Helpful advise needed for a 17 day old Collared Dove. (1 Viewer)

[Steve360]

Hi, Can anyone answer my question or give me some advise?
I have a home fabricated nest outside my workshop window which overlooks a park and trees. A couple of collared doves have been using it often and they have so far raised six lots of babies from it. This time the first baby left the nest two days ago and Tom stayed in the nest. Yesterday he tried to fly out and fell to the ground, luckily I saw him and was able to collect him and return him to the nest. Today he did the same thing and I collected him from the ground for a second time. He is 17 days old , he looks healthy and his wings look perfect, however, he has very few feathers on his tail, which I assume stops him from flying vertically. Will these feathers grow, or do you think he has a deformity? I have temporarily confined him as I am sure he will do the same thing tomorrow. Thanks Steve.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Steve and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators.

We have some general guidelines here for the care of injured and baby birds.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

 

[Kits]

Welcome to Birdforum!

 

[KC Foggin]

Welcome aboard Steve!

 

[Tired]

Do you have a photo? I would try to contact a local wildlife rehab to ask what state its tail feathers should be in.

 

[Steve360]

Do you have a photo? I would try to contact a local wildlife rehab to ask what state its tail feathers should be in.

Hi, Thanks for your reply. I took this photo today. Steve.

 

[Steve360]

Hi Steve and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators.

We have some general guidelines here for the care of injured and baby birds.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

Thank you.

 

[Steve360]

Welcome to Birdforum!

Thank you.

 

[Lisa W]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Good luck with the little guy.

 

[Steve360]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Good luck with the little guy.

Thank you Lisa

 

[Tired]

What you have there is a fledgeling. Fledgelings naturally leave the nest on their own, once they have most or all of their feathers. Sometimes they can't fly yet, but that's natural. The white-wing doves around here leave the nest in a much more disheveled state, and do just fine. He should grow in his feathers if given time. Unless your yard is full of cats or other predators, he should be put back outside. His parents are probably looking for him.

His tail feathers do look oddly tattered, but he can't stay in the nest until new feathers grow in. He needs to leave. I expect his parents won't keep feeding him after a certain point, and he is going to keep jumping out. If you're really worried, you can contact a wildlife rescue and ask them if you should bring him to them, but he probably just needs to be left to his own devices.

 

[Steve360]

What you have there is a fledgeling. Fledgelings naturally leave the nest on their own, once they have most or all of their feathers. Sometimes they can't fly yet, but that's natural. The white-wing doves around here leave the nest in a much more disheveled state, and do just fine. He should grow in his feathers if given time. Unless your yard is full of cats or other predators, he should be put back outside. His parents are probably looking for him.

His tail feathers do look oddly tattered, but he can't stay in the nest until new feathers grow in. He needs to leave. I expect his parents won't keep feeding him after a certain point, and he is going to keep jumping out. If you're really worried, you can contact a wildlife rescue and ask them if you should bring him to them, but he probably just needs to be left to his own devices.

Hi, I understand where you are coming from, but every time he falls, he is at risk from cats and dogs below. The problem is that the parents keep calling him from the nearby tree and every time he tries to join them he falls. The parents are quite tame and know me very well as I feed them everyday. They are happy eating just 50cm from me. Anyway I have temporarily confined Tom (still in his nest in the same location) by putting up a grill around it with an opening to put his head out. Hopefully the parents will still be able to feed him, if not I will have to do it. Normally about a week from now, these parents usually chase their babies away to fend for themselves anyway. I have a 2nd terrace in my house which is walled on all 4 sides, so I thought this would be a great place to keep him outside in a few days time. If his feathers do form, he will be able to fly out vertically whenever he wants to leave. But in the meantime, he can't fall into danger in the park below. What do you think?

 

[Fritz73]

Hola Steve! Welcome to Birdforum

 

[Tired]

I think, again, you should contact a wildlife rescuer to ask. I also think he's leaving the nest for a reason, and you should try to figure out what that reason is. Putting him on the terrace with bowls of food and water might work, but I would worry about a predator showing up while he's completely trapped.

 

[Steve360]

I think, again, you should contact a wildlife rescuer to ask. I also think he's leaving the nest for a reason, and you should try to figure out what that reason is. Putting him on the terrace with bowls of food and water might work, but I would worry about a predator showing up while he's completely trapped.

OK, Thank you very much for your advise. Regards, Steve.