Help abandon baby pigeon

[MsCannaBass]

The snow collapsed our pigeon coops roof & a bunch flew away. Well one momma had 2 babies she left behind. They are about 10 days old. We have them in a beanie with toilet paper on the bottom & covering them. We have been feeding them every 2 hours. They each eat about 5 live mealworms & drink diluted with warm water ground up pigeon food through a syringe. This morning 1 isnt doing so well. Its little body feels cold. So we filled a small water bottle up with warm water for them to snuggle against in the beanie. The 1 did eat 3 mealworms & drank a little but isnt making much noise like the other.
Im attaching a pic of it.
What can we do to keep this little guy alive?

 

[biophiliac]

The snow collapsed our pigeon coops roof & a bunch flew away. Well one momma had 2 babies she left behind. They are about 10 days old. We have them in a beanie with toilet paper on the bottom & covering them. We have been feeding them every 2 hours. They each eat about 5 live mealworms & drink diluted with warm water ground up pigeon food through a syringe. This morning 1 isnt doing so well. Its little body feels cold. So we filled a small water bottle up with warm water for them to snuggle against in the beanie. The 1 did eat 3 mealworms & drank a little but isnt making much noise like the other.
Im attaching a pic of it.
What can we do to keep this little guy alive?

Stop the mealworms right away. Take some frozen green peas, thaw them in hot water. Get them to a warm not hot temperature and hand feed to the little guy by placing in the back of his throat. This will give nutrition and some hydration at the same time.

 

[biophiliac]

I don't see his eyes open. If he is very dehydrated then it might help to give even a little more water by syringe.

Keep him warm. Bring him inside the house of course. A seedling or reptile mat could help. I usually keep the hand feeding ones in a plastic dog bowl nest with a piece of fleece over the top.

 

[biophiliac]

Over longer term I make a formula using chicken pellets softened in warm water and ground in a blender. This can be easily fed with a small soft plastic bottle and using a portion or surgical glove and a Rubber band over the top opening instead of the lid. Then u just cut a SMALL slit for the baby to stick his beak in like he would in the parent bird mouth.
I have raised quite a few babies with this method.
I have posted a more complete explanation with fotos on another thread. I can try to find it if that would help.
It is important that the formula or peas are fed at the proper temp, ie approx. like human baby formula. Also the crop must empty between feedings.

 

[FluffyFeathers97]

The squabs need heat immediately. Listen to bios advice. Birds this young cannot have mealworms. The reason the one squab is doing so poorly is most likely sour crop from being so cold or being impacted from the mealworms.

 

[biophiliac]

The squabs need heat immediately. Listen to bios advice. Birds this young cannot have mealworms. The reason the one squab is doing so poorly is most likely sour crop from being so cold or being impacted from the mealworms.

Yes, true! I worry about the mealworm 'part' that might not be digestible. Do u think a small pinch of fine chick grit might help?

And it's worth restating that you cannot feed a cold dehydrated chick. So first warm and hydrate.

 

[backyard pigeons]

You have gotten some great advice! Just keep them warm, and then begin feeding. No mealworms!

 

[MsCannaBass]

Thank you all! I got them some heat now & stopped the mealworms. We ground up some chicken feed mix & added room temp water,let it sit & stirred it before feeding it to them. The little guy has his eyes open now & was making noise too. Looks like he will be ok....hopefully. BUT if there are any changes I will update this post.