# Injured Pigeon



## Nickbrooks (Apr 24, 2012)

My girlfriend found this pigeon on the floor near the bins, it was unable to fly and has injured it's leg. It was a cold night and raining heavily so She brought it home and we warmed it up. At first it was very lethargic but over night it seems to have perked up. It's started to drink some water, but it's not eating seed, just pecking around a bit at it sometimes.

At first it was just laying down but now it's started to stand on one leg, but is careful not to put it's weight on the injured leg, but is moving the leg down now. It can't fly but seems to be flapping it's wings ok and propels itself along the floor. I have no idea how old it is, but it squeaks when you pick it up so I imagine it's a juvenile. I can't call the local animal rescue as they just euthanise them so I would appreciate any advice on how to proceed.


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## Nickbrooks (Apr 24, 2012)

here's another picture


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi and Welcome,

I can't quite tell the age from the picture as it's a bit blurred but I think for now we'll assume it's young and help it along as we would if it's a youngster for now.

If it's been drinking then at least it's hydrated and if it seems to have perked up then I think it would be a good idea to help him with feeding for now.

Can you firstly try and check inside it's mouth to make sure the throat is clear and pinkish. What we don't want to see are any yellowy growths in the throat which would be canker. It's always best to establish there aren't any problems first in case it needs any meds.
Are you sure it has no wounds or injuries other then the problem with it's leg.
If it's been attacked it might have puncture wounds under the wing or on it's back mainly. If all seems ok then it may just need some time to build up it's strength.
Is it putting any weight on the bad leg at all?

Janet


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Right, just seen your next picture after I'd posted.

Are you able to very gently feel both legs to check in case there's a break. Ideally if you can feel the good one then move your fingers down the back leg and see if you can feel anything different. Maybe swelling or if it's out of line at all compared to the other.
Does he have any grip in the toes?

Janet


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## Nickbrooks (Apr 24, 2012)

Hello, thank you for the speedy reply. It has started to put a little weight on the injured leg, but not much. I will do as you said checking the mouth and the legs and get back to you. Should I be feeding it peas as suggested in other posts here, it doesn't seem to have eaten any seed, but it does occasionally peck at it.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi,

Yes sorry I forgot to mention about what to feed.

Peas or sweetcorn are the easiest and best thing for a start. Just make them warm and pop them in his mouth pushing them slightly towards the back of the throat and he should swallow. Practice makes perfect, but if you have him on your lap, maybe wrapped in a towel if he seems wriggly. Open the beak with your fingernail gently and if you have your forefinger and thumb either side of the beak you'll be able to hold it open while you pop the peas in. If you're not sure how to do it I can find you a link to a video that may help. 

Janet

Just looked again at the pictures and it does look as if it's got some feathers sticking out on it's head as if a fledgling.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Definitely a baby maybe just fledged in the past few days or maybe got knocked out of nest area early. Pretty young to have fledged, I'd say...maybe 5 weeks tops ?

So...he/she IS capable of putting some weight on the leg ? 

Is there ANY sign of eternal injury ? Blood, scrapes, lesions, missing feathers, scabs ? This is very important. Please look her/him over carefully; if injured, he will need meds begun asap.

I would start the peas/corn. Wrap him gently but securely in a small towel so the head sticks out, and with one hand gently pry beak open...etc, etc. as Amyable says.

the leg issue can be dealt with in two ways. Whenever I find an injured pal with an orthopedic problem, it is straight to the vet. because we dunno if it is a break, fracture, or just soft tissue damage. Barring that (although again, I highly recommend it if you can find a Pigeon-safe/friendly one), keep her/him confined to a small enclosure so he rests it.


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## pirab buk (Sep 8, 2011)

He is definitely a youngster. Do you see any swelling on his legs/feet?Most likely he fell/pushed out the nest.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Also, since Pirab mentions it...when you pick him up...can he GRIP at all with the bad foot ???


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## jondove (Nov 17, 2011)

There's still some yellow fuzz, so like everybody said, that's a youngster.

But I was wandering if there is something wrong about his cere? 

First of all, the cere in pigeons this young should not be white yet, furthermore in the first picture you posted, the cere looks like it has a strange white coating that's broken towards the base of the beak, at least on the left side.

Or maybe I'm just seeing things...

