# Help



## Jonesy (Apr 20, 2011)

Hi there. I got asked to take in a pigeon with a damaged leg 3 days ago. I'm not sure why it's limping but the last 2 days it seems to be taking its weight a little better. It's a young bird and until today it wouldn't eat anything but now it eats when on my lap and 'only' off a little piece of towel (for some reason) She's still limping, but aftee she ate today, I put her back in the cage and she's poking her beak into my fingers andflapping one wing at a time. Do you know what this means?? And I've attached a video to see what that may mean and also if you think if she could be set free eventually. Many thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yo7r6Btm1o

I'm not sure whether that address will work.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi

Poking her beak in your fingers and flapping is little pigeon for "Feed! Feed!"  though even with a full crop they often still do it just because the parent (or an acceptable substitute) is there.

She seems only to be really flapping with the left wing, though. Is it the left leg which is/was causing her a problem?

If she has a problem with wing and leg, it could possibly be some kind of impact which caused it, like a glancing blow from a vehicle (just an example). 

What are you feeding her on and how often?


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## Jonesy (Apr 20, 2011)

Thanks for replying. She can flap both wings but was only doing one at a time for some reason. I'd just put her back after feeding her. I need to get hold of some feed. I have chickens, can they eat corn? At the min I've been soaking cornflakes or bread in milk. She loves the cornflakes.  She's a young one as she has a few yellow wispy bits left. Do you think she looks at though she'd be able to set free soon. I dont mind how long I have to get her ready for the wild but not a clue when to do it. Also, should I let her go where there are lots of other pigeons, or near my house. Do they stick around or are wild pigeons not like homing pigeons. Sorry, I've not got a clue about these birds, but I'm quite taken with her already.


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## malfunctional (Jan 27, 2009)

That's so cute. Yes she clearly wants food from you.


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## Jonesy (Apr 20, 2011)

I love it.  It's so satisfying to see her so lively after 3 worrying days. She's eating like there's no tomorrow. Just ate a dish of cornflakes and and some bread in milk.  Could anyone let me know how they survive after being hand reared??


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Jonesy said:


> I love it.  It's so satisfying to see her so lively after 3 worrying days. She's eating like there's no tomorrow. Just ate a dish of cornflakes and and some bread in milk.  Could anyone let me know how they survive after being hand reared??


Its just a young bird, others will be able to judge how old (i'm useless at that lol) but it should be able to eat small seeds by now, especially if its eating cornflakes.
Dont give it milk, water is best.
Since it is young, it wont be able to be simply released when it can fly.
Pigeons learn how to forrage for food, avoid predators & basically how to survive from their parents.
Since you are acting as its parent at the moment, its not learning this so
it will need to go through a special "soft release" program to acclimatise it to life on the outside.
We can deal with that when the time comes. For the moment, can you post up a pic of him, with a close up of the leg, so that we can maybe get a better idea of whats wrong.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi

It's unlikely to have done any real harm, but best not to give pigeons anything with milk. Their systems are lactose intolerant so they can't deal with it like we can.

Readybrek made with water would be fine (slightly warm). Just use water in whatever you give. At her apparent age, you could well feed her thawed out frozen peas and sweetcorn, slightly warm. It's a step towards a 'real' diet and easy to pop into little mouths.

I assume you are hand feeding her at present, from what you say. When she is ready to progress to the normal grain and seed diet of a pigeon then grain for the chickens would be OK at first.

She looks well feathered on the upper parts, may be less filled in under the wings, so it's worth trying her with some seed/grain. Sometimes they will get interested when we make pecking motions with a finger in a little pile, or shallow dish, of seed. They are naturally curious anyway. She would then need a little pot of water, too, and could be encouraged to drink by gently inserting the beak (below the nostrils) in it.

Eventual release is best with others of similar age, or into a flock where food is available.

If you can give us a town/city there may (or may not) be a pigeon-friendly rescue facility somewhere around. Some do build up a few rescued youngsters and release them as a group after acclimatising them in an aviary for a while.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

Definitely a baby, about 4 weeks old. Probably fell from the nest and injured himself. His tail feathers aren't fully out yet. I would check him over good to make sure there are no other injuries or punctures from predators.
You can feed wild bird seed for the time being, or defrosted peas and corn. He's just learning to eat. Make sure he's drinking water. Dad teaches him to eat, drink and be wary of predators.
He's going to bond with you, so it might be difficult to release him, and I wouldn't release him by himself anyway. If they don't have other pigeons to 'learn' from, they become trusting to humans. And don't survive long in the wild.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

I don't necessarily agree with all of that. I think you can care for a baby for 5 or 6 weeks and not have her/him become human-bonded.
I do agree, for sure, you cannot just open the door one day and say "goodbye, good luck !" He/she wouldn't last a couple of days out there.

