Meet Paulie

A Little over a week ago we experienced some rather cool weather and while engaged in kennel chores , which include feeding/watering the birds, I found an abandoned cold lifeless body of a pigeon chick in a nest of our pigeon coop. Disappointed in the parental skills of the chick’s parents I felt it necessary to scold the them as I lifted the cold corpse out of the nest. To my surprise it took a labored breath of air while cradled in the palm of my hand. I stood and observed it for what felt like minutes to see if it would take another breath. It did. With a big sigh of both relief and disappointment I stuck the palm sized pigeon chick in my shirt pocket under my jacket until I could get it back to the kennel. Once in the kennel I tried warming the chick with the heat radiating from my hands but its body was so cold it was neutralizing the heat I was generating. Time for impromptu plan B. By running some body temperature water and creating a pool by cupping my hands under the faucet it wasn’t long before the chick began to respond to the warmth and begin breathing more regularly. Not necessarily sure if what I did was the correct response to save a hypothermic pigeon chick but it worked! Not long after the chick started peeping and acted like it wanted food by burying its beak between my fingers. Locating a large syringe from the medical cupboard I then soaked some chick starter crumble in warm water. I poured the slurry into the syringe and administered the warm mush. From that day to this day the chick lives in a bag cooler out of K9 reach and has been fed 3 times a day with its “nest” bedding also being changed multiple times per day. The last couple days he has had some “Pigeon Walks” outside and really seems to enjoy them.