This is a zoom from your original picture showing the beak and the cere.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

I thought the cere looked strange as well but it didn't look the same in the second one so had thought it might be the picture.
We'll get that checked hopefully if there's any more feedback.
I agree that the injury is probably from a fall if it's come down from a nest.
Are there pigeons roosting above the bin area where you found him?

Janet


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## Nickbrooks (Apr 24, 2012)

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. Well good points first.

I don't notice any yellow in it's mouth or throat, only pink.

At first it was putting no weight on the leg at all, but it's now starting to put the leg down next to the other one and putting a little weight on it, albeit gingerly. 

I felt both legs up in to the thigh area and they seem the same, I don't notice any obvious difference or swelling.

When I put my finger in the injured foot it moves the toes around my finger, but not much pressure and not as much as the other foot.

I couldn't see any marks, cuts or any other obvious injuries and where it was found I have never seen any cats or dogs in 15 years as pets aren't allowed in the flats there so I don't think it has been attacked.

There is an old nest there, about 15 foot up on top of an air conditioning pipe, but that was from last year and I haven't noticed it being used this year, although as the bins to the supermarket are there, lots of pigeons are around the area and they often fight so it may have got injured like that.

I fed it about 30 peas this morning, and that seemed to go ok. It's now standing up a lot and looks much better than it did.

Bad points.

There it certainly something wrong with the cere, and also it's beak looks deformed. The beak seems very long and the top and the bottom don't seem to marry up correctly, ie the beak looks slightly twisted.

Not being an expert I don't know what the ceres are suppose to look like, but this one doesn't look very healthy.

Apart from that it seems ok, Not had much luck really has it!

Have posted a better picture, see what you think.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Morning,

Thanks for the update. The start is certainly more promising than yesterday. I hope his leg may have been sprained as opposed to broken in a fall.
If you did have the blessing of a friendly vet that was prepared to check it over without you having to hand it over they might just be able to confirm it's ok and just need rest.
BUT....

The beak doesn't look good. I'm wondering if it has or has had Pox.
Are there any yellow crusty lesions under that cere area?

The trouble here is that it looks deformed as you say and it may be that it won't realign even once the infection or whatever is under the cere has healed.
The top part looks shorter. Are you able to take another picture from head on as clear as that last one?
Birds that have scissored beaks or have a part broken beak are at a disadvantage when eating in a feral flock as they might take longer to pick up food and lose out a bit.

Don't want to suggest that's definite at this stage without some expert advice.
Some very experienced rehabbers on here may have some firmer ideas so we'll see what they think. Due to such varying time scales on here they may not log on until later so do keep checking back for replies as the more ideas the better at this stage.

Do you know of any vets that would be willing to look at a pigeon. Sadly a lot of vets over here won't or they often want to take the bird off you and would probably euthanise rather then give it a chance. Ideally you could do with a diagnosis but be allowed to take the bird back for you to treat if needed if you're willing.
I assume you're Jersey Channel Isles? Not sure what their policy on helping wildlife is.

Please keep checking back and we'll try and get some ideas as to what is wrong with the beak area as I think this maybe more crucial ATM.
Continue feeding and also I'd leave some seeds, maybe small pieces of wholemeal bread or peas scattered around it to see if it does manage at all. Could be it's still a bit young to be confidently self feeding yet so it doesn't necessarily mean it can't eat due to the beak problem.

Thanks for trying to help it.

Janet


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## jondove (Nov 17, 2011)

Nickbrooks said:


> I don't know what the ceres are suppose to look like


At this age the cere should be almost the same color as the rest of the beak, later on it should turn white.


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## Nickbrooks (Apr 24, 2012)

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yes we are in Jersey. There are not very many vets here and the animal shelter just euthanise them immediately, they not even interested in what's wrong with them as they say they are vermin.

I had a good look but I don't see any other lesions, it just seems to be on the cere. In the picture it looks more yellow/orange at the side, but in reality it's more pinkish.

The top of the beak is the same length but scissored as you mentioned, you can't see it in that picture as it's curling around the side of the beak away from the camera. I will take a head on tonight.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi,

Got to be the first post I've seen from Jersey.
I used to live there a long, long time ago, well worked there for three summer seasons as you do in your youth!! Beautiful place, lucky you. 

