# Found a stunned feral pigeon in our garden



## Greg&Andrew (Mar 15, 2014)

Hello, we are new to this forum.

We have come to seek advice.

About two weeks ago, we found a feral pigeon on the lawn in our front garden. It showed no sign of injury, but was unable to fly. There was no sign of a broken wing. We assume that it stunned itself by flying into our glass doors, as this has happened to several other birds.

Greg removed the bird from the front garden, as our dogs, who live there, were overly interested in it. He put it in the back garden, on our bird table, to keep it safe from cats. We have been feeding it every day, and giving it water. It is late summer/early autumn here, so we didn't feel there was any need to take special measures to keep it warm. It seems to be healthy, except that it cannot fly upwards for more than a couple of feet. It spends the night on the bird table, and in the morning it flies down to the back lawn. Greg lifts it up and puts it back on the table at night.

Our worry is that it shows little sign of improving. 

Does anyone know how we can find out what's wrong with the bird without taking it to the vet, and if it was stunned, how long will it take to recover? Ideally, we'd like to see it fly away and be free.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi

I'd advise taking the bird in, into a safe (from Fido and cats) place in a cage, box, dog crate or whatever you have. Line the bottom of it with soft white paper such as paper kitchen towel. This is so you can check the consistency and quantity of droppings. Provide a plain ol' brick as a perch in the secure quarters, along with seed and water. 

If you happen to have a scale which weighs in grams, maybe you could weigh him/her too. Weight can give some indication as to condition, along with other things like the droppings and the food intake.

Depending on what you observe, we may be able to make at least some kind of 'guesstimate' about the problem, though it's obviously not feasible to attempt a firm diagnosis. Oh, can you check inside his beak for any yellowish substance adhering in the mouth.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Thank you for your concern over this bird.

You came to seek out advice from the experts. Believe me, if a bird is not flying it is definitely sick or injured and could be starving. Check the breast bone, is it sharp?

Keep bird in a warm location away from drafts of air, and do as John has already stated. *


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## Greg&Andrew (Mar 15, 2014)

Dear John D and SkyeKing,

Thank you for your helpful guidance. The bird is eating and drinking well. It appears to be a healthy weight. We will monitor it's health closely.

Kind regards

Greg&Andrew


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Glad to hear the bird is eating and drinking well. 

Can you tell us how much the bird weighs now? If the bird is being monitored, how often does the bird poop? What does the poop look like?

Any other symptoms? 

Thank you for the update.*


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## Greg&Andrew (Mar 15, 2014)

Dear Skyeking,

Thank you for your assistance and help. I assume that our bird is a female, because she is quiet and doesn't make those cooing sounds that the males do. However, I could be wrong about the sex.

Yes, she appears to be eating and drinking okay. Her poop is small (about the size of a pea), well formed in texture, brownish in color and it also looks moist. I tried to weigh her, but this was a disaster. She didn't like being weighed at all and kept on fluttering her wings rapidly and flew off scale. I tried putting birdseed on the scale, but this didn't work either. So, I am rather disappointed that I was unsuccessful here. 

I tried to examine her skeletal structure and everything appears to be in tact, but then I'm a novice. The keel is sharp and she is able to do the things that other pigeons do, except to fly properly. She managed to fly upwards to our windowsill and this about 1.8 m high (about 5 foot 11 inches). When I placed the bird table at about 3 m high (so as to keep it safe from all sorts of predators), she managed to fly down to the ground, but it was more a crash landing to be accurate. Therefore, I decided against having the bird table so high up and it is currently at about 1.5 m high. The mechanism for flying still seems to be there, but could best be described as very poor flight abilities. 

I also checked to see whether there was any yellowish discoloration on the inside of her beak/jaws, but it looked fine.

What do you think that the problem could be? 

Kind regards

Greg


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Greg&Andrew said:


> Dear Skyeking,
> 
> Thank you for your assistance and help. I assume that our bird is a female, because she is quiet and doesn't make those cooing sounds that the males do. However, I could be wrong about the sex.
> 
> ...


** The poop should be well formed not small with a white dolap on top.

** If the keel bone is sharp the bird is starving and you need to supplement her feedings, as she is not getting enough.

*** She should not be allowed to fly as she is not well. She needs to conserve all her energy for healing and gaining weight.

Probiotics will help with weight gain and getting good gut bacteria on track, and a drop of organic apple cider vinegar in her water dish will help with gut PH.

That being said, she still may have an underlying issue, but she needs to be hand fed to get weight on.*


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## Greg&Andrew (Mar 15, 2014)

Dear Skyeking,

Thank you for all the helpful information. I will follow this, but have a couple more questions. I hope you do not mind.

You mentioned supplements & probiotics...what kind? She appears to eat a lot of the birdseed, lentils, sesame seeds and bread crumbs that I place on the bird table.

I will add a drop of organic apple cider vinegar to her water. I uploaded a photograph of her to an album, not too sure whether you can view this? What do you think, judging from the picture?

You have been most helpful and I look forward to your response.

Kind regards,

Greg


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Thank you for taking care of her.

I see a picture of her on forum page, he/she does look like she is not feeling well. PLEASE follow my instructions above and also keep her contained.

You can give her some human grade probiotics (the kind you find in health food store, in freezer) 1/4th of a human serving. 

Do you have any local bird rehabbers or pigeon "knowledgable" vets in your area where you can have them do a fecal and check her out?

Please do let us know how she responds to the organic apple cider vinegar.*


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

A bird that cannot fly isn't safe outside like that. Anything could get him/her. It wouldn't coo like a male if it is sick or injured, which it must be one of the other. You can weigh the bird by putting him in a paper bag gently and closing the bag just while you weigh him. Or put him in a closed box of some kind, then weigh the box and subtract the weight of the box. But he really does need to be brought inside for his safety.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You can contact the Diamond pigeon stud in Kimberley for medicines etc. Their telno 053 8312619. The owner Derick is very helpful. They also have a website www.diamondpigeonstud.co.za They will speedpost to you and then you have whatever you need within 2 days.


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