Squab not eating from bottle any more

[rpape1]

Hi there,

I have a rescue pigeon of about 4-5 weeks old. I’ve had him since he was about 2 weeks.
He’s been bottle fed with soaked seeds blended up with water and kaytee exact, as instructed by others, and he’s always enjoyed being fed like this and has grown quite big.
However in the past few days, he’s been rejecting the bottle and no longer wishes to feed from it, instead preferring to attempt to eat seeds from the floor.

He’s unfortunately not particularly good at this feeding method, and struggles to pick much up. He’s had some minor success pecking up some millet flakes and a few peas, but not much else.

I’m now extremely concerned for him as he’s eating much less than he’d normal and he’s noticeably lost weight. Is this a normal part of pigeon weaning, or should I be worried? All help is appreciated, many thanks.

 

[rpape1]

I should also mention he is very good at drinking on his own, but has recently been pooping just water with very small amounts of stool.

 

[biophiliac]

Does he have grit? He should have been trying to eat seeds on his own several weeks ago. At first mix some grit in with the seeds so he will be sure to get some. He should learn to eat seeds very quickly. In the meantime, if you think he's not eating enough, you can supplement with some frozen green peas thawed in hot water. Feed them by opening his beak and putting a pea in the back of his throat. He will swallow. Taper off the hand feeding as he eats more on his own. 20-30 peas should fill his crop.

 

[biophiliac]

You could also help him out by hand feeding some of the peas he's trying to eat. Just be sure he gets a pinch of grit too. Offer him a dandelion or lettuce leaf so he can learn to eat greens too!
It would be nice to see a recent pic of him...

 

[backyard pigeons]

You have been given great advice.

Yes, he is weaning himself. Encourage its as much as you can! don't force feed peas until he has tried to eat by himself. You need to get him independent in eating.

His droppings will get better once he eats more.

 

[backyard pigeons]

Oh, and grit is important!

 

[rpape1]

Hi all, thank you for the great responses. He’s actually been practicing eating seeds for a few weeks now but has never been any good at it, but he never refused the bottle until recently.

I’ve got a bowl of oyster shell grit for him, which gets mixed with the food which he eats. Today he took half a bottle of formula so I believe he might of just been very hungry. If worst comes to worst I’ll hand feed him the peas by trying to open his beak.
his poops have returned to normal, they are a little greenish but nothing alarming. I will continue to try get him to eat larger seeds, I suppose it’s just practice.

 

[rpape1]

You could also help him out by hand feeding some of the peas he's trying to eat. Just be sure he gets a pinch of grit too. Offer him a dandelion or lettuce leaf so he can learn to eat greens too!
It would be nice to see a recent pic of him...

This was a great idea, he’s been scoffing these!

 

[rpape1]

Hi, one last thing. My pigeon has been trembling a lot- like a phone vibrating. He does this all the time pretty much recently. Could he be unwell? I can't find much about this online.

 

[backyard pigeons]

What are his droppings like? No. It isn't normal.