# a dove up the chimney



## Olorin (May 7, 2007)

i know this forum seems to be about pidgeons, but as far as i know pidgeons and doves are interchangeable terms.

now for the past 3-4 days my cats have been staring up the chimney, and we couldnt understand why, and last night my mom heard bird noises from there. today we managed to pull a young dove out, all would be fine but for a few things, one it was deadly tired, didnt resist, and the one time it tried to fly it went maybe 3 feet before dropping.

two after having put it in a cage to keep it form the cats i discovered my hands to be bloodied up, and so i inspected the dove and found the edges of her/his wings to have been rubbed raw (probably from trying to flap its way out of the chimney). 

right now it seems to have recuperated nicely from its tiredness it drank like it was 10 times as big (it was dunking almost its whole head underwater lol) however i dont want it to get eaten the moment i release it cause those wounds wont let it fly or something.

also we were wondering, i read on the "american dove offfcial website" that cooked rice they can eat, is this true? (we dont have any birdseed and were not planning to buy any if possible so i understood).

also here are 3 pictures, 2 of the wounds and one of the dove (and yes thats me holding it)





eep after reading the stickies i just found that it wasnt a good idea to make it drink, was this bad (it drank ALOT)...please advise, also we Live in Arizona, and right now it is hot, this bird was sitting int he chimney and was therefore prbly very dehydrated ..help!

-edit- it hasnt pooped yet so i cannot report on that, nor have we fed it (id like a response on what comon household goodies we could givit so we dont have to go out so late to get birdfood (i would but my parents wont lemme driver yet[even though i have my liscence] and they dont wanna go out now), but we only got it out 2 hours ish ago, it is a LOT more active now though now, and actively trying to get out of the cage sticking its beak into the bars. we havent got anythign better to put it in sadly. when i picked it up to take pictures of the wounds it was actively trying to escape instead of beign docile, however it may have been cause my cats were around then

-edit2- Also is leaving it out for the night a good idea? bringing it in will get it awefully stressed by my cats (indoor only), however our garden ofeten has feline visitors at random times too ><" either way it is in a cage...also it doesnt get cold here at night in this 'season' so that isnt a worry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Orlorin,




Do not leave her out overnight...bring her in, put her somewhere safe from Cats, drape the Cage with some cloth, leave a light on so she can find her Water or see in general.


Inside the Cage you need to put some padding on the inside top...however you can do this, it needs to be padded well, thick, soft...as the Dove starts feeling better, it can, or will launch itself straight "up" and like a Rocket, too...so pad the inside top.


For now, if you can get a new tube of Neosporin at the store or a 7-11...apply a squig to a Q-Tip, and put this on the rubbed-raw parts, gernerously, and repeat each day.


Of course get some Bird seed soon as possible...and fine small Seeds are best, Finch Seed or Canary Seed, most any Grocery Store will have these.


Plain Water is problematic, or not good for situations of serious re-hydraiton, but looks like it worked out alright.

Next time, in a glass of Water, mix in a good pinch of Salt, and a good pinch of Sugar...or, stirr in a teaspoon of Cider Vinegar...fill their little Water Bowl with this then...since the electrolytes IN the Water aid in allowing much more rapid rehydration. Initial electrolyte Water should be served tepid when possible for these kinds of situations.


Doves are very high strung, and they can really injure themselves or even beat themselves to death in Cages...always move slow around her, always keep your arms by your sides and keep them still, and do not look at her when she is in her Cage....keep your eyes somewhere else.

...outside would be much much worse in this regard than inside, as you have no controll over 'who' is out there ( Cats, Dogs, Racoons, Rats, noises, wind, rustleing paper in a breeze, whatever) and as for inside, just find some quiet secluded place, ideally around shoulder high so you can reach in when you need to...( any lower will stress her out worse), and, where no one will bother her...



Fine to leave a light on for her...but if you need to get her out of the cage, or change out Water or add Seeds, do it in as "low" a level of light as possible, as close to pitch dark as possible, so there is just enough light for you to see to do it, and no more than that,. and do it sveltly and fast before she flips out.



Line the Cage bottom with a white Towell...it is important for you to be able to see the poops, and also for her to be able to peck at Seeds soon as you get some...and, for her not to be standing on naked wire.



Good luck...!


She might be fine in a few days or a week or so, to be on her way...important for the boo-boos to be moist and free of germs, and the Neosporin is excellent for this.


Best wishes!

Phil
Las Vegas


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Phil, good advice.

Ron


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

Hi Olorin -- welcome to PT and thanks for taking care of the dove. Others and much more expert at this, will be on to advise you soon, but for now, you're doing well. 

As your visitor can't really fly yet and as it has been a few days without food, you should allow it a few days to rest and recooperate. Is there a safe place in your house where the cats can't get to it. Because it is injured, outdoors is not the safest place for this dove to spend the night. 
For food, if you have some raw popcorn, frozen corn or peas (just warm them up) or raw oats, or the cooked rice that should tide you through until you can get to the store for bird seed. Doves eat millet, milo, safflower, and sunflower among other seeds. 
Thanks for taking care of this little bird.


