all shapes and sizes) for him to eat. You only have 1 type of seed in the bowl. He might start with the seed that's easiest to pick up and will then later move on to the other seeds. 

Before feeding him, spend time encouraging him to eat by himself. Play with the seeds by using your fingers. Pick them up and drop them again in front of him. He will start pecking when hungry. This will take time and patience, but he will eventually learn.

Syringe feeding a pigeon is very dangerous, you can easily aspirated him. That's why I suggested feeding him peas. They quickly learn to eat the peas by themselves.

Try to get a little cage for him. When you are going to do the soft release from your balcony, he will need to spend time outside to get familiar with the area. Even after releasing, you will need to supply him with food and water. He never followed his parents around to learn from them where to find food and water, so even after releasing he will be dependant upon you.

A week is much too soon for him, he will just starve out there.


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> Feed him 3 times a day, I'm not sure how much seeds. Maybe 1 teaspoon at each feeding. Make sure there are plenty of droppings inbetween feeding. If he does not get hungry inbetween feedings, then he won't start eating seeds by himself. They usually drink water after eating, so after getting fed, dip his beak into the waterbowl.
> 
> You can let him out of the box to excersize, he will start flapping his wings and start flying small distances. Flying by himself does not mean he is ready for release. In nature they follow the parents around after they have fledged and are still dependant upon the parents.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the help


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> Feed him 3 times a day, I'm not sure how much seeds. Maybe 1 teaspoon at each feeding. Make sure there are plenty of droppings inbetween feeding. If he does not get hungry inbetween feedings, then he won't start eating seeds by himself. They usually drink water after eating, so after getting fed, dip his beak into the waterbowl.
> 
> You can let him out of the box to excersize, he will start flapping his wings and start flying small distances. Flying by himself does not mean he is ready for release. In nature they follow the parents around after they have fledged and are still dependant upon the parents.
> 
> ...


These are the pics after his morning feeding.

Is he being well fed?

http://imgur.com/gallery/LulczwX


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Yes, he looks fine. But he will need to start eating by himself. Before feeding him next time, put the bowl in front of him and push the seed around with your finger. He will only start eating when he is hungry

Is he still tame? Then it will be easier to teach him, but more difficult to release him.


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> Yes, he looks fine. But he will need to start eating by himself. Before feeding him next time, put the bowl in front of him and push the seed around with your finger. He will only start eating when he is hungry
> 
> Is he still tame? Then it will be easier to teach him, but more difficult to release him.


Today i fed him in the morning.In the evening his poop became white watery, no solid. As soon as i fed him his poop became somewhat solid with water still. He is pooping solid watery since. Could there be any underlying disease? Or it could be just because he was hungry?

He is still tame. He doesn't show much resistance while i pick him. But he resist alot and shake his beak when i do try to feed. But as soon as i put him on heatpad he resist less during feeding.

When he was hungry i handpicked some seeds in front of him and he did peck at the seed for 1 time. But i did fed him later because he was very hungry.

He look very normal and active to me.
He checks his surroundings when i take him out of the box.

By tomorrow i will feed him 3 times in a day.

How to prevent from over feeding him?

http://imgur.com/a/ysZ9JXU


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

Marina B said:


> Yes, he looks fine. But he will need to start eating by himself. Before feeding him next time, put the bowl in front of him and push the seed around with your finger. He will only start eating when he is hungry
> 
> Is he still tame? Then it will be easier to teach him, but more difficult to release him.


Today's morning when i tried to feed him, he wasn't seem much interested to eat, and was falling off to sleep so i did stopped feeding him and i put him on heating bottle and let him sleep.

I can see that his crop balloon is still puffed up - not full but somewhat something is in there.

He didn't seemed eager to eat but rather than to sleep. He was kept running away from me and kept searching for the place to sleep.

One thing to notice he was again opening his beak several times when i was feeding like he was gasping for air. I don't know if he was. So i did immediately stopped feeding him and let him sleep. I fed him very little. Whenever he gasp for air like this he get me worried.

He is in the deep sleep now.

His overnight poop looks fine to me. Solid with some water.

His under feathers does seems to be growing now.

Could there be any underlying disease. Could it be cancker? I couldn't find any yellow thing inside his mouth.He doesn't have feathers under his beak.

One amazing thing he did today. He was trying to come out of the box. So, i did put a small container inside and he used it to come out of the box.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

I could not view the last photo. Try feeding him a bit less at each meal and rather concentrate on getting him to eat by himself. Canker does not always show up as yellow growths in the throat. When they have canker, they are very thirsty the whole time and drink a lot of water. Does he drink water by himself?

Maybe you can start looking for the meds called metronidazole, just for in case you might need it. You can try a pharmacy (drugstore), no need to buy just check if you will be able to get it. You can use the human type for pigeons as well.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

How is the baby doing?


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## Aakarshan (Nov 22, 2014)

He died. One morning when i went for a short sleep and when i woke up i found him dead where i left him. Earlier that morning when i offered him food he didn't ate the food and kept on sleeping. I tried to force him to eat but he kept bouncing off my hands and kept sleeping. So i put him on a heating pad (It was cold weather) and when i woke up i found him dead on same spot where i put him. I don't know what happened with him. I don't know why he died.

2 Months later i found a baby pigeon wandering in the streets ( He was trying to fly, but was not able to fly). Dogs or cats could might have ate him. I took him in. I put him in the house for one night. Next morning i gave him water to drink. I put him in my balcony and some time later he flew-off to other balcony in my front. He sat there for hours and later flew-off to land on the ground. That way i found out that he could fly. Later i found him flying with other pigeons and others pigeons were also pecking him. But he could fly then and was well off above the ground. He flee-off to same spot where i found him, so i guess he knew that area well and maybe his parents were living in the area nearby.


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