# Found an injured pigeon in NY



## RevenantDuskp (Apr 30, 2013)

First post here, so glad to find this place! lots of great info.

A couple of months ago I found an injured pigeon on the side of the street, missing a lot of chest feathers, injured wing, and crushed toes sitting in some filthy gutter water, he tried to run away very briefly but then he stopped and I was able to pick him up and bring him home, he didn't fight me much while I was holding him and the first couple of days he was pretty calm. 

I was able to nurse him back to health and I had originally planned on releasing him but then I learned he couldn't fly after he learned to open the cage doors, hopped on my bed, and then fell off after trying to fly to the table, and then hopping around flapping his wings to no avail.

As time went on and he started feeling better(he had a respiratory infection too that took a while to clear up) more of his personality started showing, one day I was changing his water and he started grunting and ran up to my hand and bit me, didn't hurt but it started me and I pulled my hand back and he actually hung from my hand and wouldn't let go. Sometimes he still chases my hand around and bites, usually while grunting or making a "coo cooo wah wah" sound loudly and puffing himself up.

Ive been trying to get him to warm up to me, I started trying to see if he'd come closer if I held out my hand real still with some food, got him to come once but he immediately bit me and ran away grunting. Next thing I've been doing is just letting him hang out on my bed while I'm there, I've had more success with this as the first time I took him out he wouldn't move at all and just hid in a corner of the bed by some clothes but now he's gotten pretty confident exploring and pecking at stuff, and will even hop on my chest or leg if I sit really still, or come closer and start pecking at me curiously, but if he thinks I'm gonna touch him he'll run away and stand on my pillow and make the "wah wah" sound if I come too close. I even got him to perch on my hand last time, I had him out for a couple of hours and I slowly moved my hand closer to him and just left it there without moving, eventually he got curious enough to hop on my hand and I was able to pick him up and put him on my shoulder and I walked around the house with him there completely calm, I got him to do this a couple of times until about the 3rd time when he just hopped on my hand and started biting me while doing the wah wah sound so I just let him be.

Any tips on how to care for him or get him to trust me would be much appreciated. Never delt with a pigeon before but I like this little guy and wanna learn more about pigeons.

Thanks for your time,
Chris


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## Woodnative (Jul 4, 2010)

They are great birds and full of personality. The "wah wah" sounds......is that the head lowered, wingtips trembling low sound or is that the full coo while he spins in circles etc.?? I think the former? 
This is the sound they use to call thier mates to the nestsite to join them. Now you are probably looked at as his mate by now, so that may be what he is doing. That being said they seem to sometimes look at your hands differently than the rest of you.........so a hand in his territory could be considered and intruder/enemy that should be attacked and driven off. 
Do you feed him once a day or have food all the time. Offering food/treats from your hand when he is hungry is a good way to get him to come closer. These guys are certainly individuals and some will be tamer than others.


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## RevenantDuskp (Apr 30, 2013)

It's a full coo sound while he either goes in circles or walks backwards.
I've heard him do a softer version when nobody is in the room. Maybe he had a mate already outside? I'm a male too so he probably wouldnt see me as a mate.

I have the food bowl in there all the time since he eats so much, good idea about the feeding, and itll probably solve the problem of him shoveling his food out of the bowl while looking for the seeds he likes better!


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## Woodnative (Jul 4, 2010)

The fact that you are male will not matter. Your not a pigeon either lOL. Under normal circumstances they will find a mate of the opposite gender but a single bird will often develop a "pair bond" with his/her owner. Thier desire to pair is strong. 
You may consider getting him a lady friend at some point........breed or color does not matter so you could get a femaler homer or "fancy" if you want. If two are one too many to care for though he should live a full and happy life as a single pet with adequate attention.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yes, he wants you to nest and lay eggs, you can give him a place to nest, like a box, give some hay and when you had enough bossing around, put some fake eggs in the nest and he will sit them in the afternoon.


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## RevenantDuskp (Apr 30, 2013)

He's hanging out on my pillow now like he usually does when I let him out. When I opened the cage door he kept grabbing my hand with his beak and pushing it out while grunting and doing that wah wah sound, I just left the door open and he came out eventually.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

that is what they call driving the hen to the nest.


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## RevenantDuskp (Apr 30, 2013)

Been reading about pigeon mating behavior and that seems to be the case. He's sitting on my shoulder now and every now and then he'll make that sound and bite my ear and push it. He's also been making very low noises that somewhat sound like a growling dog(I can only hear them cause he's so close to my ear)


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## kunju (Mar 14, 2012)

I don't know how much of this is linked with mating behavior, but my pigeon Rudy does this to some extent even today after 2 years of being with me.
The earlier period was more tough, she used to peck me so furiously I used to wonder whether she will EVER trust me in life( at that time I thought it was a he.)
Later on, maybe after a year, I changed my way of behaving with her. I stopped the respectful 'letting her be' and started picking her up and touching her more often. I would kiss her frequently, and when she pecked at me, obviously indignant at my change of character, I would fight her beak with my finger. This was my little experimentation, but the good news is it paid off! She became incredibly attached to me, enjoying my head massages and perching on my lap whenever I went to sit beside her.
But - she needs continued attention. If I get too busy and neglect her for a day or two, she lets me know she is upset by pecking at me ferociously. If I shower her with attention and songs (I 've made specially for her), she lowers her guard.
I think time will bring both of you closer to each other. You've got to EARN his trust!


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

Aww Chris! Welcome to the world of cuddly pigeons! 

Their love is amazing. I think your little dude is now attached to you. First of all, thank you for saving him. And another thank you for keeping him. You're an awesome person.

Now time to read up on all those threads in the archive (click on search, type a topic and it'll pop out). Pigeon biz is the most resourceful place you can find on everything pigeon, and with equally awesome people too 

Since you are keeping your little guy (what's his name?), you can make the bond even stronger by spending lots of time with him. Talk to him, if he allows you to pet him, try doing it slowly, play little games with him, hide and seek (you hide, he seeks), also don't forget the treats! Peanuts are always the best way to tame them.

If you haven't already, check out Rev & Rich's youtube page about their male pigeon Elmo - http://www.youtube.com/user/PigeonsAsPets?feature=watch or their blog http://www.pigeonsaspets.co.uk/elmo-bio/

That's a place to start learning about pet pigeons. 

All the best!!! Do update us with pics! We love a good pigeon story anytime!


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice job Chris. Also, for future reference, www.nycprc.org is a good resource to know about. But it sounds like you did fantastically, and your pal is very lucky to have found, and been found, by you.


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## RevenantDuskp (Apr 30, 2013)

Thanks for all the replys guys. His name is Walter. Lately he's been asking to come out of the cage actually, he's been getting friendlier. Funny enough he seems not to like peanuts, I've given them to him whole, broken in small pieces, etc and he always either ignores them or picks them up and tosses them away.. I used my iPod touch to access the Internet so can't upload pics at the moment, need to see about fixing my laptop.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

He doesn't even know that peanuts are to eat. I mix some in their feed til they eventually try them and find out how good they are.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

Oh... once they've tasted peanuts... there is no turning back! LOL!

Good luck!

PS: We await the pics!


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