# Bay Shore NY - Pigeon / Broken Leg



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Can anyone assist by picking up and looking after a banded pigeon with a broken leg for a short time while we try and locate the owner of the bird? I am not sure how bad a break we are talking about, but I would feel more comfortable having the bird with someone who has at least a bit of experience with such things.

If you are able to help, please PM or e-mail me, and I will give you the contact information. This bird has been reported to 911 Pigeon Alert.

Thanks for any assistance.

Terry


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## phyll (Mar 15, 2004)

*Update*

This sweet pigeon's leg has been treated. He or she will be delivered to their new caretaker tonight.

Jesse, this is mommy, please don't read the next sentence.

I have never seen a more beautiful pigeon in person.
The combination of colors is really something; I wish I could post a picture. 

Phyll


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Phyll, you are a good person, coming to the aid of so many of our sweet birds.

 None of us will tell Jesse.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Phyll,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You and Bob are just the best! Whew! What a relief that the bird will be going to Laura. Can you tell if the bird is a Modena? It started out being described as a red bar racer, but somewhere along the line I got it in my head that it is a Modena .. either someone posted that or I imagined it .. the latter being a real possibility  

Terry


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## phyll (Mar 15, 2004)

Thanks, Maggie.

Terry, the pigeon is in Laura's capable hands, thank God. When we got there, his poor little foot was all swollen. I hope he makes out alright.

From the pictures I found online, he certainly looks like a Modena. Laura was not certain, but she will know soon. 

Terry, thank you for helping yet ANOTHER pigeon from New York. God bless you! 

Phyll


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you, Phyll and Bob for coming to this birds rescue.

Somehow, I knew you would.

Jesse has enough self-esteem and ego that your comment probably won't bother him. Give him a kiss from me.  

God Bless you for your care and please thank Laura for us too!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Sounds like this pigeon might really be a Modena. Am waiting to hear back on this. It also sounds like the bird needs a good bit more vet tending, so it is wonderful that Dr. Laura has the bird. Many thanks to her, Phyll, Bob, Al, and everyone who got involved with this.

Terry


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

Hi Everyone,

First a big thank you to Terry for orchestrating the transfer of this huge bird and to Phyll and Bob for delivering him to me. Ok so here's the scoop. He has a closed transverse oblique tarsometatarsus fracture with pretty good apposition of the bones. The swelling went down considerably overnight and he has deep pain in his toes which is great. I hope he doesn't have any flexor tendon damage, but only time will tell with that. He is spunky that's for sure! Very strong bird. He's extremely aggressive (bites very hard) but we will work on that. Is there hope?

So today I sedated him, took some blood, xrayed him, splinted his leg, and cleaned him up a bit and he recovered very well. He can stand briefly on his other leg and the newly splinted leg seems much more comfy for him. He'll be re-xrayed in 3 weeks to check the callous formation and assess his progress. I expect a full recovery in 6 - 8 weeks if all goes well and then if we can't locate the owner he will join my 2 girls.

Laura


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

He's a MODENA! What a beauty! Thank you, Laura, for taking in this bird and giving the vet care needed! I truly can't thank all you NYC folks for coming together and making this happen. I'm a very happy camper!

Terry

PS: Bird looks very pissed .. I think that is a good sign


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

p.s. He weighs 680g!!! That about 1.5 pounds! He's a mini chicken in disguise. When he tries to get away from my hold, I feel like I am wrangling a swan or a goose--he has really strong wings.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BIRD! Never seen one with that coloring!

SENDING THE BEST THOUGHTS AND HUGS FOR HIS FULL RECOVERY!

Prognosis looks and sounds GREAT!


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

He is gorgeous and sure looks p#$*&. 
Thank you all for the great rescue.

Reti


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Scrolling down and just seeing the top of his head first, I thought, "Holy cow, what a huge Modena!" He does look like a small chicken! I took the laptop out to Sophie to show her (she's my only Modena) and she wants to know if he's single??  What a gorgeous fellow.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

This is an example of how wonderful this forum is and the teamwork involved.

Dr. Laura, thank you so much. I hope you can't find his owner and can add him to your family. He's big, mad and elegant!


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Lady Tarheel said:


> This is an example of how wonderful this forum is and the teamwork involved.
> 
> Dr. Laura, thank you so much. I hope you can't find his owner and can add him to your family. He's big, mad and elegant!



