# Mourning dove died... did I kill it?



## Best_Intentions

I went outside to run to the grocery store, and there was a dove sitting in front of my condo. Just sitting there, eyes closed; and I thought, that's not a great place for a dove to nap, with all the cats this complex has. So I thought I'd give him a little nudge to move him along his way. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at me, but didn't move. So I gave him another gentle nudge. This time i shuffled forward about four feet, and then stopped (in front of my neighbor's door) and closed his eyes again. I was worried, but I didn't know what to think yet (lazy dove?), so I decided to see if he was still there when I got back.

Sure enough, there he was, sitting, with his eyes closed. I called a local wildlife rescue, they said he was probably a fledgling and I should leave him alone. That would have seemed reasonable except he looked kinda big for a fledging, he was limping, and he was acting very strangely (lethargic, bleary, unusually unfearful). I checked around online and found a website that also recommended leaving fledglings alone; but if cats are a concern, putting them in a secure next-shaped box out of harms' reach. Okay, I thought, I can do that. 

So I made him a little shoebox sanctuary, and tried to pick him up. The first time I was pretty gentle, because I didn't know how much he would object. He flapped a wing at me once and waddled away. The second time I was just as gentle, but he didn't object that much, barely a cursory wriggle, and then seemed to just decide to see what happened. I picked him up with a towel, and placed him in the box. He shuffled around experimentally and then closed his eyes again. 

An hour later, he was dead.

So... what happened? I'm thinking of all the many ways this is my fault... I'm remembering when my mom told me as a kid that handling birds scared them so badly their hearts would burst from fear... I know that's not true, but... I'm remembering the time someone told me woodchips would kill my pet mice... would shredded paper kill a dove...? Was he already on the way out? Did I kill him, or give him someplace comfortable to die in peace?

Let me know what you guys think... take it easy on me if I did kill him, though. Im crushed. But please tell me.

(this is a picture of him sleeping. when he died, he was turned around, with I'm guessing his head tucked backwards, and his legs sticking straight out.)


----------



## Charis

Well, he was sick or starving. Healthy wild birds don't just sit around and let humans pick them up.By the time your saw him, it was already too late.


----------



## c.hert

No you did not kill him for you tried to help him-----it was a sick bird to begin with---you gave it a peaceful place to die....Thanks for trying to help him or even caring about him.
c.hert


----------



## pdpbison

Yeah...he or she was already almost dead...with just that little time left. Not likely anyone could have saved them, even with sophisticated emergency measures.


----------



## Best_Intentions

Thanks for weighing in, everyone. I feel better knowing that i didn't kill it with shredded paper :\ Wish I could have done more. 

Thanks again...


----------



## pdpbison

Consider to visit the Forum often Best Intentions...by learning things now in reading other's Threads as they evolve, you can acquire information which may well help greatly for a 'next time'...and there tend to be 'next times', too.


----------



## LovesPijjies

From the number of wild rescues I have made, any in that condition don't usually survive, no matter what you do for them.Despite it maybe being a little scared when you picked it up, I expect it appreciated you putting it somewhere safe and comfortble so it could die in peace, and not leaving it on a sidewalk where any predator could have attacked it.Also if it was near to death it was probably chilly on the sidewalk and you made it a bit warmer nearer the end.Don't think it was anything you did, it would have died anyway.


----------



## joeysparrow

Hi - I just experienced this exact same thing last night. It seemed that the dove was getting pecked on fiercely in the area of her eyes! I went outside and all the other doves flew away. She sat there and I thought the dove was blind. I put her in a crate and closed it and she stumbled around - so sad. I brought the crate in for the evening and by the morning she had passed. I don't know what happened. I also felt like if maybe I had left her alone it would be o.k. There was one bird outside waiting for her and it must have been her mate.


----------



## Jaye

joeysparrow said:


> Hi - I just experienced this exact same thing last night. It seemed that the dove was getting pecked on fiercely in the area of her eyes! I went outside and all the other doves flew away. She sat there and I thought the dove was blind. I put her in a crate and closed it and she stumbled around - so sad. I brought the crate in for the evening and by the morning she had passed. I don't know what happened. I also felt like if maybe I had left her alone it would be o.k. There was one bird outside waiting for her and it must have been her mate.


No, if you had left it there, being attacked, he/she would have died quite horribly. In the very least....you gave him/her a quiet and calm place to pass.

If thatw as happening and it was her/his own species attacking him...then this Dove too was already ill.

It may not seem like much to offer, a temporary rescue and a peaceful place to pass....but it was something. Thank you for caring.


----------



## joeysparrow

*dove love*

Thank you Jaye. She/he passed peacefully in my spareroom with a small towel and I have a sparrow in that same location so she/he was not alone. I also feed a ferrel cat in my yard so I brought the dove in when he came.


----------



## MaryOfExeter

The thing about birds is, they may be sick and going downhill without you even noticing it. Once they become visibly sick, especially wild ones who are to the point of letting you pick them up, it is usually too late to do anything but give them a nice place to pass away. They are a lot tougher than people give them credit for. They keep on going until they can't go anymore.


----------



## Jaye

Exactly...particularly true with the Mourning Doves, who are incredibkly skittish around humans. If one actually put up no struggle against being picked up, she/he must have been very, very ill....


