# young pigeon poor leg help



## iwols (Jun 15, 2012)

hi all hope someone can give me advice.....two days ago i found a baby pigeon in my garden approx 15-20 days old i should guess,with a limp..it cannot fly yet and i know you should leave alone for its mother but there are plenty of cats in the area so i dont want to risk that ,so i have put it in a spare rabbit hutch in my shed,put some wild bird seed in with a small bowl of water and a small bowl of wholemeal bread mixed with water...ive looked at the wings and they look fine(plenty of fluttering)but my main concern is the limp,the right claw seems to have no grip or movement in it....can anyone give me any pointers..im reluctant to take it to my vets as i once took a hedgehog which i thought might have been savable,and was put to sleep...i cannot find no obvious brake in the leg to splint thanks


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## nycpigeonlady (Jan 22, 2012)

Welcome to PT and thanks for taking the little one in. Could you please take her inside the house. I don't know what state she's in, but it would be safest to put her on a heating pad set on low, or a towel covered hot water bottle to make sure she's warmed up. A pigeon that age is still fed by its parents and does not know how to eat on its own. So, you'll need to hand feed her. But first you can try to get her to drink by dipping her beak (but not the nostrils) in water. If she doesn't drink, then you can drip water along her beak. Here are some good hand feeding instructions from one of our members:

You can hand feed defrosted peas. Run some hot water over them until they are defrosted and slightly warmed. Put the bird on your lap and hold it next to your body. If it helps because you are having a hard time handling the pigeon, you can wrap a towel around it or put it in the sleeve of a tee shirt, with the head out the wrist. This method confines the pigeon without hurting him and makes it easier to handle. Gently open the beak and pop a pea at the back of the mouth and over the throat. It gets easier and faster, with practice, for both you and the bird.
You will need to feed 30-50 per feeding [depending on the size of the pigeon] and every time the crop empties.

The limp could be an injury or an illness. Could you feel along the joints (legs and wings) for any swellings, or any asymmetries when you feel on the right and left at the same time.

A picture of your new friend as well as its poop would be great.

I'm sure some of our UK members will be along shortly, and can advise about pigeon friendly vets and rehabbers close to you. Where exactly are you by the way?


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## iwols (Jun 15, 2012)

thanks for the reply im at work at the minute,the pigeon seems fairly relaxed and doesnt really seem stressed,its on a bed of straw at the minute in my shed which also houses a couple of rabbits,so it is quite warm in there...think the pigeon is nearer 20 days than 15,ive already looked at its legs and there is no sign of bends or bumps,it looks like if it had an ankle broke in human turns...by the way im in rotherham s.yorks......will try to post a pic when i get home about 3-4pm cheers


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi and welcome to PT!

As said this poor youngster won't be able to feed itself yet so will need hand feeding to keep it's development up.
The leg might have been injured if it feel from a nest.
I had one last week that limped badly and a rescue centre advised me that the hip might be out of place due to the fall. Luckily I've got pigeons myself and so he talked me through how to re-align it. I won't risk telling you to try though in case it's a break as opposed to that.
Thankfully it did improve over the next few days but as you don't know if there might be a break I wonder if it might be better if you can find a place to get him checked over.
Not sure if you have transport but there is a rescue centre listed in Sheffield that is about 14 minutes away from Rotherham I think.
I'll give you the details just in case you're able to call them and see if they're still operating Sadly many aren't due to lack of funds. Also check with them that they do treat pigeons before taking or handing it over though.
South Yorkshire Animal Rescue
South Road
Sheffield
S6 3TD..Tel: 0114239656

Let us know how things are going and if you're able to hand feed it. If you have any questions at all, just ask.

Keep us posted and thanks for helping it out.

Janet


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## iwols (Jun 15, 2012)

thanks for that phoned them up and i will be taking it through tomorrow for a check up will post any further developments ,thanks for all the advice given


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## nycpigeonlady (Jan 22, 2012)

Sounds great, will be waiting for the update.

Are you managing ok with the feeding?


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## iwols (Jun 15, 2012)

hi all it does seem to be picking at the seed (not seen it but the seed does seem to be dissapearing),anyway when i get home from work im going to nip through to sheffield for a quick check up....ive also posted a pick to see what age people may think it is once again thanks


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## nycpigeonlady (Jan 22, 2012)

I believe that's a wood pigeon baby, not a feral pigeon. We don't have them in the US, but I lived in London as a kid and loved feeding the woodies too. They are much shyer and more easily stressed than feral pigeons. I've never cared for a wood pigeon, so I hope the UK members will have advice for you, but if a baby is not yet able to fly, it's unlikely to know how to eat on its own, as it's still fed by its parents and that continues for a bit even after it fledges. It may want to begin to peck at seed and it's good you are providing it some, but even if it manages to eat a few that will be far from enough, so I would really hand feed the peas as per the instructions already provided. Of course, the droppings are the best indicator of whether food is going in - if the droppings are solid in size and number, and keep coming than I guess your young patient really is eating. 

I hope you can take it somewhere where it can be rehabbed and socialized with other woodies before release.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi,
Thanks for coming back to update things.
Yes that is a baby Woodie and definitely not ready to feed itself yet so if you keep it to raise you will need to hand feed it for a while before it's going to be able to pick up enough seeds to sustain itself.

I'm hoping the rescue centre will give you some good advice and ideally if they re-hab them it would be great if it was to stay with them so it could be released with others.

Anyway, Do let us know how things go.

Janet


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## iwols (Jun 15, 2012)

hi all just a quick update after a couple of nights i managed to get time to take this pigeon to sheffield south yorkshire animal rescue,who were very helpful and agreed to take the pigeon on,even though it had got a little bit of the runs,it looked like it had got a very little bit of movement in its leg(albeit very slight).they took my name and address and asked me if i wanted to release it when the time came,after making a small donation i asked if i could ring in a week or so,which they replied no problem at all....its a good job places like this exist and i am both thankful to this rescue and all the replies from you guys..will post the final outcome when i ring at the weekend thanks


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

I'm so pleased they took it in for you.
You're right, don't know what we'd do without places like this.
Thanks so much for giving then a donation. A lot of rescues are struggling these days.

I hope you get some good news when you call, at least you know it's in the right place and they'll do all they can.

Thanks for the update!

Janet


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## nycpigeonlady (Jan 22, 2012)

Thanks for the update and thank you for doing everything you could for him. It sounds like he's in very good hands.


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