For the birds...
May 16, 2009 7:49 AM   Subscribe

Baby pigeon that can't fly yet and dead pigeon (the mother?) on our balcony. We are going away for the weekend. Assuming the dead pigeon is the mother, what can I do to make sure the baby stays alive until we get back in two days and can call some kind of animal services org?

The baby was hatched on the balcony. Yesterday, I noticed the mother starting to teach the little one how to fly. For now, it's stuck up here. This morning, I discovered the baby looking kind of lost and a dead pigeon. If the dead pigeon is the mother, this little one will have no food or water without us intervening. But we're going away for the weekend and leaving shortly. What should we do?
posted by kitcat to Pets & Animals (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Out of previous experience, I really don't think there's a whole lot that can be done for the baby pigeon- either the animal can't use the food you're giving it and dies or it ends up imprinted on you and can never survive in the wild.
I don't even think an animal services organization could or would do much- baby birds get hurt or stranded all the time and pigeons are generally classified as pests to be exterminated.
posted by dunkadunc at 7:56 AM on May 16, 2009


Pigeon resource page here.
posted by mdonley at 8:01 AM on May 16, 2009


The wildlife rescue I volunteer for takes baby birds of all sorts, including pigeons. But I do know that if you leave the bird while you're gone, it will die. At that age it has no ability to care for itself. There are some wildlife organizations that don't take pigeons, but others do. If you have time, you would need to make the phone call before you go.
posted by pitseleh at 8:02 AM on May 16, 2009 [1 favorite]


I would immediately call the local animal control/humane society. My cat once mangled a bird's wing on the day that I was moving out of town and they had no problem with my immediately putting it in a box and driving it over. It might mean that your trip is derailed by a half hour or so, but it's the best thing you can do to ensure that the baby survives.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:19 AM on May 16, 2009


You can't. A pair of doves just had a second clutch of eggs on our balcony, and from what I've seen, their young require constant care. They can't even control their own temperature until they've grown feathers; it's rather unlikely that you can keep the baby at the constant 43°C he needs to survive without an incubator. Also, they exclusively eat crop milk: I highly doubt you a shelter have any available.
posted by halogen at 10:14 AM on May 16, 2009


I used to care for baby pigeons and other baby birds as part of my work at a wildlife rehab facility. Pigeons and other baby birds raised by humans rarely develop normally, in my experience, almost definitely a combination of poor nutrition and lack of socialization. Also, baby birds that aren't developing properly may be intentionally pushed out of a nest by their mother. These birds are brought in by well-meaning people and never end up thriving. Birds raised by humans are often odd-looking, have trouble socializing with other birds, and don't understand how to fly properly or search for food. I really doubt any of the dozens of baby birds I raised made it more than a week or two in the wild. It's natural selection, unfortunately- if the parent doesn't have the survival skills needed to avoid predators or windows, its babies likely don't either, and the gene pool becomes more refined because neither survives to create more babies. I know it sounds cruel, but unfortunately, "rescuing" it doesn't end up doing it many favors. I say this as an animal lover.

That said, if you are really bent on helping, call a local wildlife rescue before you leave. It will not be able to feed itself while you are gone, it needs to be hand fed every few hours.
posted by emilyd22222 at 11:08 AM on May 16, 2009


Response by poster: Happy ending follow-up:

The baby lived. Assumably, the dead pigeon out there wasn't the mother after all. I did leave a dish of water and some flax seed out for it, but the food wasn't touched.
posted by kitcat at 3:23 PM on June 26, 2009


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