If you have been hand feeding with formula, it will be easier to wean your baby bird than if its parent has been feeding it. If she is an unweaned older bird, though, it may be more difficult. You need to create a seed tube. Sawing off the bottom of a prescription vial so the end is open can accomplish this. Next, cover the bottom of the tube with non-adherent bandage material to protect the sharp edges. Cut a small slit in the bandage material that is big enough for your bird to get her beak inside it.
Fill the tube with seed mix and cap the end. Some avian veterinarians recommend using a mix of pelleted feed, about the size of white millet, called EXACT for canaries and finches. Then, mix this with sunflower hearts, thistle seed, cracked corn and millet. It may also be beneficial to mix in a little grit.
In order to feed the baby dove, shake the vial to get the bird's attention. If necessary, guide the bird's head to the tube and gently push its bill through the slit. Shaking the tube in a vertical fashion mimics the action of the natural parent, and may be helpful in coaxing her to use the seed tube.
Water may be given by using the bulb portion of a medicine dropper. Fill this with water and hold it up for the bird to drink. Since birds drink with a sucking action, this should work. Be careful not to give the baby too much water, as the pelleted foods expand in the crop (the food storage organ), and could harm the bird.
The first day of weaning is most critical. The baby should be fed four times daily, with water given in between. If the next morning the crop is empty, you can start the baby on self-feeding. Tape or wire the shaker tube to the cage within its reach. The first few times you may need to walk it over and push the bird's beak into the tube. Then put a shallow dish with pebbles and water for it to drink from. At this point the bird will also need a dish of seed.
(Technique provided by Tri-State Bird Rescue, Newark, Delaware.)
