# Injured young (not baby) mourning dove



## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

Hi

I was directed here from the Starling Talk board. We have had captive starlings for 7 years, so I'm somewhat familiar with wild birds at home.

My daughter, who works for a vet, found a young (but not baby-- it's fully fledged) mourning dove with a compound fracture of the wing. The vet saw the bird and gave baytril for infection but said he couldn't do more and the rehabber said they'd euthanize. So she (and the vet) figured they'd give the bird a chance and it's in my attic bedroom right now (isolated from my starlings) in a tank. I expected it to be dead the next day but after a day and a half it's alert and eating and not freaking out at being in a tank. The vet says if it recovers it can never be released into the wild again, so if it recovers it's with us for the long haul.

I know how to feed and care for starlings, but not mourning doves. I'm not sure if there is anything else we should be doing. I've looked through some of the threads here and it sounds like my daughter is doing the right things. We were not sure about the diet. I don't even know where one gets 'dove food' or if mourning doves need a diet different from other doves or pidgeons.

We have her on the same seed our parakeet has at the moment, with some worms (ignored- from reading here it seems like they are a seed bird), and a millet spray (which is being devoured).


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Welcome, and well-done. I like Starling Talk, folks there are helpful.

Al sounds good so far. She/he has seena vet, has been diagnosed and treated (although I wonder why no splint was applied to the wing...is the vet not familiar with Avians ?).

Are you still dosing with Baytril ? It should be given for at least 7 days.

Wild bird seed mix is OK for starters...as long as she/he is eating and drinking that is good. There are formulated mixes for Doves and Pigeons and such, but I have been just as successful just doing a wild bird seed mix combined with Parrot pellets...if you give your Parakeet anything like ZuPreem or Kaytee or LaFaebre's or Harrisons, that would be OK for a Dove as well.

So she/he is calm ? Mourning Doves can be so skittish.....


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

Very calm, but alert. That's what's odd and a little disturbing (the calm part). I expected it to be nuts but maybe it's not feeling well enough yet.

And while I'm saying "it"- is there a way to sex them other than DNA? I'm leaning towards saying 'her' because 'she's' pretty. lol. I dna sexed my starlings but I don't know if there is a visual way to sex mourning doves.

I'll grab some wild bird seed today and see if I can find dove mix anywhere. I keep waiting for 'her' to die but so far so good.


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## angio113 (Jun 15, 2013)

I can help with sexing. We have a LOT of mourning doves by me The males have a silvery blue on the top of their heads and down through the neck. Also, the chest and tummy are pinkish, whereas the females are brown through the body and the chest is more tan. If its really young though, there isn't really much that tells them apart. 
As for food, if you live by a Petsmart, they have $1.50 off their smallest bag of dove food, if You sign up for "Petsperks." You give them your name, email, and number and they email you when they have new deals and items. (Just got that deal this morning. )


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

She is young and right now grey throughout pretty much. I'm going to say "she" Until I know better. 

She's still very calm and alert. My vet tech daughter is the one primarily taking care of her but I just peeked in to check on her.

I don't know why the wing was not splinted, I'll ask my daughter when she gets back from work. The injury is such that the wing will never heal properly so she will not be able to fly. I assume it was not splinted due to the nature of the break. She also has feathers missing from her back. We don't know if she was attacked by another animal or hit by a car (leaning towards the latter).

I went to a bird store today and they gave me a seed mix they use for both keets and doves (doesn't sound quite right to me) and I got greens and something they called petamine for extra vitamins. I will check out the petsmart as well. I have a parakeet so no loss on the seed I bought today. the dove is eating and drinking.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Sounds good, kudos to your daughter. I am assuming the Dove is still on antibiotic ?


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

Jaye said:


> Sounds good, kudos to your daughter. I am assuming the Dove is still on antibiotic ?


Yes, Baytril. I've only looked in on the dove a few times. I've encouraged my daughter to register here herself.

