Pigeon Baby

Question
URGENT: In my balcony couple pigeon gave birth to a baby.
5 days later one of them accidently gave weight to baby's neck and now its neck got twisted and its suffering from pain and swelling.
Its really difficult to watch someone in such pain.I am wishing it grows as day goes by and it gain some strength to regain itself but I see little hope.
Me and my family had done lot of things to save it from crows and eagle since eggs were laid.
Please Please if any one have something to suggest  . . .  .

- Saurabh Yadav

Answer
Hi Saurabh,

Sorry to hear about this baby. Can it sit up on its own, raise its head, and have you seen the parents feeding it? Is this the only baby in the nest?

If the parents stepped on its neck and it lays there with a twisted neck with no real movement, it is very likely it has a broken neck and there is not a whole lot you can do.

Other causes for twisted neck include bacterial infections such as salmonellosis (paratyphoid) and viral infections like paramyxovirus (PMV).

Both of these can be difficult to treat in such young birds and they most often die.

If you notice the baby struggling to eat and wants to eat but fails to do so, you may want to try to raise the baby on your own. However, this can be difficult to do without prior experience. Do you know of any wildlife rehabilitators or someone experienced with pigeons near you?

Pigeons this young need to be tube-fed but others have found success with the syringe method. I'll include both links here:

http://www.pigeon-aid.org.uk/pa/html/syringe_method.php

http://www.pigeoncote.com/vet/feedbaby/feedbaby.html

I'm sorry you have to go through this with such a young bird, but I'm afraid there is not a whole lot you can do, aside from finding someone experienced with pigeons that may try to raise this baby or a wildlife rehabilitator.

Let me know if you have additional questions.

Stacie