# help!!! found a pigeon hard balls on its toes.



## Jello (Oct 21, 2009)

As I was driving home from work I was stopped at a redlight and noticed a pigeon in distress. It had large brown balls stuck to toes...calcified poop or something? It seemed very tame, I put my hand under her and she stepped onto it without hesitation. I am pretty sure she is feral. She has a couple of bald spots on her breast, and an empty feeling gullet but her balence is good. I brought her home and soaked and moisturized her foot and cut away the deposits, her toes seem to be in good shape a little swollen maybe. She is in my apartment now in an 80 gallon aquarium, I bought her food, and gravel and supplied a heating pad, but am not sure what I should do next, she doesn't seem to be eating. She also appears to be young, she is completely black, and her beak is grey but rather large. I am not sure what my next step would be scared to release her as she is so tame and slim.
Also I was wondering if she poses any threat to my other animals, dog, cat, guniea pig.
thanks


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Thank you for helping this bird, Jello!
*Step one,* keep this baby warm, warm it gradually and make sure if you using heating pad that it is set to low and that baby can escape to cooler place.
*Step two*, fluids, *once warm*, baby needs hydrating so place warm (body temperature) water in deeper dish at least inch deep, and splash slightly water with your finger, for baby to get the idea. If it drinks alone, fine, if not; you may dip his beak in the water to get some taste of it. Be careful not to submerge nostrils, as inhaling water is dangerous.
*Step tree* - feeding. You can leave a dish with seeds near baby, but make sure that eats. Sometime young birds are too inexperienced to eat alone. They play with seeds but do not eat them. Best is to use thawed peas and corn, defrost them under hot water until slightly warm and take baby in your lap. Open his beak and pop one piece at the time in the mouth. Let him swallow. Repeat procedure with 40~50 pieces.
Baby needs feeding 2~3 times a day. Check that is pooping and that crop is empty before feeding it.
If baby struggles too much during the feeding, you can wrap it loosely in towel or something to keep him in place.
After feeding baby usually sleeps. Place newspapers or paper towels on the bottom of the tank.
Please post some pictures of the baby and monitor his poops for diarrhea or other abnormalities.


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

Thanks for taking care of the bird Jello, nice thing to do. Usually its the young ones which have these poop balls on the toes due to the condition in the nest. May be if time permits you can take him to a vet, deworming the bird will be a good start. I dont think it will be a threat to ur other pets as I have seen harmony among my pets for years without any disease transfer (if thats a concern). But the reverse analogy may not hold, the dog and cat may pose a threat to the pigeon, may be. But again, thanks for ur efforts, really appreciate that.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Hmmmm...if she really stepped up to you, I would be surprised if she's a feral.

Yes, you guessed it right. Calcified poop. I had a buddy baby a while back (he's all grown up now and part of the n'hood flock) who was born in a nest at the bottom of my lightwell...i would check on him from time to time as he was growing up. One day, indeed, I noticed just what you describe. I caught him, as he was too young to fly yet, and literally took him to my workbench and (carefully) used a pair of pliers to "crush" the poop ball which was around his foot. Then I put him back.

So, yup...thoose can get to be hard as marbles...but sound slike you managed to get them off.

Just follow the instructions above as far as giving her supportive care.. Also, post a pic of the baby, it'd help us determine how old he/she is.

....or look here and give us your best guess:

http://www.speedpigeon.com/baby_racing_pigeon.htm

A few Q's:

1) Open her mouth...is it pink-ish inside, or is it white/yellow/mucousy/splotchy yellow ?

2) Does she seem alert and awake, or lethargic and sleepy ?

3) Any signs of any other external injuries such as scabs, pulled feathers, abrasions beyond what you have already mentioned ?

4) 'Gravel' ? meaning...as a bedding for the aquarium ? or meaning 'Grit', for food ??? ? 

For bedding in the aquarium tank, use a towel, maybe with paper towels on top. 

Do you have the heating pad on her? if so, put that beneath the towel, turn it on low.

Thanks for helping.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Pigeon does not pose treat to you or your animals. Even if sick, bird diseases and parasites are specific to birds. Just keep basic hygiene, wash hands after handling him and do not eat his poop.
All these adverts for diseases carried by pigeons are adverts by companies making money by killing pigeons. I have more than 30 birds rescued similar way as yours. Most of them was sick and I didn't pick any disease neither my pet animals.
Humans and mammals are of more danger to your health than birds.


