Abandoned Baby Mourning Dove! Help!!

[quailheart]

I was on a walk today and I found a fledgling mourning dove in the middle of the road. I put it in the grass nearby so that the mother would find it, after almost an hour I went back to check on it and it was still there. I'm going to take it in for the night so a predator won't get it, and I can hopefully release it back in the morning. In the meantime, what should I feed it? I know mourning doves eat differently. It needs to be something I have at home already. Thanks!​

 

[M-H-Fielding]

"For tiny babies, use the rubber end of an eye dropper and fill with chicken baby food formula or hard boiled egg mixed with a little water. Let the baby stick his bill into the rubber end and he will eat that way. Doves are one of the easiest birds to re-nest when a baby has fallen."

This is what I found online. I have no experience with baby doves myself.

 

[black_cat]

@backyard pigeons do you have doves?

 

[M-H-Fielding]

"Warm the food to approximately 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Baby doves will refuse food if it’s not warm.
Use a syringe to feed the baby dove. Gently touch the side of the dove’s beak with the tip of the syringe, which will stimulate it to open its mouth. Watch the bird’s crop, which is a small sack under its beak. When the crop is full, stop feeding.

Feed the baby dove every two to three hours a day. If the bird’s crop is empty, it needs to be fed again. Do not give baby doves water. Sufficient water is contained in the baby bird food formula. Force-feeding water to a baby bird may drown it.
Introduce finch birdseed to the diet. When the baby bird is ready for a solid diet, it will begin to lose interest and refuse the baby bird formula. At first you may need to help the baby eat solid seed. Gently open its beak with the tip of your fingernail and drop in a few seeds at a time. Release the bird’s head so it can swallow the seeds. Continue feeding seeds until its crop is full.
Encourage the bird to peck seeds. After a few hand-feedings of solid seed, it should be willing to eat seed on its own. Sprinkle seed on the floor of its cage for it to eat. Check it’s crop to be sure it is swallowing the seed. Continue hand-feeding until it can eat and fill its crop on its own.
Release the baby bird. Once the baby bird is able to peck seed and eat on its own without losing weight, it is ready to be released. Be sure the baby dove is a strong flier before releasing it into the wild."

Here is what another online website says.

 

[quailheart]

Ok. Thanks guys!

 

[backyard pigeons]

It is illegal to posses live mourning doves,they are protected under the migratory bird treaty act.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/migratory-bird-treaty-act.1369913/

If you do decide to try to keep it despite the laws, (which i do not reccomend, as the laws are there to protect the birds) you can feed it a warm solution of softened chicken layer pellets for the time being. I feed my baby pigeons through a water bottle with the bottom cut off, and plastic wrap around the lid with the cap off. Cut a slit through the plastic, and insert the beak. It should quickly gobble it down. You want it to be the consistency of yogurt.

Why do you think it's a dove? It could be a pigeon. They look very similar.

 

[Pullet Press]

In the post above, is there something wrong with it's beak?

 

[backyard pigeons]

In the post above, is there something wrong with it's beak?

The one in my hand is fine, they grow into their beak.

The one in the wood does have a slight scissor beak, good catch! Very impressive that you noticed. It has a shorter beak, as it is a Portuguese tumbler, which have smaller beaks than racing homers, which is the one with the larger beak.

Compare the two breeds. Can you guess which one is a homing pigeon and which one is a Portuguese tumbler?

 

[M-H-Fielding]

The one in my hand is fine, they grow into their beak.

The one in the wood does have a slight scissor beak, good catch! Very impressive that you noticed. It has a shorter beak, as it is a Portuguese tumbler, which have smaller beaks than racing homers, which is the one with the larger beak.

Compare the two breeds. Can you guess which one is a homing pigeon and which one is a Portuguese tumbler? View attachment 2325679View attachment 2325681

I think the second is the racer and the first is the tumbler.

 

[backyard pigeons]

I think the second is the racer and the first is the tumbler.

you nailed it! Nice job.