# Pigeon bath



## auroraborealis (May 30, 2006)

Hello to all!

We found an injured feral pigeon a week ago Sunday. We think that he was struck by a car and fell of the bridge. But Rocky survived and no broken bones! We treated his damaged wing and he is on the road to recovery. He's eating well and drinking also...but he needs a bath to wash away the dried up blood.

I left him a "bath" with warm water but he didn't use it. I read that pigeons have to bathe twice a week.

How do I get Rocky in the bath?

I also need some info on how much water to put in, what to put it in and if I should add something to it.

Thank you!
Rocky is still recovering in a quiet, warm, dark place.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Others will be along about "additives" to the bath water.

I just fill a kitty litter box at least half full of water and put Mr. Squeaks in. However, he doesn't always WANT a bath and keeps hopping out. I would give up. Then, I watched him...when he kept going to the cat's water dishes, I knew it was bath time. 

One thing he always likes is a shower. I just put him in the tub and direct the shower spray on him. He loves it! 

Then, I use a hair dryer on him (NOT too close!). He loves that too.


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## Coolpigeon (Feb 2, 2006)

Dawn dishwashing liquid is the soap most used for bathing animals including birds. Just make sure you do not get any in his eyes. Nice lukewarm to cool water is best, and fill up the bowl or sink just below his tummy, above his legs. Get under the wings good. A clean water rinse would be nice as well, since most pigeons do poop in their bath water anyway.


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## Coolpigeon (Feb 2, 2006)

Oh I forgot to tell you, my grandpa buys pigeon bath salts to give our pigeons a weekly bath, but we give them a shower outside in their cage everyday too.


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

auroraborealis said:


> Hello to all!
> 
> We found an injured feral pigeon a week ago Sunday. We think that he was struck by a car and fell of the bridge. But Rocky survived and no broken bones! We treated his damaged wing and he is on the road to recovery. He's eating well and drinking also...but he needs a bath to wash away the dried up blood.
> 
> ...


Hi auroraborealis,

Welcome to Pigeon Talk and thanks for rescuing Rocky from his accident and providing him w/a nurturing environment while he heals. Is it possible for you to post a picture of Rocky, especially the wing and the wound you are referring to? If not, if you could describe the location of the wound and it's appearance, this would help folks out to provide you with further information.

Is he on a seed diet, and if so, is this a pigeon mix, or perhaps a wild bird mix that has doves listed on the bag? 

They do like baths, could be that he simply isn't feeling up to par and not
availing himself of the opportunity. A rubbermaid dish pan type of container would do fine, perhaps an inch or so of water, they like to splash around a bit. For now, though, because of the wound, you could just try taking a damp/moist cloth to the bloodied feathers and wipe the dried blood off until he feels more up to bathing. Because of the wound/open skin, I wouldn't add anything to the water so as not to irritate it. Once you have the blood off the feathers, a solution of one part hydrogen peroxide to 9 parts water can be used to gently clean the wound itself with. BTW, whereabouts, generally speaking are you located?

Thanks again for helping Rocky out.

fp

PS- If the bird is to be released, you might want to forgo a diluted solution of Dawn as it will require holding on to the bird longer for the feathers to become water resistant again.


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## auroraborealis (May 30, 2006)

*Rocky*

Hello to all and thank you for your replies!

Rocky's wing was scraped and so was a small part of his body on the same side. He was bleeding lightly. He lost two main feathers.

We disinfected the wounds for a week (last day was Saturday) and applied an antibiotic cream. The bleeding stopped and the wounds have dried up.

He eats wild bird mix (mixed by the pet shop) plus split peas, corn, wheat and brown bread (I wanted to try a variety of seeds just to make sure he ate).

Our first rehab success story is our...feral cat. I just don't know how they will cohabitate but am trying to take it day by day not to become a worry wart!

Rocky always waits for us to disappear before he eats...but I hide and I can hear him pecking away and running around his cage. 

Thank you all for your replies!


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Alot of the members here have pigeon(s) and cat(s), many times the pijies will rule, but it does depend on the individual cat, I still keep a pretty close eye on mine for my own comfort as it's just their natural instinct. Sounds like the feathers pulled out at the base, so about 6 weeks for feathers to grow back in.
You might want to hang on to him until the flights grow back in.  Are there other ferals hanging out in that area where you found him?

fp


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## auroraborealis (May 30, 2006)

*Rocky*

Hello again!

Thank you for your concern! We will be holding on to Rocky until he is fully recovered.

I am not too sure if there are other feral pigeons where we found him...could be they live under the bridge. 

Pigeons are considered a nuisance here and I think that his chances of survival were very dim had we not found him.