Jonesy...there is a release method whereby you acclimate a young Feral to a local Flock. This is how they can survive and can return to the Feral life after being treated by humans. 
It takes about 10-15 minutes a day and takes about a week. It is called *Soft Release*. You can do a search for it here, or quicker you can PM or email me and I can send you info on it. If 4 weeks old, she/he cannot be released until at least 8-9 weeks old, so you can start the *Soft Release* regimen at about 6 or 7 weeks old. This is dependent upon the leg healing well enough to walk on, even if it's with a small limp. If the leg doesn't really get much better than currently, then it could be she's not releasable.

But right now, speaking of the leg...there are other concerns, more pressing:

1) The leg: if limping or keeping off of it...it could be fractured, perhaps broken, or maybe injured and infected. In such an instance, the best thing to do is get to an avian vet. Everything else is just guesswork..hit or miss..

But if you won't or cannot do that, then at least I would start to administer some antibiotic and a painkiller/anti-inflammatory. 

When you touch the foot/toes, does he/she 'grip' with the foot at all ? or is it just limp ?

_Do you have any human or animal grade antibiotics there ?_ Penicillin, tri-sulpha, amoxycillin, ceclor, cephalexin, augmentin ? Anything like that ? You see, the injury could cause a bone or soft-tissue infection. Birds don't heal up as easily as mammals do...they can be very prone to infection. Let us know if you have any antibiotic...if so, what dosages you have.

2) Painkiller/anti-inflammatory. Medacam (meloxicam) is the best stuff, but it's by vet prescription only. A good fallback is liquid Ibuprophen...such as Children's Motrin or Children's Advil...both in liquid form. The typical strength is 100mg/5ml. In that strength, give about .03cc twice a day for about 5 or 6 days. Using a plastic 1cc oral syringe.

It reduces inflammation/swelling and also takes the edge off of the pain.

Thanks for caring ! You are doing pretty well, so far.

Do post your location...there may be someone nearby who can assist.


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## Luffy (Feb 27, 2011)

lovely video. As has already been said, she/he likes you and wants food.  Now to more pressing concerns, I would listen to Jaye and other senior members about the limping problem. 

Best of luck. Thx for caring


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## Jonesy (Apr 20, 2011)

Thanks everyone. Have had such a busy weekend I've not had time to log onto the pc. Plus this little one eats and eats so I'm spending lots of time doing that . She's eating corn and bread and lots of water. The droppings are now brown rather than green...which they were when I first took her in. (I read somewhere that they're green when thy're unwell. She seems very healthy and strong and really loves her food. She's putting weight on her leg but when I get home from work I'll get another video of her up on here so you can judge for yourselves to see what you think. 

If she wasn't able to be released into a wild flock, would I be able to set her free in my own garden and would she return to me for food?


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## Jonesy (Apr 20, 2011)

Her leg seems absolutely fine now I've taken the dressing off. I can't see her limping at all anymore. I shall look at the slow release link to see what I need to do next. Thank you for all your help.

Here's how she was yesterday. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5OSPEjuT4I


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Good news !!! It will take a week or so for strength to really return to the leg, but teh fact that she uses it is really good.

If you have any questions regarding Soft release, e-mail or PM me...it's an important step which needs to be done without rushing it....


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## Lazaro1981 (Mar 30, 2011)

did any body ever use gps auctions to buy pigeon please if somebody know


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Lazaro1981 said:


> did any body ever use gps auctions to buy pigeon please if somebody know


Please start a new thread!


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## Jonesy (Apr 20, 2011)

Jaye said:


> Good news !!! It will take a week or so for strength to really return to the leg, but teh fact that she uses it is really good.
> 
> If you have any questions regarding Soft release, e-mail or PM me...it's an important step which needs to be done without rushing it....


Hi there.  I let her out of the cage today to see what she would do in the garage. She didn't attemt to fly and still would hound me when I put my hand near. She seems very strong and well though. 
I found some info on soft release but it seems an impossible task. From what I read it said that I would need to put her in a small cage and carry out the feed and scare tactic where other pigeons gather. It also said I should leave the cage there for a few hours. It's in a town centre, and I'd never risk that. I'd be worried that someone would hurt her. Is this the only way to slowly release them back to the wild? I'd be really grateful if you could let me know any other hints. I'm in no rush so if it takes a while it's not a problem. Thank you very much for helping.


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