# Poor pidgie tarred & feathered...



## Rockie (Jan 18, 2005)

Hi all,

I'm sure most people know this, but just in case...

I rescued a sweet, precious scared pij today. Sitting all alone in the rain/sleet I said to myself, "here we go again". It seems I am always greeted at work with a poor pidgie problem, or a stinking hawk problem (which was the last two days - kestral).

This baby looked like he hurt a wing, but it was only upon capture that I saw both feet and legs completely covered w/tar & junk! You couldn't see the feet at all! This poor thing, how was he getting around?

Long story short, DAWN DISHWASHING LIQUID IS THE BEST! At first I tried the soap I had handy and this poor sweetie was VERY patient. We washed & washed...& then I ran out for some DAWN. The Dawn REALLY made a difference. All in all it took about 2 washing sessions of 45 minutes each, but she is now standing tall! There were also wood pieces tarred under one wing, attached to her chest. I saw no other visible wounds & hope to see that this was the extent of the wing injury.

She's already dry from her bath & we're about to head home. So DAWN is the real deal...in case this situation ever arises for you.


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## Pete Jasinski (Jan 2, 2005)

Hi Leslie,
I wonder how that poor lil fella got tar all over himself? Anyhow, it was that little guys lucky day that you happened by to the rescue. Not that things aren't hectic enough already now add another patient into the mix  That's the fate of the good samaritan! If life wasn't moving at 100mph things would get boring. Let us know how your patient does when you're all done.
Good work!


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Leslie,


Thanks for the info about the dawn soap. I remember hearing mention of this detergent in the past and on TV. Particularly when there are oil spills and massive numbers of birds have to be cleaned up. 

Thanks again for reminding anyone that might come up against this situation in the future.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Thank you for the info, Leslie.
That is good to know.

Reti


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## elvis_911 (Apr 26, 2004)

Good job caring for the bird


elvis


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Leslie, 


Ooooo, nice to know this, thanks!

I never bathed any in anything but tepid or warm water, usually 'Butt-Baths' for the ones that had poo all built up back there gobbed in their vent Feathers, sick ones to have that condition like that.

But you know, the 'Dawn' might be a good head start for 'dumpster' Birds, the ones that someimes get born behind a mcdonalds or friedchicken or bad chinee restaurant place...some of them can not even fly they are so full of stinky oil. I wonder if it would be okay to do the scrub-a-dubb-dubb on them entire?

Would their skin absorb anything from the 'Dawn' detergent, that would hurt them?

One would of course rinse them thoroughly in clean plain warm Water, after...

Anyone know? If you washed them thoroughly, if that is cool to do ?


Phil


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## kat0100 (Mar 22, 2005)

I used Dawn dishsoap to clean the feral that I rescued! He had fallen in a puddle of hydraulic oil and was COVERED. Dawn is some awesome stuff!!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

*Oiled Bird Protocol ..*

http://www.ibrrc.org/oiled_bird_procedures.html

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Terry, 


Wow...cool link...good article.

"Dawn"...is the way-to-go !

phil


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## Rockie (Jan 18, 2005)

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the "thanks", and I feel worse than awful right now to tell you all the pidjie didn't make it.

Thank you Terry for the link for more info...I of course feel like this was my fault, but a rehabber that I deal with says the tar is extremely toxic and even very little ingested is fatal. The article speaks of waiting 48 hours to remove the oil???I understand the delicate condition and trying not to stress them, but was I wrong to proceed after she was warmed?

All I can say is that during the cleaning procedure (which I was very delicate about) she was very calm. Before and after the bath I kept her warm. About a 1/2 hour after the bath she was standing tall & almost all dry. I was so excited. She came home with me and in the morning it looked like she hadn't eaten. I did notice her walking particularly slowly in her box, when she saw me. 

I was taking her to work with me (in her box, in a preheated car) and had taken all my feeding supplies, etc. as well. In the 40 minutes it took me to get there and peek in on her, she was gone. I was more than shocked, because she was alive when I started out. 

I believe the rehabber about the toxicity, but, if anyone else has any input as to whether I may have done something not completely right & jeopardized this baby, please let me know. I feel horrible. The only thing I can say is that she passed comfortably with her feet underneath her where they belonged. 

I really hoped this would be a success story, for her sake as well as mine.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Leslie, I am very sorry for the loss of the bird. I think you did everything right, and it was just too late for the bird.

I, personally, with a tarred/oiled bird try to get it off of them right away. Often, they can only stand one treatment and then we have to wait .. too much stress.

You get all of it off that you can and then do the best you can. If the bird is so far down to begin with, then you have little chance of success, but you try anyway .. sometimes that's waiting a few hours to see if the bird rallies a bit and sometimes it's going for broke because the bird is going to die if you don't .. not easy or happy choices.

Terry


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## Pete Jasinski (Jan 2, 2005)

Hello Leslie,
All the I'm sorries in the world won't bring your baby back, but unfortunately that's all I can come up with as I'm speechless. I had no idea that tar was so toxic and had high hopes you'd be releasing her soon. Hearing such depressing stories such as your makes me want to turn a blind eye the next time I see an injured or sick bird knowing it might end in heartbreak if I take it in.
But, I know myself and my heart won't let me do this knowing that even if the poor creature dies in my care she die in a dignified way, knowing she was loved and cared for in the end and had a friend at her side as she went into the light and crossed the rainbow bridge. You did that for your little girl and she knows you did all you could and you tried you very best, you were there when she needed you most, in the end.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Leslie,


We are all in this same Boat with these dear little ones...sometimes that Boat is against some strong currents, too.

