Dove chicks mother killed

  • What can you do to help possibly orphaned dove chicks?
  • We have a pair of wood pigeons and a pair of doves regularly nesting in our garden.  This year the doves made their nest in the tree against our lounge window. We saw that they had chicks, who then fledged. However, we have seen new chicks in the last week with only one parent.
  • Unfortunately, this morning we found one of the parents dead on the road outside our house. We think a cat might have caught it. 
    There is at least one live chick in the nest, but no sign of the other parent.
  • We can hear cooing, but that could just be the wood pigeons. 

  • Are you able to observe the nest through the day to check to see if a parent bird is coming to the nest? While waiting to see if the youngster is being attended to research if there are any wildlife re-habbers in your area. Local Facebook groups are usually quite good for this. The final bit has to be that if you feel you need to do something can the nest be safely accessed?
    If the nest is still being attended by a single parent you can provide a little extra help by offering a small amount of corn, grit and water.

    It’s not often cats get collared doves, but male on male aggression is not unknown and can be very violent.

    Good luck

    Cin J