Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 8/26/2007

Question
Hi Chrys,

This is a msg I wrote last week, but because you were on vacation I could not send it till today.

I found a baby dove ( think it's a mourning dove) in my yard. It felt from a very high palm tree we have.
I saw the nest hanging on a broken palm branch, we tried to take the branch down but it was too hard, so I decide to make another nest in another tree and put him/her in there to see if the mother comes. This was saturday (aug 18 th) night and sunday afternoon still no sign of the mom.
I kept looking from far through the window. The baby stayed in the nest we build. at night he/she flew from the nest and feel so sorry for him/her, so I picked him up and
start looking on the internet for info. I didn't have any of the food they suggested and everything is closed here in Curacao (caribbean) on sundays.
So I decide to try with baby cereal(with water) and also later on with smashed cat meat chow. The baby ate very good. He/she was really hungry I checked the crop as they say on internet to don't overfeed him. She/he
is a happy baby. Has a lot of feathers already.
Today I'm going to the pet store to get dove food. My question is now how should I proceed? I want you to see a picture of the baby so you can give me more advice. Where can I send it to you. Everyone kept telling me to leave the dove in the nest, but I don't want him/her to starve. I want to release him/her after also? So what's the best thing to do?
The baby can already spread her wings. after feeding I put her in the yard for a while to walk on the grass and to hear the other birds. In the evening I put it in a cage with a nest inside. I'm afraid to leave her in a nest outside because she does not stay all the time in the
nest. She stays for a couple of hours and then she jumps from it. The day I found him/her my dog almost got her. Please help me with some advice

Answer
Hi, Lynette,

Get the dove food, sprinkle it on the ground or in a dish, and see if the baby will start pecking at it.  The bird will also need to learn to drink water out of a dish.  Doves/pigeons need to drink after eating in order to soften up the good.  The bird will eventually also need pigeon grit.  This will help to grind up the seed the bird eats.  It may take the bird a day or two or three to try the food.  If the baby is still too young to eat grain, you will still need to handfeed it.  

If you intend to turn this bird loose, you need to keep human contact to a minimum.  You'll need to teach this bird how to find food and water on its own so when you turn it loose, it can survive.  It would help when you turn the bird loose to turn it loose where there are other doves so the bird might be able to learn from them.  Otherwise, it won't survive on its own if it can't find food/water on its own.  

You can send a picture to me at chrys.meatyard@wpafb.af.mil.  Do not give this address out to anyone else.  I'll be able to judge from the picture the age of the bird and provide more advice.

Chrys