# am i the only one that uses a feeding needle??



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

i been looking a lot through this section, and i'm curious about the feeding techniques.
when someone brings me a baby pigeon or dove i always feed them with a stainless steel feeding needle, sometimes changing over to a seed shaker as they grow if they going to live in a loft, which usually isn't the case.
one of the reasons i use this is because i want to feed them quickly and as you all know they imprint so easily and most of my babies are released back to the wild, so i try to handle them or even let them see me as little as possible.
i'm curious to hear everyones thoughts on the subject


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

altgirl35 said:


> i been looking a lot through this section, and i'm curious about the feeding techniques.
> when someone brings me a baby pigeon or dove i always feed them with a stainless steel feeding needle, sometimes changing over to a seed shaker as they grow if they going to live in a loft, which usually isn't the case.
> one of the reasons i use this is because i want to feed them quickly and as you all know they imprint so easily and most of my babies are released back to the wild, so i try to handle them or even let them see me as little as possible.
> i'm curious to hear everyones thoughts on the subject


I use a "closed end" catheter (the soft red rubber ones used for giving enemas to dogs and cats), and attach a syringe to it - 3 to 12 cc depending on how much I'm feeding. They work really good because they come in different sizes and their flexible, however they are all 12 inches long so I cut them to about 6 inches and file the end so its round and smooth. Best and easiest aproach I found for feeding.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

I almost always use a stainless steel crop needle except for tiny, tiny babies. For those I use either the 3/10 cc diabetic syringes or a 1 cc syringe. As soon as the tiny ones are a week or so old, I use the crop needle for them also. I have had very, very good luck/success with the stainless steel crop needles .. I use the curved #14.

For some birds I use plain old aquarium tubing on the end of a syringe .. this is obviously only used on larger birds .. cheap and works well.

Many, many of our members are not rehabbers or rescuers and simply don't have a variety of syringes, feeding tubes, etc., so the simple, safe, and effective methods discussed and shown in the photos and videos here on Pigeon-Talk are very, very good for them. 

I think it's kind of a matter of whatever works for each of us. I know that I often have as many as two dozen to feed, and there is no possible way to get that done any other way than a feeding tube of whatever sort. Most of our members have only one or a few to get fed at a time.

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

altgirl35 said:


> i been looking a lot through this section, and i'm curious about the feeding techniques.
> when someone brings me a baby pigeon or dove i always feed them with a stainless steel feeding needle, sometimes changing over to a seed shaker as they grow if they going to live in a loft, which usually isn't the case.
> 
> 
> ...


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Altgirl35,

I have used the steel needle, syringe and balloon but have settled for the soft catheter gavage feeding method because, like you, I think that it is very important to consider the consequences - malimprinting - of the chosen feeding method. We love them and they are happy, but they are the lucky ones that had a space in an aviary.

In our aviary we have wood pigeons and collared doves that should be flying free but have to remain in the aviary because they think they are human after having been hand raised (not by us). They were young when they came to us, but even the company of other birds was not enough to dissuade them of their belief that all humans are harmless. We also have a couple of ferals that are more human friendly than they should be, but they don't appear to malimprint as quickly or as thoroughly as wood pigeons and collared doves. Even so, we would not release them as they are just not equiped for survival as street pigeons.

I think that when we advise people about feeding methods on this forum we should do so responsibly and bear in mind the species that has been rescued and the future options it has. To deliberately malimprint a bird and then set it free to fend for itself is , in my view, thoughtless and irresponsible.

Cynthia


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## rainbows (Aug 19, 2008)

malimprint-- do you refer to imprinting on a human or ?? do you think it wise to allow say, a pair of pet barbary doves to adopt and raise a collared dove baby? or a pair of pet pigeons to raise a woodie??


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

> malimprint-- do you refer to imprinting on a human or ??


Yes.



> do you think it wise to allow say, a pair of pet barbary doves to adopt and raise a collared dove baby? or a pair of pet pigeons to raise a woodie??


