# orphaned baby pigeon



## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

the owner of a petstore brung me another baby pigeon she believs it was the brother of the baby I had before that sadly passed away for an unknown reason. but it is much older and I have some questions about how to care for it. I believe it is about 11 days old. here is a picture of it https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/13498624145/. my questions are does it still need a heat lamp at this age. I currently have it under a 60 watt infared reptile heat bulb should I leave this on him? and he eats kaytee hand rearing formula out of a sayringe and has been a very good eater but do you think he is too old to bond to humans and be a tame pet or will he be scared of me when he grows up?


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Darling baby you have there! It's definitely still young enough to bond with you and be quite tame if you are wanting to keep it as a pet. 

Yes, continue to provide the heat source for another couple of weeks.

Terry


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

He is adorable. Be careful with those heatlamps, as they can shatter and cause fire. A heating pad or a ceramic reptile heater that doesn't shatter, would be safer. He is certainly young enough to bond to you at this age, as was already said.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Thanks for all the information but I also need to know if i am mixing his food right. I usualy use about a quarter of a cup of water and about half a tea spoon of kaytee exact hand rearing fourmula. Is this ok or should it be thicker? And if this is a good proportion, will i ever need to make it thicker as he gets older?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Oh no, that is not near thick enough. He needs nutrients to grow. All he is getting is water. You should be making it like a soft pudding. How much are you giving him?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

At 1 week, they should be getting about 15mls and will only need feeding about every 5 or 6 hours. At 2 weeks of age they can usually take about 40mls every 8 hours. Never give more than 40 mls at one sitting. You won't need to make it thicker than a pudding, you would just feed more as he grows.

He looks to be about a week old I think.

15 ml is a Tablespoon.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Oh thank you so much I have changed started making it a lot thicker like you said and i usualy give him about 3 or 4 sarynge fulls evry feeding. Is this too much? And also someone told me that if you make some kind of call while your feeding holim he will come to you when he hears that sound as an adult, is this true if not how can i train him to come to me on comand?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I have no idea of how large a syringe you are using. As I have said. 15 ml is one Tablespoon. You can figure it out from that. Usually people when they train birds that are a bit older, they repeat the same sound when they feed, and the birds get to know it means dinnner.


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*baby pigeon*

Here are several ways of feeding. I like the plastic bag method, or any method that requires the baby to eat himself rather than me putting the food into him. There is less chance of him choking/aspirating. Gary

http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/howtofeed.htm


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

lg5555 said:


> Here are several ways of feeding. I like the plastic bag method, or any method that requires the baby to eat himself rather than me putting the food into him. There is less chance of him choking/aspirating. Gary
> 
> http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/howtofeed.htm



Good point.


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*baby*

Are the feathers growing yet?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Please update us on how the baby is doing.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Sorry i have been busy lately but the pigeon is doing great he is eating very well and has been growing so fast its amazing he already has all the feathers on his wings and i believe he is 19 days old. Here is a picture of him https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/[email protected]/13679242565/ today i gave him his first solid food a single pea im thinking pf continuing to give him solid food. Is this ok or should i wait a little longer? When should i wean him off the kaytee exact compleatly? And also when should i stop giving him heat.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Why not make every other feeding the peas, and every other feeding the formula? You would have to give him enough peas though. start with 25 or 30. Hard to tell just how big he is from the pic. Just check his crop. Fill it like 3/4 full. You want it to feel like a soft pillow, and not hard packed. Then just make sure he has passed them before feeding him again. Or make his last meal of the day peas. By morning he will probably have passed them all. But just check to make sure. After a week or so, you can leave some with him and give him a chance to learn how to pick them up by himself. 

You could use the heat for another week anyway.


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*baby,pigeon*

How is he?


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

He is doing good starting to peck at seeds and attempt to fly by jumping off my hand from a variety of distances. I make sure he dosent hurt himself by by letting him jump onto a pillow. I have noticed that he hasnt realy changed that much in about two weeks however, he has grown in size very slightly over the past few days but he realy has barley been developing feathers over the past two weeks or so. I have been looking at this pigeon growth chart http://www.speedpigeon.com/baby_racing_pigeon.htm and he seems behind because i believe he should be about 20 to 25 days old. Do pigeons develop at different rates from one another or am i doing something wrong?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Hard to say without seeing him. Can you post pics? How much are you feeding him? What are you feeding him?


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

I have been feeding him mostly the fourmula from a saringe and sometimes millet seeds or peas but not realy as a meal just a snack. It is very hard to get a picture of him because he is always running twards me but here is one where you can kind of see him. https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/[email protected]/13900758743/. Now that he is starting to peck at seeds i want to get him some grit. My petstore sells a couple different kinds of grit for parakeets. They have crushed oyster shell, ouster shell bone care, bird gravel digestive care, and gravel and grit digestive aid with calcium carbonate. Can i get any of these for my pigeon? If so, which one should i get? I know its a little early but i want to have it for when he is older. I have also knoticed that some of his tail and flight feathers have these little lines where the feather strands are seperated here is a picture of one of them https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/[email protected]/13902724535/ what is it?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I don't see where he isn't growing feathers? Not really a great shot of him. 
What you will need is a pigeon grit. Red hi calcium grit is good.
You can stop the formula and feed him the frozen peas that have been defrosted and warmed. Give him 30 at a time, a few times daily after the crop empties. At that age he should be getting a more solid food than the formula, and the peas will make it easy to wean him onto seed.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Jay3 said:


> I don't see where he isn't growing feathers? Not really a great shot of him.
> What you will need is a pigeon grit. Red hi calcium grit is good.
> You can stop the formula and feed him the frozen peas that have been defrosted and warmed. Give him 30 at a time, a few times daily after the crop empties. At that age he should be getting a more solid food than the formula, and the peas will make it easy to wean him onto seed.


