MontanaMama
MontanaMama's JournalThe dove hatchling I rescued a month ago...
He spends his days outside in the trees. I came home early from work to mow the lawn and he popped down from above to say hello. I still put food out for him…apples and a homemade seed mixture…and of course, water. He flies further out each day but comes back several times a day when I call for him. He sleeps in the house at night…I’ll let him do that as long as he wants to.
Update on the dove hatchling I rescued.
A month ago, I posted about a dove hatchling that was blown out of its nest during a thunderstorm. It’s sibling died and the parents didn’t come back to care for the remaining baby.
I’ve spent the last month feeding this little one baby bird food with a syringe and he’s now weaned and flying pretty well. For a week he’s spent his days in an enclosure in my backyard with food and water so that he can get used to outside sights and sounds. Yesterday I let him test his wings and he took a few hot laps around the yard before settling on a structure on my patio…coming down several times to eat and drink. I’m not going to lie…I cried in and off all day worrying about this little one. He returned into the neighbor’s maple tree several times but would come back to the patio. I was able to call him down last night and brought him in to sleep.
We ventured outside today and started the whole process again. This time, he ate and drank and went straight up to the maple tree. I called him down twice before I went to work to eat/drink before he flew off again. I came home from work after three hours to find the neighbor out in his back yard with a freaking jackhammer and my little dove (we’ve named him The Ragamuffin) was nowhere to be found.
I walked all around my yard calling for him and after a half hour or so he flew into the maple tree above my patio. A little while later he came down to eat. I scooped him up and took him inside and he’s been resting. Now that the jackhammer guy has stopped, I’ll take the ragamuffin back out to see how he does.
This is so stressful and clearly I’ve become attached. We will continue to let him outside during the day and I am sure he will venture further each day. Maybe he will come and go for a while…I hope so. One of these days he just might decide to go. I don’t know what to expect. He did more today than yesterday.
Some pics of my little dude below.
Baby bird whose nest blew out of a tree in last night's thunderstorm.
We left this one and its sibling at the base of the tree last night hoping the parents would come back. This morning they were still there...one was dead and this little one was still alert and breathing. I was afraid a magpie would eat it because they are just hell on baby birds around here and it is 100 degrees again today and I knew he had to be dehydrated. So, I picked him (her?) and warmed him....even in our heat, he didn't feel warm.
I held him until he perked up and gave him a little water. I put him in my pocket at drove to Petsmart to get a container of crop milk replacement and he's already had two meals today. The internets say that he will eat 4 times per day and graduate to seeds and berries when he fledges. I believe this chick (the babies are called squabs) is a Eurasian Collared Dove. Non native and invasive in some areas. However, I just couldn't leave him to die by that tree.
I have a pet Conure and am keeping him well away from this dove in case there are any diseases to worry about.
He won't win a beauty contest but he is quite a fighter!! Wish him luck. I have a video of him eating his first meal...but I don't know how to post videos here on DU.
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: Montana
Home country: USA
Member since: Mon Oct 31, 2016, 02:23 PM
Number of posts: 23,364
