Squab - Need advice/ideas

Blodwyn0419

Chirping
Jul 6, 2022
34
70
51
Australia
Good morning,

I've had pigeons for over 25 years and in that time I have handled a variety of issues with them. I've had to hand raise a few and I have had to assist feed some in a few cases, so I am no stranger to dealing with squabs.

For the first time though I am at a loss with this one. It is just under 2 weeks old. A week ago I noticed the parents were not feeding it at all. After watching it looked like the sibling was just more assertive, so I removed it thinking it would give it a chance to get a feed. No dice, they just left when they did not see the other one. So I stepped in and started feeding it and placing it back in the nest. It was weak and was completely silent, not a squeak to be heard. After a day and a half it perked right up, energy returned and it started making the right noises to request food. Great, I thought, and removed the sibling again thinking it would now be pushy enough to get a feed from the parents. Same deal. They ignored it. So I brought it inside and took over the parental roll.

Obviously they know something I don't, but of course we can fix things that they can't.... if only I knew the issue!

At first I thought paratyphoid. But no swelling has occurred. I took it into the vet, she gave it a check over, checked it's poo, all clear. It weighs a mere 86grams. The feathers have started to come through, but it is not progressing like it should.

The bird itself has a lot of energy, it is always asking for food. It's kept nice and warm. I am feeding it a specialised formula. I did try to introduce very small seeds mixed through, but it got diarrhea, so obviously it's gut was not at that point yet so I stopped. The poo has returned to normal.

It was having an issue with air in the crop, but it was taking in the air at feeding time. I have tried numerous techniques for feeding and just now I think we have found a way to get less air in. I reverted back to the balloon over the syringe, made the formula more runny and have to be a bit more pushy with it so it keeps it's beak well and truly in and it is taking in a lot less air. I think it is just so hungry it gets frantic and starts gulping too soon and moving so much that it was inhaling air more than food. I have had to help massage the air out during feeds (which I know is not the preferred time to do it) as it was filling up with so much air that I wasn't able to give it any good amount of food. It is able to clear the air on its own, but of course letting it do that I was not only wasting expensive formula (due to the small amount of food it was taking in before being "full"), but it wasn't getting enough food at all.

This is day 3 now that it's crop is not fully emptying. I am adding ACV to it's feed and monitoring very closely for sour crop. So far it is ok. At first I wasn't feeding, waiting for the crop to empty, but it wasn't happening. I had to give it some food, we were pushing 24hrs since the last feed.

I thought about a crop bra, but the crop isn't distended. It also needs to gain way more fat too.

Any ideas of something to add to the feed to promote fat? Has anyone done a special mix for young pigeons, something they blend up themselves?

Any ideas what might be the issue with the bird, the reason for the parent's not feeding it? I have never encountered such slow growth like this before.

Below are some photos. The first one is before it's morning feed. It last ate 12 hours prior and as you see the crop is not empty.

The second photo is after the feed, not overfed, crop is not distended.

Then the others are just to show the bird so you can see the over-all point of growth it is up to.

Last photo is the sibling.

Thanks in advance!
 

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I don't raise pigeons, but I'm rooting for the little one. Best wishes in figuring out what's going on!
Thank you ❤️

Update: Yesterday I stopped the formula. It hadn't digested it after 8-9 hours. So I nipped out and got some apple sauce. This morning the crop was not 100% empty, but it was pretty close! I gave another feed of apple sauce this morning and after an hour it already looks as though some has been digested.

I am thinking perhaps this specialised formula is not agreeing with it. Can anyone suggest something I can maybe make up myself? I thought about pureeing peas, but I am unsure if that will be hard for it to digest and of course I need to ensure it is getting its nutritional needs met.

I will find a new formula to try also. We don't have many places around here, so options are minimal. I will have to order online which will take time. We only get a mail delivery 3 days a week and now it is Saturday, so that already delays the post...
 

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