In answer to why the wing was not splinted- she told me it's an open fracture which will actually require surgery or possibly amputation, however the bird is not well enough. I didn't notice the bone protruding but she said it's not protruding much. It's possible the flesh will grow around it but the bone cannot be easily set. If the dove makes it we'll do surgery if necessary/beneficial. 

I commented on how calm the dove is, and she said "that's until you open the lid on the tank" It does have spunk. She's really unsure if the bird will make it, but if it does we're committed to caring for it.

I went out to get dove food today and she came home from work with five pounds of dove food. So we've certainly got enough dove food.

She said it's pooping plenty so it's obviously eating. It's very active in the tank tonight.

She just joined me at the computer and told me to say "it's an open compound fracture, distal humerus" Which I'm sure will make sense to some people here. "It also has lacerations all over it's back, and some muscle showing through". Let's hope it makes it, but so far IT seems to think it's going to live, which is an important and hopeful thing.

-eta- the daughter also just told me the Dove's name is Sansa. So I guess the daughter is thinking "she" for the dove as well.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Sounds like a relatively serious injury. The antibiotic will keep it from getting infected and that she is eating is a really good sign. It is probably good for her to remain still and calm as much as possible.

Maybe you guys and member Angio can get your healed, flightless Doves together after all of this so they can be a Flightless Dove Couple....!?

I am not a vet so I will defer to the vet, it just seems a bit odd to me that she doesn't at least have a wing wrap to protect the punctured area It seems to me it would aid in scar tissue growing to bind it all together if the wing were immobilized as opposed to just being left allowed to move around....

Just a thought, not to be argumentative....


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

I wish I could get my daughter to post as she's more capable of answering than I am. They did attempt to wrap the wing. She is going to attempt it again but the bird was so stressed (and the vet wasn't hopeful of survival at all- we're rather amazed the dove is still with us) they decided to medicate her and see if she looked like she was going to make it. (I hope I got that right)

She is still with us. It's funny the dove is calm as anything with me but frightened of my daughter. I guess that's because I never tried to examine the wing (let alone wrap it). She does have infection both in the wing and the lacerations on the back, but still so far she and the antibiotic are fighting it.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Every day she keeps going is great news. That's one tough little Dove. As anyone on this board would attest, Pigeons and Doves....they have a great, great will to live.


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

My daughter moved her from the tank to a small cage. She seems a little stronger. My daughter bound the wing today. Infection is still a problem. 

Here's a picture from today, but it's her 'good side' (I just took one picture as I didn't want to disturb her). the bound wing is on the other side, and you can only see a little on that side of her back where she had lacertaions. Whatever happened -- be it animal mauling or being hit by a car (we think the latter) it got her on the left side.

http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Elmtree01/media/dovejunefriday21001_zpsb2933326.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

I have seen worse, looks like she is quite stable actually, eyes wide open, not fluffed up. It seems you all have done what can be done....the fact that she is eating well and alert would indicate to me that the antibiotics are doing their job and she will recover. The question becomes what sort of mobility she will have.

Keep us posted....


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

She's still with us, appears to be healing. Fingers crossed.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Great...that is one week now, so any infection is being eradicated by the meds.

How is her demeanor ? Is the wing wrap still on ?


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

wing wrap just came off, and the wound is healing. She looks pretty thin, though. But her eyes are still bright, no feathers fluffed. My daughter is afraid to hope, but so far so good. She fights my daughter when being given the meds, which is good as she's got spunk in her still. 

The wing will never be usable, though. This bird will be staying with us if it makes it so I guess we'll have to learn how to care for a non flying mourning dove.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Is she eating well on her own ? I am wondering if perhaps she should be handfed or tube fed to get the weight back up.....


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You can add safflower seeds to her diet, and some shelled sunflower seeds. Not too many, but some. That will put the wait back on. And chopped unsalted peanuts. She will eventually try them and eat them. All will help to put weight on.


