# Pigeon found with no use of legs



## waynethomas1976 (May 7, 2012)

Hi guys,
I found a pigeon yesterday morning flapping franticly in the curb gutter. it was fairly early sunday and they tend to be around the town centre picking up scraps from the floor. I'm thinking maybe it was hit by a car or something. I thought initially it had damaged wing/wings but when releasing it, in an old dog pen in my garden, it's wings seamed to by working fine but its legs were dragging behind it so couldn't get off the ground. I've had a quick look online for simular problems and some cases have confirmed that the use has comeback after a few weeks. I've had him in the shed for a day now, given it water and seed(plenty of seed here as we love the wild birds, pigeons included visiting the garden) and it's eating, drinking and pooping fine. Any tips on what to bed it on, if there is a possibility of the leg use coming back, feeding, handling etc etc would be much appreciated.
Thanks


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## ETphonehome (Jan 3, 2012)

The first care messure is not to take the bird to any vet or rescue center, you will loose time and money, stress the bird, and risk euthanasia.

There are plenty of resources on the internet about paralysis in pigeons/birds legs and the apropriate treatment. Most of them recover if appropiate care is given.

Give him/her basic care, a quiet room or corner in the house where people do not walk every minute. keep him warm, fresh water and a good pigeon mix to start.

There are many reasons for paralysis in pigeons legs and or wings, Paramixo, salmonella, egg binding among many others, look carefully if the bird have injuries or other symptoms and post it here, make pictures and a video to let people see the actual state of the bird to get accurate advise. Give her inmediately an all in one suplement containing, calcium, vitamines D3,D, A, E, F

Maybe this pages help a start.

http://www.avianweb.com/sickbirdweaklegparalysis.html

http://browardcountypigeonclub.com/Pigeon-diseases.html


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## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Its leg use could come back, it depends on what caused it. Laying eggs in female birds can cause this. The sciatic nerve sometimes gets messed with and the bird can take 3 or more days to recover the use of its legs- with humans too! My sister got this.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

Could possibly be 'egg paralysis' as Bella suggests. I always put a heating pad (set on LOW, with a towel over it) in a corner of the cage that they can sit on. It seems to help it. If it is, it usually takes 3 to 5 days for the use of the legs to come back. Thank you for caring


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

waynethomas1976 said:


> Hi guys,
> I found a pigeon yesterday morning flapping franticly in the curb gutter. it was fairly early sunday and they tend to be around the town centre picking up scraps from the floor. I'm thinking maybe it was hit by a car or something. I thought initially it had damaged wing/wings but when releasing it, in an old dog pen in my garden, it's wings seamed to by working fine but its legs were dragging behind it so couldn't get off the ground. I've had a quick look online for simular problems and some cases have confirmed that the use has comeback after a few weeks. I've had him in the shed for a day now, given it water and seed(plenty of seed here as we love the wild birds, pigeons included visiting the garden) and it's eating, drinking and pooping fine. Any tips on what to bed it on, if there is a possibility of the leg use coming back, feeding, handling etc etc would be much appreciated.
> Thanks


Wayne, thaks for rescuing this bird.
When a bird feeds around a road or traffic they can be so absorbed in eating that they leave it to the last minute before taking off. 
90% of birds hit this way get a glancing hit when flying away from the car, 
so legs, back & wings are the common injuries. (Once the bird is downed however, it then at the mercy of other cars/predators)
From the circumstances you describe I really think it has been hit by a car, and although other things stated should not be ruled out, I would first treat as a collision.
Can you carefully feel the legs and see if there is any obvious break in either.
If not, then more than likely the lack of use is caused by damage to nerves caused by the collission.
This damage may well be temporary, and warmth & rest will speed up the recovery, although this may not be overnight & can sometimes take several days for complete use to come back.
If you can keep the bird in a smallish box (to limit movement as much as possible) Line the box with a towel for comfort, and use another towel rolled up to form a sort of donut the bird can sit in. This allows it to rest but also gives support to take pressure off the legs.
A heating pad (wrapped in a towel & set on low) is also a great help as it allows the bird to stay warm while its own resourses helps it heal.
Place the pad in such a way that the bird can move off it if it wants to.
Please take a look at my thread http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f20/pigeon-hotel-2012-a-59898.html in which my latest rescue recovered from the same symptoms.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi,

You've had some great advice so far so I hope it's going ok.

I have a Woodie ATM that has the same problem. Wings are fine but no control over it's legs. In this case I can see it's been attacked from behind so I'd assume this is the cause. Yours could be an accident or egg paralysis as has been said.
Time will tell if the legs will regain their use.
A calcium supplement would help in both cases.
You were asking about bedding.
I just wanted to say that as it won't be able to move away as it would normally do when it's pooped, you may need to give it a wash daily.
I'm having a major problem as Woodies aren't good patients and this one gets very stressed when I do this. Thankfully ferals are usually better at adapting to being handled so it should be a bit easier for you.
Just hold it gently over a bowl of warm water and splash the vent area to keep it clean. The dab it as dry as you can with a towel.
I'd keep it on paper towels as well on top of any towels in the box so you can quickly change them. All the same, make sure the vent area is kept clean while it's inactive like this as it will cause other problems if it gets blocked. 

Good luck and please keep us posted as to how things are going.

Janet


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