# injured juvenile woodie, what to do about food?



## bida_lover (Dec 18, 2002)

hey guys, i havent been on here in ages and seeing my old posts makes me cringe little. But you guys have always been here for me and I need your help once again.

I came home from work today and saw a very young woodie struggling on the side of the street. Its wings seemed off and it couldn't walk properly. I stepped bit closer and it didn't fly away so I knew something was wrong. 
He ran away in between some bushes and it took me more than an hour to get him out. I didn't want to leave him there since kids/dogs and a lot of cats frequent that mini-park he was in and he for sure wouldn't make it past the night. 
I did feel really bad though since I knew what kind of stress I was putting on him by wiggling the bushes so he would come out. Its a bit hard to explain but it was near impossible to get to him, he had to come out himself. So I was finally able to scare him out of there, and he was shaking and his heart was beating so fast. I was almost crying since I really hate to stress him out and felt responsible. After a while he calmed down and was even trying to get out of my hands so that was a bit of a relief (that he wasn't in shock and still active). At least one of his feet was working properly (since he put his little claws around my finger), the other one im not sure since he was limping a lot). He was also able to flap his wings but they weren't angled properly and he didn't fly away. His tail feathers are a hot mess (I was debating if a cat got him when I first saw him)
I didn't see any blood or anything else on him, so Im guessing he got hit by a car (since I first saw him on the side of the road), I also think it just happened as I was walking into my street). 

He is very young as he doesn't have a ring around his neck yet and I believe he still has his tooth, but im not sure since I immediately put him in a box, to avoid stressing him even more out than I did. 

The resucuecenter will be able to pick him up tomorrow, so he has to spend the night with me. I put him in a box with too many holes and I let the top of the box slightly ajar and taped it over so it wouldn't be completely open or closed. He is in a dark room right now so he can rest, I put some water in his box with him. 

Since he is staying overnight and im not sure what time they will be able to pick him up tomorrow, should I provide some food for him? I read on here that defrozen peas would be a good start? I could also go the an animal store and get some pigeon mix. 

How will the stress I caused him affect him? Is there anything to look out for or (not) do at the moment? He was really shaking guys 

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to explain everything properly.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi

Would not bother about pigeon food.

Defrosted peas is probably your best bet. Old enough not to need formula from what you say.

They are a problem for sure. Being fully wild birds unlike ferals they can get very upset. The time to stop feeding or whatever we are doing with them is if they begin panting and breathing with open beak. Just stop immediately. If yu are able to help him with the water, if he's not drinking it readily, that would be good.

http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/thewoodpigeon.htm

(the section on temperament)


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## bida_lover (Dec 18, 2002)

Thanks for your reply. He wasn't panting or breathing heavily just shaking and I could feel his rapid heartbeat (when I was carrying him home). I left him alone for most of the night (I had to resist the urge to check on him every hour). Im still stressed out about him being stressed out though  

I shall check if I have frozen peas in the morning (he is in the room with the freezer), so I'll leave him be for now. Is canned corn also possible? Or bits of apple? Or maybe a luxurious mix of the three?

For the defrosting is that in the microwave or in warm water for instance? Or just leaving it on the counter until it isn't frozen anymore? 

thanks again, I shall wait and see if I can take a sneak pic in the morning and post is, so everyone will get a sense of what we are dealing with age wise. To me at least he seemed like a juvenile that has recently left the nest or might still be figuring things out.


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## bida_lover (Dec 18, 2002)

Oh I just realized you meant to stop handeling him if he starts panting (in the future) and not to ask if that happened when I caught him. I read that incorrectly, my bad. I shall keep it in mind!


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Frozen peas defrost easily in quickly if you just put them in warm water and change the water.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes, warm water. Make them warm but not hot. The microwave is a bad idea, as that can cause hot pockets inside the peas, which can burn his crop. I usually hold them under warm running water. Canned corn is not as good because of the salt they use, and the peas are more easily digested.


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## bida_lover (Dec 18, 2002)

Update:
I checked on him this morning and he was still in the same position as yesterday. I saw some poops so I think this is a good thing. 
I warmed up some peas per your instruction and gave him fresh water, but I don't know if he consumed anything. He did knock over his water from yesterday and now half of the towel he is on is wet, is this a problem? I left him like that for now as I don't want to handle him to much, he keeps freaking out (no panting though). 

I reevaluated and this is what Ive seen so far
Feet: there is definitely something wrong with one of them, he is definitely limping
Back: seems a little crooked but this can also be caused by his position (propped up against the sides of the box) or an optical illusion because of the the tail feathers that are kind of loose. 
Wings: I'm not sure anymore if something is wrong with his wings. There could be, but since he is young it could also be that he wasn't able to fly yet. Maybe he was learning to fly and fell out of the tree and hurt his legs/backside? 

They are going to pick him up this afternoon, I shall update as soon as I know more.


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## bida_lover (Dec 18, 2002)

*pictures*

can you guys give any insight in to:


his age
do his wings seem okay (especially his left wing seems a bit off when he is sitting down, but it seems okay in the standing pic) 
anything else noticeably wrong with him
iis the crooked back just do to his position, standing it seems fine
his tail feathers seem short and as if he is missing some of them
is the color of his poop okay

He doesn't seem underweight or sick to me, it seems more like an accident than anything else

p.s. i don't know why but the images came out HUGE
if you open them in a new tab they come out in a bit more oversee able scale


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## bida_lover (Dec 18, 2002)

*better pic*

guys,

this is what I mean and it worries me
Is his backside crooked because he hurt his spine or is it more of a balance thing? I hope it is the latter, but what are his chances if it isn't?

His left wing also seems a bit messy, like he fell on it


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

if he had flown into or been hit by a vehicle, it would not be surprising if his wing was messy. He may well have bruising there. Probably similar with his tail.

The peas should be hand-fed if he is not eating for himself, but I guess that if he is to go to the wildlife rescue they'll sort out what's needed.

I would expect them to help him with feeding, examine him for bruising and fractures and provide pain relief (metacam).


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

This is how you feed the peas

If you need to feed peas to a pigeon, hold the bird on your lap and against your body. This gives you more control. Reach from behind his head with one hand and grasp his beak on either side. Now use your free hand to open the beak, and put a pea in, then push it to the back of his throat and over his tongue. Let him close his beak and swallow. Then do another. It gets easier with practice, and the bird also gets more used to it, and won't fight as much. If you can't handle the bird, then use the sleeve cut off a t-shirt, slip it over his head and onto his body, with his head sticking out. This will stop him from being able to fight you so much. Just don't make it tight around his crop area. It helps if you have him facing your right side if you are right handed.


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