# I had to drown a pigeon today. I feel so conflicted.



## Sketch (Oct 19, 2016)

Hi all, this might be a sensitive subject and I hope i have done the humane thing. Ill start by saying im 32 and a bird lover, so this was very difficult. So much so that here I am now making my first post just to talk it out.

So today on my morning ride to work I came accross an injured pigeon while going under a bridge. I noticed something was wrong and on closer inspection one eye was gone and its skull was exposed. It didnt notice me until i got close and probably heard me so started shuffling away but it pretty much just shuffled slightly to the side and each time it moved blood started coming out of its mouth. Quite dark blood. It looked bad and i believe the term is scalped? I hadnt seen this injury before. (i didnt know it was scalped at the time and with some care they might recover if not serious)

So i sat there for a bit with the poor bird wondering what to do. It was either continue on my day and let nature take over (die a long painful death) OR step in myself and end it.

So i picked him up gently, took him over to the water and then held him under. He didnt strugle much almost as if he wanted it. After about 30 seconds i felt his heart stop. I took him over to a bushy area in the sun covered him and said goodbye. On the way back home there was a gorgeous sunset right as i went past the spot i found him. 

I really hope ive done the humane thing. As a bird lover if i had thought he had a chance i would have taken him home and tried to nurse back to health. Im really sorry if this has offended anyone. Thanks for letting me vent it out to others that might understand.


----------



## SRSeedBurners (Jul 22, 2015)

Hard to do but I probably would have done the same. Can't stand to watch it suffer.


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's pretty awful. If you call yourself a bird lover, I would have thought that you would have checked first and made sure that it couldn't be helped. You decided yourself that it couldn't, and killed it in a not very humane way. Pigeons are amazing in their healing powers with a little help. I think it pretty sad and unfair that you didn't even try for him, but just made the decision to kill him. Tell me, if it had been a dog or a cat, would you have done the same?


----------



## Chuck K (Jan 12, 2013)

*Right call*

Under the circumstances you did the right thing, and it never makes a person feel good about having to do it.

I have had to euthanize my own birds more than I care to think about, and it doesn't get any easier. In fact as time goes on and I age it gets harder. Don't beat yourself up for doing what you assessed to be the right thing at the time. There are whole lot of other people that would have walked on by and let it suffer like it didn't matter. Your care and treatment of animals reflect who you are as a human being just as humans treatment of other humans reflect who they are. You are a decent person.


----------



## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

I've seen scalped pigeons on a group I'm on recover with care and I'd have taken him in if I saw him but you did what you thought was best and at least he's not suffering now. If you ever encounter something like this again though be aware that they can recover although it takes a while. 
I hate what nature does sometimes and birds can be very violent to each other.


----------



## SRSeedBurners (Jul 22, 2015)

Regarding drowning: I used to believe it was one of the worst ways to go. My belief in that changed after hearing from two people who actually drowned but were resuscitated. They both echoed that the process of sucking in water was the worst part but it was actually very calming after that, like going under anesthesia at the hospital. I however refuse to test the theory on myself


----------



## sandy68 (Jun 26, 2016)

SRSeedBurners said:


> Regarding drowning: I used to believe it was one of the worst ways to go. My belief in that changed after hearing from two people who actually drowned but were resuscitated. They both echoed that the process of sucking in water was the worst part but it was actually very calming after that, like going under anesthesia at the hospital. I however refuse to test the theory on myself


I would say that that, is a very wise decision ..
allthe best 
sandy


----------



## sandy68 (Jun 26, 2016)

So i sat there for a bit with the poor bird wondering what to do. It was either continue on my day and let nature take over (die a long painful death) OR step in myself and end it.

So i picked him up gently, took him over to the water and then held him under. He didnt strugle much almost as if he wanted it. After about 30 seconds i felt his heart stop. I took him over to a bushy area in the sun covered him and said goodbye. On the way back home there was a gorgeous sunset right as i went past the spot i found him. 

I really hope ive done the humane thing. As a bird lover if i had thought he had a chance i would have taken him home and tried to nurse back to health. Im really sorry if this has offended anyone. Thanks for letting me vent it out to others that might understand.[/QUOTE]

Under the circumstances , You did the best in your opinion for the bird , that was your call .
For bringing peace to the bird .
I thank you .
all the very best 
sandy


----------



## JennyM (Sep 21, 2015)

This is horrible! If you are truly a bird/animal lover the best thing you could have done is pick up the bird and take it to the nearest veterinarian so he could have been euthanized in a humane way. Your intention was good but not the proccess. I feel sorry and sad for this bird, not only he was suffering from a bad injury but he also had a horrible death.


----------



## Crazy Pete (Nov 13, 2008)

On you're ride to work is that by car or bike? it does make a big difference but I think you did the right thing.
Dave


----------



## Sketch (Oct 19, 2016)

Thank for the support and the couple that thought I did the wrong thing, I don't blame you for hating me.

I had no more than 10minutes to decide what to do and this was nothing I had seen before. I thought either it has run into a wall very very hard or something has attacked it and noticed a crow close by waiting to feed. I only had 2 options, ride by and ignore or end it now.

Unfortunately the nearest bird vet is 2 hours away so I would have had to taken a day off work to try to attempt that. If it was a weekend with nothing to do I might have tried this but it looked pretty messed up. And the wife would have never allowed a pigeon in the house to be cared for.

As for my options at the time it would have been snap the neck, drop a rock on it or drown. The first option i don't know what I'm doing so ill leave that method to a professional. Second option you don't want to repeat if you miss. Drowning was the most peaceful option for the bird. It sounds awful but the bird went quite peacefully. 



Crazy Pete said:


> On you're ride to work is that by car or bike? it does make a big difference but I think you did the right thing.
> Dave


By push bike. 

Anyway like others have said, I can't beat myself up about this. Thanks for the support.


----------



## beatlemike (Nov 28, 2009)

I have had to put a few down myself and it is never a pleasant thing. Don't feel guilty. I would have done the same thing. The mere fact that your posting here shows me that your a very caring person. Ignore the negative comments.


----------



## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

No offence intended to anyone and not for me to pass any judgement, but I am closing this thread. It _is_ a 'delicate' subject, and though civil and thoughtful discussion so far, it is the kind of topic that is likely to attract more argumentative responses eventually.


----------

