# Young wood pigeon - approx 10 days old



## plecostrum

I found a young wood piegon in a pile of wood in my garden the nest is up a fir tree about 30ft up and i couldnt put him back. My dog ran at it but it made no attempt to move but it did try to peck her and me. i Thought would just close up the opening a little more so nothing but a bird could get in as it seemed quite safe, the crop (front furry testicle lol looked a little flat). The bird had made no attempt to move when left over night.

Still nothing he is just sitting in the same place looking a lot sadder than before and less pecky just gasping at me too close. Decided it might be best to take in overnight as it is tipping it down and gone quite cold. he isnt really sheltered where he is. and cats or foxes would get him easy I put him in a box with a lamp and thermostat. Did the salt/sugar solution and made the fake mom mouth, which he took the water from and it said ready brek so made that up watery and he has ate it. (can see the difference in his crop thing it is definately full.)

i have moved him outside where he came from with a basket and some straw but still no movement. I set my video rec player for 4 hrs and he has had no birds come near him althought he is squeaking. 

Took him in again tonight fed warmwater and soggy dog biscuits bit like slop (says for emergencys) he has ate it fine. he is a little dirty with the mixture i didnt want to mess with him too much trying to wipe it off . This is the pic i took on the 3rd day i am guessing he is around 13-15 days now. Should he be walking he tends to just sit?? his feet are in good conditon skin wise very clean. his feet are quite bendy does he need to perch rather than sit.

<a href="http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u43/plecostrum/pigeon/?action=view&current=d5be3bc0.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u43/plecostrum/pigeon/d5be3bc0.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I am presuming that he is abandonded after falling from the tree they havent fed him in 2 days.

Been to the pet shop brought pigeon seed and some chick chrumb. I have been soaking seeds and adding to (warm water mixed chick crumb) feeding at 107deg to fake feed him. I have also littered the garden with seed and placed him outside in a box hoping the seed will draw his parents and they might hear him but today they have been in the garden less than a foot away and nothing didnt even look at him. how much do you crop feed? is chick crumb and seed ok. tried water in a dish pushed his beak into it but not interested. feed morning and night.

What to do now? he is mobile when i place him on floor in the garden but just crawls off into the nearest bush. when i feed him he is attempting to flap. so i cant see no reason why he cant be released. He doesnt peck just expects to be fed so how do you make them eat seed?

poop has been black green and brown - not consistent. probably easier to tell me what is good?

DOES anyone rescue them- isnt he a flying rat!! or is that just feral pigeons

All the sites i found said leave him but human nature meant i couldnt do that and sorry if that was the wrong choice but the other baby died a few weeks back must of fell out and was split open by a cat not nice.


If anyone with more experience is out there to help who has pigeons to teach him to be one with view to release west midlands uk please let me know.

I will do what i can my end. or deliver him somewhere more experienced please advise!!


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## Feefo

Can you tell us where you are? This is a list of *Pigeon Friendly Rescue Centres*, the website also has care instructions. But there might be a member near you who could help.

When the babies are that young the parents won't recognise them outside the nest, which is why they are not feeding him.

In the *Caring for a baby pigeon section * you will find information on what to feed and how much you can feed. The chick crumbs need to be soaked for 30 minutes in hot (not boiling) water.

Added - best to take it in for safety and warmth. Mix 1 pint of warm water with 1/2 tablespoon of honey or glucose or sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, pour some into a small container and dip his beak in it to encourage him to drink.

I will PM a member in your area.


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## Feefo

This is *another method of feeding*.


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## Larry_Cologne

It's easy to be on either side of the "let nature take its course" debate -- when it's a pigeon or some other species. If you or your kid steps on a nail and septicemia sets in, or a rabid dog or fox bites you, or some similar mishap occurs, the "let nature takes its course" advocates flee to the other side.

Without antibiotics, surgery, anesthesia, and the whole bag of tricks, I would have been underground feeding nature's flora and fauna and making the grass greener before I was six or seven years old. 

Seems to me that hauling NATURE into an argument is often self-serving, and a way of ignoring an issue and doing nothing.

I must add that I occasionally make use of the "course of nature" argument in my daily life. I can only conclude that I must be somewhat lackadaisical and wishy-washy. 

I wish you the best of luck. I have no personal experience with wood pigeon re-habbing, or wood pigeon chicks or squeakers. I've been feeding a small group of them in the garden, and they keep their distance.

Larry


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## amyable

Hi,

sorry have been out all day until now, thanks for the PM Cynthia.

I can certainly help if you can tell me where you are in West Midlands plecostrum.

You're doing a good job to date by the sounds of it, so thanks for that. 

Give me your location and we'll see what we can sort out.

