# I found a pigeon, possibly shot in the wing with an airsoft gun



## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

I found a pigeon that I believe was shot in the wing with some sort of an airsoft gun, the back of the wing is a little bruised. It's been a couple of days now and it seems to be doing fine, I'm just not sure if it will die from infection.

What should I do?


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

NickP said:


> I found a pigeon that I believe was shot in the wing with some sort of an airsoft gun, the back of the wing is a little bruised. It's been a couple of days now and it seems to be doing fine, I'm just not sure if it will die from infection.
> 
> What should I do?


A bruise usually does not get infected. As long as he is eating and drinking and his droppings look healthy, he can be released when he can fly. When that may be I can't tell you. The only way to see if it is broken is to have an X-ray done by the vet. But you would have to say he is your pet and name him and pay the bill. Iam not sure about you're country but in many places they would just euthanize a disabled feral pigeon. Because they are considered a pest.


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

Hello Whytpigeon, thanks for the reply. He eats and drinks, I guess he'll be fine. Thanks a lot for your help


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Thank you for rescuing the bird, I would hold onto it a little longer until wing is completely healed. Are you certain there is not any foreign matter inside wing? Is he holding the wing normal and able to fly well? do you have a room where he can practice flying before released? Please check before releasing the bird.*


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

> Are you certain there is not any foreign matter inside wing?


Well unfortunately I'm not sure but it doesn't seem like it has



> Is he holding the wing normal and able to fly well?


He can't fly and he's not holding his wounded wing properly, it's a little lower than the other one if that makes sense, quite loosen.



> do you have a room where he can practice flying before released?


I have him in my office next to my room, he can practice flying here when he heals up completely.

The main thing that concerns me is how can I tell if there's anything inside his wing.

Thanks for the reply.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Would give him several days to see how he heals before releasing him. Thank you for helping him.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Just hold him firm from one hand, stretch his wing from the other hand, try to see/feel if it seems like a little hard or like a lump or try to see/feel if something inside by parting the feathers off the spot. 
If seems bad/infectious , wash with saline water and cover it with antibiotic cream. 
Drooping the wing could be because of injury or a broken bone but only X ray could reveal it for sure.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*If he cannot fly and is not holding his wing properly, as like the "good" wing, then he cannot be released.*


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

Hello everyone,

I put a magnet on the lump under his wing and it seems like there's something metal in it, I can't get him to the vet because that would be too expensive for me. I don't know if I should try to get the bullet out by myself or leave it the way it is.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Depends on where it is, how big it is, whether it is in the feathers or deeply lodged. Could you possibly post a photo? Thank you very much for helping this bird Our first pigeon had a broken wing from flying into fans and was nearly decapitated and recovered.


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

That's the lump under his wing. It turns out that it doesn't have anything inside that a magnet can attract. We cleaned his wing but still not sure what's wrong with him.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Very sore and maybe infected. He may have even been caught by a predator. In any case should have antibiotics, so an infection doesn't spread.


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

So will it be able to heal itself? All I can do is to clean him and feed him


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Not if this is a broken wing/wound and/or there is still foreign object inside wing. He really needs to be seen by a local rehabber or an avian vet asap.*


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

Sadly I can't take him to a vet it would be too expensive for just a random pigeon. All I can do is to take care of him till he gets well or dies of infection


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

NickP said:


> Sadly I can't take him to a vet it would be too expensive for just a random pigeon. All I can do is to take care of him till he gets well or dies of infection


I think at this point it could be more humane to Relinquish it to a vet. At least he won't suffer. The vet may even be allot like ours here in the US, all that I work with do not euthanize pigeons for no good reason, even if the law states they should. You could try calling any zoos on the island, they could have connections to a person who is trained to rehab animals and birds. Even the veterinarian could know of someone.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Do you have access to any antibiotics?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Do you have a pharmacy close to you that sells Betamox tablets for humans?(contains 500 mg amoxycillin or sometimes 250mg). That's the best to use for the infection. You'll have to weight the bird and administer 0.12 mg amoxy for every gram birdweight once a day for 7 to 10 days. Best will be to disolve the tablet in 5 ml water and get one of those medicine droppers to give to bird. Just stir the solution very well before drawing it up in the dropper. So if the birds weights 150 gram, you will be giving 18 mg of amoxy (you'll have to work out how much of the solution to give).

From looking at the feet, birdie looks like a dove to me. Is he still eating and drinking? That will be a good sign.


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

He eats and drinks normally and it seems like he's getting better, he's moving move often that he did before and eats more, he also crapped the whole place but I guess that's normal.

One thing that I thought was a minor injury might be very serious, the top of his wing is pretty much a little scratched, it seems like a tendon is cut. I'll send an other picture when I'll clean him up.

And @Marina B I might do that too

Thank you all for helping me out


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Please do post a photo. Pigeons have a remarkable ability to heal. I hope he is better soon. Thank you for helping him.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Good that he's eating and drinking by himself.

No point in taking him to a vet anyway if the vet is not an avian vet.


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

Hey everyone,

Sorry I couldn't take a photo of him yet. But he's getting better and better, he's not able to fly yet but we're making progress


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

That's great news! So it's been almost 2 weeks now since you got him, thanks for not giving up. Shows you how tough they really are.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Am so glad to hear he's getting better. Pigeons are tough and have remarkable ability to recover. Thank you for helping him!


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

We cleaned the dove a little better and this is how the wound looks like




























It doesn't look like a bullet wound for sure but I don't know what is it.

PS

I apologize for the huge pictures but I can't do anything to make them smaller.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Does take a long time to heal, you've had this bird for more than a month now. Continue with keeping the wound clean and putting on antibiotic cream. Also give him a boost with adding apple cider vinegar to his water, probiotics and vitamins for pigeons (if you can get). Can you get hold of a budgie cage or something similar? It will only do him good to spend a couple of hours outside in the sun. 

There's not much else you can do. What's the colour of his droppings and is he still eating well?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

He has a hooked beak also. Does his mouth always stay open just a bit with the way the beak is hooked, or does it close tightly?


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## NickP (Apr 22, 2016)

Marina B: Thanks for the advice I will do everything you said. His droppings look like regular dove/pigeon droppings white to green-brown

Jay3: It's closed tightly now

He eats and drinks normally sometimes it moves around. The problem is that his wounded wing is still hanging and maybe he's not going to be able to fly again


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Yes, that beak does look strange. What is the bird eating and are you giving the bird any medication? Where is the bird's source of drinking water coming from?

If I had this bird I would sprinkle a tiny pinch of milk thistle on his seed daily to detox the liver. Not sure what is going on, but I would cover all basis.*


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

He probably won't be able to fly well again. 
Can you post pictures of the bird and how the wing is held?


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