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

Thank you! She's still with us, and still eating. Wing is starting to heal (skin growing over where the bone was protruding). Of course it's drooping and I hope this doesn't cause her continual pain. But she has such a will to survive, so I'm not going to argue with her about it.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Glad she's healing. Thanks. I hope it's healing as it should. Maybe she needed surgery to smooth out the bone for the skin to grow there. Don't know.


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

Yes, surgery is a possibility. I have the advantage of my daughter working at a vet's office and he's done surgery one of our other birds (a cockatiel) in the past. 

When my daughter came back with the bird she said the wing ought to have been amputated but he didn't think the bird would survive surgery at that point, and probably wouldn't survive at all, but it seems she felt differently. We do have surgery as a possibility later if it will help (hopefully not amputation). I know surgery with birds is always a risk so it will depend on what will make her more comfortable and how badly she needs it.

I keep saying 'she' but I have no idea if the bird is male or female. I assume as she gets older the change in coloring will help us figure that out.


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

Hi Reddi,

Mourning doves have a very old relationship with humans and make wonderful pets. They are very different than ring-necks, so don't try to pair this one up with a ring neck. These birds respond very well to affection and will readily return affection.

That said, don't worry about the open wound. Keep it covered with Neosporin and it will heal over all by itself. You should also tape the wing tips together as the best possible support and splint. Wing fractures are complicated, as there is usually extensive nerve and muscle damage as well. Sometimes they recover enough to gain some flight usage, many times not. Doves are big seed eaters and do very well with packaged seed with some cannola seed once in a while.

You should expect when it gets better, it will want to ride around on your shoulder or the top of your head if it can get up there. They also like to hide in book cases and coo. Be aware however the Mourning Dove is a protected game bird so be discrete about who you talk to and allowing others to see it. Or some moron will demand the local law enforcement come and take it away.

Best to both of you.


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

Thanks! The bird seems to quite like me-- not tame enough at this point to allow me to handle it but it seems to want my attention when I am in the room. My daughter, on the other hand, is fear itself- but she's the one keeping it alive. She bound the wing (I will relate to her what you said about binding the wingtips together) and she's given it the antibiotic. As I said earlier she's a vet tech and has treated pet birds so she knows how to do it... however the dove does not agree that it needs to be done and does not like her at all.

I was a little nervous about the laws-- we have starlings and as they are invasive in my state you are allowed to keep them as pets and most rehabbers will euthanize them. But a mourning dove is different. One reason i've not said the name of the vet where my daughter works is I don't want him to get into trouble for releasing it to my daughter-- but the rehabber had already rejected it as unreleasable and would have euthanized, so all us of figured it was better to give it a chance. 

I've not brought it to the room with my other birds yet (the starlings) and though I'd not let them out together not knowing how they will react it will eventually have the company of the other birds when they are in their flight cages. Right now we're still in quarantine mode.

I continue to be amazed that it survived (as is the vet). I find with animals sometimes they just decide to survive, or they decide to die, and this one wants to live. Fingers crossed.


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

Hi again,

There has always been a lot of controversy about binding wing fractures. The problem is that any kind of binding runs the risk of further damage to the nerves that run along the leading edge of the wing. It was Dr, Scott McDonald, a DVM with many years of avian practice that came up with taping the wing tips together as a sufficient splint rather than bind the wing like a human arm.
I must say it is certainly less stressful on the bird and appears to produce good results.

Being afraid is not a good sign, for whatever reason. You might suggest to your daughter that she restrict and limit her contacts with the bird. Fear is stressful and that is not helpful right now. These bird certainly know who they can come to for help and it basically needs quiet and safety.

Best


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

Things don't look too good right now. The bird is still very calm, almost curious, with me. But the wing is not healing-- every time it looks like it's healing the bone protrudes again. The daughter tried a number of things with the wing-- wrapping, splinting. The current plan is surgery. The vet warned her doves don't handle surgery well, but the infection is not healing and at this point there is a risk of it going septic. 