*AND*, there is a lovely HEN (Sophie) waiting (in the wings, so to speak!)   

Who says, the internet "love connection" is only for humans???? 

(Oops, just re-read above post and see that there are OTHER hens...also waiting!!) What 'cha gonna name him, Dr. Laura???


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

I still don't know if this is a male or female. Since you have a hen at home, can you tell just from the outward characteristics of this one? Right now his name is Big Bird, but that's just a placeholder until I find out what his sex is. 

The biggest problem I am having now is, he is craving a bath but he cannot have one for at least 6 weeks. So he keeps ending up straddling the water bowl, and sometimes gets his good foot in there. Luckily he hasn't plunged the splinted foot yet, which would totally ruin the bandage and require a change, something that would be not be fun. Does anyone have any ideas to keep him from doing this? I was thinking of covering half of the bowl with plastic like a yogurt container top or something so he can only dip his head inside. 

He wasn't as pissed today. Standing a lot, attacking me but not as often. He seems to be getting used to the cats and rabbits too.

L


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Laura and all,

Rena says this is a "Mealy Gazzi Modena".

You can "spritz" Big Bird with water from a spray bottle and let him preen. It's OK to get him really wet with the spritz.

It's hard for me to tell with these really big pigeons what sex they might be .. somehow, I think this one is male but I have no real basis for thinking this  

Terry


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

EarthaPidge said:


> I still don't know if this is a male or female. Since you have a hen at home, can you tell just from the outward characteristics of this one? Right now his name is Big Bird, but that's just a placeholder until I find out what his sex is.
> 
> The biggest problem I am having now is, he is craving a bath but he cannot have one for at least 6 weeks. So he keeps ending up straddling the water bowl, and sometimes gets his good foot in there. Luckily he hasn't plunged the splinted foot yet, which would totally ruin the bandage and require a change, something that would be not be fun. Does anyone have any ideas to keep him from doing this? I was thinking of covering half of the bowl with plastic like a yogurt container top or something so he can only dip his head inside.
> 
> ...



Glad h/she's not as pissed today, that could be rough in a big bird  

I get the hooded ceramic bowls at the pet supply stores for birds who have
a problem pooping in food or water bowls and they work well. The whole circumference of the bowl is covered w/the hood and the bird has to go in horizontally from the side to drink or feed.

Here's a link to a good post on sexing pigeons:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=33490&postcount=5

And some additions/comments to the list:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=33493&postcount=8

Hope this helps,

fp


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

feralpigeon said:


> Here's a link to a good post on sexing pigeons:
> 
> http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=33490&postcount=5
> 
> ...


Great "blasts from the past", FP! Thank you!

Terry


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## phyll (Mar 15, 2004)

Glad to hear that Big Bird is doing well. 

I thanked Laura in person & by e-mail, but I want to thank her publicly for getting involved in this rescue.
Although the poor bird had been treated when we picked him up, he received the treatment NEEDED only after coming into Laura's care.

I thank everyone involved, with special thanks to the rescuer who first took him in.

Phyll


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

Hi Phyll,

Thanks for your kind words. It was my pleasure to help out. I just wanted to add, in defense of the first clinic, that at least they were willing to see a stray pigeon (tough to find on Long Island) and they did their best to immobilize the fracture and did everything free of charge. 

Also thanks for the tip about the hooded bowl, I will get one of those for him as soon as I can. He is pretty aggressive today --I had a tough time getting a down feather off of his beak that was stuck. He's a piece of work! haha. Not easy to clean his cage!

Laura


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

EarthaPidge said:


> Hi Phyll,
> 
> Thanks for your kind words. It was my pleasure to help out. I just wanted to add, in defense of the first clinic, that at least they were willing to see a stray pigeon (tough to find on Long Island) and they did their best to immobilize the fracture and did everything free of charge.
> 
> ...


Ahhh, the memories! He's got ATTITUDE...just like Mr. Squeaks! I can relate! Of course, he IS bigger than Squeaks. I LOVE THIS BIRD!

Please keep us updated! 

AND, HUGS and SCRITCHES....whenever!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Laura,

So how's this big guy (gal maybe) doing? 

Terry


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give you an update on our Modena. Big Bird is doing fine physically.....he is bearing some weight on his broken leg and his toes look great. He is eating well and no longer bathing in the water bowl. I will post a pic as soon as I have one. 