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## Olorin (May 7, 2007)

my parents are telling me, almost making me release her/him cause she is flapping so much, they say thats a sign she can fly and wants out :/.. if they end up making me (itll be tomorow afternoon prbly) what can i do to make her as safe/healthy as possible before i release him/her

@pdpbison

thanks for all the advice, i will try to do as much as possible before i am forced to release her, which will be everythign but the neosporin i think unless i am given more time


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Olorin .. where in Arizona are you? There are some very good wildlife rehab groups there that could help with this little dove. Bless you for helping the little one!

Terry


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## Olorin (May 7, 2007)

TAWhatley said:


> Hi Olorin .. where in Arizona are you? There are some very good wildlife rehab groups there that could help with this little dove. Bless you for helping the little one!
> 
> Terry


we live in Mesa AZ, however again, getting my parents to drive to one of those places would be incredibly hard unless it was close and it was 100% going to take it in


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Olorin said:


> we live in Mesa AZ, however again, getting my parents to drive to one of those places would be incredibly hard unless it was close and it was 100% going to take it in


Try East Valley Wildlife in Chandler: http://www.eastvalleywildlife.org/company_info.htm

Terry


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## artschoolgirl (May 4, 2007)

*I can probably help with transport if you find a group...*

Hey there-

I'm in Tempe and would be willing to help with transport if you can find a rehabber willing to take it. I'm home tomorrow morning until 11:45 AM and tomorrow evening after 5 PM. And, I'm available now as well...

I've had to bring 2 doves to rehabbers here in the past and know that's it's difficult to get a hold of anyone on a Sunday night. Do you have school in the morning, or will you be able to be home to make phone calls?

Here is a link to the one I know of locally. (I think this is the one I worked with...)

http://www.libertywildlife.org/

Jennifer






Olorin said:


> we live in Mesa AZ, however again, getting my parents to drive to one of those places would be incredibly hard unless it was close and it was 100% going to take it in


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Olorin said:


> my parents are telling me, almost making me release her/him cause she is flapping so much, they say thats a sign she can fly and wants out :/.. if they end up making me (itll be tomorow afternoon prbly) what can i do to make her as safe/healthy as possible before i release him/her
> 
> @pdpbison
> 
> thanks for all the advice, i will try to do as much as possible before i am forced to release her, which will be everythign but the neosporin i think unless i am given more time




Hi Olorin,



Oye, "parents"!


I am sure glad I do not have to put up with mine anymore! Bless their Hearts and all of course...

Lol...


Anyway, Hmmmm....


If the Dove can JUST be put in a Cardboard Box...with the open top of the Box up, and over THAT, drape some cloth...since that makes an easy extemoraneous "soft" top blind-Cage of sorts...

So, do that if you can...instead of the cage.


And have some soft Cloth or Towelling on the bottom. White Towelling is best, so you can see if any poops. Might not be any since she has not eaten in a few days.


Come morning, see if there are any hints of 'yellow' poops or yellow-ish colored stains or dried liquid. And check her little Butt for any yellowish stains there...these ouwld be in the urates, and not from poops proper, and since she has drank, there should be some urated come the morrow.

If there is any yellow, she is sick and really will need some meds and continued care for five days or so, to survive.

If no yellow hints, then she is likely fine if semi-starved for now...so, maybe, if all seems well enough then, tomorrow, just take outside remove the cloth over the top...and let her go...


Maybe this would be 'good enough'...




But do try that, try the Box with a cloth 'top'...who knows, maybe she will calm down...


These Doves are just that way...and it is a real problem then to care for them once they are feeling frisky again...


Anyway, thing is, three days of no chow can sometimes cause normally background bacteria to start getting out of hand....and sometimes this in itself can get an illness going.

And for Doves, in the Southwest here, this tends to be some form of Trichomona illness, or Canker, and it is easy to treat...but of course the Doves have no way of treating it for themselves...so, that's my only worry on an 'early' release...

...and of course the worry on a later release, is the harm she can do to herself being confined...so...




Phil
Las Vegas


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## Olorin (May 7, 2007)

well she settled down and is sleepin now (not dead as i woke her up by accident) i left some rice and salt/sugar water in the cage, and i padded the cage best as i could as well as draping in, my parents would only let me keep it in the garage so itll be away from both my cats and wildlife, and as i said it dont get cold at night here, so that should be ok. ill watch for yellow residues tomorow before i go to school, and again when i come back if there are none i guess i will do what my parents are asking.

However if there are any yellow residues of any kind ill inform my parents of the problem, if it doesnt get them moving, i may take you up on that offer jennifer, that is very kind of you!.


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## artschoolgirl (May 4, 2007)

Olorin said:


> However if there are any yellow residues of any kind ill inform my parents of the problem, if it doesnt get them moving, i may take you up on that offer jennifer, that is very kind of you!.



My email addy is [email protected] If you email me, I'll send you my phone number just in case you need it.

Good luck!

