# Unfledged Wood Pigeon



## Squid

Hiya, i have just joined this forum in the hope that someone may be able to help me. I have taken a good look around and got some great info, so thank you..
10 days ago I noticed an adult wood pigeon attacking a younger bird out side my garden gate, it was jumping on top of it and plucking its head, the bird couldnt fly and was obviously exhausted....I managed to capture it and i brought it in and put it inside a cat carrier....
I keep birds myself, i have african greys and conures, so I had an idea about feeding it etc...I fed it amall amounts of water via syringe and some food using tweezers, i gave its mashed mixture which i cook for my own birds.
After a few days it started eating by its self, it ate very well and became quite strong and healthly...I transferred it to a budgie cage so it was easier to clean and feed etc plus it had perches and after a while it started perching and seemed quite strong...
After a few days it started flapping frantically and i was very worried that it would injure itself...i couldt let it out in the house because i was so worried about quarantine and spreading any disease to my own flock....
Anyway, last Sunday i decided it was time to release her (i think i did the wrong thing) I released her in the garden and she flew up onto my conservatory and from there into a large fir tree in my garden.....
I am sure i did the wrong thing?, i found this site recently and now I think that she is unfledged and too young...yesterday morning i saw her sitting on my fence by the bird table and today she came up to my bedroom window and just sat there...i got dressed quickly and went outside to catch her but she had gone...ohh i am so angry with myself, i am sure she is too young, or is she ill? I really dont know what to do...she seems to appear early mornings and i know that i will be able to get hold of her if i see her again, should i catch her again and bring her in? and what are the dangers of disease to my captive birds? I do have photos if anyone wants to see?
Please Help
Thank you


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## Feefo

Hello, and thank you for rescuing the little one.

It sounds as if she is fully fledged and able to look after herself, but she might still rely on you for food as their parents continue to feed them for a while after they leave the nest. Can you put food and water out for her in a form that she recognises (eg the dish she knows or next to the empty budgie cage?)? Or you could leave the bedroom window open for her to have a quick meal inside occasionally?

As you only had her for 10 days she will not have lost any waterproofing she had or forgotten her own kind. You chose the right time and location: you released it in its own territory which is good. The weather is fine, in autumn birds benefit from "nature's bounty".

It is a good sign that you have been unable to catch her easily.

I usually keep new birds isolated from my other birds for 14 days, unless I have babies in at the same time because they benefit so much from each other's company. If you can catch her you could treat her for worms, just in case. And keep an eye on her general well being

I don't think that life in a cage would be suitable for her and if she was free inside then your other birds could harm her. Wood pigeons are gentle birds and can be vulnerable to their companions in an enclosed situation.

You can't guarantee her a long life or a safe life, but you certainly improved her chances. Personally I think that you did an excellent job!


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## altgirl35

i agree with feefo, if she doesn't want to be caught she is probably old enough and just needs to be support fed. if you were to catch her though i would never allow her to be around your pet birds.
i never allow any wild birds in the same room with my parrots, and i never touch my parrots until after i have taken a shower and changed clothes after cleaning the rehab room.
and strict hand washing in between 
if i ever considered keeping a wild bird as a pet i would only allow them in the same room after a 90 day quarantine and a vet check with blood and fecal work done, same as when i have brought a new pet bird into the home, i may keep a starling.
but i would never let him out when the parrots are out, they could easily kill and injure him, and if i was going to let him out, my birds would need to be caged and have towels over the top of the cages so toes will not be bitten off.


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## Squid

*Thanks*

Thank you so much, i do feel a bit better now....I have been leaving a bowl of food out but i think i have been doing it too late in the morning as she seems to appear very early, so i will continue doing this but i will prepare and leave it out earlier....yes, i never let her mix with my parrots ad i also kept a strict hygiene rules after feeding etc..i use F10 solution and sprayed my hands etc aswell...
my fear is that she seems so tame and i havent really made a grreat effort to catch her yet because i thought it best she is out and about, she just seems to be hanging around, but as you say she may look to me for food.....I will put her cage out in the garden aswell, just so she has somewhere to go if need be....
here she is, any idea on age?


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## altgirl35

so hard to see her, does she sit fluffed up like that most of the time? or is she just napping?
if she's sitting fluffed like that all the time i would try to catch her, she may not be feeling well and not doing good.
you can try to put the cage you had her in (or a cat kennel) outside put the seed and water in it and tie a long rope to the door so if she goes in you can yank the rope and you got her.
if birds tend to freak out in a cage with bars i usually keep them in a screen reptile cage or a cat carrier.
also just about every single dove and pigeon i have raised and released hangs around for a long time.


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## Squid

yes, she sits like that a lot until you get close to her....i dont think she is well enough...i think i need to catch her again, i feel so bad for her


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## Feefo

She does seem quite a baby, her tail isn't very long. Her parents would still bef following her around and feeding her. Yes, try to catch her if you can and support her for a bit longer.

She won't have malimprinted and as long as you don't deliberately try to make her tame she should be OK to release again later.

My woodies eat in the early morning and early evening although they have food available all day.


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## Squid

thank you xxx i will do my best....i am sure she will turn up either tonight or tomorrow morn......i think it could have been a parent that was attacking her, could it be?


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## Feefo

I admit that at first I wondered if you had mistaken parental feeding for an attack (people often do), but a parent wouldn't have jumped on top of her and pecked her head.


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## Squid

Hiya, no, this looked like a distinct attack, she had also lost all her feathers on the head, it took me a while to shoo the adult off her, but she had lost all her head feathers before i could get to her x she was panting and very still......i wonder why the adult would do this to her?....btw, i have seen her in the top of my fir tree thats in my garden tonight, so i have set up her cage at the bottom on a table with food and a towel in it.....she is just sitting there...


