# blind pigeon?



## Echo (Jun 21, 2008)

Hello--
2 nights ago I was biking home and noticed a bird huddled in the corner of a doorway. I live in a rural town and we have a few pigeons, but they're not the type to walk along the sidewalks like in a city, so I stopped to take a look. The pigeon allowed me to approach it without a fuss, and I figured maybe it was a baby and had fallen from the roof and was stunned or had a broken wing or something. I didn't want to leave it where it was, because it was on the main road, so I tried and was able to coax it on to my sleeve and then on to the handlebars of my bike, and drove it home. 
I put some pine shavings and hamster food (mostly seeds anyways, and all I had!) in the bottom of a sideways box, figuring if it was sick, I could at least make it comfortable before it died. 
Well, that was Thursday evening and now it's Saturday afternoon, and she (NO idea if it's a boy or girl...) is still living on my porch. I took it down to the garden yesterday to see if it would eat some bugs or something, but it wouldn't. However, while there I set it on one of those tomato plant stabilizer things, hoping she'd maybe fly off. Well. She did. Up in to the branches of a tree where she crashed around until coming to a landing on a branch. So, she's either a really bad flyer, or she's, as I suspect, blind. 
I had to go to work, but she was still on the same branch, sleeping, when I got home. I clucked at her and she poked her head up and looked around, but stayed up there. A few hours later I looked out the window and noticed a neighbor cat sitting under the tree and feared the pigeon had fallen and was getting killed. I went down and shoed the cat away. I'm not sure how-- if it was accident or on purpose, but the pigeon had gotten out of the tree and was on top of the fence. 
I took her back to my porch and did my best to barricade it from the cats. I saw her drink out of the pan of water I gave her, and she pecks at the seeds (but doesn't eat the bread pieces I put down) and still seems alert and active and not sick or anything, that i can tell.
But now what?! There are 3 outside cats that live right next door and I have two inside cats, so I can't bring the pigeon inside. And I'm not sure if it's old enough to live on birdseed, or if it still needs whatever mom-birds provide. We don't have an animal shelter anymore in the area, and I just don't want to leave her in the yard to fend for herself. 
I don't *know* if she's sick or just blind...or how/why she became blind. (Although they were recently cleaning a monument in the nearby park and I wonder if whatever they used was toxic/harmful to the bird's eyes...) She let's me stroke her without fussing, and she doesn't try to bite or anything. But I have no idea what "normal" pigeon behaviour is, so. 
If I take her to the vet, they'll probably euthenize her. Would that be the most humane option? 
Suggestions???


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## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

First of all thanks for helping this little one out. 

Since you're not sure exactly what (if anything) is wrong with this bird, it's definitely premature talking about putting her down. Where are you located (large city nearby) so we can figure out if some PT member is close by, to help you?

The bird has to be kept safe from predators such as cats. Can you stick it in a cage for the time being on your porch, to keep it safe? 

Seeds and water are fine for now, they don't eat bugs. If it is a youngster and needs to be fed, there are instructions here on PT as to what to feed and how to do it, but if it is picking at seeds and it can fly odds are 99+% that it is old enough to self feed. So just give it some wild bird seed and fresh water, and please do something like putting it in a cage or small kennel till we can figure out exactly what its problem is.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Can you post a picture?
TheSnipes gave you good advise. Please bring the pigeon in so we can help you access it and it will be safe.


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## Echo (Jun 21, 2008)

*closest cities- Pittsburgh/Erie*

Ok, I have some cat carriers I can put her in- My original thought was that I just didn't want to stress her out or "trap" her if she was dying. But she's much perkier today, so I do think she's healthy for now. I'll keep her caged til we figure something else out. 

Closest cities are Pittsburgh and Erie, PA. 

I'll post some pics later this evening.

Thanks for the quick response


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

We'll try to find some members in your area that can help.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Please have a look here: http://www.pigeon-life.net/prd.htm and see if any of the PA people listed are close enough to you to take the bird to. If none are, please call them anyway. They may be able to refer you to someone in your area.

Thanks for helping the bird!

Terry


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## Echo (Jun 21, 2008)

Unfortunately, none of the rehab places/people on the list seem close to me, tho I'll contact those nearest.
Pigeon is much more active and alert today, pecking around and flapping her wings to figure out where objects are I'm guessing. Her wings seem strong!
I've fixed up a big box for her to stay in, and I let her walk about on the porch when I'm out there. Stupid neighborhood cats are practically living at the bottom of my stairs now! But they can't get to her when she's in the box.
I'm going to try to attach some pics. Let me know if you want/need additional ones.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

What about this person? Does anyone know who they are exactly? 

