baby pigeon found in road

Question
My cousin found a baby pigeon on the side of the road, and wanted me to check it out. It had been grabbed by her dog, but she managed to get the dog to drop it immediately. The bird seems fine now, but we are planning to keep it. The only thing is, it won't eat the seeds and peanut butter that we gave it. If you have any tips on what to feed this bird, please tell us because it would be helpful. We would also like to know what kind of cage we would need for it. Thanks!

Answer
Hi Kaitlyn

If the baby bird has yellowish fuzz all over its body, cannot walk properly, or has really bulgy eyes, it is still very young and cannot eat seeds yet. Pigeons don't eat peanut butter, so don't feed it that. The baby needs baby pigeon food called baby bird formula. You can buy bags or cans of it at any pet store, but just ask a worker there if it is safe for baby pigeons (parrots eat formula too and they require different nutrients). There are instructions on the back on how much to feed it and how to prepare it, so just follow those. Wean (introduce seeds and take away formula) at about one month old, or when the baby starts to grow feathers. Do this gradually and NEVER just stop feeding formula and give it pure seeds. It needs a gradual change over a period of a couple weeks.

Adult pigeons eat wild bird seed mix and grit (little peices of rock or shells) that help to digest their food. They need fresh water every day. Any bird cage will do, even a really small one, but if you use a small one the bird needs to come out to fly every day. Another option is to build a pigeon loft (there's lots of examples if you google it) where the birds stay outside and can free fly, but I do not suggest that as the type of pigeon you found probably is a small one and small pigeons have very poor homing instincts (where home is to fly back to it).

I hope this helped a bit and I hope you enjoy your pigeon. Pigeons make great pets as they are small, not very messy, hardy, and are very affectionate. Good luck.