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Ive got some pictures of a baby dove bottle i made i will post on for you. Also dont try and open its beak to feed it it dosnt feed like that. In the wild the mother would open her mouth a regurgatate the food. You need to feed her porrage oats & chick crumb. I used baby porrage made with warm water (never cold) and mixed a bit of chick crumb, dont have it thick have it runny to start with and always warm. I used to make a batch up and then warm some up in a jug of hot water. The baby wont drink water either. Get a large syringe and fill it with the food, take the plunger out we dont use that. I cut a piece of balloon and stetched it around the syring end and tied it in place with an elastic band. Then cut a little whole just enough to get his beak in. He feeds himself but it will take a few attempts to start with so dont worry. If it goes cold he will cry and stop eating so have a bowl of hot water ready to stick your syring in. I will find the picture and also find out how many mls they need to i cant remember. Also dont over feed it, it will eat & eat till it pops. Just put her back in the box and she will quiet down..

I thought I should offer my experiences. I have raised many baby doves/pigeons with Kaytee Exact and other handfeeding formulas. They are granivorous and flourish on the formulas, perhaps even better than parrots, who (particularly with larger species) do not eat as much grain. Homemade "bottles" are good; I also often use the tip of a baby bottle nipple. Cut off the large end and just use the small end of the nipple, guide the baby's beak in. When handfeeding newborns I've often done that, as they are delicate.

 

I would highly recommend using the formula you already bought, rather than making your own, if not just for convenience, but also because many people handfeed doves and pigeons with commercial formulas now. They are balanced for nutrition and also contain enzymes.

 

Oh, also ... Just because I have it lying around, here is a link to a website detailing how to syringe feed with the "balloon" method (so called because often the piece of cloth that fits over the end of the syringe is a balloon instead): http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pidgie/syringe_method.htm

 

I have used this many times before but I prefer it for OLDER babies. Young, young babies are delicate, and I like to use the tip of a baby bottle nipple. The part a human baby would suck on. It is used as a little cup for the baby. You guide its beak in, making sure to avoid its nostrils, and usually, when warm food touches the tip of their beaks, they will start to eat. You can sometimes squeeze the top of their beaks with the sides of the nipple, but make sure there is not so much food in the bottom that it gets into their nostrils.

 

(Just one option... there are many, go with what is comfortable to you)

 

Also, you will need a digital food thermometer to take temperature of the formula. 102-106 degrees is optimum. Follow the instructions on the back as far as how thick the formula should be, for the most part. I don't like to make it as thick as they recommend when the babies are older, but it should be thin for newborns.

 

Good luck!

Edited by adrian - 3/28/12 at 1:39am

My baby squab here feeding. Day 1 1ml every 2 hrs including the night. Day 2 2.mls every 3 hours, day 3 5mls every 3 hours... 1 week old 15mls every 6hrs. you can feed what you have got there as long as its high in fat. Mums milk is very high in fat. If the crop starts to swell and is all sqwigey stop feeding.. There messy to feed so i used a bib when they were tiny..

Well my friend's last 19 eggs started lockdown this morning. I was hearing cheeping before I set them in lockdown and already had two pips. So now we are up to 4 or 5 pips and lots of rockin and rollin going on. I have to set my 5 duck eggs and 12 of my mixed flock eggs in lockdown tomorrow. First time hatching ducks I hope it goes good. I hope so, cause if it does I will probably hatch a few more. Of 10 eggs I got from a swap partner in Arizona only 1 out of 10 is developing :( I was hoping they would do better because they have Silver and Gold laced wyandotte's in them.

http://sarah-goodwin-nguyen.suite101.com/handraising-pigeons-and-doves-a124410

 

Now here is fragile, baby gouldian finches.

Deb

 

 

 

WOW! THat is TINY omg!
 

 

Update on my friend's last hatch I am doing for her. Today is day 20 for them...there are 11 hatched out, 4 pips, and 4 doing nothing so far. But overall its been a much better hatch than her last one.

 

My hatching update: I put 12 of my mixed flock chicken eggs in lockdown this morning, and one is already rocking. Also I put my five Chocolate Indian Runner duck eggs in lockdown as well. My first time hatching ducks! I hope they all do well.

We have a pip, we have a pip, YIPPEE! It also peeps every once in a while, hehehe. So exciting! This will be our first "incubator hatching"! There are also 3 other eggs with a lot of movement, just waiting for pips.

2 days to go!!!