We'll see what others that have dealt with scissor beaks before can come up with by way of solutions.
Do you think there's any sign of infection under the cere or is it a 'nice' pink.
I had thought it looked yellow. A bit tricky with photos I know but thanks for perservering.

Will wait to see if you get another view of it later.

Janet


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## Nickbrooks (Apr 24, 2012)

Yes it's a pretty island, but not much tourism now, more finance, which tends to bring out the worst in human nature, was a much nicer place when it was a holiday island.

It doesn't exactly look infected, but it doesn't look normal. Not sure if the poor little fellow has much of a chance. Seems happy in itself and doesn't seem in any pain, so maybe. We had a pigeon that used to visit our balcony that had obviously been attacked and had a hole in it's crop, seed used to fall out when it ate it. It was quite tame and was easy to catch. I called the animal shelter, they didn't even look at it, just took it away and said they would euthanise it. I guess it didn't stand much hope but they weren't interested, so not much point calling them.

I will try to post a better picture tonight when I get home. Thanks again for your help.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Such a shame when animal shelters don't just give a bit more time to heal.
That bird with a ruptured crop would have healed if given the time.
That happens a lot. Had two on here recently. One last week healed up perfectly after a week of care. It depends what caused the tear as to whether it needs anti-biotics to ward of infection if it was preditor caught.
I've heard of some needing suturing but more often they can heal without.
Sad they didn't try.

Poor pigeons get a bad rap, hence places like this that will give alternatives to try rather than just give in and have them PTS.
Let's hope we can give your little friend a chance.

Speak later

Janet


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## pirab buk (Sep 8, 2011)

He either has an infection(from injury), canker or pigeon pox.
It looks similar to my pigeon (except he was missing most of his top beak.)
he could have injured it falling out of nest or he has pox and the mother chucked him out or was attacked by a hawk and has an injury from attack.
Would you consider taking him to a vet?


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## Nickbrooks (Apr 24, 2012)

Well as I said previously over here they just euthanise them like the one I mentioned before which may well have repaired itself. But will try and make enquiries and see what they say. 

An update on the eating. He/she obviously decided that it didn't like being wrapped in a towel and force feed peas this morning, so has now started to eat seed on it's own.

Should I continue to feed it peas, or just let it get on with it now? It's eating regularly and doesn't seem to be having any trouble, and is definitely using it's injured leg more, but not putting full weight on it.


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## jondove (Nov 17, 2011)

Nickbrooks said:


> Should I continue to feed it peas, or just let it get on with it now? It's eating regularly and doesn't seem to be having any trouble, and is definitely using it's injured leg more, but not putting full weight on it.


Watch the poops, if enough is coming out, it means enough is going in and you shouldn't need to hand feed.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Now that's great news!!

Are you in a position to keep him for a short period of time while he developes and finishes fledging. I was thinking that over a couple of weeks we'd be able to see how the beak thing goes and to make sure it's stable and not deteriorating in any way if we can't get an definite diagnosis.
You've answered my one concern in that he's already starting to pick up for himself which is great.
It would be wrong to let him go unless we're sure he's well and able to cope out there. He'd be under a parent's supervision ATM and learning how to find food and generally get street wise. Problem sometimes with ferals being reared by humans is that they get fed seeds etc but once living out on the streets they don't find seeds and need to know what is their kind of food.
May have to buy him some burgers and chips as well. 

I'm not a big fan of giving anti-biotics without a reason but it has crossed my mind that it may be an idea just in case there's anything going on that we can't obviously see with the beak.

I'll see what others feel and maybe I can help you out with that if you can't use a vet for med prescriptions.

I'd be worried about taking it to that rescue place after your last experience to be honest and if they're your only resource then maybe we can guide and advise from on here. I appreciate your hands are tied with living on an island and not having a wealth of wildlife places to consult.

pigeons are hardy birds and he may well manage if he can eat ok as long as we can make sure he's fit before releasing him.

Janet


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## Nickbrooks (Apr 24, 2012)

Yes I am ok to keep him for a while, we are going away in 5 weeks, but ok up until then.

He is eating every couple of hours now he has found out that seed is edible.

I'll try and have a look for canker again tomorrow, but it certainly wasn't obvious when I fed him this morning.