The bird is still eating well. She has, however, lost all the feathers on her head so she looks like a little vulture. We assume it's stress, though again with me she's very calm and pretty friendly. 

The break is really pretty bad, and no matter what we do the wing will not be usable again. :-/ The daughter said binding the wing tips would cause the bone to protrude farther due to where the break is. At this point they are looking at taking off the wing. :-( The vet is doing research on the situation right now. If they take the wing off it will be done sometime this week and I hope the bird survives.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm really sorry the wing isn't healing. Didn't sound as though it would be that easy. I agree the binding the wing tips would only make matters worse. Wrapping the whole wing may have helped at one time, but maybe not. Now I don't think so. It usually is a better option, then just tying the tips together. That way the bones can be lined up better and held in place with the wrapping. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

Actually it is the anesthetic that doves do not handle well. Surgery should be avoided at all costs.

Somethings to consider however. While there is a risk of septicemia as a result of the open fracture, it is a risk that should be considered over the greater likelihood death as a result of surgery. In some cases the protruding bone can be shortened with a Dremel tool without anesthetic and the risk of shock, allowing the skin to close over. That depends however on exactly where the fracture is and which bone is fractured where. It does result in complete loss of wing function and 100% dependency on humans for care and shelter however. It is also very unlikely that surgery will result in any return of wing function as well.

All I can tell you for certain is that doves, mourning doves in particular, are very affectionate little creatures and I urge you to consider all possibilities that prolong its life. If that is a burden or task you feel unwilling to take, please give us your approximate location so that perhaps a member of this forum can consider adopting it from you.


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

It was never an option to release the bird. The wing damage was too great. Nothing would heal the wing so that the bird could fly, so we knew we were in the for the long haul. As I said earlier I have two starlings I've raised so I'm fine with a wild bird if there is no other option (that is, I'd rather see them flying free but I'd also rather see them alive). All our birds have large cages and 'out time' though this dove would never be able to fly.

I'll pass the info to my daughter and the vet. Maybe there are other options. The vet did tell her the risk of death from anesthesia. She feels as though she's out of options at this point. I'd prefer to try other options, but the daughter is 26 and she's the one caring for the bird so ultimately she'll make the call.

This vet office operated on one of my other birds and it came through (though we were warned at the time of risk then as well-- it was life or death so we had no other option). But we were fortunate that time. I don't feel as easy about this one, especially as it is not (yet) a situation where the animal definitely would die without the surgery.

I think the daughter is more concerned about the fact the infection is not clearing despite antibiotics both oral and topical. I will make sure she reads this thread.


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

Let me make one more suggestion if I may.

The infection will never clear as long as the wound is open. One possibility is to merely close the wound. There is a material known as surgical colloidal bandage
which is used generally for severe burns where skin loss is extensive and open to infection. The protruding bone shaft can often be shortened with a Dremel tool (depending on where it is located) and a collidal bandage used to cover the wound. The problem with bird skin is that it does not lend itself to stitches so any attempt to close by stitching will not work. Colloidal bandage will allow a fairly large patch until skin grows in.

Best of luck!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Suggesting the use of a dremel on the bone of a bird without anesthetic is horrible. The wing is going to need surgery, or an infection is going to eventually take over and kill him anyway. To be fair to the bird, the surgery is the best option.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I think this would be a good time to post the rules. They are as follows...
Please not the print that is *BOLD*.


Forum Rules of Conduct
Participation in the Pigeon-Talk forums implies agreement with the following:

1. Pigeon Talk forums offer support, empowerment, education and entertainment to pigeon enthusiasts in every aspect of this fancy. Since each user is responsible for their own posts, please use discretion when weighing the value of information found in these forums.

