S.O.S baby morning dove needs help

[Jaimesweet]

So I come home to find a baby dove in a box, my husband found him walking around and knew that cats would get him. Brought the dove in and tried to put some seeds and water and grass in a magic bullet to make some type of ground up food from the area where his mother and father feed. Didn't take much at all accept a little liquid. Day two I try to put him outdoors to see if his mom or dad comes to feed him. No luck....... I bring him back in.....I get to a pet store after it closes .....now I cannot get the formula I needed. So I buy infant formula .....I'm talking Similac because this baby needed something...he sucked down a bunch....overnight , this little guy seems weak....I'm pretty sure he's cold. I have him resting in a shoebox with a little stuffed turkey and a light keeping him warm . I noticed some diahrea in the bedding. I will get to the store today for the bird formula I need. But is this guy too old for formula ? I guesstimate him to be about 9 or 10 days old....

 

[townchicks]

You should get him to a wildlife center. Baby doves are hard to hand rear, and the dove "milk" that the parents feed is very specific. Even the wildlife experts have limited success with them.Not to mention that it is not legal for you to have it w/o a permit.

 

[Jaimesweet]

Thanks townchicks the wildlife experts I contacted told me to leave him outdoors because his parents will feed him..... I did that and watched for a day through window they didn't show.....I do hear them cooing right around though. If I left him outdoors last night he would be gone. I just don't want him to suffer....this is seriously breaking my heart.... Ty

 

[TK421]

Bad idea to try to take care of it yourself. Juvenile doves aren’t like other songbirds and are hard to care for.

 

[townchicks]

well that sucks, they probably don't want to take him because they don't have anyone with experience feeding them. Mourning doves are not the best of parents, they may not come for him. baby cereal may be better than similac. The parents feed a partially digested regurgitation of what they've eaten, and they are seed eaters. Good luck, and be prepared that he may not make it. As I've said, it is very hard to hand rear them, but at least you are trying.

 

[biophiliac]

Thanks townchicks the wildlife experts I contacted told me to leave him outdoors because his parents will feed him..... I did that and watched for a day through window they didn't show.....I do hear them cooing right around though. If I left him outdoors last night he would be gone. I just don't want him to suffer....this is seriously breaking my heart.... Ty

results of search ...
https://www.google.com/search?q=han...ome..69i57.14794j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Looks like there could be some help for you here.

***That is how i hand fed a baby pigeon.

And here is an older BYC thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/raising-a-baby-mourning-dove-need-help.803067/

best of luck to you.

 

[LamarshFish]

We would need a picture of the dove to tell how old it is in order to determine the proper food. If they're anything like pigeons, which I'd imagine they are in that they are from the same family Columbidae, they require digestive enzymes with their crop milk for the first 3-4 days of life. Any older, they don't really need it, but would still need a crop milk type food (not hard seeds) until they are several weeks old. The easiest way to get a crop milk substance with the digestive enzymes is to buy Kaytee Exact. Another way is to make your own, see the Mac Milk recipe, but I will caution the additive to add the digestive enzymes can be hard to find, making Kaytee Exact a much easier alternative if the bird is less than 4 days old--but after that the Mac Milk recipe without the digestive enzymes added to it is pretty easy to make (still not easier than just buying Kaytee Exact). As a note, Kaytee Exact includes the digestive enzymes and they are fine to feed the bird for several weeks--I guess what I'm saying is having the digestive enzymes when the bird doesn't need it anymore is fine.

Feed the bird until it's crop is about 75% full. See YouTube videos to get a feel for what this looks like, it is hard to explain by just typing it, you really need to see it.

 

[lazy gardener]

Can you get him to someone who has pigeons? It's a long shot, a VERY long shot, but maybe a pigeon would foster him. Similac is so not the right choice. His system can not handle a dairy based formula, and it would be too "liquid" IMO.

 

[Jaimesweet]

well that sucks, they probably don't want to take him because they don't have anyone with experience feeding them. Mourning doves are not the best of parents, they may not come for him. baby cereal may be better than similac. The parents feed a partially digested regurgitation of what they've eaten, and they are seed eaters. Good luck, and be prepared that he may not make it. As I've said, it is very hard to hand rear them, but at least you are trying.

Thank you for not judging my decision. So many predators out back and I couldn't leave him . I got him the kaytee hand held formula .... I've researched and researched how to keep this baby alive. I've learned a lot and I've learned that he needed to eat frequently. The first day and a half I didn't have the proper food for him. I prayed and prayed and tried and tried. He died in my hands this morning and my heart is broken.

 

[Jaimesweet]

Can you get him to someone who has pigeons? It's a long shot, a VERY long shot, but maybe a pigeon would foster him. Similac is so not the right choice. His system can not handle a dairy based formula, and it would be too "liquid" IMO.

He died this morning in my hands :'( I'm heart broken.... Should I have left him to fend for himself in a backyard full of predators.....the question I keep asking myself. I'm beside myself.... I wanted to help little Henry. Ty for replying