# Pigeon that doesn't coo?



## Pigeonfriend (Aug 14, 2009)

As I mentioned in another thread, I found a pij with a broken wing that required some major vet care. He/she is now recovering in my bathroom (the only place I could quarantine him), while I look for a new home for him.

Anyways, I noticed that this pij does not coo. When he is alarmed (mainly, when I try to pick him up to give him medication), he SQUEAKS (yes, squeaks) and runs away.

He does look smaller (his beak is grey, no white part on it), but he looks like a pigeon, not one of the squabs - in other words, visually, he is just a little bit of a smaller pigeon with thinner feet.

Does anyone have any idea what age he/she is? I am just curious? I assume squeaking means young (unless it means something else), but he doesn't really look distinctly like a baby to me. By the way, his eyes are orange, not grey (really young ones have grey ones, right?)


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## PamperedPigeon (Sep 23, 2014)

Can you post a picture?


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Sounds to me like a youngster not yet of the age where his voice has broken, i.e. a 'squeaker'.


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Hey Pigeonfriend,
His voice will change as he grows. He might not wanna feel like trying cooing now because of his ongoing health issues. Pigeons coo when they're 100%. If they're ill, sick or injured they might not feel like cooing.

His squeaks may turn into honks first before finally turning into coos.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Pigeonfriend said:


> As I mentioned in another thread, I found a pij with a broken wing that required some major vet care. He/she is now recovering in my bathroom (the only place I could quarantine him), while I look for a new home for him.
> 
> Anyways, I noticed that this pij does not coo. When he is alarmed (mainly, when I try to pick him up to give him medication), he SQUEAKS (yes, squeaks) and runs away.
> 
> ...


At three to four weeks of age a youngster looks allot like their parents. They are one of the fastest growing birds on earth. The squeak is an indicator of age. Or just knowing it is a young bird right before weaning or right at weaning from their parents.


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## Pigeonfriend (Aug 14, 2009)

I will definitely try to post pictures - it's just that right now we are in major quarantine mode. Besides his broken wing, he also has external and internal parasites (all being treated), so I try to handle him as little as possible, since I have a pet pij.

Sometimes his squeaks are high-pitched, and sometimes they sound more hoarse, maybe a little like a frog.

Thank you for all the guesses! Wow! 3-4 weeks? His eyes are orange already though - when do their eyes change?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You don't really need to handle him to take a pic. A picture is really needed.


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## Pigeonfriend (Aug 14, 2009)

OK  I will try for a picture tonight when I get home!


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## Pigeonfriend (Aug 14, 2009)

OK, here's a picture of Lee. His injured wing is facing you, that's why it may look a bit weird.

So, he now stopped squeaking and is honking or sounding like a duck.

With this new info and the picture, any idea how old he/she is?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Probably about three months old or so.


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## Pigeonfriend (Aug 14, 2009)

Wow, that young? Lee's eyes are orange, if that makes a difference.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

The wrap on the wing looks like it is holding the wing at an odd angle. I needs to be held in a natural position against his body to heal properly.


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## Pigeonfriend (Aug 14, 2009)

Unfortunately, Lee's wing is not going to heal properly. As soon as I found him/her, I took Lee to a really good avian vet practice (hence the high vet bills I mentioned in another thread), but they said the wing had already started to heal incorrectly by the time I found him/her. And it was a spiral fracture in multiple places anyways (they did an x-ray), so even if it didn't already start to heal, the chances of it healing correctly, even with surgery, were really small.

So, in any case, the wing will have a permanent droop (that's why it's in that position - it was just immobilized by them to keep more damage from occurring, but it was in that odd position when I found him), which is why I am trying to find Lee a home - he/she is not a candidate for re-release. That's why our local wild rehabber place wanted to euthanize him, and that's also why I ended up having to go to the avian vets - the rehabbers wouldn't even consider taking him.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Gee that's too bad. He/she is pretty. Really kind of you to help him.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Pigeonfriend said:


> Wow, that young? Lee's eyes are orange, if that makes a difference.


No, it doesn't


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