2. This is a pigeon advocate website. Topics relating to the advocacy of hunting, killing, eating, torturing or any cruel treatment of pigeons and/or any animal, will not be tolerated on this website. While we encourage an exchange of opinions in these forums, please note that there are specific 'Off Limit' topics that are PROHIBITED and any such posts will be be immediately removed without discussion. Off Limit topics include:

Lethal means of control - Our discussions encourage 'humane habitat modifications'. We reject all discussions about 'lethal' means of control.
Lethal culling. We advocate only 'responsible culling' of unwanted pigeons or doves. 'Responsible culling' is defined as: Taking the responsibility for finding proper homes for your unwanted pigeons. Please do not try to give us your 'justifications' for 'lethal culling', we have heard it all. If you hold an opinion about your 'right' to 'lethal culling' of unwanted pigeons and/or any animal, please keep it to yourself.Please just go away.
*Surgical Procedures. Invasive procedures on any animal should ONLY be performed by a licensed/qualified veterinary doctor. If you have an emergency situation please contact a professional for advice and treatment. There are many resources on Pigeon-Life that can help you locate professional care. Just because you may find a procedure posted on the WEB that doesn't mean it is valid or humane.
Cruelty or torture of any animals.*

3. We require civil and ethical conduct on all forums. Personal attacks on other members, or pigeons.biz itself or its moderators and administrators, will not be tolerated. If asked, you will yield to the requests of the forum moderators and administrators.

Thank you for your cooperation,
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Last edited by AZWhitefeather; 26th January 2005 at 07:01 AM.
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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

Grimaldy - please do not give any more advice like this. It is wrong for so many reasons:
1. Adding more pain and suffering for the bird. ( no anesthetic?????? )
2. Chance of further injury to the bird as it struggles during procedure.
3. Real chance of further infection after using unsterilized equipment.
4. Chance of taking too much tissue/bone, further aggravating the injury.
5. Posting advice that goes against Forum rules, and common sense.

Reddi - thank you for caring for this bird. Please continue to seek advice from qualified care givers, and your vet. 

Thank you Charis and Jay for your help and caring, and for giving reasonable advice.

Grimaldy - I realize you are concerned, and trying to be helpful, but as stated, your advice here was not very well thought out.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Reddi, I think you'll enjoy this thread:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f6/first-posting-from-canada-please-help-16607.html

Pidgey


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

I know everyone posting is doing so out of good will and concern for the bird, so I appreciate all the comments. 

Still have the bird here-- she was off today but back at work tomorrow where she will consult with the vet who has been doing some research. There might well be a similar procedure they can do though the instruments would be autoclaved (sp) and I expect they'd still have to administer anesthesia. So we'll see what they decide. I'll let you all know and no matter the result I do very much appreciate all the posts. At least I know others are also concerned about little critters like this. I do so want this little one to make it.

-eta- wow, I'm reading the thread Pidgey linked. Heckuva wound that dove had.... worse than ours. Gives me a little hope.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Reddi...I receive injured pigeons that require surgery frequently, six this year alone and one today. I have been rehabbing and helping pigeons since 1986. Never has one died due to anesthesia.


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

You should know almondman that I usually ignore comments made by a moron,
but since yours are unusually stupid I thought it best to respond.

First, if I want your opinion about bird care, I will remember to ask for it. I don't recall you being appointed to tell anybody in this forum not to post help for bird care. Maybe your ego is a lot bigger then your brain, but struggle with it.

Second, veterinarians usually conduct surgery with sterilized equipment. I guess that might come as a kind of shock to you.

Third pain management is a necessary part of avian practice. Always has been in fact. 

