I found a pidgeon that had fallen out of a light fixture by the carwash. This will be my second time tending to a baby bird. (The first time succeeded.) Can anyone give me any info on a pidgeon breeder, if there is such, or some other info on them; what they eat; etc. I can't find any on the net except pidgeon pest control. All will be appreciated. Thanks.
- Melody
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P-i-g-e-o-n. Columbia livia should work also. As far as food, and feeding, if the bird is covered with a yellow fuzz and pin feather combination, with patches of bare skin showing, and if it can't stand for a very long period of time, AND if it looks like it has a proportionate huge gut, you may have to mouth feed it.
Soak grain and seed for about two hours. Put spoonfuls of mixed grain and seed in your mouth. Insert pigeon's bill in your mouth up to it's cere, that's the soft, fleshy part around it's nose holes. Once you wrap your lips lightly around the cere, the little bird's mouth will come open. If it does not start scooping the food on it's own, you will need to use your tongue to guide the food into it's bill.
Canadian peas, milo, hulled wheat, and corn can constitute a complete diet for pigeons. However, a wild bird mix containing parakeet seed, sorghum, and cracked corn, can help to get by until you can get proper food. The wild bird mix will probably contain sunflower seed. Sort those out.
If the bird is old enough to eat on it's own, it will probably eat the wild bird mix without any problem.
I would feed him what they normaly eat around the city- french fries, cigrette butts,acorns,popcorn,sunflower seeds,and any other thing you see laying around the streets.
For pity's sake! How unsanitary for you and the bird to "mouth feed" it! YUK :-) The pet store -- any pet store that sells bird products --should have powdered bird milk (yes, pigeons feed their young a special milk made in their crop). You mix it to the consistancy of loose pudding if the bird is down-feathered and make it thicker as it ages. Get a thin eye dropper (most of the pet stores carry one)because the thicker barrel ones are too large for their mouth. Squirt a drop or two at a time into the right side of their mouth. You will learn to gauge how much and how fast after a feeding or two. When the crop is full, the bird is full. Do not feed again until the crop empties or the food will sour in the crop and kill the bird. I've hand-raised many, many baby pigeons. You can always email me directly if you need any further help and I can give you the name of a couple of good books on hand raising baby pigeons if you are interested.