Young pigeons and doves arrive by the dozen at wildlife rescues during baby bird season. Luckily, these are fairly easy birds to raise and release. Of course, it is always best to leave a baby bird with its parents, so potential rescuers should be certain that the bird needs rescuing before placing it in human care.
Housing
Very small baby birds, known as hatchlings or nestlings, need heat. A heating pad set on low under their cage or, better yet, a heat lamp, can give the warmth that the bird would normally receive from sleeping underneath their parent. Nestlings don't move around much, but as the bird becomes a fledgling, a larger space is needed. Fledglings need plenty of room to run around, flap their wings, and develop their flight muscles. Around this time, it is best to move the bird to a safe outdoor enclosure where it can get used to the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors.
Feeding
In the wild, the parents would feed the baby birds predigested grains and seeds, vomiting directly into the baby's mouth. Wildlife rehabilitators use Exact Baby Bird Formula--a commercial food designed for hand-raising baby parrots. Simply add hot water and stir until the desired consistency is reached - thinner for very young or dehydrated birds, thicker for older birds. The food should maintain a temperature between 95 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit during feeding.
The Exact mixture is tubed directly into the bird's crop. This is best accomplished with a syringe and tube. Gently open the bird's beak so that the neck is stretched upwards. Avoid the glottis at the base of the tongue and carefully insert the tube down the throat, releasing the food slowly. If the bird starts to spit up, remove the feeding instrument immediately and give the bird a moment to recover. Eventually, the bird will learn to help you by opening its beak and helping place the tube down its throat. Generally, the crop needs to be filled two to three times daily, or whenever it has emptied. On average, a nestling will need up to 5ml per feeding, while a fledgling will need 10-15 ml.
When the bird is nearly fully feathered, you may start offering it seeds in its enclosure. Eventually, the bird should start pecking at the seeds out of curiosity. At this point, you can start weaning the bird off of Exact until it is fully self-feeding.
Medical Concerns
Trichomoniasis, also known as "canker," is a contagious disease among Columbidae. Symptoms include not eating, vomiting, and a ruffled appearance. In the later, harder-to-treat stages, white or yellow, foul-smelling "cankers" appear in the crop, throat, and mouth. Early on, Trich can be detected by swabbing the crop with a q-tip and observing crop fluids under a microscope. The organism appears as tiny, wiggling flagellate.
To avoid Trich, infected birds must be quarantined, and feeding tubes should be disinfected between use. Trich can be treated with a one-time treatment of Spartix (Emtryl), or with ten days of Metronidazole or Flagyl.
Splay leg is another common problem with young birds, and can be avoided by having plenty of small twigs, branches, or thick paper shreds for birds to grip and climb--flat surfaces seem to exacerbate the problem. For babies with mild cases of splay, binding the legs into the correct position with Vetwrap for a period of time may solve the problem.
Release
Once the bird is fully feathered and self-feeding and has been housed outdoors for some time, you may practice what is known as a "soft release," meaning the bird will still have open-door access to its cage or at least to food and water. Chances are the bird will come back for food and water and shelter for at least a little while.
Please note that these methods work for pigeons and doves only. Baby songbirds require different care.
 |
 |
 |
