# Pidgeon Found with Missing Back Feathers (Can't Fly)



## hushie (Aug 30, 2007)

Hi, I am happy to have found this group and hope you can help me with a pigeon I found yesterday. I don't know if she is just moulting or has a more serious problem. She didn't appear to be able to fly and was walking around a city street (there were no other pigeons in the area) and I was concerned that she would be run over or attacked since she was unable to get away from predators. I was able to pick her up and carry her but when I arrived home I found that she can fly up a few feet and then glide for several yards. She does not have feathers on her back. She doesn't appear to have broken wings but some of her tail feathers are a bit raggedy. She is the common grey pigeon 
I was hoping to care for her until she is able to fly and can be released. I have her inside a large cat carrier with fresh water, birdseeds and will allow her time to walk around our yard daily.
Any help will be greatly appreciated! Kind Regards, Hushie


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi Hushie,

Good of you to take in this unfortunate little one. Maybe we can figure what kind of age she is? Does she have a white cere (at top of beak) or, at least, white-ish, as city birds do get a little discolored sometimes. Any signs of yellow hairs? That would indicate she is newly-fledged.

With the back feathers, do you mean there is basically bare skin on the back, as if the feathers had been torn out? That can happen sometimes through trying to fight with a car, or else managing to escape from a predator.Any other signs like puncture wounds or gouges (often under the wings or at top of leg)? If it is likely she was caught by something, she would really need antibiotics due to the risk of infection. Our USA members are best to advise on that, as I'm in the UK and what we are able to obtain (and from where) tends to be different.

Is the inside of her mouth pink and clean-looking? Sometimes pigeons get caught or struck simply because they are already unwell. Is she eating the seed, and could you keep an eye on the color and consistency of her poops - that can be useful to know, too.

John


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## hushie (Aug 30, 2007)

Hello John,
Thank you for your fast reply and I have just looked her over so I can answer your questions.

(Does she have a white cere (at top of beak) or, at least, white-ish, as city birds do get a little discolored sometimes. Any signs of yellow hairs? That would indicate she is newly-fledged.)

She does not have any white feathers at the top of the beak, there is just a small patch of bare skin at the top of her beak. There are a few very thin and short yellowish feathers under her wings amid a lot of bare skin. She also has a very tiny patch of thin yellowish downy feathers (about 5 or 6) on her head.

(With the back feathers, do you mean there is basically bare skin on the back, as if the feathers had been torn out? Any other signs like puncture wounds or gouges (often under the wings or at top of leg)? )

Yes, there is bare pink skin on most of her back and large patches of bare skin under both wings also. I don't see any signs of puncture wounds or gouges. She has chips out of some of the ends of the feathers on her wings and on one of the center tail feathers.

(Is the inside of her mouth pink and clean-looking? Is she eating the seed, and could you keep an eye on the color and consistency of her poops - that can be useful to know, too.)

The inside of her mouth looks pink and healthy. Her poop looked like a normal color and consistency. She is eating the seeds and drinking her water.

Thanks again for your help, 
Cynthia (Hushie)


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

The white on the top of the beak refers to the skin over the actual nostrils, called the "ceres". In older birds, that skin tends to get rougher and whiter. The younger a bird is, the more likely it is to be skin-colored. However, the presence of yellow downy hairs indicates that this is a very young bird. You can go to this website and examine the daily pictures of development to get an idea of how old the bird really is:

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

Pidgey


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi Cynthia, welcome and thank you for rescuing this baby.

It sounds like a very young pigeon that "bailed" out of its nest way too soon. It appears to be so young that all of its feathers have not come in.

You will probably need to hand feed him for a while. It may appear he is eating seed but as young as he sounds, I doubt he even knows how. You can do a search for feeding young pigeons. It is pretty easy once you get the "hang" of it.

Here are a couple of links: 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uU1SO0ZJoow
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8404110635196534861&hl=en
http://www.birdkeepinginaustralia.com/memberssection/articles/article38.pdf
http://www.lafeber.com/products/feeding_instructions.asp
http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/Recipes/handfeedinghelp.htm

The first one is by member (Cyro51) and the last by member Nooti - both favorites of mine.


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## hushie (Aug 30, 2007)

Thank you Pidgey and Lady Tarhel for the information and links. I do think she is eating because I have replenished the food in the dish and nearly all of it was gone. She is approximately 10" long so she must be close to full size, she most closely resembles the last photo (3 months) in the link sent by Pidgey.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Is there any way you could post a picture of the bird? Does the bird have any yellow fuzzies on the head around the feathers?

If this is not a youngster perhaps she escaped a hawk or other predator.


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## hushie (Aug 30, 2007)

Hi, I will try and get some photos of her tomorrow. Meanwhile, my daughter just noticed quite a few tiny insects (lice?) crawling on her feathers. Is it normal for pigeons to have lice or will she have to be treated. Thanks! Cynthia


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## sabina (Mar 11, 2006)

definitely treat the bird! a lot of people treat rescues for mites before bringing them into the house. you can use a pyrethrin powder or spray, i think any bird lice spray is fine. sevin dust is the name of one pyrethrin powder. just make sure to cover the head (eg using a sock) so it doesn't get into the eyes or beak. also just giving the pigeon a bath helps to get rid of mites.
sabina


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## hushie (Aug 30, 2007)

Hi Sabina,
Thanks for your reply and I will definitely treat the pigeon. I did not see any signs of lice when I first brought her home. I needed her to be warm so I have been bringing her in at night and I keep her carrier on the porch during the day so she can get fresh air. I am afraid to hear the answer but can the bird lice be transfered to humans or other animals? In addition to having the carrier in the house overnight we have all taken turns handling her when changing her bedding or checking her feathers. She even jumped on the top of my husband's head last night before we saw the lice
Thank You, Cynthia (Hushie)


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I think bird lice are only transferable to other birds, that has been my experience.

You can get a parakeet lice/mite spray on the pigeon, it works fine on those kinds of pests and smells nice.

As with any pets always wash your hands before and after handling the bird.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hushie, not to worry as far as I know about the mites. To the best of my knowledge they are species specific but they can get on a shirt if you hold the pigeon up close. You can just pick them off and flush them down the drain. They seem to love me as I can get several on my t shirt but my husband rarely gets any on him.  

I hope another member will discuss the lice problem because I am not as familiar with lice as mites. We use a product called Scatt which is a spray and is very effective.


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## hushie (Aug 30, 2007)

Thank you Lady Tarheel and Trees Gray I am happy to hear that they have not been transferable with your experience 
Here are a few photos of her but I am afraid they aren't very good.

http://flickr.com/photos/hushiepie/1299324994/

http://flickr.com/photos/hushiepie/1298565165/


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