Fourth if you keep your mouth shut nobody will know how dumb you really are.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

*Post # 1 from Grimaldy*

Actually it is the anesthetic that doves do not handle well. Surgery should be avoided at all costs.
Somethings to consider however. While there is a risk of septicemia as a result of the open fracture, it is a risk that should be considered over the greater likelihood death as a result of surgery. In some cases the protruding bone can be shortened with a Dremel tool without anesthetic and the risk of shock, allowing the skin to close over. That depends however on exactly where the fracture is and which bone is fractured where. It does result in complete loss of wing function and 100% dependency on humans for care and shelter however. It is also very unlikely that surgery will result in any return of wing function as well.
All I can tell you for certain is that doves, mourning doves in particular, are very affectionate little creatures and I urge you to consider all possibilities that prolong its life. If that is a burden or task you feel unwilling to take, please give us your approximate location so that perhaps a member of this forum can consider adopting it from you.
__________________________________________________________________________________
*Post # 2 from Grimaldy*

Let me make one more suggestion if I may.

The infection will never clear as long as the wound is open. One possibility is to merely close the wound. There is a material known as surgical colloidal bandage
which is used generally for severe burns where skin loss is extensive and open to infection. The protruding bone shaft can often be shortened with a Dremel tool (depending on where it is located) and a collidal bandage used to cover the wound. The problem with bird skin is that it does not lend itself to stitches so any attempt to close by stitching will not work. Colloidal bandage will allow a fairly large patch until skin grows in.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Where in either of these 2 posts did you suggest going to a vet? You didn't. And doing anything like that to any animal without anesthesia is barbaric.They are not inanimate objects. They do feel pain, you know. It should have been suggested to go to a vet, rather than explaining how to do it. You told them to avoid surgery. Even you must understand that if a vet were to do that even without anesthetics, it would still be called surgery. 

Your callus rudeness to Almondman was uncalled for and childish. If a person is at all intelligent himself, then he doesn't usually have to depend on rudeness and total lack of respect to get his point across. Name calling is what children do, not intelligent adults. If you have something to say, then you could have addressed him in the same respectful way that he addressed you. And because he did address you in an adult manner, then he deserved the same back. I'm sure even you could have done better than that.


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

My my my, another detractor. What do I do to attract imbeciles? Could it be that I should just not be offering known proven methods to help birds?

Well Jay3, before you lecture me about manners and my "callus" (sic) manners, maybe you ought to do some reading yourself. Almondman did not and that is why he looks foolish now. You on the other hand, in your eagerness to rescue him, commit exactly the same error. It is the person posting the request for help that says, repeatedly mind you, that they are consulting a veterinarian, that they are following the vets recommendations, that the vet is the decision maker here. What did you think I was talking about? Taking the bird out back to the garage and performing surgery on it with a Dremel tool? Of course you did you moron!

Why don't you take the time to read before you start shoving your feet into your own mouth. Better still save your lectures for other people of your own ilk.


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

Grimaldy - you are done here. Your rudeness to me and another member on this forum will not be tolerated. You only need to read your own posts to understand why you received our responses. Good bye!


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

I understood grimaldys posts to be encouring me to bring these things up with the vet, not go down stairs and grab my own dremmel tool. so no worries. I figured he was giving me suggestions I could take up with the vet.

I found the other link to the past thread very helpful. It appears the bone has gone necrotic and as started to crumble which is a good news/ bad news thing I guess. Annie cleaned the sound tonight, and it's possible we will be able to get some closure now but she's going to have to take her to the office to get another look. The one partner has been researching how to deal with this so hopfully we'll have more news soon. the daughter is now reluctant totake the wing off since it apears the wound might close iwthout it. 

I don't understand the vet sid e of this so I'm not sure I am clear as to what she is doing. She was down reading this whole thread tonight. And she's off to work tomorrow so I'm sure the Dove and it's care will be high priority discussion.

Dove still alert and cheerful and curious when either me or my son are in the room. But when the goddess of pain comes in (my daughter) to treat her that's when she tries to get away. I hope when she heals she'll calm down with my daughter who is only trying to save her. She does have a dreadful wound but is acting like she doesn't know she has it.


