Please bear with me, I gotta give this bird a good life. Here's the story and questions. Forgive my hurried redaction skills.

On June 8th a pigeon laid two eggs inside a plant pot (with soil but no vegetation) in our balcony. I give her some seeds and water until June 22nd when the eggs hatch. Then I started giving her more food. One baby was slightly bigger than the other so I assume they're brother and sister.

8 days later they were attacked, probably by magpies. Mom wasn't there, the girl was dead (eaten:/) and the boy was left ravaged (picture below), all alone, shaking and panting. I offered him fod and water and stayed with him until the nearest vet opened and then took him there. Madagascar clinic.

The vet bandaged his back, put some cream on his head to help scarring and gave me some an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic for him. Also Harrison's recovery formula for birds and reptiles. I named him Phoenix. Mom came back (with dad who I had rarely seen so far) and waited for a few hours but since I knew I couldn't give the bird to her because he'd die, I figured it would be better to not show it to her. Not because of her potential aggression but for Phoenix sake.

I go again the next day because I had many questions and the bandage was slipping due to how much the little guy was flapping and struggling. This time I get a vet surgeon, clearly more experienced than the previous one. He saw Phoenix's head and figured the skin/tissue had to be glued because it was quite loose. As you can see in the picture, part of the flesh from his head was gone, exposing the skull, and the rest was quite loosened up. So he glued it and put more scarring/healing thing on it and upped his formula intake from 4 to 12ml. He said it's ok to give him human baby cereal formula... Idk what was I thinking I just went along with it. I figured it wouldn't be harmful but didn't consider that it'd lack the specific micronutrients a bird needs!

A few days later the birb started worrying me because he tried to poop but couldn't. After I cleaned up his bum and very lightly massaged it he did an effort and pooped a lot at once. I didn't like this his behavior seemed weird to me (it was nothing really I'm just inexperienced) so I took him to Vetcon emergency clinic, not before reading reviews beforehand. A local pigeon info website recommended them as well.

I get to Vetcon and have Phoenix checked, and while there was nothing wrong with what worried me (constipation was probably because I fed him underwatered formula), the doctor did notice that his head wound was still loose and also getting infected and didn't like that I was given baby formula for a bird, she also gave me the tube feeding syringe, said he's too young to be fed otherwise and could aspirate the formula. I got Harrison's juvenile formula for birds which she recommended, and decided to take him to get his head stitched up at the clinic I had taken him so far. Even though I was already feeling uneasy about taking him there. Little did I know this conflicting thoughts would resolve soon.

A few hours later, around 9am, the doctor from Vetcon called me saying she just realized that the antibiotic that Phoenix was put on, Baytril, wasn't an ideal option for squabs. She said she had to call me and let me know because it can inhibit growth. I said well that's it, book me an appointment with you guys I'm not taking him to Madagascar again.

I was already a bit questioning of the place before that. Ok, the vet that saw him on the day of the attack was inexperienced, but the surgeon that saw him on Monday (a very good doctor and the face of the clinic according to online reviews) had no excuse. Fine, maybe he glued his head to avoid unnecessarily operating on his head. But giving a baby pigeon human food? He needs specialized stuff man, particularly when it's growing... And he didn't say anything about the Baytril. Clearly he wasn't a bird specialist, but that's no excuse, meds have prospects and I'm sure doctors have or should have some informative cheat sheets to consult when something is outside their area of expertise. It took me a simple quick Google to confirm what the doc from Vetcon said, it was on Baytril's website itself: this medication can cause deformities in young pigeons because it messes with tissue growth on bones or something.

It also always causes yeast infections, that's why it's given with some antigungal. Not only did he not prescribe an antigungal, he wasn't even aware of these things, obviously. I remember he said "his poops will be green for a few days and then stabilize to normal brown"... Not if he's on Baytril sir! Anyway, idk if they'd consider this nitpicking or not but I'd rather Phoenix's doctor be aware of these things. And I can't get over the baby formula thing. If he wasn't a vet I'd guess he just couldn't care enough but vets tend to love animals so it's more likely he just isn't that knowledgeable on birds/pigeons... Which isn't bad, but he should have kept that in mind and consulted accordingly.

So, back to the story.

Booked a surgery appointment for last Friday. All went well. The vet changed the antibiotic, removed the antiinflammatory and added an antifungal. Told me to feed him 15ml of formula every 6 hours. His poop started getting darker (towards brown) and harder after this, who would've known (looking at you, Madagascar surgeon)

Which leads to the questions part

Btw, Phoenix is 15 days old and he seems to know I'm caring for him, since he begs me for food.

Food:

Vet said to give him that until next checkup (in 10 days), but won't he be needing more by then? Pigeons grow really fast so shouldn't he be eating more? 15ml is not a small amount but Phoenix keeps squeaking after I feed him. Flapping his wings and pecking my fingers. Does this necessarily mean he needs more food or do squabs beg for food even when full? Will he need probiotics after the antibiotics round ends? Vet said no, I doubt that. What is the ideal diet for pidgeons? I prefer natural and holistic rather than formulas and pharmacology (but I do think allopathic medicine is needed in emergencies and hard situations like this one, he can't afford an infection right now). How do I tube feed him without wrapping him in a towel? I make it loose but it can still constrict the crop when it's getting filled. My mom helps me when I need it but I'd like to learn how to do it on my own. Any tips on how to determine crop full/empty status? Seems a bit hard.

Other needs:

How long will he be needing the heating pad for? It's summer here, sometimes it's 20 C° but mostly above 25, some days it's 35. He needs contact with me, correct? Mind you, I love talking to him, looking at each other, petting him and stuff, but lately every time he sees me or hears me he just starts squeaking and crying a lot, also looking for food with his beak. Should I pet him regardless? Because I don't want to make him think food is coming, like a tease, but if it's harmless and it's part of his needs for contact and affection, I'll keep interacting with him. When he won't stop squeaking I cover his box with it's cardboard cover and he chills out a bit until he hears me, BUT I don't think this is good for the pigeon to develop in a completely enclosed place. He also chills out when I cup him with my hand from above. Do they like this? How long can I leave him alone for without him stressing out? I'm not gone for more than 3 hours. General pigeon language: what should I now? How do I read him? Is his squeaking simply communication and asking for contact, even if he starts pecking between my fingers when I go to pet him?

After healing:

So... After he heals and gets strong I'd like for him to have his best life, which means his best pidgeon life. Since he can't really be rehabilitated due to the injuries and the age at which I took him (8 days), the other options are sanctuary or adoption. The vet said adoption is better because he will have more personal care, it'd be easier to tell if something's wrong with him that way, as opposed to a sanctuary. How accurate is this? I've been told I could keep him because the lil guy would like that. I'd love to but the issue is that my family doesn't want a bird flying around (they want me to keep him in a cage when inside, which is reasonable) at home, and I doubt I will get more pidgeons to keep him company, so he would be mostly indoors and with none of his buddies. I feel like that is not good for him, am I right? I've heard I can introduce him to my local pidgeon population by going to the park and letting him mingle. And eventually I could let him fly away from my balcony so he can live however he wants, coming back whenever. Is this possible? Predators worry me. I don't know if there's lots of pidgeon predators in Madrid or not. Are there pigeon daycare things where I can leave him for him to socialize and stuff?

Any help is appreciated, feel free to share your own experience& knowledge, post useful links or whatever. I'm all ears