anyone know pigeons?

I took this from the dogs and put it in a carrier on the way out the door.


I just looked it over and aside from some missing head feathers it seems fine but it can't fly. Maybe it is just young. We swapped out the fleece for newspaper, gave it a deep water dish because I read they have to submerge most of their long beak to drink, and gave a piece of millet and some cockatiel seed. It hasn't shown interest in any of it. I'm not finding solid info on what to feed it and how partially because I can't tell how old it is. I am out of frozen mixed veggies I feed the cockatiels. At least pigeons are less wild when feral than unhandled cockatiels when raised indoors. :lol: It just perched on my finger so long as I kept it's wings covered and looked around. The places you are bleeding from after a cockatiel bite are not the most painful. It's the places that didn't give and split open when crunched by the beak.

Your pigeon looks young to me. The main thing about them is they taste GREAT! :lol:

Bread, oatmeal, grits are all good things to try but it may still need mothers milk. If it doesnt look like its trying to eat you can try mixing some milk with some bread and syringing it into its beak.

Thats what I would try anyway.

Good luck!

GBov":3vohqd3d said:

but it may still need mothers milk.

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Ahm, these are birds, not mammals? :shock: I have no idea if birds can digest milk.

I raised pigeons until a year ago. Got tired of feeding the hawks. Now I have rabbits and chickens! Pigeon parents allow their babies to take the food that is in their crop. This lies in front of the trachea. They don't start pecking at seeds until they are about 3 weeks old. If you have a pet store near you, you can try baby bird formula like Kaytee's and mix it kinda like a thin pudding then put it in a syringe, like maybe a 10 cc (ml) syringe. You will have to cut the tip off so the opening is wide enough for the baby to get his bill into. As the baby sucks, you push the syringe. It takes some practice, especially until the baby knows that you're trying to feed it. You would need to wrap it in a towel with it's head out cause those wings will be going all over. If you can't get the formula try the milk soaked bread with little pieces of cooked egg. There is probably a recipe out there for baby bird formula.
I have also heard, but wasn't successful doing, that you can put the formula in a rubber glove and cut the tip off so the baby can get the food while you squeeze the glove - gently so as not to aspirate.
If he seems to be going downhill, the first thing you need to do is keep him warm. When he's warmed up then try feeding. Good Luck!

Found this: http://www.cockatielcottage.net/formula.html. I'm not so sure the spoon idea will work with pigeons though.

Maybe I will try some egg. I'm told to push soft peas and corn into it's beak every 6hrs but I won't have any until later tonight after my husband goes to the store.

Preitler":tbt0a9ay said:

GBov":tbt0a9ay said:

but it may still need mothers milk.

Click to expand...

Ahm, these are birds, not mammals? :shock: I have no idea if birds can digest milk.

Click to expand...

:lol: Milking pigeons! :lol:

What the baby takes from its parent is called milk. No idea why.

Preitler":1gatrjpg said:

GBov":1gatrjpg said:

but it may still need mothers milk.

Click to expand...

Ahm, these are birds, not mammals? :shock: I have no idea if birds can digest milk.

Click to expand...

Actually pigeons are a species which produces "crop milk" that is protein and lipid rich white-ish liquid https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_milk

However, there is no lactose in crop milk and a plain, sugar free soy milk would be better than cows milk for a replacement

http://www.pigeoncote.com/vet/feedbaby/feedbaby.html

http://m.pigeonrescue.co.uk/site/mobile ... rk=fw#3113

I don't see any pin feathers so the bird is nearly fledged and should start eating whole seeds

I think he might have eaten some of the smaller seeds out of the cockatiel mix and he's still alert, reactive, and not fluffed so I gave him more seed until my husband gets home with a bag of veggies.

pigeons will begin flapping around at a month old, and at this time look nearly identical to the full grown birds. this age is when you harvest for squab, while they are still really tender but not toughened from flying.

pigeon feed is 15% protein, generally racing pigeon people feed higher % protein. main things off top of my head is: peas, oats, millet,... I want to say I read a lot to not give much corn unless its wintertime/still really cold because it'll just make em fat and overheated.

maybe try grinding the cockatiel mix a bit and adding water? let it soak maybe and soften.

and yes pigeons are among the birds that hatch naked and need motherly care. actually they usually pair up for a decent length of time and the male and female will take turns keeping the nest warm. lol really ugly nekkid babies

If you still jhave this fledgeling, introduce some chick grit into it's diet-- pigeons do not 'hull' their seeds the way the parrots do, and use the grit as 'teeth' in the crop.

It's eating pretty much all corn and peas right now. I'm not sure if he ate any seed or it just got scattered into the edges but I haven't changed out what is in his dish for several days now. He's been moved to a dog crate with a couple flat items to sit on. It's good to get him off the floor because he keeps spilling his water when trying to fly up and grab the bars so the papers are wet for awhile until I can change them. I'm not sure if he wants to see more, just has a desire to fly overall, or thinks he might escape. I have to empty a container I was soaking items in and then he can fly the guinea pig room if he wants. At worst we have to net him again but he's starting to realize I feed him.