Bird experts, please help!! Mourning Dove nestlings all alone, nest destroyed...?

A mourning dove family has been living on my boyfriend's 3rd story porch in a potted sago palm for a few weeks now. The babies were hatched either Monday or Tues, but last night (Wed) a storm came through %26amp; blew the plant off of the stand it sat atop, breaking the nest, dumping the nestlings out on the poarch %26amp; causing the adult bird to fly away. The nestlings seemed to be ok from the fall, so my boyfriend (who watched all this happen) got an old hanging plant that was already dead %26amp; is mostly just dried mossy lining (shaped much like a nest), picked up the 2 babies with a paper towel %26amp; put them in the new "nest." Instead of putting it back up on the stand where it could just blow off again, he left it on the ground %26amp; moved it a little closer towards his apartment away from the edge of the porch %26amp; the strong rain. He kept looking to see if the mom/ dad bird came back. One of them hopped up on the railing several times, but the parents never came back to the babies. What do we do?? :[

Bird experts, please help!! Mourning Dove nestlings all alone, nest destroyed...?
Definitely try to put the nest back how it was, and watch the babies to see if the parents come back. Your scent on the babies and the nest shouldn't bother them because pigeons have a poor sense of smell. That whole thing about parents abandoning nests because it smells like humans is an old wive's tale.


If, for some reason, the parents do not return try taking the babies to a wildlife rehab or animal shelter and see if anyone is available to take care of them and foster them. If you feel confident in taking care of them yourself, here is what you'll need to do, but you might be taking care of them for two months or more.





First, they need to be kept very warm. Get a shoebox and place a heating pad on the bottom set to LOW. Put a towel on the heating pad and put the babies in. Put another towel over them and close the box slightly, so that they still have air. The box should stay between 80 and 90 degrees until the chicks start hrowing in their feathers, and then it should be around 70 degrees.


They will probably need to be fed anywhere from every 20 minutes to 40 minutes, depending on their age. From what you said, it sounds like they are pretty much newborns, and will need to be fed every 20 mins. At night, feed them every 2-3 hours, until they are able to sleep through the night.


For food, the best thing to give them is EXACT. It's a powdered formula mix for parrots that you can get at a petstore. Just prepare it like it says on the package. The best way to feed it to them is to poke a hole in the side of a paper dixie cup just big enough for their beak to fit through. Pour the formula into the cup up to the hole, and put the beak in the hole. When you tip the cup and let food flow over their beak, they will instantly start swallowing the food, and you will be able to see the food go into their crops. When they stop bobbing their heads, take their beak out so they don't inhale any food, and immediately clean the chicks off so that the food doesn't cake onto them. The dixie cup method is WAY easier than any syringe because they normally reach into the mother's throat to eat. They don't gape and wait for you to put food there, so them reaching into the cup feels more natural. Then you can put them back in the box until the next feeding.


At about one month old, the babies should start pecking at things that look like seeds, and this is when you start leaving a small bowl of seeds in the cage for them to play with and practice eating. They should also be practicing flying. At about 6 weeks, they should be mostly eating on their own, only getting a little bit of formula from you, and at two months, they should be totally self sufficient. Good luck with your littke babies, and email me with any more questions. I'd be glad to help.
Reply:moved the nest theay r proberly goin to die
Reply:Maybe call the SPCA and ask them. Or if you have a local wildlife center in your area you could take it there. Sorry for the lack of helpful information......just trying to think of where to find help. Maybe you can look up any bird breeders in your area and ask what they suggest. Good luck!
Reply:Do what syndy b said about replacing the nest. If that doesn't work, you should be able to find a licensed wildlife rehabilitator here:


http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact....
Reply:By changing the type and place of the nest, you may have caused the parents to abandon. Try putting the old nest pieces in the sago pot as if it had fallen there. Set the pot on the porch and put the babies in it. Then the parents are more likely to return.





You should also call the local wildlife rescue for more/better advice.
Reply:call a wildlife center they will come and pick up he birds and care for them