# Bird found, Injured, unable to lift it's head



## mtrudel34 (Jan 11, 2019)

Hey there, not sure if I am posting in the right section or not but I need some help. This morning I woke and went to take the dog outside and about two feet from our door there was a pigeon sitting on the ground. At first my dog tried to play with it but I quickly called our dog off but it is possible that our dog hit it and it received a concussion. It got fairly cold outside last night (-15C) so I decided to bring it inside and put it in a cage to warm up and hopefully get better.

After about an hour of it being in the cage I noticed that it keeps flapping it's wings trying to right itself but it is having difficulty. I was concerned that it might break its wings in the cage so I decided to move it to a smaller enclosure (shoebox) where it seems to be calmer.

I checked online for rescue services in my area and all I could find was the city wildlife rescue but it mentioned that they wouldn't give it any treatment for 24 hours and only after it having survived that time it would then hand it off to a vet.

I'm hoping that someone here can help me diagnose what is going on with the pigeon so we can get it the care it needs. SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

- Bird is unable to keep balance or walk on its legs at all, I have inspected the legs and there doesn't appear to be any breaks or malformations in them.
- When sitting on it's own, the head of the pigeon rests on the floor by it's feet and it relatively unable to lift it's head up, if I put my finger under it's neck and gently bring it up it will hold it for a couple seconds and then revert back down.
- Pigeon keeps opening and closing it's beak constantly.
- When I first brought it in, it drank some water but then I noticed a few minutes later (when it began putting it's head down) that there was a liquid coming out of it's mouth but I'm not sure if it was mucus or water or what.
-pigeon will open it's eyes fully and seem alert but other than that it is unable to do much for itself.


I am thinking it either received a concussion from my dog or has some sort of illness and I could really use some help diagnosing, I can post pictures or provide any additional information if needed.. please help!


----------



## Elina-dance12 (Jan 10, 2019)

You need to take it to a vet, sounds like it might’ve suffered an attack or be having fits


----------



## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Where do you live so we might be able to suggest a rescue? Thank you for helping him. Can you post a photo? Is he esting and drinking?


----------



## mtrudel34 (Jan 11, 2019)

Hey there, thanks for the response. We are in Hamilton, Ontario. He is still alive and it seems like he is slowly getting better. While he hasn't been eating anything, we have been taking him out of the box and he's been drinking about every hour or two. I added some sugar and salt into the water to help give him some energy anyways. He is still acting "drunk" more or less. It's almost midnight here now, I'm not sure if we'll find any rescues but there is an aviary down the street that I was planning to take him to tomorrow if he makes it through the night.


----------



## mtrudel34 (Jan 11, 2019)

Here's a photo


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Plse don't take him to the aviary, a sick bird should not be put in with healthy birds. All diseases are very contagious. 

He seems weak from lack of food. What does his droppings look like? If green and creamy and very little, then he is starving. Opening and closing the beak can be a sign of canker. You can check down his throat with a flashlight for yellowish growths. Another symptom is drinking plenty of water.

Canker can easily be cured with metronidazole. 50 mg once a day for about 10 days, sometimes longer. Try to get Meditrich made by Medpet and just split the 100 mg tablet in 2.


----------



## mtrudel34 (Jan 11, 2019)

Well he seems to be doing better today! My original thought was that he had canker but I was unable to see any lumps/spots inside his mouth and down his throat. He's still not eating, I've offered him berries and unpopped popcorn so far though so he just might not be familiar with it, not sure if that's a thing.. I'll head over to the pet store today and get some real food and that medecine for him. He is know sleeping with his head up and while he's still a little wobbly is a lot more active than yesterday, hopefully this trend continues 🙂


----------



## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Lovely bird! Glad he seems to be doing better. He may just be very hungry. If you can get some pigeon mix and pigeon grit that wiuld be great. You may want to post to Palomacys facebook site as they have rescue members worldwide. Thank you for helping him!


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Canker does not always show up as yellowish growths in the mouth. Keep an eye on him. If he does not eat, you will have to force feed him. Frozen peas (defrosted in lukewarm water) works best. Start with 30 peas and when those digest, feed more. Try to aim for at least 40 peas 3 times daily.


----------



## mtrudel34 (Jan 11, 2019)

He's coming around, still a little dizzy but he's drinking and now he's trying to eat anyways, I gave him a bowl of unpopped popcorn, sunflower seeds and a little bit a bread. He's grabbing the food but it seems like he is picking the pieces up and tossing them away, they might just be too big for him. His scat is very liquidy today, might just be because he hasn't eaten but I see poop, urine but no white in his droppings. I'll give him a few more days and if he doesn't get better I'll bring him to the vet.


----------



## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Lucky bird to have found you! Thank you for helping him.


----------



## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

How is he doing now?


----------



## navamanas (Mar 17, 2016)

Good job on the rescue. Looks like it could be a long one, though. Popcorn seeds are much to big. They need a wide variety of small seeds and a bit of veggies. As far a veggies, they all have individual preferences...

Amazon has pigeon food, so if your local pet shop doesn't carry any, then you should be able to find it there.

If this rescue seems a bit much for you then contact palomancy. I donate to them because I believe in their efforts.

The pigeon that you see in my attachment was a very injured feral pigeon that took a lot of work. 26 months later she has become a demanding and spoiled brat. Pigeons are so very worth the time that you give them.


----------

