Bird Question- no stupid comments please

“okay, baby mourning doves. what do they eat?”

“People!”

“probably regurgitated food from the Mom, I'm serious. Most baby birds eat from mom's throat.


kinda gross huh., maybe you could smash up some worms?

Did you rescue some birds?”

“Are mourning doves good eating, or is that another kind?”

“OTHER baby morning doves, ground to a paste and sauteed with butter.

It's really something to see in the wild.”

“Gawd, Woman! Did you forget WHERE you was asking the question? Ha Ha.”

“Morning Dove Pate with orange slices and whole rye crackers is really a slice of heaven in the mid-afternoon.”

“So, it's simple, Gem needs to eat some seeds, grass, worms, etc.,and puke on the baby birds.

Problem solved!”

“crop milk:

http://wildlife.state.co.us/species_profiles/MourningDove.asp”

“That'll ruin them! Precious!”

“Here is what you have to do Gemini! Just take six worms nice long night crawler type worms. One at a time swallow them but only after chewwing them completely. Then stick your finger down your throat and puke them back up into a saucer. Then take an eyedropper and feed it to the birds.”

“What if you're using 44-40 instead of birdshot?”

“I doubt they'd eat that.”

“Raising Diamond Doves

FORMULAS: The best formula for feeding baby doves is probably Roudybush's Squab Formula. However it si expensive and very hard to find. You can use such formula's as Kaytee's Exact. While this formula was not developed for doves, it seems to do well for supplemental feeding and we have used it successfully for complete feeding from day one until the baby started on seeds. One advantage of the Exact formula, it allows the use of hot tap water and thus no cooking is required. Some of the older books suggest using Instant Cream of Wheat. We have raised a number of birds on this in the past but keeping the bird clean can be a problem as the formula does not easily wash off the birds skin or feathers. You can also used some of the Gerber's baby formulas such as Mixed Cream of Wheat or others that include wheat without fruit added. In all case the young baby needs a thin runny formula which is gradually thickened as the baby grows. The Exact formula starts off with one part of formula to six parts of water and decreases two two parts of water at weaning.



FEEDING METHOD: There are many different methods for feeding baby birds and there are many opinions as to what is the best method. My daughters like to use syringe or fine eyedropper to place the formula in the babies beak. I prefer to feed the baby directly from a very small plastic spoon. I prepare 1/4 of an ounce of formula in a one ounce plastic measuring cup, take the baby in my left hand and then take a spoonful of formula and dip the tip of the baby's beak into it. Some seeps into its beak and usually when it tastes it and feels the warmth, the baby will start to lap it up on its own. The amount consumed is small and the time it takes is long in the beginning. If the baby starts to wave its head around as a soon as it touches the formula it may be too hot. The formula should not feel either hot or cold when you apply some to the inside of your wrist. If the feeding process lasts too long then the formula will be too cold and it is best to prepare a new batch. Recognize that it may take considerable patience before a new baby will eat much but after the first few hours things should go much easier. Babies that are three days old may drain the little spoon in a second and then I simply feed them directly form the measuring cup. Sometimes you need to be careful that they are not so eager that they thrust their whole body into the cup.

WATER: Do not give a baby bird water. It obtains all the liquid it needs form the formula. Once the bird is on a seed diet then water can be provided.

FEEDING TIMING: Once a baby has eaten it will usually fall asleep until it becomes hungry. If you are not returning the bird to the nest, be sure that the baby is kept in a warm, draft free environment, with a temperature of 92 to 94 degrees. Once the crop starts to appear deflated the baby should be fed again. Feedings will be frequent the first day - perhaps several time and hour, but then they will taper off as the baby becomes larger.

FEEDING AT NIGHT: Some say you do not need to feed babies at night as parents normally do not feed at night. But for the first two or three nights we have fed them up to midnight and then got up two or three times to see if they were awake and if they were we have fed them again.

ADDING SEED TO THE DIET: After a week or so you should start adding seed (pet store finch seed or something similar) to the bird's diet and eventually the seed should completely replace the formula.

The method I use for adding seed is first to allow the baby to poke its beak up between my three fingers pointed downward. When it opens its beak inside my finger, then I will put some seed in a bowl, hold the baby over the bowl, pick up seeds and hold them in my three fingers. I encourage the baby to thrust its beak between my fingers. Much of the seed the fall back into the bowl, but if the baby opens its beak, seed will go inside. Eventually the baby gets the hand of it and learns to open its beak wide. At that point it is relatively easy to fill the birds crop with little effort. Feeding intervals at this time may be about once every three hours. When I start the seed, the bird still takes formula, but as time passes the baby will start refusing the formula and want only seed.

Once the bird has started to accept seed, and then often place it in a seed tray where older birds are pecking the seed. Eventually the baby will imitate the older birds, but it may take several days. And at first although the bird pecks at seed, the baby does not roll the seed up its beak and into it's mouth. That will take another day or two.”

“Well, certainly not willingly...”

“Don't feed them anything - it only encourages them to crap all over my car. Again!”

“Perhaps nightcrawlers loaded into the barrel of a charged shotgun would be an effective method of feeding?”

“Nah, I bet they prefer their nightcrawlers raw...”

“LOL, I knew I would get lots of comments... and I was ready for them. No worry. heeheehee

I actually found something too. Stovy, you got more then me. thanks.

Found out that mourning doves don't eat worms.

Watered down peanut butter is another food they eat I guess. Well, he's feeding them now and they are eating.

yupp, my kid found them. He knows not to touch birds, but we all agreed that we must save 'em from the cats. Most likely they will die anyway, but at least they are not cat food at this time.”

“Talk to your local vet to see if there are any local bird sanctuaries in your area, or any people that take in orphaned animals.”

“lumberzac's advice is good. Wildlife rehab centers is the name most go by.

It is not necessarily true that they will die. My first ex brought a baby sparrow in, bought a cage for it, nursed it until it was ready to fly. It surprised the bejabbers out of me, but she eventually took that bird out and it flew away from her back into the wild. It hung around for a few days as if to thank her and then left for parts unknown.

As much as I came to dislike that woman, my hat's off to her for that.”

“The #&%!$.”

“second what Phaedrus said!”

“good eveening ladies and gentlemen...

girls, and muther phukin boys....


oh sorry....wrong tune....

dig if you will the picture, of you and i engaged in a kiss....”

“bird call, bird call!”