# Broken wing - shot with pellet gun?



## tandarat (Aug 20, 2006)

PS...I think this is a young one....he's small and looks like one of the two hatched above our garage this spring. He deserves at least a chance, I think.

Michelle


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Sure he deserves a chance.
Could you let us know what happened, please.


Reti


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## tandarat (Aug 20, 2006)

*Sorry*

OK, weird. I wrote the whole long story last night, and added the "PS" at the end....only have the PS now.

We have a flock of feral pigeons who have taken residence on our roof, two neighbors, and the unused power lines that run between our homes and the one behind us. The guy behind us (and his son) have taken to shooting the pigeons...unfortunately they are lousy shots. Our one neighbor (who also has problems with the birds nesting) has spoken to them, since they have hit both our horses more than once, as well as our houses. I have a 2 year old, and fear for her safety. We also have to explain the dead and dying birds in our yards. In any case, to make a long story short, the shooting stopped for awhile, but Saturday evening I found an injured pigeon in our yard. I put him in a cat carrier to keep him quiet, and gave him fresh water, seed (wild bird variety...we have conures and I figured that was too difficult for him to eat), fresh fruit, and some bread. I'll be getting some grit for him tonight, since pigeons do need grit to properly digest food...am I correct? In any case, my first thought was that one of the cats got him, since he looks like one of the youngsters from our nest who began flying about 6 weeks ago. I expected to find him dead from the cat (or dog) saliva, but he survived the night. He had a small wound on the wing that would not work properly, which I was able to control the bleeding with stiptic powder the evening I found him. He is eating and drinking, but is terrified to be handled. Yesterday I was able to check the wing, and it is definitely broken....it seems to be between the "elbow" and "shoulder" (I forgot which bone it is), and feels like a clean break, but you can feel the "crunch" when manipulated...it is definitely a through-and through break. I tried to bind his wing last night, but couldn't hold him still, and the poor guy looked miserable from pain afterwards, so I've let him be. He is "bright-eyed" again this morning, and I moved him into our bonus room from the garage since it is supposed to be 100+ today, and he doesn't need any more stress.

In any case, I doubt our avian vet will look at him, since he is feral and there is the danger of introducing disease into the hospital. Even if he does look at him, we just don't have the money to spend on xrays, surgery, etc. I've been dealing with some pretty serious illnesses, and just began working again a couple months ago...what little we do have we need to keep at hand for our "pets".

I'd like to know how likely it is that "home care" can allow him to recover enough to be comfortable, if not able to be released back to his flock (or, more likely, another flock far FAR away  ). My daughter is already in love with "her birdie", and I'd be more than willing to set up an aviary for the "disabled"...but only if he can live happily and without pain.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated....and any suggestions on how to convince the rest of his flock to...ahem....move on....would be great, too. I don't mind pigeons....I actually like them, but we have been over-run, and probably have 3-4 dozen residing on our roofs, in the eaves, and our neighbor has them nesting in their chimney! Ack! Plus, now they've become target practice, and it is upsetting to the rest of involved. sigh

Thanks in advance...

Michelle


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Where do you live?

Here are some resources for finding help for this injured bird. Perhaps you have a local rehabber in the area who can help.

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contactA.htm#il

http://www.pigeon-life.net/prd.htm

You can give the bird wild bird seed, or a pigeon mix. Keep the bird confined so it does no further damage to the wing.

If there are any other surviving birds, they also need to be tended to. 

You need to get those pellet guns away from the neighbors, either call police or other authorities because this is not only dangerous but illegal. 

The pigeons came to your area for either of two reasons, or both. A food source and a place to roost/sleep or nest. Perhaps the birds can be relocated to another area. Shooting at pigeons is NOT an option, it is slaughter of innocent creatures who are just trying to live , and the neighbor needs to be stopped.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

tandarat said:


> Yesterday I was able to check the wing, and it is definitely broken....it seems to be between the "elbow" and "shoulder" (I forgot which bone it is), and feels like a clean break, but you can feel the "crunch" when manipulated...it is definitely a through-and through break. I tried to bind his wing last night, but couldn't hold him still, and the poor guy looked miserable from pain afterwards, so I've let him be.


Well, go here and look at the skeletal drawings to see whether you're talking about the humerus or something else:

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/skeleton.html

If that's what it is, then it's a bit tougher. For now, you can tape the tip of that wing (with masking tape) to the tail in such a way as to hold it as near as possible to its normal folded position. The pain's going to be a fairly effective immobilizer. If the forward portion of the wing seems to be hanging down a bit, you can put a piece of tape over the top of the bird from one side to the other for now as well in order to lift the bad portion of the wing up to be somewhat symmetrical. 

If it's the humerus, it's just not an easy bone to deal with on birds. Holding in place will tape will just about be your best "home-remedy" bet. The second part of this deal will be to put him in a box with virtually no room to move around or even try to extend his wings for a couple of weeks. I literally mean a shoe-box with a screened front that you can get food and water into and maybe a poop-hole in the back. Make it so that he can only stand or hunker straight down without being able to even shift his hind end around more than two inches for two weeks. That sounds like pure torture but it'll help keep that bone immobilized long enough for it to knit and maybe work again.

It's almost as bad as hanging one in a sling for a month when they break both legs. They look funny and they certainly want to get out but if you do it right, they heal pretty well:

http://www.redroselofts.com/braveheart.htm

Pidgey


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## tandarat (Aug 20, 2006)

*Yes, it is the humerus*

...right up close to the shoulder. He is doing pretty well keeping his wing still...I would too with a break like that. His "favorite" position seems to be resting it against the back wall of the cat carrier...he is safe back there and I think the little ledge plus the pressure keeps the wing in a comfortable position.

