Abandoned Baby Doves

[Riesstiu IV]

Since yesterday morning I've been looking after dove chicks that have been abandoned by their deadbeat parents.

For the past few weeks a dove built and roosted a nest above a garden hose reel attached to a wall. Well, the mother dove left the nest on Saturday and the two eggs in the nest hatched the following morning. I was out a lot the day they hatched and never saw the mother dove come back. In fact, I haven't seen her anywhere at all.

I really didn't want the dove chicks to starve to death, so I went online and looked up formulas and ways to feed baby doves. I made some food, feed them every few hours. They seem to be doing okay and I guess the food agrees with them since they poop it out.

Anyways, I established the routine and left them in the nest outside and tried to be as non-invasive as possible in the hopes the mother would come back. This morning, I took the day off, set the nest in a basket, and moved them inside my place since a nasty wind storm is approaching.

Still, I'm not a trained professional and I'd rather hand the birds over to a wildlife rehabilitator. I've been calling wildlife rehabilitators in the area since Monday but the assh*les are never there. Does anyone know anything about baby doves?

[ZEE]

thread is useless without pics.

also

[Riesstiu IV]

They're sleeping now but okay.

[germanos]

Who are you and what have you done to Riesstiu

[Nostromo]

So how does it sounds like when doves cry?

[Riesstiu IV]

Originally posted by germanos
Who are you and what have you done to Riesstiu

"And what happened then? Well, in Dallas they say that Riesstiu's small heart grew three sizes that day."

Good news. I just had a rehabilitator contact me. Apparently she knows a woman not far from here who specializes in raising doves, and she will happily take them in. As soon as I get directions, I'll probably drive to the center with the dove chicks.

Originally posted by Nostromo
So how does it sounds like when doves cry?

Music to my ears.

[Riesstiu IV]

I managed to reach the dove ornithologist and give the dove chicks to her. She said they were weak but would recover and fed them while I was there. Apparently you need some kind of special instrument to open their beaks and feed them directly.

Anyways, the two dove chicks will be in good company. There are at least a dozen other doves in her aviary flying around and pooping.

Troll response: I turned them into chicken nuggets and they were tasty.

[LordShiva]

I was going to suggest you turn them into tasty snacks. They're bite-sized!

[Theben]

Congratulations on saving the skyrat species.

[Krill]

Shuold have hand raised them as pets

[Riesstiu IV]

I don't think I could. Dove chicks require a lot of time and specialized equipment and food in order successfully raise them.

[LordShiva]

It's much more fun raising real chicks as pets, anyway.