# Found sick pigeon - PLEASE HELP!



## dlev (Jan 26, 2004)

Hi, everyone!

I found a sick pigeon today. Someone had left him at the ATM, he seemed very sick and couldn't move. I brought him home, made him a nest, and am currently doing my best to nurse him back to life. He appears to have a broken leg - one leg is completely scrunched up and he cannot stand on it, so he falls to one side. The toes of the broken leg can barely grip when i put my finger in them. I cut a straw in half and tried to bandage the lower half as best as I could, but am not even sure if that's where the fracture is. I made him drink some water, and after a while he drank a bit on his own. He does not want to eat however, and I've only managed to give him a tiny bit of breadcrumb and water paste - he only swallows it when I put it in his beak, and doesn't want any more. I'm very scared for him. I've nursed baby pigeons to health, but this one is a full-grown adult, and I don't know what to do. I live in NYC, and there aren't many rehabillitation centers around. If he makes it till tomorrow, I will take him to the vet. Currently, I'm only keeping him warm, and trying to feed/water him every few hours. Please, please - if anyone has any further suggestions, they will be most appreciated. I am extremely worried and probably won't be able to sleep. Thank you in advance!


----------



## Anarrowescape (Jan 6, 2004)

i would bandage the whole leg up cause if doesn't heal right it may never fly again

------------------
Robert


----------



## turkey (May 19, 2002)

For now make sure he is drinking water. Dip his beak in a bowl of water to get him to drink on his own. Water is important. 

He will need some bird seed instead of bread. A pigeon seed mix is best, but for now if you can use a wild bird seed mix. Try putting some in his beak and sprinkle some on the ground. You can put many pinches of seed in his beak. You don't want to give him sunflowers still in the shell. 

Hopefully someone will be along shortly to help you on the rest. 

Thank you for helping a pigeon.

Julie


----------



## pierre (Nov 11, 2002)

Thank you for picking him up and taking him in (especially in this cold weather!!). Please be VERY careful about which vet you take him to. Some vets will euthanize a pigeon before you have time to tell them not to! Other, more knowledgeable people will be along soon to give you advice, and either they or I will try to get some names of non-pigeon-killing vets in the city.

Nancy


----------



## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Hello & welcome to pigeons.com

Thank you so much for taking the time to care for this most unfortunate pij. We have members in the New York area & hopefully they will be on shortly to assist you.

You are doing a wonderful job in caring for your little patient. 
I would like to add one thing: If you have a heating pad, could you wrap it in a towel & place it in a box on the 'low' setting & place the pij on it. This will help bring up the Pijjie's temp. Make a bit of room for his water. 

You memtioned 'someone left the pij at an ATM'. Is he banded or a feral (wild)? 

SUGGESTION: If possible, please wait before taking this pigeon to a vet until some of our other members have responded. There is a possibility he can be treated, where a vet or rehabber might be inclined to euthanzie him.

Please keep us posted.
Cindy




[This message has been edited by AZWhitefeather (edited January 27, 2004).]


----------



## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello and thanks for saving the dear pigeons!

Sounds like his leg is maybe splayed, can you get a picture for us to see? Is there any swelling along the leg? can you move some of the feathers in the upper area of the leg and check how the skin looks, is it bruised or is there a cut/injury up there? 

For now don't feed him anything hard, if it was cold outside it would take some time for his body to start working so it's good you started with the water, let him get rehydrated by using rehydration fluid or putting a pinch of salt and sugar in the water for him.

Also I would use millet, milo or any small seed, some pigeons will even eat dry quakers oats flakes. Small seeds are best so he can easily digest them at this time without any difficulty.

Keep us posted and hopefully someone would be able to find a rehab centre near you.

Mary


----------



## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Someone in NYC may be able to help with this, but he's not on this group.

Do you have an email address? 

If you wish, you can email it to me (I'm in UK) for onward transmission - also an indication of which area/borough you are in.

[email protected]

John


----------



## Fred (May 10, 2003)

dlev,
There are individuals in New York City who do rehabilitation work with pigeons. You didn't put an email address in your profile so if any of us wanted to contact you to aid this bird, it's impossible to do so


----------



## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

New York members:

Since dlev doesn't have an email address available, is there any reason why she can't receive some direction via pigeons.com?

