# Found White Pigeon in Utah



## spophmonk21 (Mar 31, 2011)

Yesterday my cat brought home a white pigeon. I got the pigeon away and he(?) seemed fine, so I put him in a box with bird seed and water. He ate a ton and rested for a few hours. So last night I let him go and he flew across the street and landed on a neighbors roof. He stayed there for quite a while but eventually flew away. This afternoon, I looked out my window and there he was walking around in my garden. I brought him back in again because of the cats and he is just hanging out in the box again. 

I am afraid he is lost or confused, so I don't want to just release him again. He has a brown band on one of his legs that reads, IB 08 466. The 08 is written perpendicular to the other letters and numbers. I live in Orem, Utah and have seen pigeons flying around in large groups, but have no idea where he is from. Any help or advice would be appreciated! Thanks!


----------



## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Thanks for your concern for this little guy and welcome to Pigeon-Talk.

Under normal circumstances a healthy pigeon can most times evade being caught by a cat, on top of that, the fact that you were able to go out and just bring him in again, even for a bird use to humans, for a stranger to be able to do this is odd. I would suspect that this little guy is either sick, weak, or a good chance both. For cat caught birds, it pretty standard procedure to put the caught bird on a weeks' course of antibiotics. The reason being is, they can become ill and die just from a small scratch or a small skin puncture while being caught, that might not be noticeable because it is buried below their feathers. 

Predators, and this includes cats, dogs and raptors, carry a bacteria in their mouths and on their claws called Pasteurella Multocida, once infected with this bacteria, without treatment, a bird will die. The thing is, most times they will look just fine for a few days, like they were not injured at all, and then suddenly go down hill as the infection takes hold. Once real signs of infection are seen, such as lethargy, ataxia and sitting fluffed up, it will be too late to start treatment. Many antibiotics that are used for humans, and other pets, like cats and dogs, will work for treatment, so if you have some antibiotics around (or friends or family do) I can you with how mix up and give treatment (not all will work, but a good many will, so let us know what you have).

Also, if you could post up a photo of the little guy and a clear, close-up photo of his fresh droppings, this would be helpful.

Good luck with this guy,


Karyn


----------



## spophmonk21 (Mar 31, 2011)

Here is a pictures of the little guy and some of his poop... I'm not sure how it should look though. I don't have any antibiotics on hand but could get some from a vet if necessary. Thanks!


----------



## Revolution Lofts (Aug 7, 2008)

He looks a lot like a racing homer. I'm pretty sure he got lost on a training toss or possibily a race. Maybe if someone does white dove releases in your area, he/she might have gotten lost then.

The 08 means he/she was born in 2008. 

There will be other's here that will be able to tell you how to track down his band number and the owner. I'm not really a pro when it comes to bands  Don't release the bird!


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

If the club code was IPB instead of just IB, then the band might be able to be traced through Foy's Pigeon which sells the IPB bands. I don't think we ever had any luck tracing an IB band on 911 Pigeon Alert. Perhaps another member will know how to trace this band.

Terry


----------



## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Thanks for posting the photos, they are quite helpful. I will let others help you with the band, if this is a no go, we'll figure out a long term plan for him later with regards to where he will live, but for now, he should not be released, even when well again, as he is not equipped to fend for himself in the wild.

Let's deal with the most pressing issue at hand, his immediate health. His droppings look to be off, they are not well formed and have a quality to them that points for me to perhaps some kind of infection going on. If we are able to choose the antibiotic he should go on, then please see if you can get him some called Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (aka, Trimethoprim/Sulfa, Bactrim, Septra). This antibiotic will do two things, the first is protect and treat him from any possible infection from being cat caught and the second is it has a very broad range of activity and will treat for a good number of infections that could have weakened him and made him ill enough to have been caught. Also, it important that the treatment start within 48 hours of the attack to be most effective in dealing with with any possible Pasteurella M. issue.

Tell your vet the dose would be 50mg/kg BID, for 10 days.

Karyn


----------



## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Exactly...and as Dobato says, and it cannot be reiterated too often: you have to get those meds started w/i the next day. There's only a short window of time to start a cat-injured bird on meds.....

Cipro would be a second choice if you can't get the Trimeth....

Keep us posted. Thanks for helping the Pigeon. She/he's a beauty !


----------



## spophmonk21 (Mar 31, 2011)

Thanks everyone for your help! I was able to contact a pigeon owner near my home that was willing to take him and give him antibiotics. He said he was under weight and may have been lost for some time. I feel much better knowing the little guy is with someone that knows what they are doing. Anyways, thanks again!


----------



## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

spophmonk21 said:


> Thanks everyone for your help! I was able to contact a pigeon owner near my home that was willing to take him and give him antibiotics. He said he was under weight and may have been lost for some time. I feel much better knowing the little guy is with someone that knows what they are doing. Anyways, thanks again!


Thanks for taking this little guy in and helping him find his way home again. Let's hope he does not get lost again.

Karyn


----------

