# Playing Dead



## kbbigman (Jun 4, 2009)

I had an 09 bird drop in the loft last night, which was rather light and looked like it had been out for some time, anyway caught it and popped it in a nest box, and it didn't move, was totally rigid as though it was dead, just laid half on it's side half on it's belly, I gave it a little nudge and nothing so another couple of little nudges then it moved a little to stand on it's feet. So I decided to observe it from the corridor, so each time I walked past as I was cleaning out the loft I would look and it hadn't touched it's food or water, the only movement I saw was a blink, my man finished work and gave it a quick check over and said it seemed ok just very thin, it was only after about an hour did it suddenly 'come to life' and tooked furiously into the corn in its box. My man said he had seen birds go still before if very stressed, but not to the extent that this little one did, has anyone else experienced it?  I'm guessing it's some sort of survival mechanism, i.e. if I play dead I'll be left alone?? I was just sooooo relieved it seemed ok and I hadn't frightened it so much that it had died!!!
Michelle


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## Teresa (Jul 10, 2005)

*Deep shock*

That happened to me twice, but not with pigeons: it was with a cat and a seagull.
What they had in common is that on both occasions the animal had been hit by a car. Nothing was broken, but they were bruised and in shock.
The seagull was found on the roadside, unmoving but clearly alive. I scooped her up and took her home. I placed her in a warm, quiet spot for the night, and by morning she was totally alert, ate and drank like there was no tomorrow, and was safely released.
The cat was my pet. She came in from the back garden and collapsed in the porch, becoming almost instantly rigid, and she looked dead. I put her inside my jumper (yeah, the one I was wearing, lol) with her head sticking out at the top, and ran to the animal hospital that was just two streets away. While we were waiting I kept talking to her and stroking her head. As we were taken in to see the vet, she opened her eyes and went floppy. The vet checked her over and said she'd be fine. She was.
It's worth checking your bird for bruises, scratches or puncture marks. It may have been attacked by a predator.


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## JGregg (Jul 28, 2003)

If the bird is light you may want to consider hand feeding. I think you've got a sick bird that needs to be treated.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

JGregg said:


> If the bird is light you may want to consider hand feeding. I think you've got a sick bird that needs to be treated.


I agree......


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## Gille (Sep 8, 2006)

*playing dead*

Our very fist encounter with a pigeon was a racing pigeon we dubbed "Racer" who had been blown off track during a long race by a sudden storm. When he first came to our home he landed on the lower of our two house roofs and withina few minutes he settled at the very peaks edge and hunkered down. Unless i went up there that was all he would do. I though he was toast. I put up water and feed but he just sat there. It was several hours before he touched the water and a few days before he touched the feed. I made him a little shelter and mounted it right in front of him and he just sat there. As long as I didn't move towards him he was unmoving. It seems after being outside and giving it their all to find home they often expend themselves to the point of total exhaustion. It took Racer about 4 days to show he had any real life left in him. Before that he'd only move just out of reach and hunker back down. I caught him in the dark, got his band info and set him in the little shelter only to find him the next morning sitting at the roof peak again. Allllllllll day long...lol He did survive and headed south later in the fall leaving the much larger coop I'd built him empty. On day 4 he stretched and flew from house to garage but it was obvious to even a non pigeon keeper that he was far from strong. That had taken over a week. Before that my daughter asked several times if I though he was dead ebcause he just sat on the roof unmoving. I'd climb the ladder and he'd move just out of reach and hunker down. 
Was it one fo your own birds or soemone elses? We found Racers owner through their racing club online by googling the band numbers.


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## kbbigman (Jun 4, 2009)

Hi the bird wasn't one of ours, and luckily we did not need to hand feed him as think this would have given him even more reason to be stressed, we closely observed him but so hedidn;t feel like he was been observed (as we have a corridor in the loft we can watch them but they don't feel like we are at them all the time you know) and as he was seperated in his own nest box (having it half covered and the other half a plastic door, so if wanting to they can scoot into the covered in bit but when feeling brave tend to poke there heads throuh the doors bar, so they can see all the other birds) we wer able to monitor exactly how much this little one was eating, and as we were in no doubt that he was eating well, poops normal, we put him on the racing transporter off to the strayu centre, were the get in touch with the club secretary for that bird, who in turn gets in touch with the owner who bought that ring and then reunite!!! Job done, see if we get a racer in with a telephone number we will contact that, if not and we can find who they belong to via the club handbook we will do that, otherwise they go off to the racing stary centre and get home that way.
Thanks for the feedback guys coz I really thought I had killed this little one when he went so rigid. Michelle.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

It is as Teresa said defensive mechanism of the body. Something like power save mode. If this bird was on the race or training, it was clearly exhausted. Glucose and multivitamins will help much more than feed. Bird has no energy to eat in this condition but needs energy to restore (catch 22).
During the racing season some of the racers literally drop in my garden attracted by food and water and some of them are in really pitiful condition. They recover in two ~ three days in full.


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