We have an severely injured pigeon here, going back & forth relaying posts is wasting precious time for this pij.

Al, if you are logged on could you possibly help this person & the pigeon that she was so kind to rescue?
Cindy


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

This is the only one that I know of:
http://www.birdparadise.com/birdparadise/ 

but I don't know how far away that is!

We really need a list of people who do rehabilitaion and would be prepared to have their contact details posted, even if it is just an e-mail address.

Cynthia


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I have some addresses in NY to give you, the contact might not want them post them on a public board, please e-mail me at [email protected] and I will forward them to you.

Cynthia


----------



## dlev (Jan 26, 2004)

Thanks to everyone who replied. You all have been very helpful. I am holding off on taking pij to the vet, as you advised. He is still alive today (thank God!) and is drinking water when i put his beak in it. Food I'm not sure about, since he won't take it from me, but what i leave seems to slowly disappear (not sure if he's eating or scattering it). He cant's stand at all, not even on one leg, but moves when he has to by dragging himself on his wings, and pushing with the one (good??) leg. He doesn't appear to be in shock any longer, though is still afraid of me and flinches when I try to give him water.

For those who asked, I am located in Manhattan - East Village. My email is [email protected] I will take pictures of the leg(s) soon, and post them. 

Cynthia, I'll email you privately for the contact information you offered. Again - thank you to everyone for your advice!


----------



## pierre (Nov 11, 2002)

I'm so glad that the pigeon is still alive, and I'm really relieved that you held off on taking him to the vet! You and he have been quite a topic on our pigeon website today. Now that you've got the contact info. for the people who really know what they're doing when it comes to bird care, everything should turn out fine. It was really wonderful of you to pick up the pigeon--they tend to be unpopular in NYC (I'm in Hoboken, but I used to live near the East Village). Actually, they're not too well-loved in NJ either! Good luck.

Nancy


----------



## dlev (Jan 26, 2004)

Hi, again!

Nancy, thank you very much for caring. The pigeon (his name is Jeremiah) appears to have more energy - or at least he makes more attempts to escape when I get close to him. Which is leading me to believe that he is no longer in as much shock. He also made a series of distressed, low 'goo' kind of sounds when i took him out of his nest to change the soiled papers. Still not sure whether he's eating, but I keep leaving food. Water doesn't seem to be a problem when I put his beak in it. Finally, I also took a picture of his leg - as best as I could: http://www.particularities.net/pigeon.jpg If anyone can deduce what is wrong, or tell me what else I need to do, I'll be most thankful. If I need to take other pictures, just let me know. I didn't want to push him around too much, as contact seems to stress him out signifficantly.


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I have e-mailed you all the information that I could about New York contacts, most of it came from Al on forc.

I do so hope that this ends well for the pigeon!

Thanks again for taking it in.

Cynthia


----------



## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello,

Thanks for posting the pic, Looks like it's maybe broken, I've seen a baby with a broken leg who looked like that with the toe hanging, although there was no swelling it turned out that the leg was really broken.

I hope you can get help for him soon as it's always best to do so as quick as possible with an injury like that, sometimes if it's too old they can not fix it so I hope there is still some time and his leg can be saved.

Keep us posted and thanks for caring!









Mary

[This message has been edited by maryco (edited January 27, 2004).]


----------



## vetmanagny (Jul 20, 2003)

I would be glad to help. I am a licensed rehabber in New York City. call me at 646-418-2210 or Leave a contact number for me.

Karen


[This message has been edited by vetmanagny (edited January 28, 2004).]


----------



## vetmanagny (Jul 20, 2003)

Here'a an update.

Pigeon was brought to me today. After a thorough physical exam. he was anesthetized and had radiographs. There were no fractures yet he had marked lameness on his left side, both leg and wing, and mild weakness on the right.

We started him on a steroid, assuming neurologic problems and also he tested positive for coccidia, roundworms and capillaria and has been wormed.

If his problems resolve, we will assume he has had some kind of back trauma. If not, it is viral or toxic. We will keep you posted.

Karen and Rita


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thank you Karen and Rita for helping this bird! With the weather what it is in your area .. you ladies are real "storm" troopers!

Please do keep us posted.

Terry


----------

