feeding baby doves

Question
I belong to a wildlife network caring for most wildlife in particular birds.  I have recently lost a baby dove after caring for it for four days. I picked it up from a vet after a person found it.  It appeared healthy and I was tempted to take it back to try to find it's parents.  I fed it on grainavore with a dropper, syringe and tube but it went down hill and I lost it.  I am deeply saddened and would be greatful for any advice as I am sure to get more little doves in.  They are very difficult to feed and I will try the method of letting it such from a paper cup.  As I say I should be very grateful for any advice.  Jeanne

Answer
Hello Jeanne and thank you for your question.
I am sorry for the loss of this little baby dove.  Doves are such beautiful birds, however, I haven't had too much experience with them.
I would think that Grainavore is difficult for a young baby to digest, but I could be wrong.  
Please do keep in mind that in the bird family, if one of the offspring is sick or there is a problem with it, the parents will either abandon it or kill it.  There might have been something wrong with the little guy that nobody knew about.
I do know that there is a hand feeding formula that is available from pet shops, and this formula has all of the necessary nutrients and vitamins in it that a baby bird needs.

I am afraid of giving the wrong instructions on how to feed a baby bird, but one of our other experts has a wonderful site.  I am sending you the link for it.  I checked it out and it is very informative, and he he tells you step by step in detail on how to do this.

http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html


This link will definitely help you out.
Please let me know how it's going.

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna