rescued a baby pigeon, slow crop, need help!

[allthebudge]

Hi all,

I rescued a baby pigeon from my workplace. I work in a factory and it was in danger of being run over and killed, couldn't find the nest or parents anywhere to put it back. And so I had to rescue it so it would live.

I don't know anything about pigeons but I did some reading before I tried to help it. The baby is about 20 days old and cannot fly because not all the feathers have come in.
I was feeding it dry peas from a bird mix for my parakeets, but the crop was already full of peanut halves from when the parents last fed it. I've done two feedings so far of about 10 peas each time, but the crop hasn't emptied. There are still peanuts in there.

The baby looks healthy, no injuries, clear eyes, good poops, doesn't smell sick. What should I do about the crop issue? From what I read, crops are supposed to empty in 12-24 hours? I stopped feeding it for the meantime since I read the crop needs to be empty before I put more food in. It seems pretty full. I was able to get it to drink water on its own.

The crop is visibly full, but not distended to the point where it makes a fold, hopefully this is still ok?
Kinda worried that I may have harmed him more by trying to make sure he wasn't starving.

I read somewhere that I'm supposed to keep this squeaker pretty warm. I got him in a spare cage with a cage cover on it, away from drafts, but I don't think it's 85F or whatever is recommended for baby pigeon crop emptying because that ambient temp would be so hot for a human (my thermostat is on auto). Can someone confirm if this temp thing and the crop emptying are related? If so, what should I do about it? I don't have a K&H bird warmer or anything. If I were to order one it would get here monday at the soonest. Anyway I can rig something up for a warmer?

 

[janicedyh]

PIGEON and DOVE RESCUE - What to feed

"Babies that are 2 weeks old or over can be fed defrosted corn and peas, served warm . They can be popped into the beak one at a time, feeding until the crop feels squishy like a bean bag, the kernels sliding against each other NOT forming a solid mass. Check the crop with your finger several times during each feed."
"It is important to check that the crop is emptying properly before giving another feed so touch the crop area gently after feeding and again before the next feed by which time it should be flat. This is because baby birds can develop crop stasis or sour crop if the food is too thick, or too cold or if they are too cold when fed. Adding new food to the crop would just mean that it sits on top of the old food and there will be a gradual build up of bacteria which could be fatal."
Crop Stasis
PIGEON and DOVE RESCUE - Crop Stasis - Sour Crop

 

[allthebudge]

PIGEON and DOVE RESCUE - What to feed

"Babies that are 2 weeks old or over can be fed defrosted corn and peas, served warm . They can be popped into the beak one at a time, feeding until the crop feels squishy like a bean bag, the kernels sliding against each other NOT forming a solid mass. Check the crop with your finger several times during each feed."
"It is important to check that the crop is emptying properly before giving another feed so touch the crop area gently after feeding and again before the next feed by which time it should be flat. This is because baby birds can develop crop stasis or sour crop if the food is too thick, or too cold or if they are too cold when fed. Adding new food to the crop would just mean that it sits on top of the old food and there will be a gradual build up of bacteria which could be fatal."
Crop Stasis
PIGEON and DOVE RESCUE - Crop Stasis - Sour Crop

Should I do anything besides wait it out then? Since the crop was full of peanuts, and the baby has been pooping normally. I think that means it should be able to digest those dried peas that I fed, since it digested the peanuts. I will plan to feed defrosted peas when the crop is empty.

 

[janicedyh]

I really don't have a clue. Hopefully someone with experience will see your post. If I read correctly you should not feed again until the crop empties somewhat

 

[rocky'smom]

try a few drops of apple cider vinegar with few drops warm water after a feeding. if that doesn't work then it's time to see a avian vet so that they can get the old food out of the crop and flush it out with some warm water. and put it on meds to help the crop work. make sure to warm the food up before feeding.

 

[Birdbabe]

Do not feed dried peas! It's like feeding a bird uncooked rice,,fresh or frozen peas and corn in a pinch,,but that baby won't digest those peanuts or dried peas for days. It's best to have the crop cleaned out and start feeding baby bird formula,,, call a vet, say it's a pet..

 

[allthebudge]

I added acv to some warm water and it got his system regular. Thanks for the tip! He is older so I guess he was ready to eat on his own or try to, as I saw him pecking at food trying to eat it. He missed a lot of the food when he tried to pick it up though lol

I posted on a pigeon board and the members there recommended feeding defrosted green peas since they are more digestible. Checked the crop two times today, morning and night. The peanuts from the parents have been digested and the dried peas I fed had also been digested.

He's awake, alert and looking healthy and looks like he's doing fine. A brave little guy too, I had some spare leather laces from my parrots that I was waving around and he went around beeping and pecking at it, not afraid of me at all.

I found a rehabber who takes pigeons through the palomacy website. Palomacy is a pigeon and dove rescue group and the rehabber works as a wild bird bander. She also has several other pigeons rehabbed and ready to release so she has agreed to raise the baby and release them together as a flock to raise their chances of survival.

I'll be handing this bird over to her tomorrow for expert care.

Thanks everyone! All in all, I managed not to do anything to harm the bird and got some cute videos of him too. Hopefully he has a good life out there in the wild when he is released.

 

[janicedyh]

Glad the little one had someone who cared and great that you found the rehabber

 

[Lwalker]

Great news!

 

[Birdbabe]

YAY!!

 

[iamwhoiam]

That's very good news.

 

[allthebudge]

I gave him up to the rehabber today and she was super nice! Very knowledgeable about pigeons and showed me some of her unreleasable special needs pigeons.

Man I miss him already, he was a cute little guy