My new rescue today! Baby Graham Pidgington!

he had fluttered down from a high ledge way above a shop. I have been feeding the parents of these babies for weeks, and I am guessing/estimating that Graham is about 6 - 8 weeks old. Today I went out of the market as usual to throw nice food down for the adults, and there, all alone on the pavement, right where I throw the food was Graham. I thought it was odd when he didnt back away as I approached to put down the food. So i walked right up to him, and he just stepped away a bit. I thought ''This isnt right somehow!''. So, I clapped my hands and jogged on the spot to make him take flight. he tried, but only managed a rather poor flutter. Squinting upwards to the high ledge, I started to count the babies; one..... two..... Oh nooooo, where was baby number THREE???? Right here it would seem, by my feet. I tried again to make him fly, but he couldnt. Bending over him, I could see that the beautiful, clean soft feathers on the elbow of one wing were a bit 'ruffled', and it looked like he had lost a couple.
Well, I could see that he wasnt going to be able to fly UP as far as he had flown/fluttered down, and I knew if I left him there on the very public pavement that some idiot would most likely look at him, and see a football So, as there was nowhere around safe to leave him, and there was no way to get him back up on his high ledge, he had to come home with me. And here he is. I think probably only for a few weeks until he is stronger and fully fledged, or however long that takes. His 'sore' wing has indeed lost and roughed up and couple of feathers, but on examination the movement is nice and easy, and there dosent SEEM to be a fracture. However, a trip to the vet will be happening tomorrow, just to be sure.
He hasnt eaten much at all this evening, but it is getting late and he is very tired, natural sleep-time combined with a bit of shock and exhaustion I think. He did eat and drink earlier so am not too worried at this point, as he is fully feathered and almost fledged; certainly well beyond stubby, patchy baby stage. If he shows no interest in the morning, out will come the feeding bottle. If THAT fails, then, young man, your temporary carer, Annie McPhee ( heehee ! ) may have to resort to the crop needle, so I suggest you start doing THIS
Anyway everyone, thats the story of Graham so far! Please throw in advice, criticism, whatever you feel I need in order to help him get back home as soon as possible!

Here he is below, in his temporary accomodation

Good thing you were there. I'll bet he doesn't know how to eat on his own yet.

Here are some pre-written instructions that I use for babies his age. ...makes weaning very easy.


You can hand feed defrosted corn and peas. Run some hot water over them until they are defrosted and slightly warmed. Put the bird on your lap and hold it next to your body. If it helps, you can wrap a towel around it or put it in the sleeve of a tee shirt, with the head out the wrist. That confines them without hurting them and makes it easier to handle. Gently open the beak and pop the piece of corn and peas at the back of the mouth and over the throat.
You will need to feed 40-50 per feeding and every time the crop empties until you know the baby is eating on his own.
This is a wonderful method for teaching babies to eat because they feel the whole food in their mouth and it’s soft and easy to pick up and hang on to. The next step… seeds.
The crop is located right below the throat and with food it fills up like a little balloon. The peas and corn make it lumpy and squishy.

Thankyou so much for that Charis I have both peas and sweetcorn in as my birds and bunny and hamster love them! I shall feed him those in the morning when I get up (About 6am)
Its near midnight here now, and he is deeply asleep. I would say he is slightly on the thin side over the breastbone, but not worryingly so. His poops in his cardboard transport box wernt exactly the healthiest looking, but then again, I dont think mine would be if a total alien stuffed ME in a box away from all I was familiar with. They did look a bit better once he settled in his cage, but I will take samples to the vet, and no doubt he will provide a nice fresh sample on the way

Ohh the temptation to keep him is strong *slaps self round lug'ole* I will not steal his freedom from him. My plan is to release him right by where he came from, do you agree?

Annie...at this point...until you know he is okay and eating on his own...I wouldn't let him go.