Jennifer


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## Olorin (May 7, 2007)

^ ^" so um...now we have two hurt doves...neither of which can fly more than 4 feet it seems, they both ate all the rice i gavem so i gavem some more.. both of em are cooped up in that teeny cage..they dont get agressive do they? is there a risk of attacking each other? they seem to be of the same species and the same age, we found the second one in the chimney where the first was, it's wings were ALOT less raw, but still raw :/...my mom seems keen on the wildlife rescue thinger just have to be able to reachem, ill be doing alot of searches tonight.

last night's dove, either i was too tired to notice last night or it happened during the night, it seems to be missing a patch of feathers on it's back ... what luck lemme tell ya

one had string around is foot from the padding (i had to go with old rags...sorry) i removed it it didnt seem worse off for it, and once it realised what i was doing it stopped struggling enough for me to remove it. its feet still seemed fine. however one of the two had a very very pale yellowish residue clump on its rear (it may have been a trick of the light as the droppings in the cage were green white and dry)

:/ why do birds have to be so stupid around our house, a few years back a wild Lovebird knocked on the door, we opened it and it invited itself in :/ we kept it for years afterwards (we got it a playmate, a huge cage and everythign) but had to givit away do to stress from the cats. and we find dove remains (ALOT of cats in our neighbhorhood) almost daily in our yards.

oh and im still giving them the sugar/salt water, and i removed the top of hte cage and covered it with a heavy cloth (so they cant get out or get hurt)


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Olorin,

Why don't you take Jennifer up on her offer of assistance in transporting the birds to one of the area wildlife centers? That would seem to make your life a lot easier and also assure that the birds are able to get any medicine and/or veterinary care they might need.

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Olorin,



Yahhhhh...


From your last description, I think there is some reason here to suspect possible infections and or illness in each of these.


This really should have the benifit of an experienced practioner to determine by examination, and for them to administer the appropriate medicaitons and treatments.


If you transport them, use a medium size Cardbaord Box, and put lots of soft cloth in it, not 'old rags' with god knows what residual solvents or what, but just some tee-shirts or other, so they can not flail too much, or if they do, there is softness in there to cushion them. Keep the Box and clohts after transfering them.


Anyway, if these two are going to make it, it seems to me, as Terry advises, they best be brought to someone of experience for their evaluation and treatment.


Maybe put some coarse metal screen over that Chimney opening..!


Lol...


Good luck!

Phil
Las Vegas


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## artschoolgirl (May 4, 2007)

*I can still help*

My email addy is in the post above - I am pretty much logged into my email all morning and all evening, so if you email me I can pass on my phonoe number pretty quickly. 

The rescue whose information was provided to you is an awesome bunch - they're a team of volunteers working out of their individual homes, and they really know their stuff.

I am available tonight, tomorrow morning, and tomorrow evening for transport. Just say the word.....

Jennifer


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## Olorin (May 7, 2007)

*sigh* i just got home from shopping and checked on them..... both are dead  just sitting there stiff (

i was gonna send you an email tonight Jennifer..but..yeah..no need now..i had found 3 different places willing to take them in (including the one you suggested, but i was looking for closer ones so i didnt have to bother you and i could ask da parents)..but they had to ****ing die before i coudl get them there (..my lil sis is gonna be the most heartbroken 

*tears hair out* argghhh..i cant express how frustrating it is to lose such a life like this though i am sure many of you have experienced the feeling, i happen to be an animal lover unlike my parents..my dad consider's them pests (he equaled them to roaches) and my mom could care less..and i really had wanted these two to live just to set them free and see them fly again .... i'll do better next time if possible

sorry for allt he trouble that ended up for nothing, and sorry for beign the bringer of bad news . Thanks again for all yall's help though at least i feel like i tried.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

What a terrible tragedy, Olorin. I'm very sorry for the loss of these little birds. At least now you know that there are rehab centers in your area as well as kind and caring people who are willing to help with transport and such. If there is a next time, please don't wait even the tiniest bit to seek help for the bird or animal that you have found. Though they are tough in many ways, they are also incredibly fragile as you have discovered the very, very hard way.

Thank you for trying.

Terry


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

*Thanks for trying to help these doves*

Olorin,
I'm sorry for you and your little sister  . We certainly appreciate your efforts to take care of them. It had to be hard on you to try and do this without support from your parents. When you think you can, suggest to your folks that they put a cap on the chimney to prevent animals coming in again. Better for all concerned. 
Please come back to this forum and visit when you can.


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## artschoolgirl (May 4, 2007)

*My condolences as well...*

Just read your post, and I'm sorry. That's too bad. 

Please do keep me email, and if you ever need help with any sort of animal rescue - picking up supplies, transporting animals, whatever, don't hesitate to ask. 

I know what it's like to be an animal lover at heart and have unsupportive parents - mine were as well. It was like that part of me had to shut off until I was an adult and couls do things without their help..... so I can really sympathize. My daughter is 8 and is amazing with animals - even more gifted than I was. I've made a huge effort to support her desire to help animals (which is largely why we're handraising a baby pigeon she found at the park right now); I won't repeat my parents' apathy.

You did the best you could, and more than most people would have. Don't be too hard on yourself. Now you know that we're all here and that there are resources (other than your family) to support your efforts. Don't hesitate to call on me, for one. 

Jennifer


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