Mentally, now that is another story! He is so unbelievably aggressive, and he is a very strong bird, he is actually injuring me at this point. I don't disturb him very often, only to change his papers, heating disc and food/water and I have a very quiet apartment. This is way beyond any aggression I have ever seen before in a pigeon, and I'm now very nervous to put him in with my other birds. I have just one large loft, so it won't be possible to keep him separate if they can't get along. Not sure how that will all go, but I will give it a try in the Spring and we'll go from there. I have a feeling that the reason he was flying free is because he just doesn't play well. Maybe it will be different once he meets my girls. 

We are going to take another xray this coming week to assess the bone's healing and I'll let you know how it looks. 

Laura


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## phyll (Mar 15, 2004)

Thanks,Laura. I've been looking forward to an update on Big Bird.
Having only one pet pigeon, I'm certainly not an expert, but I do have a thought about Big Bird's behavior.
Even though he is aggressive towards people, maybe he would be fine in with other birds. 

Do any of you guys have pigeons who are aggressive toward you, but "play nice" with your other birds?

Phyll


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

phyll said:


> Do any of you guys have pigeons who are aggressive toward you, but "play nice" with your other birds?
> 
> Phyll


I have several who would love to kill me, but generally ignore the other birds and mind their own business.
It helps if they have a mate, then they are busy with their duties and leave everybody else alone.

Reti


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Reti said:


> I have several who would love to kill me, but generally ignore the other birds and mind their own business.
> It helps if they have a mate, then they are busy with their duties and leave everybody else alone.
> Reti


I have several too, and young ones. But there is nothing like giving them a mate to settle them, AND keep their minds focused on them. They spend most of their time protecting their cubby, with their mate, and sitting on dummy eggs, and have no time for bullying.


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

Thanks for the info everyone. I guess I will start searching for a rescue female mate for him, since my girls are very tightly bonded already. He won't go out until the spring anyway so I've got some time.

L


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

Well guess WHAT? Big Bird is a Big mama! She's a girl! DNA tests can't be wrong, so we all had a good laugh at work today. I'm going to rexray her on Thursday or Friday and rebandage her. She's walking pretty well on the leg now. No change in her love for me. Pics to follow soon. : )

L


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

EarthaPidge said:


> Well guess WHAT? Big Bird is a Big mama! She's a girl! DNA tests can't be wrong, so we all had a good laugh at work today. I'm going to rexray her on Thursday or Friday and rebandage her. She's walking pretty well on the leg now. No change in her love for me. Pics to follow soon. : )
> 
> L


Wow! What a surprise on the gender, huh? I'm glad the leg is healing well and will look forward to some new pictures soon!

Terry


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Well, since she's not old enough (I don't think) to be going through hen memopause, she may be in a bad mood until she completely heals as she may not be feeling completely "herself." Then again, she may just need a male mate!

Of course, she could also be the term used for female dogs, which stands for: "Beauty In Total Control of Herself!" ROFL

Anyway, I wish her the best!


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

Hi everyone, here is a pic that my friend took about a week ago before she was fully weight bearing on the leg (which she is doing well now). Please excuse the cheap seed on the floor, but since I feed mine pellets I didn't have anything great for her the first two weeks, just regular birdseed that I feed the wild birds. 

Xrays on Thursday showed very good callous formation around the fracture, but i felt that she still needed the splint for another week, so will re-xray next week and reassess. PMV bloodwork still pending.

I'll keep you posted!

Laura


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

what a handsome modena, good weight & size too. i love him a lot


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

What a handsome pidge. She might be aggressive because she had a family or mate waiting for her before the accident.

Anytime something even so trivial as a cloud passing over the sun happens, humans pull out their cell phones (called a "Handy" in Germany) to connect with myriads of others. 

She might think the pidges back home are tapping into her beer keg, or wine cellar, or the equivalent.

Larry


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Eatha, that's a gorgeous pij you have there. Think that Larry is onto something
that there may be a mate and if so the chances are higher than not that eggs
or babies were on the scene when Big Mama met her demise. Sometimes when
they don't feel too well, the smaller seeds are like 'comfort' food to them  .
I offer them both, this is what I've found.

fp


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give you an update. I re-xrayed her leg last Thursday and found a nice decent callous with enough healing to remove the splint (exactly 3 weeks with splint on her leg). So we took it off and the leg looked great. It's visibly "thicker" than the other leg but it will remodel over the next several weeks and should slim down. She's eating well and broke skin on me again last night while I was trying to dump more food into her bowl. She's got an attitude for SURE! Here's a pic of her in all her glory. BTW her new name is "Maude." Not sure why, but it just fits.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Maude is such a gorgeous pigeon, and her attitude certainly shows in her photos! I'm glad the leg has healed so well and hope that she will "gentle up" for you soon. Loved this latest photo!