I have a conure travel cage...wood and wire....that might work for him. A bit smaller than a shoebox...it would almost be like a body cast for him....would that work ok? Also - would vet wrap work as well or better than tape? It is easier for me to handle, and gives *just a little* so I won't be as worried about restricting his breathing...plus, it won't stick to feathers. I checked him this evening and he has eaten a little, which to me is a good sign. I can't tell if he's drinking, but I think he is.....I know he drank probably 1/4 cup of water the first night I had him, so he was pretty dehydrated. Poor guy.

I'm pretty under the weather tonight myself...got sent home from work with a 101 fever and bad cough, so I'll let him be tonight. I don't think either of us is really up to setting and taping that wing, but I'll see if I can get him to hold still long enough to tape him without too much trauma tomorrow morning. Let me know if the conure cage will work....it is big enough for him to move maybe an inch side-to-side, and probably barely big enough to get a small (parakeet-sized) bowl of water and some food in front of him...he would NOT be able to stand. I can drill a hole at the back that I could fill in later so he doesn't have to sit in poop, but he would be completely stuck...would that tight of a space harm his legs?

Also, you have to remember that he is NOT tame at all...he's terrified of people. I'm not sure I could get the food positioned so he could eat it, and don't know if he would eat from my hand...maybe try to set the door, which swings straight up and down from a screw, if that makes sense, half way so he can get his head out but not his body, and set the food directly in front so he can reach it...would that be safe?

Thanks,

Michelle


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, I'd far rather he could stand and so would he. I'd be more inclined to let him stay in the cat carrier.

Is the vet wrap the same stuff as the disposable Ace bandage stuff with the slightly sticky side? You could use that but you'll have some fun getting it positioned right. If he's really good at standing still for extended periods, and the wing looks somewhat in the right position, it might be okay to let it go for now. Taping it to the tail will help a lot, though.

Pidgey


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I had a pigeon that was shot through the wing, fracturing it in two places, the pellet then went right through the body piercing the crop.

The pigeon made a full recovery and can fly now, I don't know yet whether she will be releasable, but I know that even completely disabled pigeons are happy in an aviary as long as they have another pigeon , preferably one of the opposite sex, to interact with.

Pigeons like company much more than they like freedom. A youngster that I had kept in my release aviary and then set free with another pigeon came back two days later and saw my unreleasables in a separate aviary. She was so anxious to join them that as darkness fell she settled to roost by clinging to the aviary wire, so that she could be as close to her fellow pigeons as possible. Needless to say, she was given a permanent home and has never shown any inclination to leave.

Cynthia


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## tandarat (Aug 20, 2006)

*Update*

First, thanks for your quick replies. This poor guy is still terrfied of people, but that's understandable, and I'm pretty much leaving him alone except for food and water to minimize stress, at least for now. I got out the conure cage, and it actually IS about the size of a woman's shoebox. I put him in it to see how he fits, and he can stand, though not completely upright, and can turn around if he really REALLY wants to, but needed help when I put him in to turn around (he would not go in backwards...no way, no how). I put "bird litter" (tiny round balls of recycled paper) at the bottom to help with cleaning, then some loose alfalfa hay over it to simulate a nest, hoping he'll feel a bit more comfortable in the confined space. As I mentioned, because of his size and coloring that he is either one of the youngsters that hatched this past March/April, or close to their age (both babies were a very dark blue grey...almost black...when they got their regular feathers in - darker than both parents). I'm also "borrowing" one of our conure's mirrors (he's got enough, the spoiled brat) to help keep this guy company. One good thing is that several pigeons are remaining on the roof and on a ledge of our house just outside the window of the room he is in, so he can hear them cooing all day and most of the evening.

The move to his new "digs" was rough...he moved his injured wing and "trampled" it with his feet and twisted it a little while struggling, so I'm leaving him for a bit to calm down and get some rest. I'm stuck home sick today, and the carrier has a convenient handle, so I'll keep him close to me all day to try to get him a bit more used to me. Any suggestions on how to get him to stay a bit more calm while I'm handling him? I'm sure at this point he associates me more with pain than with food, water, and care, so I don't see taming him in the near future, but I'd like to be able to handle him and work on his wing without the threat of more damage each time I touch him.

I'll try to get a picture of the carrier he is in, to see if it is tall enough for him, and enough room so he can stay comfortable while keeping him immobile enough to allow him to heal.

I am in Mira Loma, which is in Riverside co., CA, for those who asked. If anyone here is local, and would be interested in taking this guy in, I"d be happy to let him go....and it would make husband, who is NOT an animal person and definitely not a bird person, very happy. He still doesn't understand why in the world I would take in an injured bird when we were desperately trying to get rid of the pigeons....his attitude is to just let nature take its course and let the bird get killed by a preditor or starve to death. Grrrrrr.

Michelle

PS...in terms of the flock of feral pigeons having a place to stay and food...yes to both, and not much we can do. Our house is kind of a "modern spanish colonial" style combined with your typical California ranch, so it has several places under the eaves and protruding from the walls that make a perfect place to roost and build nests. Some we tried to wire off, but the chickadees...who used to nest there until the pigeons came and killed all the young and destroyed the eggs....were getting stuck inside the areas blocked off...they could get in, but for some reason couldn't get out. It got to be too much of a hassle. On top of that, the birds just started roosting on the roof, which was even worse. Plastic owls didn't work, "spike strips" didn't work (again....up to the roof), etc. We destroy all new eggs that are laid, as well as their nests, but they don't get the hint. Grrr. On top of that, the guy who is shooting them has an aviary in his yard, and keeps the bird seed and food back there...I'm sure the pigeons are having a field day over there.


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