Just call me Daddy Dove---

[Sunrise Guy]

We were taking down a Live Oak that had fallen prey to Oak Wilt a few days ago.We always check for birds' nests before we fell a tree, but the heavy ball moss made that kind of tough. Later, as I loaded logs, I saw two little doves on the street, huddled together, right next to the curb. The fact that they survived falling off one of the large limbs without getting crushed as it came down was miraculous. They are about two weeks old with fairly developed pin feathers. They can hold onto my finger and flap their wings as I wave my hand up and down. On the way home from the gig, I stopped and bought some baby bird food mix and a dropper. As I found, later, these doves can actually bob their heads into a shot glass and eat just fine. They also drink water that way. At first, they wouldn't eat or peep at me, but now they get very excited when I come over to them and can't wait to start chowin' down. The hard hat I have them in, with ball moss, seems to work very well. The only thing is that now the bigger guy is trying to get out every now and then. He could get hurt and/or lost in my garage so I'm going to have to get a big box to put the helmet in. It's now in a rope bucket. I am not positive that these guys will survive, but as I get more attached to them, I hope they do. I raised a few pigeons before, and all Columbidae are pretty hardy sorts, so I'm hopeful. Soon I'll start giving them flying lessons in my enclosed, outside screen house. I figure they should be on their own in the next 3-4 weeks. I may post a few pictures a little later.

 

[TDunk]

If they've survived this long under your care, they should be just fine. When i was a kid i rescued some baby robins and they turned out just fine. Good luck with your new babies.

 

[Bermie]

Oh good for you! Nice to see a tough tree guy with a soft spot...
If the little ones are starting to try and get out they are probably pretty close to flying, you'd be suprised how well they can fly with what seems to you and me as undeveloped wings.
Our bluebirds fledged a couple of weeks ago, I would not have thought they were ready, but once out of the box, they spent two days fluttering from branch to branch after their parents and then, poof, they were gone off on their own...
C'mon we need a picture of the helmet nest!

 

[Texas Traveler]

My wife & I got interested in bird feeding one year.
As the winter wore on I noticed we were feeding everything that came around.
I had just been forced to retire & was bored to death.
But the squirals were a hoot, I had stand-alone feeders the type you stick in the ground about 5 ft. off the ground. Being about 5/8 steel rod, the squirals would shimmer up the rod & clean out the pan of seed. Bird seed is high when you pay retail for it. So I got the idea to grease the rod, boy that was a hoot. They would run & jump to near the bottom of the pan while hanging on for dearlife it would reach out for the pan. Then down they would go.

There is something not right about winter feeding birds,
it seems you are going against nature. So we quit.I was telling my brother about my experinces with the squirals.
He said it is fun when you can trap them & then paint their tails different colors. He said your neighbors will start talking about you.
My neighbor from hell got into it from watching cardinals feeding at our feeders. But he tried to pen them up.
There is nothing more heartbreaking then to watch wild birds flying into net wire repeatedly all day long.
I called the State game warden about it & he said mister I don't want to know your name but just tell me your neighbors address. We will take care of it.
Boy did they ever, plenty of shouting to go a long with it.

 

[Pete M]

Good on ya Daddy Dove

Similar thing here a few weeks ago. Mate topping row of conifers, me dragging stuff out and chipping it. Right near the chipper I saw this little bundle of fluff - nudged it with my foot and it fidgeted around and was chirping. Picked up - little tit chick. Then found another right near it. Walked back through to where the wood was being dropped and stopped my mate a minute so I could listen. Heard more chirping under some conifer on the ground and found two more chicks, and their nest. Placed the whole lot in the nest and poked it back up in the tree in a nesty sort of place. We sat there watching as mum came back to the nest. House owner carried on watching nest and all four chicks successfully fledged a few days later

 

[treeseer]

I'm putting together a ppt on Ornitho-Arboriculture for showing to local Audubon folks and would love to have some pictures to show. The ppt will be freely distributed once it is done so please post pics here of any phase of a bird-saving operation.

Thanks!

 

[Sunrise Guy]

Here are my two new kids---

These little guys are really growing up quickly. A few days ago, their feathers were just pins sticking out of their pink skin. Now they look more like birds. The weaning food I bought them is so hard that I think it would crack my teeth if I tried to eat it. I will soak it in a few days and then see if these guys will get off the mush and start chowing down on these now-softened, stone Cheerios. I removed the more nest-like ball moss after it got fouled, so these pics show my guys in Aspen chips, which they seem to do OK in.