Yes, their lives would not be endangered by that, although they might choose to mate with the wrong species and have infertile hybrid chicks. The trouble with malimprinting on humans is that not all humans feel benevolent towards pigeons. In fact, when I checked the "facebook" pigeon groups, the concentrated hatred against pigeons terrified me...and I already knew that they are not exactly popular with most humans. 

However, I if they were to be released I would ensure that they spent some time among their own kind and were released as part of a small bonded flock. This is where the sanctuary steps in. 

Cynthia


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

pdpbison said:


> altgirl35 said:
> 
> 
> > i been looking a lot through this section, and i'm curious about the feeding techniques.
> ...


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

sorry i didn't make it on yesterday, got a new baby cardinal, an injured downy woodpecker (friggin cats!) and a million squirrel calls, i just skimmed thru the answers i hopefully will be able to come back and read them more carefully.
i make a seed shaker out of usually a small baby bottle, which i fill with seeds, then i use a piece of vet wrap and a rubber band to hold the vet wrap on.then i cut a slit in it a bit smaller than their beaks, (the vet wrap is flexible and will stretch a bit)
and i show them how to work their little beak in,they love it and gobble up the seeds, plus usually some falls out and makes them curious and begin to peck and start eating a bit on their own.
you need to be careful with this method to make sure they are drinking well on their own, and if they are not, i tube in lactated ringers solution or water if you have nothing else, until they are.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

also when it comes to pigeons or doves being imprinted i worry more so for their safety, a lot of mean, horrible people out there that hate them, or people will misunderstand and will think they are being attacked if one lands on their head and will hurt them, i want them to fear people so they will keep their distance when they are released.
i have the same issues will the gulls i raise, if they are tiny they almost always imprint heavily a lot like a duck, and a lot of people hate them to.
with songbirds it can be a problem also i want them to know who and what they are so they will go out into the wild, find a mate and make more little songbirds. i worry for them the most, we are losing more and more every year


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I guess it depends on the situation of where you're at--I live in a quiet neighborhood of a smaller city where nobody cares. It seems to be very different in much more metropolitan cities.

Pidgey


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

I use either a stainless steel needle or the rubber end of an eye dropper...
depends on the bird.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Gosh, you are still very busy!



> also when it comes to pigeons or doves being imprinted i worry more so for their safety, a lot of mean, horrible people out there that hate them, or people will misunderstand and will think they are being attacked if one lands on their head and will hurt them, i want them to fear people so they will keep their distance when they are released.


Wood pigeons have the additional burden of being classified as game birds as well as pests. It is so important that they don't malimprint on humans and think they belong to the human species. But they also need to recognize their own species as they forage in the fields as a flock which teaches the younger birds what is edible and waht isn't...and, of course, provides protection from predators. A malimprinted woodie just doesn't stand a chance.

It is a pity that they don't provide more realistic bird beanie babies, designed to be used for feeding youngsters so that they don't malimprint on humans. I was wondering whether a decoy would serve this purpose with woodies...there are plenty of those on e-bay

Cynthia


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

have you ever watched that show about the people that raised the cranes?? it was a test to see how well it worked with them because they want to raise whooping cranes because they only winter in this one area in new orleans right near a big shipping area, and one oil spill and we will have no more whooping cranes. so they want to raise them and fly with them in a ultra light down to new areas of the country.
what they did is disguise themselves completly in black, and used a puppet that looked like a crane mom or dad to feed them, plus i think they played recordings of adult birds.
it seemed to work really well.
every year i plan to make a seagull puppet and try it, but have never gotten it together to try it with the little chicks.
raising a single bird is tough, it's funny, it's always recomened to raise babies with older birds of the same species. but i always need to release any as soon as i can to make room for new babies.
do we have woodies in the u.s.??


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi Altgirl

Woodies are the European Wood Pigeon and only occur in the 'old world'.

There is a not dissimilar species, the Band Tailed Pigeon, which is, I believe, limited to a strip down the western side of the USA. This is classified as a 'New World' Wood Pigeon.

John


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

just googled em, what a pretty bird, they can have some stunning colors huh?
we have the same problem in this country with the hunting some places allow hunting of mourning doves which i absolutly love, they are such sweet pretty little things, people suck, i don't get it


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