Oh no, I have no intention of letting him go yet, I promise! I meant when the time comes to release him, should I take him back to where he began Poor little mite cant even fly at the moment, and believe me, round here there are many who think it is a good and natural thing to boot a poor pidge I will ensure he is fit and strong and flying well.
Its only a matter of weeks ago that someone in at least his 30's swung a hefty kick at my wild ASPO pidge friend. Fortunately he missed or the kick would have severely hurt or killed Aspo. UNfortunately, for the idiot, I was mopping the salon where I work on a Sunday and saw him do it. I however, did NOT miss when I ran outside like a screaming mad woman and belted him with my heavy mop.
Anyway, am going off topic as usual is there any way to make him a home made safe nappy/diaper that you know of? I really dont want to keep him caged indeffinatetly or he'll never learn to fly. No worries if not, an used to cleaning up after the winged ones

So glad you were at the right place & the right time Annie

In your loving hands I'm sure he will be up & flying in no time.

AnnieBirdy wrote:

Oh no, I have no intention of letting him go yet, I promise! I meant when the time comes to release him, should I take him back to where he began Poor little mite cant even fly at the moment, and believe me, round here there are many who think it is a good and natural thing to boot a poor pidge I will ensure he is fit and strong and flying well.
Its only a matter of weeks ago that someone in at least his 30's swung a hefty kick at my wild ASPO pidge friend. Fortunately he missed or the kick would have severely hurt or killed Aspo. UNfortunately, for the idiot, I was mopping the salon where I work on a Sunday and saw him do it. I however, did NOT miss when I ran outside like a screaming mad woman and belted him with my heavy mop.
Anyway, am going off topic as usual is there any way to make him a home made safe nappy/diaper that you know of? I really dont want to keep him caged indeffinatetly or he'll never learn to fly. No worries if not, an used to cleaning up after the winged ones

I think that when you let him go...it needs to be into a flock that has a regular supply of food. Do you feed the birds from your place? If so, maybe that would be the best place.

I would like to have seen you go after that fellow. It must have been a sight!

Honestly...I don't know of any home made diapers for pigeons. I have ordered them before but my pigeons have hated them and so I haven't forced them to wear them.
Maybe other members will have a diaper idea for you.

EgypSwiftLady wrote:

So glad you were at the right place & the right time Annie
Fortunately Im there 5 days a week, and despite protests and complaints from market security and managers, my regular flock there get 3 good meals a day

In your loving hands I'm sure he will be up & flying in no time.

Thankyou so much, I sure hope so! I hate seeing a bird grounded x


I think that when you let him go...it needs to be into a flock that has a regular supply of food. Do you feed the birds from your place? If so, maybe that would be the best place.
Yes, I do, every day, around three times a day. My lovely flock have grown from a few to about ten

I would like to have seen you go after that fellow. It must have been a sight!
Oh Charis, I nearly took his head off his shoulders, it was great! Its a fabulous mop, great big head on it, and a thick sturdy wooden handle. It really did the job well!

.[Honestly...I don't know of any home made diapers for pigeons. I have
ordered them before but my pigeons have hated them and so I haven't
forced them to wear them.
Maybe other members will have a diaper idea for you/quote]

Oh ok, I'll not bother then, Id hate to upset him. Poor thing will be stressed enough, and if he's a good shot, he certainly wont be the first pidgie to provide me with some organic hair conditioner

...organic hair conditioner...I like thinking of it that way. My hair is very well conditioned!

Just throw towels over the things you don't want pooped on when you let him out to fly. That's what we do for Scooter, our house pigeon. I just bought towels that coordinate with our living room. And besides, he has a perch where he spends most of his time, so the poops are not so much all over. LOL.

Matilda wrote:

...organic hair conditioner...I like thinking of it that way. My hair is very well conditioned!

I hate when that happens!

Graham is a little darling, Annie.
You have been tending to 'needy' pigeons for a while, yes?

I love the 'mop' incident. Off with his head!!
LOTS!!

We would love to hear how things are coming along with this sweet little one.

NiteOwl wrote:

Matilda wrote:

...organic hair conditioner...I like thinking of it that way. My hair is very well conditioned!

I hate when that happens!

Hmmm, they can have rather a twisted sense of humour sometimes these birds I remember, years ago, holding my hand out for my change at some open air fete when Id bought something. Next thing, sperrrrrrrLATTT, and I have a great handfull of burd turd. That was a double

AZWhitefeather wrote:

Graham is a little darling, Annie.
You have been tending to 'needy' pigeons for a while, yes?
I have indeed Cindy Ive tended to loads over the years, mainly older pigeons with injuries or canker problems. Even reared a very young baby woody. Havent come across a nearly fledged infant until today though, so am back to square one as a beginner again

I love the 'mop' incident. Off with his head!!
LOTS!!
It was a joy and a privilege! The sound of the THHHWACK!!!! as the mop head connected with his head was pure orchestral to me

We would love to hear how things are coming along with this sweet little one.

