A few days ago, I went to my friend’s house, it was windy and the wind had brought a baby dove into my friend’s yard, there wasn’t any bird’s nest in the yard, so we couldn’t put the chick back to his mother. We noticed ants attaching him, my friend said if we left him here, the ants ate him alive, she gently dusted the ants off and asked me if I could accept to look after the chick or not because she had to go to work. “ I like to look after a baby bird but I don’t know how?” I answered.
“ Make a thin mixture with baby cereal and water then feed him with a dropper.” She said.
I fed the baby dove this way, he opened his beak and swallow the mixture.
Next day, I was very glad when I saw that he was alive, but his crop was so big and I thought perhaps the mixture was bad for him, therefore, I decided to make a proper food for him, I searched internet and found an article about nursing and feeding baby doves, it said that food for baby birds should not be watery, it should be like dough, then I thickened the mixture and made a sticky dough and fed the chick with hand, but the next morning, I noticed he was dead. I opened his beak and looked at it carefully. There was some dough in the bottom of the bird’s tongue, the poor baby dove couldn’t swallow dough.
I was sad and angry, every time that I went to the room where I kept the bird, I missed him.
I was curious to find out what was wrong, I searched the net again and found some articles. They all said” Baby doves need very thin food, about the consistency of skimmed milk and this should be gradually thickened over the first 10 days.”
This experience taught me that I must not trust the first article that I found on internet, I should search a lot and study many articles.
Comments
Hi dear Onee!
Thanks for your nice comment and the like.
you are right , some articles on the net are not valid at all.
Thanks for sharing this informative blog, Saba. Your experience is really a good lesson for us, too.
I also often look something from inet. But, I should be careful to ensure the validity and reason. I look some article again, and maybe I'll have a conclusion from there. :)
Sereko,
You are similar to a man who is dead with open eyes, You probably put your comment a few seconds before dying.
Hi Anah!
Thanks so much for your nice comment.
Chicks are really fun for kids, but when kids lost their chicks they learn that they always can't get what they like.
Oh, this is sad. But it's okay at least you tried your best.
I had some chicks in my childhood and they died one after one because I wasn't giving them proper food. There was no access to internet so I just asked my mother what to feed them. What she prescribed I gave to the chicks. But they died. It really sadden me. So I stopped keeping baby animals.
By the way thanks for telling us about what baby doves eat! :))
Thanks so much dear Mishaikh,
Your congratulatory comment made me feel appreciated.
Saba, you have been featured. Congratulations!!!
Hi Dear Elen!
Great comment, it's the best choice, if I asked a vet for advice, I never fed the poor chick wrong food and perhaps he didn't die.
To tell you the truth, this choice came to my mind too, but I ashamed to ask a vet. In my city, there is a research zoo that accept valuable and rare chicks such as eaglets, I thought a baby dove is worthless for them.
Hi Arif!
Thanks so much for two nice comments. Today, the easiest way for getting information is net, but as you said We have to study more and more, collect similar points in almost all the articles. We then can trust them.
Hi Noas!
Agreed! It is difficult to look after a small and weak baby bird, because they need crop milk from their mother and she rejuvenates it into the baby's mouth, it is impossible for man to replicate it.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next