Trying to learn enough, or learn it fast, do our best...

I am very impressed you knew about the 'Dawn' to even deal with it. I would have not known WHAT to do for 'tar' like that...and I would have been searching the internet for clues, at best, or done nothing about it untill I could find out what TO do, while the tar was continueing to poison the poor thing. Keeping the Bird warm with the tar still there, increases the duration and rate of how that tar is releasing it's solvents, too, so your acting fast makes good sense to me.

Birds are sensitive to petrochemical derivitives, and tar is pretty nasty as for solvents it is releaseing, so you getting it off soon like you did I think was a wise move. You let the Bird get warm, and then you got right to it...and did what it took to do it well.

You know too, many times, by the time we find a ground Bird, or one who has something hurting them, they have often been laboring with the thing wearing them down for some time, and this can weaken them a great deal, not only from malnutrition, but from opportunistic bacteria which takes advantage of their weakened, stressed immune systems, so they are also often ill as well as whatever the initial trauma is. 

I have had many who when I got them were so "light" it was like holding a couple crumpled sheets of paper or something, but it was a full grown Pigeon.

So by the time we get them, they are often hanging on by a thin and definitely thinning thread.

Some individual Birds too, know we are intending to help them, and they are allright with that, and so for them, like yours it sound like, the stress is not the same as for the ones who for whatever reason, are afraid or upset with it... or who from prior trauma of some kind with Dogs or Cats or People, may feel truely threatened and distrustful. 

I have one right now, a diminutive but mature adult Pigeon, a really beautiful one somehow, too. Was Dog bit across the ribs under it's Wings. Anyway, is SO afraid of me that it rears its Wings as to threaten a 'Wing chop' to me, yet raises both of them! and just shakes like a leaf while trying to retreat against the back screen wall of it's cage, and trying to make itself tall or big in it's way so that it almost falls over from trying so hard. I have had this ird three weeks, it has seen me bandage and feed and do things and tape wings on other Birds three feet away, where the other Birds are cool with it. This is so sad! the poor thing. I can not be delicate enough to even change Water or seed without it going through all this. I can not even look at it from five feet away...sigh...

So the Article did generalize in a way (well, about Sea Birds, not Pigeons) that did not take that into account - that some Birds are very willing to go along with being handled and bathed and bandaged and held upside-down or whatever, without it being too stressful on them at all. Some may be very stressed and freightened and or upset or even angry if they feel safe enough to BE angry! (Which is a good sign compared to fear, anger or annoyance).

Some are so weary that the 'calm' we may see, may be all they have left to be...a thin thread...

I think you did a great job there Leslie...and you also contributed an important piece of knowledge for me and others here that will benifit 'tar Birds' or Oil Birds we may have to deal with someday.

The only thing I can think of m-a-y-b-e, if there is a next time, for any of us, with a 'tar Bird' or any new arrival Bird who has been stressed a good deal before we got them, especially if they seem "light", is to try and get some nutritive fluids into them soon, either by interesting them to drink something we can mix up, (we can wrap them gently in a towell with their feet and legs pointed 'back', and hold them gently and offer liquid in a little cup or something, make soft soothing sounds of affection and murmer, and, dip our finger tip into it and then dip their Beaks into it by grasping it from the tip, and sometimes they will drink, and drink "like a Horse" too.

...or by Catheter if we know how to do that ( I do not, I have been afraisd to do it, at least with Pigeons anyway, but I will learn )...and if there are no immediate poops to inspect for signs of sickness, it might also signal they have not eaten in some while...maybe a long while too, so, it may be a good thing for us to see if they can take some electrolyte and or nutritive fluids, and encourage appetite as soon as possible. We can open their Beaks and look down in there for any problems there. If we find they are also ill, then after getting some hydration and basic fast digesting nutritives into them, we can wonder about meds.

That and keep them warm, as you did...warm and quiet.


Many of the ones I have had were quite starved, and or worse, from the time they could not fly anymore from some hurt, for me to find or get them...so we may bear in mind that these Birds sometimes are about spent when we do get them, even when they may seem 'poised' in their way. The momentum of their ills has it's own path of momentum sometimes, even when they may rally somewhat as far as appearences. Yours was laboring under the toxicity of the tar, for who knows how long already, and who knows what else as got going for them bacteria wise or sickness wise.

It was a darned good try Leslie!


Truely, it is allways some of our own hearts we hold in our hands with these Birds.

And we will loose them sometimes...and it hurts.

All we can do from there, is what you are doing...and others here are doing; trying to learn more, for next time, to see if we can pull pull them through.

Thats the deal...

And there is no other way.


Phil


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Leslie, I am so sorry that poor pigeon didn't make it.

However, I am certain that he would have appreciated being relieved of the tar and brought into a warm safe environment.

Cynthia


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Hi Leslie,

I am sorry to hear about the pijie you tried to help. You did your best in the moment to help relieve its suffering. Who knows for sure what the root cause of its passing actually was? Some birds have more tar on them than just the feet and legs and survive. This bird may have had multiple problems that caused its passing. Don't blame yourself, it's a kind and compassionate deed that you engaged in to try and relieve its suffering.

fp


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