----------



## spiritflys

When I first started to try and help sick or injured pigeons, I suffered loses and many a broken heart. Five of my 10 first rescues died. I had no experience or very little at that time and unfortunately on looking back I learned many a thing from my own mistakes, but I will never regret having tried. Some also were just beyond saving. I am fortunate to have made the acquaintance of an avian vet who will always look at a sick or injured feral for free, and I would advise that if possible, always consult a vet AS SOON AS POSSIBLE that knows something about birds (I do know that they are FEW and FAR BETWEEN, HOWEVER). Here is what I have learned are MUSTS, to be done immediately: (1) Always warm a sick bird. If you have a heating pad, place it on low, place a towel over it and place it underneath the cage or box the pigeon is placed in. Put the pigeon in a box or cage with a towel in it, large enough that he can move off the heating pad if he becomes too warm in the night; (2) put the box or cage in a quite, safe place, away from other pets such as cats or dogs; (3) check the bird over for obvious signs of injury or trauma (how to do an examination of a pigeon will be explained on this sight if put to our experienced and capable rehabbers or have a qualified vet perform it that you know will not suggest putting the bird down instead of helping it out (4) after an hour or so of warming, offer water to the bird; if there are no signs of serious injury, but bird is unwilling to drink, dip your finger in water and gently open the bird's mouth by pressing on sides of beak, and drop 2-3 drops in. DO NOT FORCE FEED THE BIRD. Give it an hour to warm up, then you can place some seed in the cage. If the bird survives the night and if it is an adult bird, you should look at the poops to see what color and consistency they are (this site has information on what NORMAL poop should look like, and what are the signs and symptoms of abnormal feces (watery, dark green, loose and not firm, etc). If the bird is not injured but sick from infection, cocci, canker or salmonella it will need meds to treat these immediately or it will die within 2-3 days or less. There is a wealth of information on this site regarding treatment of these illnesses. (5) If you have decided to take on the treatment of the bird you will have to learn how to feed it and what to feed it and when to feed it, and if it is unable to feed itsself, you will have to learn how to FORCE-FEED IT. There are many videos on how to do this on the internet. NEVER DEWORM A VERY SICK BIRD. Let it get some strength first. If worms ARE THE PROBLEM, then, unfortunately, deworming is a GAMBLE. A badly worm infested pigeon may have had the worm problem weaken its immune system and its problems were compounded by secondary infections. A massive die off of worms due to deworming can cause intestinal bleeding and death. Be careful which type of dewormer the vet uses. I had a vet kill 2 of my ferals by using dangerous ones. Ivermac is the best. I applaud anyone who has even shown the kindness to TRY and help a feral pigeon. It says something very nice about who you are on the inside. You cared and you tried. So do not blame yourself for trying. As has been mentioned, you did what you could and you can learn from all of life's experiences. Thank you for caring and helping!


----------



## altgirl35

that poor thing was already dying when you picked him up, doves have to be really bad off to let you pick them up
you gave him a safe place to pass away in peace, thank you for giving him that


----------



## tjc1

Also wild animals that are really sick have a hard time with the stress of being capture and taken out of their environment. Follow spiritflys instructions and if it passes you did the best you could. You gave the bird a nice warm safe place to pass on instead of suffering.


----------



## Pollichfamily

*Advise Ref. My Ring Neck Dove*

Greetings too all, I hope I don't upset anyone on this site because it sounds like you all would never dream of releasing your bird but I'm torn and need some advise. My story starts like this. While leaving my home I saw a baby bird in the middle of the street and noticed two Doves nearby. I left the baby bird alone in hopes that the two doves, Mama & Papa I assume were still trying to care for it. Well the second day that I was leaving my home I again saw the baby bird, which barely had any feathers on it, and this time in the middle of the street. I didn't see the pair of doves nearby on the second day and if I left the baby where it was it would have clearly died either by getting run over or dehydration. I picked the baby bird up to find that it couldn't even hold its head up. It had been in the hot street for minimally two days and was in need of fluids. Please note that I don't know anything about birds so I went to the internet and tried to quickly educate myself. Well using a small syringe my wife used for her teeth cleaning solution I made a concoction of water, bread and applesauce. I had to force the mixture down its throat with little help from him and trying my best not to drown the baby bird. Long story short its been about 10 months now and Dovey we call him is doing great. I purchased a large cage because he needs lots of room and when he's not trying to fly on our heads he flys around the house. My problem is that our family loves him a lot and really don't want him to go hungry or get hurt. He has no fear it seems and is very loud at times. He coos a lot and I think he misses being free. My question is this, will Dovey survive if I let him go free. I live in Southern California and I have seen other ring neck doves in the area and sometimes I think and feel I'm being cruel by keeping him in captivity. If there is someone in the bird world that can give me some advise or would like to care for him please let me know. Hopefully someone with other ring necks that Dovey could make friends with.

Thanks, Ken


----------



## altgirl35

It would be certain death to her being released now, she is clueless about predators especially the worst predators Humans!
She will land on someone and they will mis understand and kill or hurt her
By raising her alone and treating her as a pet she is now one she has none if the proper fear that ensures her survival
She is yours to protect the rest of her life now
Please next time take orphans to a permitted wildlfie rehabilitator


----------



## TAWhatley

Perhaps your dove would enjoy having a companion. That wouldn't necessarily lessen the amount of cooing, but the cooing would likely be directed to the companion and not the human family members. Just a thought. I agree with the others that Dovey can't be set free or even allowed to free fly outside if you want to keep him safe.

Terry


----------



## spirit wings

I sort of dissagree with the certain death thing as that is how these collard doves have come to exsist in America..releases.. being it is not a native, I would keep him as a pet and get a companion.


----------



## altgirl35

Oh I figured it was a modo


----------