Thank you i have started feeding him mostly peas but i need to know what is wrong with his feathers i will often find tail feathers that have fallen out why is this? And what are those little lines where the feather strands are seperated? Is it a sign of stress?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You might find this interesting.
Stress Bars
As mentioned before, producing a feather requires much in the way of resources (energy, nutrients) from the bird’s system. If any of these requirements are disrupted, or if the sheath is injured while the feather is being formed, there will be a weakness because the growing tissue was interrupted in growing properly. This creates a transverse line perpendicular to the long axis of the feather and is called a “stress bar” or “stress line.” The stress line indicates that the growth tissue was stressed with the reduction of nutrients supplying it. A large number of these bars can be indicative of some type of health issue within the bird and should be assessed as soon as possible by your bird’s veterinarian.
http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-diet-and-health/bird-grooming/feather-health.aspx


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*baby pigeon*

Have you named him?


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

I believe those probably are stress bars. I did a little research on stress bars and they should be gone the next time he molts. He has stopped eating the fourmula compleatly and eats mostly seeds now. I just leave a bowl of seeds and a bowl of water in the 5 gallon fish tank i keep him in, and he just eats on his own when he is hungry. And i have named him Noah after the story of Noahs ark where a dove is used to bring Noah the message to build an arch and guide his ship to land. Althoug I dont know if he is male or female, Noah can also be a girls name.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Cute name. Glad he's doing well, and yes, when he molts the feathers will probably be fine.


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*Noah*

Any new pictures of Noah? He needs a bigger home, a dog crate is ideal for a indoor pigeon. Sometimes, Garage sales have them.

http://www.pigeonrescue.org/2012/12/06/mickacoo-in-review-2012/img_1108-2/


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

lg5555 said:


> Any new pictures of Noah? He needs a bigger home, a dog crate is ideal for a indoor pigeon. Sometimes, Garage sales have them.
> 
> http://www.pigeonrescue.org/2012/12/06/mickacoo-in-review-2012/img_1108-2/


I have a large dog crate in my garage, my dog grew out of it. I could probably clean it up and add some perches to make it nice for him


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*Noah*

Thats great. Im glad Noah is doing well. Pigeons are neat pets, related to parrots and less noisey. Is he able to fly yet? ive seen youtube videos of pet pigeons flying near their owners because they were imprinted on them. Is Noah checkered?


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

I have fixed up a dog crate for Noah and he loves it alredy here is a picture of it https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/[email protected]/14126045096/ and also Noah is a dark check here is a picture of him https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/[email protected]/14149395414/ he is getting very big now and starting to fly short distances i have been taining him to fly to me for peas!


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*noah*

Wow! The crate looks awesome. When you find a flat board, you can put it in the crate replacing one of the dowels. Since pigeons like flat boards due to the way their feet are. By the way are you able to recognize the wounded pigeon at the garage? Have you seen him again? Be extra careful with Sandy dont let her hurt Noah. When not supervised make sure Noah is always in his crate and not loose.


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*Noahs pictures*

I was looking at Noahs picture from the first day and how he looks now. You did a great job raising him.


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

Thank you, I do have a flat wood board which i leave his food and water on but he realy only useses it to eat and drink he barley uses the dowels either his favorite spot to perch is on the edge of a hanging planter i added for him to nest on but he seems to like it more as a perch . I actualy have seen him at the garage a couple of times because i sometimes go back to feed them. I can recognize him by a couple of small white patches on the back of his neck. He seems to be doing fine you probably wouldnt even be able to tell that he ever had an injury in the first place. I also found the animals that i believe caused his injury. I had taped my phone and a flashlight onto a pole and put the phone on video record and i put it up into the cieling to see why the birds had been going up there and i found a punch of nests with babies and eggs (and also a lot of poop!) and i could see a family of racoons that had been sharing the cieling of the garage and i believe that he strayed too far into the back of the cieling or maybe one of the racoons got hungry and attacked him. It was kind of creepy to see thier glowing eyes! And yes I try to keep Sandy and Noah in seperate rooms but she seems to be okay around my other animals so im sure she would try to harm him but i keep them seperated most of the time just to be safe.


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*Noah*

Hi, Have you taken Noah outside to fly free? If she is imprinted on you she will stay with you. Is she full grown now?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

He could also fly off and get lost.


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*Noah*

Any new pictures of Noah?


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*Noah*

Do you still have Noah?


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## mikis343 (Nov 26, 2013)

*Noah*

Yes I do still have Noah sorry I haven't been on in a while something happened to my account and I wasn't able to post for a while but Noah is doing great he has grown into a beautiful adult and is now 6 months old. I have moved him outside because my parents were complaining about him being too messy and always trying to land on their heads but I think he likes it better. At night he sleeps in a dog cage in my garage at night but during the day I let him out to explore the backyard. He also comes with me when I walk my dog or when I'm going to a friends house. Doesn't need to be on a leash or anything he just follows me everywhere or hangs out on my shoulder or head. He loves picking up twigs and stuff off the ground and dropping them on my shoulder. Here are some pictures of him http://flic.kr/p/pafZEv http://flic.kr/p/pafzoW http://flic.kr/p/prJMFB http://flic.kr/p/prHgC9


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## lg5555 (Aug 2, 2013)

*Noah*

Wow! youre right he grew to be a beautiful pigeon.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes he is very pretty. Just be careful as you could lose him by letting him fly free. Hawks have been known to even grab pigeons off of peoples shoulders.


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