 

[Pete M]

Them is ugly birds - but pretty cute!

 

[Happyjack]

That's a nice thing you are doing. I hope they do well. I never saw a baby Dove before. Hard-hat nest classic!!!

 

[Texas Traveler]

These little guys are really growing up quickly. A few days ago, their feathers were just pins sticking out of their pink skin. Now they look more like birds. The weaning food I bought them is so hard that I think it would crack my teeth if I tried to eat it. I will soak it in a few days and then see if these guys will get off the mush and start chowing down on these now-softened, stone Cheerios. I removed the more nest-like ball moss after it got fouled, so these pics show my guys in Aspen chips, which they seem to do OK in.

I am not a birdman by a longshot but, watching them around here scatching in the sand. They need small pebbles in their gizzard to help breakdown their food so be sure they have access to such items:greenchainsaw:

 

[Bermie]

I'm putting together a ppt on Ornitho-Arboriculture for showing to local Audubon folks and would love to have some pictures to show. The ppt will be freely distributed once it is done so please post pics here of any phase of a bird-saving operation.

Thanks!

Check my thread on the off topic forum, Bluebirds Fledged Today, not strictly a rescue, but anyway...

 

[treeseer]

Thanks Fiona; your pic of the 3 on the tree fork is classic.

 

[jtrent]

couldn't help but notice the nice grouping pattern, mostly center mass, of the target in the background of your bird photos . . . . . keep up the good work!

 

[Sunrise Guy]

couldn't help but notice the nice grouping pattern, mostly center mass, of the target in the background of your bird photos . . . . . keep up the good work!

Glock 17 on the larger hits, a little pellet gun on the smaller.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

My guys are now flying all over the garage and eating seeds from a dish. They also drink water from a bowl. When I come into the garage, they fly up on my shoulders and peep in my ears until I start petting them. They crave attention and really like me and the gf.

They were easy to raise, easy to feed, easy to wean. Now the hard part: What to do with them?

I can be like the purists on the wildlife shows: I've done my part, now it's up to them to make it on their own or perish: Survival of the fittest. Eat or be eaten. etc., etc. Release them and that's that.

Trouble is, I've come to like these little guys, a great deal. If I release them around here, the cats will get them. There are a bunch of ferals out here. My little guys know no fear of anything, it seems. Also, I'm not sure that they won't just fly up to anyone and wait for some attention. That could get them killed and eaten: Doves under glass, anyone?

I can take them to the park and release them, as I did the three baby pigeons I rescued from exterminator goop, and raised to adulthood. If they make it, or don't, I'll never know, and can always tell myself that they're fine.

I can call Wildlife Rescue and see if they have a huge dove sanctuary enclosure. That would mean jail, of a sort, for the rest of their lives.

If I keep them, they'll be captives, to be sure, but I'll interact with them all of the time, as I do my dog, cat, cockatiel and iguana. I build zoo-quality cages, and I would be able to put their cage in the iguana's room. He would be cool with them. He hated sharing his room with the shrieking cockatiel, who now has my front hall all to himself. The iguana has no cage door, so he gets to roam around the room. He's paper trained, so no hassle there. The doves would be fine with him, and vice versa.

I want to have less pets, though. I have fish, too. The more pets, the tougher it is to just up and go on vacations. My daughters help out, if they're not too busy with their own pets and lives, but I hate asking them to stop over twice a day.

Doves are a 20-25 year commitment. I'll be an old, old guy when they go to the big tree in the sky. Do I want that kind of grief?

My bird and iguana have been with me for sixteen years, now, and the cat and dog are approaching ten. Pet care is costly, and when Death stops by to scoop up a loving and loved pet, the heartbreak hangs around for a while, maybe forever, in some cases.