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/member.php?u=3667


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## SerendipityCA (May 2, 2008)

I don't know anything about pigeons really but she looks quite healthy. What a pretty bird!


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## lizz (May 3, 2008)

goodness, what a cutie! i think she looks young, grey eyes, not orange. 

i'm in cleveland, now, but i'm originally from beaver falls! how's she doing today? any bugs, or blood or gross stuff on her?

my assistant comes in today at 4 - i could feasibly drive out that way - what do you think?


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Looks young and has been quite healthy, but looks can be deceiving. I suspect it's something like Coccidiosis, which sometimes can keep them from flying well or at all. She probably needs some medicines and TLC.

Pidgey


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## lizz (May 3, 2008)

i just read that the treatment for coccidiosis is clindamycin.....which i still have left from trooper. should she be treated with it, you think? or is this something that you think is a definite for a vet visit? [helloooo dollar store chow mein......sigh.]


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Oh, we usually use something else for Coccidiosis, like Sulmet (a Sulfa), Divet (another Sulfa), Appertex (Clazuril) or Corid (Amprolium). Have any of those?

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I've got an orphaned youngster right now that, apparently, hasn't had much visual experience with the world at large. As such, he acts like he just doesn't recognize things, so I'm going to have to teach him what things are. It's not a visual problem--it's an education problem. At least this guy is pecking at seeds and drinking water. Sometimes, they have to get so low before they start figuring it out. As such, there might not be anything wrong that a few days of good food and water might not fix. It'd be good to see a picture of some poop.

Pidgey


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## lizz (May 3, 2008)

*funny isn't it?*

how everything comes right back down to the basics - poo. 

all i have on hand is baytril and clindamycin. i could probably get anything else from my vet pal. i wonder if i could just take a fecal sample into my avian vet, and just ask them to check. or if they would be jerks enough to not only NOT see pigeons, but not see pigeon POO.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Vets can and often do perform fecals without seeing the patient. The charge is usually less than a real office visit. You just have to call them and ask. A float might be better to get than a smear, by the way.

Pidgey


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Echo....when you bring your hand up over her head and towards her, does she acknowledge it in any way ? Or does she stretch her head out and ever cock it in one direction...? Both would be signs that she has some vision....

Also, stating the obvious....even in a pet carrier...she is still susceptible to a cat scracthing her. A cat might try hard to get a piece of her, even if the hole openings are too small to get her paw thru. A bird need only be slightly scratched by a cat in order for it to be lethal....due to bacteria in a cat's claws.

So....even though she may be boxed, do not leave her out in the box unattended.

She does look pretty healthy...she IS eating on her own, she CAN eat seed and drink water, and you say she seems perky and alert. These are all BIG positives.

I agree she appears to be a juvenile. So, on one hand, she might just have had some bad luck, a rough start, and become exhausted...lost her flock and not quite capable of foraging on her own yet.

Feel her lower chest area....is her keelbone (chest bone) or ribs protruding at all, or does her breast feel like there's some decent mass/flesh/muscle there ? We want her to be maintaining weight if she is exhausted.

then, as others suggested, she could be fighting something...in which case some meds would help out. If you could find someone to do a fecal, that would cover a few possibilities....

Keep us posted. And thanks for your kindheartedness in helping the little birdie....


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

That's what's so funny about my little orphan--he didn't react to the hand for a long time. I started thinking that he was blind and did some other tests like shining a flashlight directly into the eyes to see the pupils constrict down. He's finally doing some things to demonstrate that he's a sighted bird but he really had more worried there for awhile.

Pidgey


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## Echo (Jun 21, 2008)

aaack, Sorry I missed all of these posts until now- I was at work all day.
I will try to get a picture of the poo. Dry or wet? lol....what an odd question to ask.
She is more and more active every day. I just had her out in the garden again and she stood pretty still for about 10 minutes, but then she started wandering around, poking her head about....flinching cuz she kept getting grass poked in her eyes. She spreads her wings and flaps, but not enough to lift her off of the ground, tho I picked her up totake her back on the porch and for the first time she struggled enough that I let her go for fear of getting hurt/hurting her. She fluttered herself to the ground with no problem, but I guess that was (in the words of Woody the Cowboy...) more like falling with style than actually flying  
I of course have no experience with these things- I'm more of a reptile person than a bird person- but it *seems* to be more of a blind thing than a perception thing, cuz of the way I can put my hands or whatever up close to her eyes and she doesn't flinch. But I'd be glad if it *was* just something that could be fixed with some meds. I may not be a bird person, but she's a sweet little thing and is definitely grown on me!!!!


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