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## Jello (Oct 21, 2009)

Judging by the link Jaye posted ( thank you ) she appears to be just about a month old. Her mouth seems to be pink, and she seems to be very alert, I have her aquarium set up, with newspaper and some shavings on the side with the heating pad, and food mixed with gravel and a shallow water dish on the other, I also draped a towel over top of the tank so she wouldn't be scared...I am going to try the corn thing in a couple of minutes. I really don't think she was a domesticated bird, even though she seems very comfortable around me. I noticed that she ocassionally breathes with her mouth open, i thught she might be overheated so I unplugged the heating pad. I haven't come across any scabs or wounds, but I didn't want to traumatize her by overhandling her. Thank you everyone for all of the advice, I would appreciate all of the insight I can get, furthermore I am curious as to whether or not I will be able to release her, I don't want her to become dependant on me or be vunerable to predators.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

nice thing you are doing jello! just to make sure, pigeons drink by dipping their beak up to the nostils to suck the water up, so make sure the water dish is deep enough so she can put her beak in it, you can try to dip the beak in the water to show her it is there.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

As plamenh suggested, please set the *heating pad no higher than low *with a towel over it and only half under the acquarium which will allow the baby to get away if she gets too hot.
You can soak his feet in warm water to soften the poop and it will come right off.

Here's a pre-written feeding method that works really well.

You can hand feed defrosted corn and peas. Run some hot water over them until they are defrosted and slightly warmed. Put the bird on your lap and hold it next to your body. If it helps, you can wrap a towel around it or put it in the sleeve of a tee shirt, with the head out the wrist. That confines them without hurting them and makes it easier to handle. Gently open the beak and pop the piece of corn and peas at the back of the mouth and over the throat. 
If he is wrapped in towel he won't be able to struggle much.You will need to feed 40-50 per feeding and every time the bird’s crop empties until you know it is eating on their own. 
This is a wonderful method for teaching babies to eat because they feel the whole food in their mouth and it’s soft and easy to pick up and hang on to. The next step… seeds. 
The crop is located right below the throat and with food it fills up like a little balloon. The peas and corn make it lumpy and squishy.


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## Naunnie (Sep 2, 2009)

Hello Jello. Welcome to the forum and thanks for helping this little guy out. One more suggestion: provide the "gravel" or grit in a separate dish. Once he is eating on his own, he will partake as needed. It also makes it easier for you to monitor his food intake. Looking forward to pictures!


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## irretractable (Jun 4, 2008)

Jello said:


> Judging by the link Jaye posted ( thank you ) she appears to be just about a month old. Her mouth seems to be pink, and she seems to be very alert, I have her aquarium set up, with newspaper and some shavings on the side with the heating pad, and food mixed with gravel and a shallow water dish on the other, I also draped a towel over top of the tank so she wouldn't be scared...I am going to try the corn thing in a couple of minutes. I really don't think she was a domesticated bird, even though she seems very comfortable around me. I noticed that she ocassionally breathes with her mouth open, i thught she might be overheated so I unplugged the heating pad. I haven't come across any scabs or wounds, but I didn't want to traumatize her by overhandling her. Thank you everyone for all of the advice, I would appreciate all of the insight I can get, furthermore I am curious as to whether or not I will be able to release her, I don't want her to become dependant on me or be vunerable to predators.


If she's tame enough to step up on your hand, it would be dangerous to release her, at least any time soon. It'll be interesting to see how she reacts to you once she gets warmed with food in her system. If she's still really tame, it would be dangerous for her to be released. Don't you need another pet?


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## Jello (Oct 21, 2009)

Been feeding her peas, and she isn't exactly thrilled about being force fed, I can't seem to get more twenty in her in one feeding. Does any one have any advice on how to get her into eating seeds? I also haven't been able to get her to drink, scared she is becoming dehydrated, tried dipping her beak in a cup. nadda. Should I try syringe?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

as long as she knows where the water is she may drink, try doing it once a day, that is what I do with my almost weaned birds. you can try folding her in a towel like a burrito if she is too squirmy for you to hold, if she is sitting real still and blinking alot she may be dehdrated, then you could try putting some water in a spoon and holding it up to the beak and tip it in the mouth and she should swallow some. they only drink a few times a day usually after they eat...now that is an adult pigeon, usually the babies get all they need from the parent birds, the peas have moisture in them so she should be getting some from those, try to up the peas so her crop is about full.


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## Jello (Oct 21, 2009)

Does anybody have an advice on how to wean her? She is still on peas and corn, but would like to start her on dry seeds. I think she thinks I'm her mom, she keeps trying to put her beak in my mouth.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Put some bird seed in your hand, with some peas and corn and I bet she starts picking them up.


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## Jello (Oct 21, 2009)

She isn't really picking anything up on her own yet, when I feed her I am wrapping her up in an old towel and putting the food in her mouth. Can I put bird seeed in her mouth, will she she choke??? I have left food in her cage peas and seeds and whenever i pick her up her crop is empty.


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