Janet


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## plecostrum

*hi*

I live m6 junction 10 ( can travel from here to staffordshire telford, tamworth, will have to get hubby if it brum way as i just passed and am scared of the motorway lol)

I have fed him tonight and give him a bit of a wipe over think i got it a bit too wet 

Well i put him on the floor at feeding time to encourage it to walk he will stand tall and stretch that neck out but i have definately noticed today that he is flapping one wing more and the other not so definate but as he is young this could be just that? i hope

As i wet his wing a little i can see the top where it joins his body has a red vein i cant see a break in the skin I am just hoping it isnt broken.

Thanks for the heads up on the chick crumb i have just been adding boiling water till it dissolved ooops then leaving it too cool before adding seed.

He isnt pecking me or showing any signs of hating me that isnt a good sign for a wild bird so the quicker i can get him to a pigeon place the better else he will be one of those bird that dive bombs you lol and tries to land on your head lol

heres a heads up on the poop i inspected it tonight lol its a curled up long worm quite dark but def brown with while running thru it looks like good old pigeon poop to me maybe a little on the dark side hope that is good as its come from green and brown water.


I made a feeder temporary i couldnt find a syringe big enough no where lol so i used a pop bottle and put a rubber glove finger over the end with a slit. This has worked well upto date but the thicker it gets with seed the harder i find to get it out . but is a gr8 alternative for a younger bird who take more liquid meals. you just need a funnel to fill it up. 


I am gutted that the parents didnt want him or recognise him

Well on the let nature take it course - i dont think i will ever be able to let any animal die if i think i can help in any way however small 
when i was a kid i used to rescue the racing pigeons they would land in the garden exhausted we would just pick them up and put them in a box with water and seed. and release them the following day once they had recouped it wasnt until i was around 15 lol i know old !! i rang the number on one birds leg as it was such a cracking looking bird to be told ""yeah thanks for letting me know hes no use to me so when he comes home i will ring its neck or you can keep it" i was gutted how cruel do all fanciers do that with the birds that dont make it home on time ! i have to admit that bird atleast had a chance i kept it a week till my dad was fed up of the poop on his tools lol free flying in the shed and i took off its ring when my dad wasnt looking , i would like to think he lives in devon by the seaside as a feral lollol life can be so cruel! i love pigeons and i hate to see people in town kicking them makes me mad


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## Feefo

The baby-woodie feeding bottle sounds great.

I am glad someone else can't do motorways, I even hate them when someone else is driving.

We have an adorable fancy bird, he was found when he was about 4 weeks old, very tame and affectionate and completely unable to fend for himself in the wild. He had a ring on and when the breeder was contacted the finder was told "If you bring him back I'll wring his neck", so we got him.


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## amyable

Hi,

Jnct 10 must be around Walsall/Willenhall? If so I know Willenhall as my dogs came from a breeder there. It's about 30 minutes drive from me.
I'm in Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield, right on the Aldridge border. No need to go on a motorway at least.

I'll PM you my mobile number and if you call tomorrow we'll sort out what to do next. I'm out in the morning but will keep my phone on.

Janet


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## amyable

I've had a racing pigeon coming to my garden for the last 7 days. I make sure I have food out each morning and it turns up with Woodies, Stock Doves etc. Is nervous of the Magpies and Jackdaws noise but generally seems to have quite a good routine.
I've set a trap but so far it's too nervous to go near but I have to say I'm not sure if I should actually catch her as she's very fit, well fed and I'd feel so bad to trap her only to find her owner didn't want her back.

I know there are many owners of racers that don't keep birds that are late home but I've also met a couple that have driven quite a way to collect their birds from me.
The most surprising of all was only a few weeks ago when a friend called me to say she'd picked up a banded bird on her drive.
I bought it home but it was dreadfully thin and starving. I called the owner but the bird died in my hands as I dialled the number.
The owner was devastated as he was a young bird but from champion stock that she'd bred, but she had a name for him as she did for all of her birds and she drove for over an hour to me so she could take him home to bury.
Apparently he'd just got spooked and flown off and had been missing for four weeks, but she loved him and wanted him back even though he'd died. That was so good to know. So I'll keep trying to catch this latest one just in case the owner is as caring as she was and just ask the owner straight out if it's wanted. If not I might just let it go back to it's new friends in the garden and make sure I watch out and feed her regularly so she'll stay around. I'd feel bad containing her if she can fly so well.

Janet

ps, I've just had your PM and see you're in Willenhall after all, not a bad guess !!


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## amyable

Hi, Plecostrum,

Just wondered if everything is ok with the baby as I didn't hear from you. I hope you found the PM with my number.

Don't hesitate to call if you need me to help the baby. If you have a problem getting it to me let me know and I'll come to fetch it instead.

Hope to hear how things are going soon,

Janet


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