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Yup, unfortunately, they are considered that way in many areas, and no doubt that you saved him from being a predator's meal in his weakened state. They do tend to roost under bridges and overpasses, so there may actually be others in the area where you retrieved him if you plan on releasing him, you could check that out beforehand. They do best in flock situations protection wise from predators, so it's always best to release back into a flock. There are certain releasability criteria for rescues, here's a link from our resource section:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=11919

and the link to our resource section itself:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25

Thanks again for helping Rocky out  !

fp


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for all your loving and supportive care of Rocky.

He is lucky to have found you.

Please feel free to ask any more questions you have not found answers for.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Greetings to you auroraborealis and welcome to PigeonTalk. 

I see you have already "met" my grandson! It is so nice of the two of you to come to the aid of Rocky. You are good people. If you have any more concerns, we are here for you!


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

auroraborealis said:


> Our first rehab success story is our...feral cat. I just don't know how they will cohabitate but am trying to take it day by day not to become a worry wart!
> 
> Rocky always waits for us to disappear before he eats...but I hide and I can hear him pecking away and running around his cage.


Our cat "L'il Kitty" well, maybe not so little anymore, was taken in by us 9 years ago as an abandoned stray and our Squirrel "Zipper" an unreleasable rescue has been with us just over a year now, five pet pigeons
"Beaksley","Chiwa","Rosco","Barbie BlueBar",and "Paris". In addition we have three bogs, one a recent mothers day gift to my wife, a Papion mix named "Chewie" .Our other dog, an older long haired daucshand named "Sabastian" and of course our SENIOR dog of 17 years,"Huggie". 

The other animals are used to the as being part of the household, and pretty much ignor the pigeons, but I always keep an eye on their activity, which doesn't hurt...especially our cat.

Rocky is just doing what he instinctively does,keeping an eye on his surroundings. Some of mine still keep a close eye on me, but after time, they get more used to you and realize that you mean no harm.


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## stephie (May 17, 2006)

Aw poor Rocky, he must have been so scared before you found him! Thank goodness someone as nice as you got to him before a hawk or cat or another car did!

Sorry to get off topic, I'm most interested in your feral cat though... I have a feral cat named Rotten Ralph that has been living in my laundry room for over a year now and he STILL hates me! Did your feral kitty ever warm up to you? Ralphy is litter trained and will play if I, like, dangle a string on a stick from a good distance, but he won't let anybody come too close or pet him. Just wondering if you'd had luck bonding with yours, and if so, any tips?


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## alvin (May 10, 2006)

Hi auroraborealis.

Thanks for the care you've shown Rocky.
About the bath thing........Pigjies do love bathing. But only when they feel like it.
Like Mr. Squeeks said A kitty litter tray is the best way to go. You can't over fill it, and it's the perfect size for your average birdie, both in length, and in depth.
I would advise against putting anything in the water for two reasons.
Firstly, if you want to realse the bird while it's still wild, putting something like washing up liquid (grease cutter) in the bath, will absolutely destroy the waterproofing of the feathers. It could take a while for that to be replaced.

Secondly, if the bird soes not want to bathe, the chances are that it will use that water to drink from first. Often a Pij will try a couple of pecks/sips of the water first to see if it's clean or deep enough to bathe in.....
Adding a soap and having the bird injest it, may not be so hot an idea.

So pure water, in a suitible container, and just leave it there. The Pij will find it, and if it needs to , it will take a bath.

(Oh, and watching them bathe is sooooooo much fun.)


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## auroraborealis (May 30, 2006)

*Catzilla*

Hello Stephie!

Sorry to say that our feral cat alias Catzilla is still quite feral after 3 years.

She was 2 days old when we found her and missed out on socialization that would have been given to her by her mom and siblings.

She always keeps an eye on us and is still very suspicious and scared.

At times she can be very affectionnate and at times she goes back to her old feral self again.

You must be very patient and do not pressure her or him in anyway.


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## auroraborealis (May 30, 2006)

*Rocky's bath*

Thank you all!

Rocky is now able to flap his wings again and I will try today to put in his bath. I don't think, Alvin, that I will see him bathe much...he just sits on the perch we made him and when we are around he has this stuffed bird straight out of a nature museum look. 

I tried to wash his wounds with a damp towel and he flapped his wings at me and even the feathers at the back of his head fluffed up. He really scared me!

So I'll leave the old boy a tub.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

I just caught this thread and wanted you to know that Rocky won't hurt you with a wing slap. That is only a defense mechanism that they use so keep cleaning his wound if you need to although it may be healed enough now to stop doing it.

It's wonderful that you are taking care of him.


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