He's now started to stretch and flap his wings quite a bit, which he wasn't doing for the last couple of days and his general movement also seem perkier and more pigeon like.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Don't know if you can post links here, but I'll try, here's some higher quality images of his face. You should be able to click on them to enlarge.

http://www.studio18.co.uk/pigeon/pigeon1.JPG
http://www.studio18.co.uk/pigeon/pigeon2.JPG
http://www.studio18.co.uk/pigeon/pigeon3.JPG
http://www.studio18.co.uk/pigeon/pigeon4.JPG


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Good pictures!

The last one doesn't look bad but looking from above the top part looks smaller in the others.
It does seem as if he's had some form of either Pox, or infection that's stinted or affected the growth.

The scissored beaked birds usually eat ok out of a deep dish as you've got there. Can you see if he's picking up individual seeds or sort of scooping them up?
Once he's got his strength back up and he's putting on weight it might be a good idea to leave seeds on the floor for a day to see how he copes with picking up from a flat surface. Don't want to put pressure on that beak ATM as it'll still be a bit softer as he's young.

He would benefit from having some calcium and Vit D supplements to help his legs and bones as he grows. If you're up for it a product called Calcivite or Zocal D are very good for them but you would have to get it online I expect unless you have pet shops that sell that type of thing.

A question you usually get asked with a rescue is what are his poops like!
They tell us a lot about how they're doing. We can get a bit poop obsessed but it helps to see how their digestion is moving things through the sysytem.
If you put white paper towel on the bottom of his box or cage, apart from making it easy to clean up you can see the colour and type of poops. 

He's definitely perking up with food and warmth so we'll decide whether we need to go down the meds route and get him as good as we can after having such a rough start.

Janet


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

hi, i think he looks like he has canker in his sinus cavity, i had a guy like that last fall
the finder still has him
i don't think it's okay to release a bird with a mis aligned beak
to me he would be considered unreleasable
although they do end up eating on their own, he will need regular beak trimmings 
if he were released it will eventually get overgrown and he will be unable to eat, then will starve to death
i think he needs flagyl asap, and he may lose more of his beak and maybe even part of his nares like my guy did
i will go look to see if i can find the thread i posted about the bad canker guy
brb


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

wish i was closer i would take him in a minute
there are lots of great pigeon people in nyc, can you get him there?


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f6/help-beak-is-gone-56420.html


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Thanks Altgirl for checking this out.

Sadly the pigeon is in Jersey in the Channel Islands off UK coast. That's why there's a problem as they only seem to have an animal rescue that views pigeons as vermin and so the options are limited for unreleasables. Unless of course there are folks out there that have aviary birds as pets.

Right for now I'll get some Flagyl off to Nick ane see how the beak responds. If you can send me your address in a PM Nick I'll get some to you.

Janet


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

Oooooo! oops, they in old jersey! Lol
Our founding fathers couldn't think of any original town names


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

Should send metacam and abs along with the flagyl to cover the bases if you have it


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

altgirl35 said:


> Oooooo! oops, they in old jersey! Lol
> Our founding fathers couldn't think of any original town names


Yes it does get confusing!!

Which AB would fit best as I have a some Baytril and Synulox that I can spare.
Such a pain getting meds over here and sadly can only get via vets and so have some of these but can't get hold of Metacam ATM sadly.

Janet


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## Nickbrooks (Apr 24, 2012)

Maybe I could Fedex him?

Maybe not!

Thanks again for all your help, let you know how we get on.

Nick



During the English Civil War the Channel Island of Jersey remained loyal to the Crown and gave sanctuary to the King. It was from the Royal Square (Pigeon City) in Jersey's capital St. Helier that Charles II of England was first proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I.

The North American lands were divided by Charles II, who gave his brother, the Duke of York (later King James II), the region between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony. James then granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to two friends who had remained loyal through the English Civil War: Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton. The area was named the Province of New Jersey.


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

ah bummer, i use baytril for just about everything
there is always infant ibuprofen


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Nickbrooks said:


> Maybe I could Fedex him?
> 
> Maybe not!
> 
> ...


Wow...a history lesson to boot. Very interesting. 

Will add some AB's to the goodie bag and get them on their way asap!

Yes had forgot infant Ibuprofen could be used for pain relief. Might help with the leg issue.

Janet


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