Rescued Baby Pigeon...Advice Please! *With Pics*

Hello

We rescued our lil fella about a week ago, and he seems to be thriving. Not sure about age...3 weeks old maybe? And i understand why you call them squealers...he doesn't shut up! At first i thought it was just when he wanted feeding, but now it's pretty constant...he sounds like one of those blow up camping beds lol

We've been feeding him a mixture of egg yolk, roughly ground wild bird seed and breadcrumbs mixed with a bit of water into a lumpy paste. He loves it, but his crop doesn't seem to go all the way down between feeds, and i'm worried that we may be over feeding him or that it could indicate some kind of illness. He seems ok in himself (quite lively, flapping, walking, squeaking...dear god...the squeaking! and he's very greedy (acts quite panicky whilst feeding, squeaking all the while and hitting my hand with his wing to make me go faster, as if he's not eaten for days). He has 3 feeds a day, about walnut size amounts. At first we were giving him moist pea size balls of bread but he'd start refusing after about 10, now we have to take it away from him once his crop is full...he doesn't like that at all!

Here's some pics...could anyone confirm his age for me? Should he be on big boy bird food by now? Also, i just want to show him off!

Feeding time...very messy!


Posing.


Dinner all over his face!


Like i said, he's a very messy eater. We've found the only way that he'll eat is if we put his food into the corner of a plastic bag, cut a hole in it, then he sticks his beak in, clears a space and opens his mouth...then we kind of squeeze it in from the sides...there must be an easier (and cleaner!) way! He really fights us if we try to open his beak and do it that way, and i'm worried about damaging or hurting him. With him being so messy, and with it being egg yolk...well, you can imagine the state he gets in. It gets all stuck to his feathers on his neck...i can get most of it off, but he's still got gluey bits...is it safe to put him in a bowl of water for a bath at his age? Will he know what to so, or will i have to soak and scrape at him?

Really clueless with all this, so any and all advice will be greatly appreciated! And 50 internet points to anyone who's made it to the end of my essay lol!

Hi Intastella, and welcome to Pigeon Angels!

What a cutie you've got there! And he looks to be a baby woodpigeon, rather than an ordinary city pigeon! I don't get those here, but they develop faster than most other types of pigeon, so your baby could be about three weeks old!

The mess at meal times is unavoidable, I'm afraid but it may become a little less messy if you use a long, thin container, syringe or jar closed by a bit of rubber (such as part of a rubber glove), tightened and well secured with a rubber band. With a sharp knife, cut a 1 cm slit in the middle of the rubber 'lid', direct the baby's beak to the hole, hold the container almost upright (to get gravity to help you) and the baby will be able to suck the food out without spilling too much. There's really no need to squeeze the food into his beak, as squeakers suck their food.

You're quite right not to try to force open his beak to put the food inside! Many baby birds eat that way, but not baby pigeons!

What I would change is the egg yolk, which contains far too much protein for him, and may cause bad indigestion. There are recipes for baby pigeon food, but I have to say that not all babies like the taste of them... the safest bet is Kaytee Exact hand rearing formula, or a similar proprietary formula, mixed with small seeds. It contains all the nourishment and vitamin supplements for perfect growth. And adding a little live yoghurt would be great, and that's still the best kind of probiotic to give them, very important for hand reared babies to develop their immune system and resistance to disease.
It's very important that his crop empties between feeds, as any accumulation of food in the crop will rapidly turn sour and lead to a yeast infection. This is one of the most common causes of baby bird emergencies. But if he starts eating with an empty crop, you can let him eat at will -- and babies this age will eat LOTS, as they are growing so fast at that age!

He may be getting very close to being able to pick up seeds by himself. In the wild, they would copy the adults' behaviour, but you can give him a hint by scattering some seed and then forming a beak with your forefinger and thumb, and picking up seeds with them, just as a bird would peck. You would be surprised how fast they learn!
Much the same with water, especially if the first time you present it to him it is at body temperature. Put some in a cup/glass and place it under his beak, dipping about half his beak into it (no more, so it doesn't go into his nostrils). After a few tries, he'll get the idea!

Let us know how he's coming along, and thank you so much for sharing his story and pictures!