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## altgirl35

be patient it may take a few days, you might want to put the food outside the cage until your sure she is eating it, then put it inside


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## Squid

*Update*

Thanks so much for all your help, just thought i would post an update and see if you could shed anymore light on this..
As you know I released her thinking it was the right thing to do...I had been leaving food out in the base of her cage since seeing her hanging around....nothing was touched...but i knew she was around..
Early yesterday morning i went to do the usual thing and in my garden i found carnage and the corpse of a bird, three large pigeons where hanging around and i came to the conclusion she had met her fate....i was devestated and cried all morning....(the bird had its head missing, it was a brutal attack whatever did it) lunchtime i went out to do my usual wild bird seed feed and i spotted what looked exactly like her at the base of my bird table, she was pecking away at all the fallen seed, i approached her and threw some more down, she let me get within 2ft of her and then flew off to a tree about 100 meters away...I was so pleased thinking how well she is doing and that she was actually alive....from then on I kept a good look out for her hoping to see her again...
at about 5pm i noticed a disturbance and when i approached I found what looked like her in a plant pot, i caught her and I now have her back in her cage....
I really dont understand, the dead bird looked like her? the one that I saw fly off looked like her and now I have what looks like her back in her cage...
I have lived here 18 years and i have never had anything like this before? Could pigeons do that to another bird, could they kill it and peck its head away? could there be more than one unfledged pigeon around? and i really dont know what to do with the one I have...she looks exactly like the one I released, so whats wrong with her?...if somebody could please advise I would very much appreciate it x


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## Feefo

Whatever bird you have in your care now needs to be looked after, so I am glad the you caught it.

Pigeons usually lay two eggs, so it is more usual for two babies of the same age to be around.

It is very sad that rthe other little one got killed. 

Someone once described wood pigeons as the only birds that aren't murderers, I have never known one peck a little one and trust them with my collared doves. In fact, the tiny collared doves bully the woodies!

I really don't understand the fact that you found one pecking at a little one when you first rescued it, but adult wood pigeons are unmistakeable...so I am baffled. I very much doubt that they were responsible for the death of the little one that you found in the garden, I would have thought a predator such as a sparrowhawk, but they wouldn't waste time eating the head, so maybe magpies, crows, cats or a fox?


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## altgirl35

oh wow, what a nightmare for you, poor poor little one that was killed, i would say predator also.
it's probably your baby in the cage, i don't think a wild one would have let you get that close, is she skinny??? how is she doing??


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## amyable

I can't imagine the adults would have killed the little one.

Weazles would get into the aviary at the 'sanctuary' I go to and the birds were always headless when found. Also foxes got into a hen house and again they ended up the same although they didn't take the bodies to eat. I agree with Cynthia, it's much more likely to be a preditor like that I'm afraid.
I'm sorry, it's not a nice thing to find.

Do keep us posted about the little one you have, so hopefully it can be helped.

Janet


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## Squid

*Thank you*

I really appreciate all your messages and all the information i am gathering from this site....yours is the only forum that seems to give really excellent advice with lots of support, and its very much appreciated x
I am baffled aswell, I really am confused about this, i do live in a rural area as you can see from the pic, so ,maybe a fox? well, i will stop pondering and concentrate on getting the little one fit and well for a release...
she is doing well, has eaten and seems to enjoy her time in the cage, she is resting quite a bit, i have decided the shed is of no use as it stinks of petrol etc from all the machinery i have....I have decided i may give her out time oin the lounge, she will be on her own in there ~(my birds are kept 2 rooms away) do you think that is wise? let her stretch her wings? or should i call a sanctuary?
All i wish to do is give her the best chance I can...
I am feeding, soaked pulses with a mash of oats, pot barley, millet flakes, red rice, brown rice & white rice, green veggies & fruit with berries, premium budgie food with sunflower seeds, grains, wheat etc, rowan berries, red currants (she seems to enjoy the fresh veg & fruit the best) Is there anything I should or should not be doing?


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## John_D

Hi

If you can let us know where you are,we may possibly know a sanctuary/wildlife rescue who take in wood pigeons. 

John


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## altgirl35

you birds should be fine in a separate room, just be very careful about cross contamination, clean and disinfect and don't handle them without cleaning yourself up first, and watch your shoes if your guys spend anytime on the floor


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## Squid

Hi & Thanks, 
She seems to be doing well, growing very quickly, I would love to let her go, but I dont want to go through that again, and i have no knowledge of pigeons so there is no way of me telling when she is ready or not....btw John I live in Surrey, in between Reigate & Dorking UK
I have taken this photo today, i wondered if someone could tell me her age? I have tried to get a good shot of her head, can you see the missing feathers? Could this be disease, even though I did see her being pecked by an adult, her primarys look good and she has fully grown flight feathers..


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## Feefo

She still looks a bit young, with short primaries and flight feathers. 

You have three choices:

1. To keep her and release her back into the garden.

2. To take her to a sanctuary for release (I think this one would be best as they are in a park where she can be released):

London Wildcare, 
Beddington Park,
Church Road,
Wallington,
Surrey SM6 7NN

020 8647 6230


3. To build her an outdoor aviary.

You will need to spray wet water on to her every couple of days with a mister to encourage waterproofing of her feathers.


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## Squid

Thanks so much Feefo, at least i know she is not ready for the big wide world...I will have a think about her future plans...I wouldnt hesitate to keep her if I didnt have my 4 parrots.....she is really lovely tho and so gentle, its very tempting to say the least lol
an outside aviary is a lovely thought, and thank you for the sanctuary details....I will have a good think about it x


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