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

Update-- my daughter came on and thread some of the threads (mostly the one Pidgey linked). Thanks. We might have waited too long for the surgery (which is not due to anyone here- the vet was getting as much research on dove surgery done as she could and the daughter knew how risky it was). The daughter thinks the bone went necrotic and began to crumble. The good news is we might be able to close the wound. Bad news is the word "necrotic". Last night the daughter cleaned the wound well and rewrapped it -- pretty much the wound not the whole wing.
Today the dove is up and around, looking dreadful mostly because she's lost all the feathers on her head and some on her back, but she's alert with wide open eyes. I moved her to an area with more sun to give her the light.

The daughter is consulting with her boss (the vet) today. I'm going to take a photo and I'll post a link back here later.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Grimaldy said:


> Hi again,
> 
> There has always been a lot of controversy about binding wing fractures. The problem is that any kind of binding runs the risk of further damage to the nerves that run along the leading edge of the wing. It was Dr, Scott McDonald, a DVM with many years of avian practice that came up with taping the wing tips together as a sufficient splint rather than bind the wing like a human arm.
> I must say it is certainly less stressful on the bird and appears to produce good results.
> ...



The reason I am adding this information to this post is for future readers to understand that it is important to wrap a wing fracture or break, as it not only aligns the bones and supports them so that they will have a better chance of healing correctly, but also helps to alleviate the pain the bird is having. Without wrapping correctly, the bones will not be aligned, and will therefore heal badly.
__________________________________

HOW DO YOU TREAT FRACTURES?
The basic first aid premise for fractures is to immobilize the fracture. The act of
*bandaging reduces the pain of the fracture by 50%. Let me say it again –
bandaging reduces the pain of the fracture by 50%!!! *No magic drugs - just
bandaging material from the chemist/vet! Every carer needs to feel comfortable
in the application of a figure-of-8 bandage on a bird and a leg bandage to a
bird/mammal/reptile. Bandage the leg so that
the fracture is immobilized as far as
the joint above and joint below. The animal needs to be assessed on humane
grounds by a veterinarian within 24 hours (bird bones set in 48 hours)


http://www.fourthcrossingwildlife.com/PainReleifInNativeAnimals-AnneFowler.pdf


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

My daughter is cleaning and bandaging the wound daily and it actually seems to be healing. The vets are appraised of the situation (again, my daughter is a vet tech) and as the bird is still energetic, alert, eating and drinking they have decided to put off surgery on the wing as it may not be necessary.

I wish she'd post as I'm sure she could describe things better than I can. She did read the thread and the one linked a few posts up which she found quite helpful and encouraging. 

Things could still go wrong but the bird hasn't quit on us yet. It's perching now on the frame for the water dish (we have a larger water bowl in the cage, not in the frame) instead of resting on the cage floor. 

She's alert and responds to me and is relatively calm when I hold her as my daughter cleans the cage. She's still fairly bald as she's lost a lot of feathers especially on her head and neck. But the antibiotic ointment is no longer being applied to her back as that area has all healed. It's only the wound where the bone protruded that still a problem and still being treated.

I'm rather afraid to hope as things could turn on a dime. But the bird is still with us and still seems to want to stay alive.

-eta- I just looked at my first post and realized we've had this bird here for over a month. I suppose if it were going to expire it would have done so. I just want the wound to close and then I'll feel a little better.


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## Reddi (Jun 20, 2013)

It's been awhile but I wanted to give you all an update. She (I'm just about positive from coloring) is doing really well. It took forever but the wound finally closed, and she actually flutters with the wing a bit. It's droopy but not nearly as much as I thought it would be. When you first look at her you don't even realize she had a broken wing.

She has put on weight, has all her feathers in, and is doing so well. I'm very grateful to you all for talking us through this, and especially for that link to the other thread late in this thread. 

So no amputation, dove healthy, and fairly calm.

She is still not tame, but we are working on gaining her trust. 

I never would have thought she'd make it given her injury but she wanted to live and here she is.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's wonderful! Thank you for the update. Great job!


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