As I walked into work Thursday, I noticed something grey and fluffy on the cement. It was still breathing and I noticed immediately that it was some kind of baby bird. I ran back to my car and grabbed the only soft thing I had which was my sweater and I picked the baby up to see if I could spot the parents or the nest. I'm certain she's a pigeon since we have loads of them in the parking garage. I could see what was maybe a near way up high and out of reach but the baby was lethargic and barely conscious in my arms so I thought it better to call a vet or rescue sanctuary since she seemed to have fallen a really far way onto hot concrete.

I brought her into my job where me and two of my managers scoured the internet, calling every local place that deals with birds. We were given the same answer pretty much, leave it out in the parking lot and hope the parents come. After research I discovered many vets have no resources or experience for baby pigeons and will suggest euthanasia even in cases where the baby could live.

The other problem is I'm 100% sure the mall poisons our pigeons. I've seen horrible things happen to them which I've already called about MULTIPLE times and the mall Staff's solution would probably be to leave her in a dumpster.

So, being the idiot I am I decided I would take responsibility for the bird. I worked my 8 hour closing shift and checked on the baby every now and then to make sure she was okay and then took her home and started to feed her baby bird formula. It was a struggle. Her beak wouldn't open and I had to pretty much force drops of formala into her mouth. I was scared she hadn't gotten enough but I made her a nest in a cardboard box and put a cage over top with a heat lamp to keep her warm. Yesterday when I got up she was alert and sitting up now. Around noon when I cooed to her she began peeping excitedly and flapping her wings. When I fed her this time I used a plastic bag with a hole in it. It took her a bit to get it but she ate willingly and with excitement. By last night she was nothing like the panting scrap I'd found on the pavement.

I'm writing this as a log for mostly myself but also as an update for everyone. I'm calling the pigeon Penny since I found her on the pavement 😂
I've taken next week off from work for personal things anyway so the timing couldn't be more right I suppose. I estimate Penny to be about 10-13 days old judging by her feather growth. I hope I can save her. Idk if I should release her with the pigeons near my house or if I should bring her to the reservoir but i guess I'll decide when the time comes.