Man, I just don't know what to do-----

 

[pbtree]

We were taking down a Live Oak that had fallen prey to Oak Wilt a few days ago.We always check for birds' nests before we fell a tree, but the heavy ball moss made that kind of tough. Later, as I loaded logs, I saw two little doves on the street, huddled together, right next to the curb. The fact that they survived falling off one of the large limbs without getting crushed as it came down was miraculous. They are about two weeks old with fairly developed pin feathers. They can hold onto my finger and flap their wings as I wave my hand up and down. On the way home from the gig, I stopped and bought some baby bird food mix and a dropper. As I found, later, these doves can actually bob their heads into a shot glass and eat just fine. They also drink water that way. At first, they wouldn't eat or peep at me, but now they get very excited when I come over to them and can't wait to start chowin' down. The hard hat I have them in, with ball moss, seems to work very well. The only thing is that now the bigger guy is trying to get out every now and then. He could get hurt and/or lost in my garage so I'm going to have to get a big box to put the helmet in. It's now in a rope bucket. I am not positive that these guys will survive, but as I get more attached to them, I hope they do. I raised a few pigeons before, and all Columbidae are pretty hardy sorts, so I'm hopeful. Soon I'll start giving them flying lessons in my enclosed, outside screen house. I figure they should be on their own in the next 3-4 weeks. I may post a few pictures a little later.

Congrats on the addition to your family!

 

[Texas Traveler]

My guys are now flying all over the garage and eating seeds from a dish. They also drink water from a bowl. When I come into the garage, they fly up on my shoulders and peep in my ears until I start petting them. They crave attention and really like me and the gf.

They were easy to raise, easy to feed, easy to wean. Now the hard part: What to do with them?

I can be like the purists on the wildlife shows: I've done my part, now it's up to them to make it on their own or perish: Survival of the fittest. Eat or be eaten. etc., etc. Release them and that's that.

Trouble is, I've come to like these little guys, a great deal. If I release them around here, the cats will get them. There are a bunch of ferals out here. My little guys know no fear of anything, it seems. Also, I'm not sure that they won't just fly up to anyone and wait for some attention. That could get them killed and eaten: Doves under glass, anyone?

I can take them to the park and release them, as I did the three baby pigeons I rescued from exterminator goop, and raised to adulthood. If they make it, or don't, I'll never know, and can always tell myself that they're fine.

I can call Wildlife Rescue and see if they have a huge dove sanctuary enclosure. That would mean jail, of a sort, for the rest of their lives.

If I keep them, they'll be captives, to be sure, but I'll interact with them all of the time, as I do my dog, cat, cockatiel and iguana. I build zoo-quality cages, and I would be able to put their cage in the iguana's room. He would be cool with them. He hated sharing his room with the shrieking cockatiel, who now has my front hall all to himself. The iguana has no cage door, so he gets to roam around the room. He's paper trained, so no hassle there. The doves would be fine with him, and vice versa.

I want to have less pets, though. I have fish, too. The more pets, the tougher it is to just up and go on vacations. My daughters help out, if they're not too busy with their own pets and lives, but I hate asking them to stop over twice a day.

Doves are a 20-25 year commitment. I'll be an old, old guy when they go to the big tree in the sky. Do I want that kind of grief?

My bird and iguana have been with me for sixteen years, now, and the cat and dog are approaching ten. Pet care is costly, and when Death stops by to scoop up a loving and loved pet, the heartbreak hangs around for a while, maybe forever, in some cases.

Man, I just don't know what to do-----

Man, this is not a I told you so. But it is the reason we quit bird feeding over the winter.
We felt like we were interfering with nature & the way things are.
Perhaps a children zoo would help you & it might be a good cause to boot.
But anyway good luck with the project.

 

[Bermie]

I'd take them to the park...or at least somewhere where there is less liklihood of feral cats.
Its a dilema, but if you keep them then you must commit to making their lives as rich as possible for quite a long time, you sound like you're wavering on that point...they don't have a choice, you do...

 

[Sunrise Guy]

I just spoke to the Wildlife Rescue folks. They have a desocialization aviary where they only provide food and water, with no human contact, to get the birds ready for release in their sanctuary grounds. Now I need to see if I'm up to taking these guys over there. I'm feeling physically ill as I go over, in my head, the drive over there and saying, "Good-bye." This is far tougher than I thought it would be. I need to beat some sense into myself.

 

[ClimbinArbor]

keep em

my grandfather and quite a few others have doves. build them an 8'x8'x8' cage and they will be all sorts of happy. we used to keep pigeons in one. you can keep them in smaller cages. but i would think theyd be happier in a big one. make them their only little sanctuary and go catch them some friends.....(to catch a pigeon, shine a light in its eyes while its on its nest at nighttime. if you can mimic theyre talk it will help calm them. just reach out and pick it up. just dont take the l;ight off theyre eyes lol. we used to catch them in old bridges with walkways, coops, barns, old glass plant/mega cool place/,etc etc) or you can buy them some mates.