# Requesting help for raising 3-4 day old Dove



## aatishpatil (Jul 22, 2015)

Hi All,

Yesterday I found a small laughing dove, which is almost 3-4 days old and don't know where his/her parents went. I have that kid with me and wanna know how to take care of it. like feeding and all.

Any help on this is really appreciated.

Thanks in advance.....


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Hi there,
I'm not experienced in raising baby doves, I have only took care of a few grown ones.
Doves mainly eat seeds and other insects, but since this chick is only a scarce few days old, he/she would need to be fed a special formula for chicks. If you can't find specific formula for birds, you can try to mix some Cerelac (baby cereal) with warm water (do not use milk).


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## aatishpatil (Jul 22, 2015)

Thanks Aluz...


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## Budget baby (Jan 1, 2013)

Hello, is the picture you have the one you found or just to show us what sort of bird it is? The one in the picture is an adult bird I am sure . You will need to get some hand rearing formula very soon and keep the baby very warm. I am moving this thread to Other Birds Section, I hope everything works out for the little one.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

I would get some handfeeding chick formula if you are able as this has a lot of important nutrients for development. Remember to keep him warm always, and doves, especially babies, prefer foraging on the bottom for food and sitting on the bottom of any cage, so line his home with towels and maybe some Timothy hay if you have any. 

That's all I know, I hope everything works out well for this little guy! We'd love to see pictures if you have any


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## BudgieAwesome (Jul 23, 2015)

Your best bet would be to bring the baby dove to your local animal rehabilitation or something. I volunteer at one in my area, and when they get doves that are babies, they provide seeds and water to wean them (weaning is when they eat on their own), and they have some special milk-formula stuff they feed the baby doves, but I was in a position where I had to try and raise a baby dove, and the wildlife rehabilitation centre people said I would be fine to syringe feed baby bird formula (that you can get at some pet stores) to the dove (it's the same formula I use for my baby budgies). You just need to mix the powdered formula with warm water (or hot water, because it will cool quite soon) until you have a gravy-like consistencey... Maybe a bit thicker. You want the formula to be warmer than your skin (for budgies it's around 105 degrees Fahrenheit) and just feed it to the dove (pointing the tip of the syringe towards their right side of the mouth (our left) just put the tip of the syringe in on their left side) if the dove doesn't open its mouth, you can hold it open and feed it. 
But like I said, you should try and get the dove to an wildlife rehab centre. You should only feed the dove yourself if there isn't one. Hope that helps!


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## aatishpatil (Jul 22, 2015)

Dear All,
Thanks for your help, however the baby is no more. I tried hand feeding used clean syringe to inject some food in the crop, but no luck.


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

I'm sorry to hear the little dove didn't make it... You did your very best to try and save the chick.
Rest in peace, little one.


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