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Found this little guy in the backyard yesterday. Anyone know how old he is?
One eye is barely open, and the other hasn't opened yet. I'm hoping he's not hurt internally, since he fell from the nest on our roof into our yard.
I'll be dropping him off at the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary later today, if they'll take him. Otherwise, I'll be handfeeding him until he's ready to be released.
I'm not sure how old, but once we had baby pigeons at our work and one fell out of the nest. Someone had told them to put the baby back in the nest, that it would be ok. Maybe check with the sanctuary first to see if you should put it back. Good luck!
The sanctuary isn't accepting any new guests right now, unfortunately. Probably has something to do with the fire they had a few months ago. Looks like we'll be raising him ourselves.
OBTW, the nest is on the top of our 2 story roof, and I have no way to get up there. Besides, he climbed out once and fell - he'll probably do it again. And I have to tell ya - he's quite adventurous. Always trying to explore, and his eyes are barely open!
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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That pigeon is certainly not more than a week old. Keeping it alive if you have a day job will be a real challenge. They get stronger and less labor intensive quickly, but few creatures other than a pair of adult pigeons will have the requisite free time.
Good luck and keep us posted.
BTW, if you hand raise a pigeon you should probably keep it as a house bird. Social birds that are raised by humans and released almost invariably get killed right away.
Yep, he's a wee baby. He's going to require intensive care, complete with near constant feeding and maybe even an incubator, incubator lamp + box, or heating pad set-up. Have you ever hand-fed a baby bird before? It's tough and tricky work. Here's a good, general link because it explains how baby pigeons should NOT be fed baby bird formula. They don't have crops like other birds, and they should get soggy puppy chow: [URL="http://www.marathonwildbirdcenter.org/baby_birds.html"]Raising Orphaned Baby Wild Birds[/URL].
Also, once you care for him that way, he will not be able to survive in the wild. He will imprint on you and will have to be a house bird. BirdChick has a poignant, if funny, entry about [URL="http://www.birdchick.com/wp/2010/04/typical-monday/"]what happens with pigeons who are hand-raised[/URL].
In the meantime, I would call a local veterinarian, Humane Society or ASPCA, etc, or find out if there are any bird rescues in your area if you are not prepared to keep this bird forever.
If you do keep the bird, I can promise you that they are very mellow. They're in the dove family, and my guy had a ringneck dove who lived to be old enough to vote. They love to chill out and watch TV with you, they aren't squawky, the adults are easy to care for, and there is something beautiful about waking up to cooing in the morning.
That pigeon is certainly not more than a week old. Keeping it alive if you have a day job will be a real challenge. They get stronger and less labor intensive quickly, but few creatures other than a pair of adult pigeons will have the requisite free time.
Luckily, I work from home. And the economy being what it is, we're not nearly as busy as we should be right now, so I (fortunately? unfortunately?) have plenty of time to take care of him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimboburnsy
Good luck and keep us posted.
Will-do. He's been doing great these last few days, until this morning. I think I put some food down the wrong tube. I'm keeping a very close eye on him, and I'm about to call the vet (we have one good avian vet in the valley, and he's all the way across town ) to see what they can do for him.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swagger
Will-do. He's been doing great these last few days, until this morning. I think I put some food down the wrong tube. I'm keeping a very close eye on him, and I'm about to call the vet (we have one good avian vet in the valley, and he's all the way across town ) to see what they can do for him.
He's probably going to die. They don't often fade and then recover.
Aspiration pneumonia is not uncommon - however if it will survive, it really needs to have been seen by an avian vet sort of like right after it happened. Once symptoms appear it is, usually, too late.
Back from the vet, and he should be fine. Of course, after waiting in the exam room for 15 minutes, he started perking up and acting "normal" about 2 minutes before the doctor came in.
I also picked up a feeding tube and syringe, which will make the whole process much safer and easier.
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And the economy being what it is, we're not nearly as busy as we should be right now, so I (fortunately? unfortunately?) have plenty of time to take care of him.
) to see what they can do for him.