Terry


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

That is one great picture and I love the name!  There was a TV comedy show about an opinionated lady with attitude named Maude, that is what came to my mind when I saw the name. LOL


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Maude is still as gorgeous as ever!! She sure has an attitude, doesn't she?!  

So glad that all went well!  

Did you have any luck finding the owner???


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

No luck finding the owner, so she will meet her two new girlfriends when the weather gets better and she's had 4-6 more weeks of cage rest.

And yes, Maude from the 70s show was definitely in my mind when the name came to us. Of course Maude from "Harold & Maude" is a wonderful character, also a tough cookie. This girl is now cooing to me, and does so after she attacks me so that is a good sign.

Thanks everyone!


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

LOL I remember both Maudes!

Maude is especially dear as she reminds me so much of my Mr. Squeaks. Talk about a pij with ATTITUDE! He sure uses his while ruling 3 cats and me! *sigh* I'll never have a calm loving pij. The rare times I'm able to "cuddle" (usually when he's in "mate" mode), I take full advantage!


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## phyll (Mar 15, 2004)

Thanks for the update, Laura.
Bob & I were happy to hear that Maude is doing well. It's nice to see a recent picture of her. She looks wonderful. 

During the short time she was with us, she did strike at her box a few times. I'm glad I didn't try to touch her.
Jesse (our pij) bites us, but he doesn't draw blood.
Sometimes, when Jess grabs Bob's skin & pulls it from side to side, he does leave a bruise.

Your pij may try to live-up to the name "Maude." Maybe you should name her "Angel." Just a thought.
Thank you for caring for her. May God bless you. 

Phyll


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

Thanks for all the fun comments. I did consider naming her something more docile so she could strive to live up to it, but all of those names seemed like I was poking fun at her assertiveness, so then I came back to the Maude of Harold & Maude, whose character I love, and decided maybe this bird just knows what she wants. A friend of mine had a rabbit named Angel once that died very young and she thought it was because the name was too "heavenly" and after that she always gave her animals more grounded names. Her next rabbit was named "Timber" (as in wood on the ground). So I was thinking hopefully someday I can add "Sweet" in front of "Maude." Right now her nickname is "Big Bad Maude."

SHe is taking her first deep bath right now and she is in heaven (maybe that is why she was pissed off--"give me my water lady!"). She is funny about it too, she rests her whole body in the water after flapping around and then holds her wings up really high and keeps them there for a long time! SHe's now drying off after 15 mins of fun. Her crooked tail cracks me up. Anyway, hopefully when Spring comes she can go out to her new home in the country. I'll send pics then of Maude in her new digs.

Laura


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

EarthaPidge said:


> Thanks for all the fun comments. I did consider naming her something more docile so she could strive to live up to it, but all of those names seemed like I was poking fun at her assertiveness, so then I came back to the Maude of Harold & Maude, whose character I love, and decided maybe this bird just knows what she wants. A friend of mine had a rabbit named Angel once that died very young and she thought it was because the name was too "heavenly" and after that she always gave her animals more grounded names. Her next rabbit was named "Timber" (as in wood on the ground). So I was thinking hopefully someday I can add "Sweet" in front of "Maude." Right now her nickname is "Big Bad Maude."
> 
> SHe is taking her first deep bath right now and she is in heaven (maybe that is why she was pissed off--"give me my water lady!"). She is funny about it too, she rests her whole body in the water after flapping around and then holds her wings up really high and keeps them there for a long time! SHe's now drying off after 15 mins of fun. Her crooked tail cracks me up. Anyway, hopefully *when Spring comes she can go out to her new home in the country. *I'll send pics then of Maude in her new digs.
> 
> Laura


What new home in the country?


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## EarthaPidge (Feb 5, 2004)

I split my time between NYC and the farm and am in the process of starting an animal sanctuary up at the farm. So that is where my pigdgies live. It's about 3 hrs north of the city.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Sounds wonderful and JUST the place for Ms. Maude!  

Wishing you all the best! Please keep us updated.  

Love and Hugs...

Shi


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