Oh I will most certainly keep you all updated Because I know you will all care deeply about his progress, and also because I know if Im doing something wrong you will tell me, or if I could be doing something better, you will tell me. I will be all ears and eyes for certain

AnnieBirdy wrote:

AZWhitefeather wrote:

I love the 'mop' incident. Off with his head!!
LOTS!!
It was a joy and a privilege! The sound of the THHHWACK!!!! as the mop head connected with his head was pure orchestral to me

AZWhitefeather wrote:

The sound of the THHHWACK!!!! as the mop head connected with his head was pure orchestral to me

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You know Cindy, I just KNEW we'd get along! We even share the same taste in music!

AnnieBirdy wrote:

AZWhitefeather wrote:

The sound of the THHHWACK!!!! as the mop head connected with his head was pure orchestral to me

You know Cindy, I just KNEW we'd get along! We even share the same taste in music!

A nice update on Graham he is doing really well, eats like a king, and can now FLY
I discovered this new achievement on returning home from work last week to discover his cage door open, and no sign of graham. The rascal has forced the grip off his door, opened his door, and gone exploring. I found him watching me with a smug look on his face as I searched the room in panic. He was quite happily perched atop the avairy! After a rather fun game of ''you cant catch me for a penny cup of tea'' he eventually conceeded that I COULD catch him, and was returned to the safety of his recovery cage. His wing is much better now, but he still favours his left leg a bit, so I am still keeping a close eye on that. Also, his fledling friends outside the market havent yet flown the nest, so until they do, he will stay put anyway.
Will upload pics of cheeky chick sitting on top of the aviary like King of the castle, as they are on my other computer.

Great update on Graham, Annie.
Looking forward to seeing the photos.

Nice to hear that he's doing well. Must have been something to find him out of the cage like that. LOL. Sounds like a smart one!

here is the cheeky rascal

Oh, look at that face! It looks like he's grinning!!!

Thanks for the update, Annie, it's great to hear he's doing so well!

I couldn't stop laughing at the thought of 'organic hair conditioner'... Mind you, best avoid the seagulls...

Graham is looking wonderful, Annie. What a little sweetie.
Thanks for sharing the photos with us.

Well, today I saw that his same age 'siblings' had flown the nest. I know he is now really at maturity, or at least, mature enough not to need to be 'parented' as such. However, although he is well improving physically, I felt I had more to do, in order to prepare him for the wild. SOOOOOOOO, not as much good quality food today. I brought home some scraps from the market cafe where I work. Discarded fried egg, bacon fat and rind, a smattering of baked beans. I fed him a bit of this rubbish instead of his usual well conditioned natural wild bird food and veg. Why?? Because in the wild, he will mainly survive on rubbish, left-overs, scrap and cr*p that people discard. Over the next week, I intend to toughen up his digestive system, get his sweet body used to what he will mainly survive on. I can NOT release him knowing what he will eat out there, and knowing I have not helped prepare his body to cope with. He will have tasters of all the stuff we know we should never really feed a bird, simply because, what we should never really feed, will most likely be what somehow keeps him alive. I am starting to feed him junk food, I am, I hope, truly preparing him for release. I am also shaking him off my hand when he hops so trustingly on to it. he is simply not safe venturing out into the wild with too deep a trust of the human species.
This part is so very hard, I want so much to cuddle him, cosset him. And it wuld be sooo easy. But selfish, and cruel. I am being hard, because deep down I know, that for him, 'hard' is kind. He has to survive out there, and I doubt very much that his parents would have taught him that human cuddles and intimate contact are good. I am his parent now. I have to think like a wild bird, not like a soppy, soft hearted human.
It's not easy being true to the wildies, is it
But I owe it to him

Oh, and by the way, I am crying as I type, because I guess I love him. Ok, I love him. The hard part is loving him 'enough'. That is so hard