I found a young (~18 day old) pigeon on a very busy street and, being a pigeon-loving fool, took it home. It's old enough that normally I'd leave it and it would be fine, but its feet were caught in twine and mud and it was clearly emaciated and weak. Here is the raggedy baby in all his ugly glory: It's accustomed to being fed directly from its parents' bills; they stick their beak inside the parent's and the parent gives them partially-digested food. At this age its perfectly capable of digesting soft, warm corn...just very bad at picking it up. Video of my ugly son trying very hard: https://twitter.com/domaerys/status/648584352151007232 It's gotten better at eating the kernels, and is now napping. In a couple hours after another feeding, I'll take it back to the area I found it and release it, since pigeons are vigilant parents and should continue to feed it for 8-15 days as long as it can stay near the nest and come when they call for it.
what a cute little ragamuffin I know Im not supposed to like pigeons because they're like disease vectors or something, but I do anyway (at a very young age I read about how tesla's only friends in old age were pigeons and it left a lasting impression on me) I hope everything works out for it!
IIRC, Tesla actually fell in love with a pigeon. (insert Hatoful Boyfriend reference here) Anyway, that reminds me of the time we saved a pigeon that fell off its nest. At first, we thought it lost an eye from a crow attempting to eat it, but the blood was actually from a cut right under its eye, so we just cleaned it up and left the pigeon in a small basket on a window so that its parents could feed it. And now, this pigeon is waking everyone up at 5 AM every day by pecking at the roof window. What an ungrateful bastard.
I've decided to keep it a bit longer. Healthy young pigeons poop every 15 minutes; this bird hasn't pooped once in 3 hours. There's nothing left in its digestive system. I'm going to do several more feedings and check whether it can fly at all. If it can, I'll release it then. If not...well, I really can't keep a pigeon here, but goddamn do I wish I could. It does have a pigeon louse fly living on it, so I'm also going to try to kill that. They're a species of fly which are obligate dove parasites, meaning they live by sucking pigeon blood. They aren't suuuper harmful to the bird (and they can't live on humans), but they are uncomfortable and can carry a couple avian diseases, so I'll feel much better if I kill it. Luckily they are unusual in that they only lay one egg at a time, so if I can kill this one it's very likely the bird will be free of flies. (Context: I kept homing pigeons in my childhood, and love birds) @palindromordnilap I'm glad to hear about your pigeon adventures. :3
The pigeon is doing pretty well, although feeding is a challenge. I'm currently feeding mostly mushed, water-soaked mixed grains through a straw. Unlike most baby birds, which are extremely easy to feed because they sit there with their mouths gaping wide for food, young pigeons are difficult to feed. The parents eat seeds and then come back to the nest with partially-digested, specially-made "milk" in their crop. The baby pigeons stick their beaks inside their parents' mouths, and the parents regurgitates crop milk. This means that they respond to food best when they can stick their beak inside of something like their parents' beaks. I'm bringing it to a bird rescue/rehab center tomorrow. They'll either take it in, or make sure I have the proper food/feeding tools/etc and I'll go home with it again. I'd love to raise it, but with college classes to attend, it might not be realistic. :[
I hope the pigeon will be fine. It's a cute little thing and just pigeons are super lovely. It's good to hear that the bird is doing well.
So! I picked up my original pigeon from the bird rehab center, plus a foster-friend. I'll be raising them both for the next 2-3 weeks, and letting them go when they can fly. Original on the left, new bird on the right: They have a dedicated window ledge in my room, as well as their box. I'll also be carrying them around the house, doing flying exercises with them, etc. They're both on some meds just in case of any infections/infestations/parasites/etc, and eat moistened puppy chow + seeds 4 times a day at the moment. Window ledge:
