# Baby Pigeon attacked..need help quickly



## Amber (Nov 17, 2002)

Never have I ever seen a pigeon in such bad help. I was at work and a fellow co-worker came up to me and said if I wanna mess with it I can if not he will just twist his neck. After what I say I almost considered the later. Apparently this 2-3 week old pigeon was attacked by an aggressive male, and his parents did nothing to protect him. I have never dealt with this sort of thing and I need help. His entire skull is exposed with a big hole in it, and the skin around it isnt even moist or infected. It is dried up, crusty, and he smells rotten. His eyes were even dry, so dry one eyelid wouldnt even close and bleeding from his mouth which is now dried up, he looked dead, but he wasnt. I put Nitrofurazone on his head to try and start moistioning it, but it soon soaked it up and doesnt look any more moist. I also gave him a very small amount of penicillin, And ointment for his eyes. I have been feeding him 1.5 to 3 cc's of cream of wheat every 2-4 hours. But quite frankly I dont have a clue. So my questions are..

1)What do I feed him and how often?

2)What can i put on his skull to start his skin regenerating and keep infection down and keep it moist? 

I am not exagerating when i say there is no meat or skin on the back of his head, he has been pecked almost to death. If you have any other helpful hints..please let me know. Thank You!
Amber


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## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello,

I had exactly the same problem, Kristy (another member here) had 2 babies growing up on her balcony about 13 days old and they got attacked by a male, one had a huge hole between her eyes with dry blood and that rotten smell plus some yellow stuff and the other's head was almost all peeled off and one side of the cere was pulled off too!








I Would continue with the cream....

Here are some feeding instructions..


For a baby 1-13 days I usually feed baby bird formula (From a pet shop) with a syringe or a eye dropper.
They are very tiny so you have to be very careful, open the mouth gently with your left hand then with an eye dropper suck up some soupy formula and feed the baby (be sure not to get anything in the hole behind the tongue, That is the windpipe and the baby could easily aspirate and die!) 

Feed until the baby's crop looks full but not too much or else it could come back up and he could aspirate. 

For pigeons you don't have to wake up at night to feed them, I usually just watch the pigeon and when his crop empties I give him another feeding. 

As they get older (about 13 days old) you can switch to either soaked seeds or soaked puppy chow.
I soak wild bird seed for about 4-5 hours then soak it in warm water, drain it and mix abit of baby bird formula with it, Now you can hand feed it to the baby by holding his mouth open with your left hand and scooping and putting it in his mouth with your right hand. He will swallow it. 

With the puppy chow you can soak some pieces in warm water, drain then cut them up and put piece by piece in his mouth and again he will swallow.
Feed until the crop feels squishy, with the seeds it will feel like a beeny baby but it shouldn't feel hard otherwise he is over fed and could aspirate.
At about 15-17 days you can introduce dry seeds, put them around the baby and peck with your finger at them, he should get the idea 

Hope that helps! 

Mary




[This message has been edited by maryco (edited April 30, 2003).]


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## cary fields (Apr 30, 2003)

Get that baby to a Veterinarian ASAP, a triple antibiotic is generally used for flesh wounds, and Kaytee's "Exact baby bird food" is great for feeding baby pigeons and doves. Ask the vet to help you locate a wildlife rehabilitator in your area. Good Luck!!


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Amber,

I will bring Fred's post that deals with scalping up for you.

It will need feeding 3 times a day, but I am not sure how much formula it would need at 2 weeks. It is 5 mls for a 4 day old chick and 40 for a 30 day old chick, so I would start on 10 and see how full his crop is then increase to 15.? Hopefully Helen can provide us with a quantities chart!

Cynthia


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

OK, this is what Fred said about scalping:

Scalping:
Pigeons fight with each other for a number of reasons. A bird could land on another's roosting place. An aggressive male could be protecting his mate and these birds mate for life. There could be competition over food. One male may just be in a bad mood. A male coming across a nest with two squabs, could attack and kill one or both unless one of the parents is protecting the nest and will fight back to protect the young. Older females can be as feisty and aggressive as the males.
The only weapon a pigeon has in a fight is its beak and it can be used very proficiently. A bird will many times grab onto the scalp of another, hold on tightly and shake it. Many times, the skin will be ripped right off of the bird being attacked. This is scalping and the aftermath is that the skull can be seen. If it is not kept clean, infection can develop and that is going to be the end of the bird.
Unless the scalp has not been entirely ripped from the body and could be reattached with sutures, the bare area could take months to heal. Anyone wanting to help a bird in this situation should expect to hold that pigeon for a long time. The only treatment is to keep the wound clean. There is a very good disinfectant on the market called Nolvasan. It is used to clean cages and coops and swabbing the wound with Nolvasan twice a day will serve to keep the area clean and infection free.
It does happen more than anyone realizes. A few months ago, I saw an adult male that had been scalped above the left eye and towards the top of the head. I didn't have any food with me so there was no way that I could grab the bird. On the weekend, I brought some food to the area and brought the flock down. The bird was there and the skin around the wound looked redder. An attempt to get the bird failed and a week later another try at it also failed. That time, the area was definitely infected. I didn't see the bird again after that. 
Expect many disappointments and try not to become like me, losing some sleep thinking that there is a bird out there that needs help.


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## katiedidittwo2 (Oct 17, 2002)

If the squab is 2 to 3 weeks old it will not be long before the squab will be eating on his own. Keep a cup of water and a bowl of seed in the box with him. You will need a small basting syringe and some KayTee exact formula or puppy chow soaked in water. I also use chick stater soaked in water for 5 min and syringe it down the throat. Open the beak and slide the syringe into and past the tracia and feed about 50cc. Feed in the morning & evening. Katie


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## fred2344 (Jan 9, 2002)

Amber,
It is so hard to tell you much without actually seeing the bird. Are you sure the blood was coming from the mouth? Could it have been residual blood from the head? Was the eye held open by crust? Usually, crust will cause an eye to stay closed. Just take a wet cotton ball and gently clean off crust from the entire area around the head and eyes. Aside from the eye being open, do you see any damage in the eye itself? Does the bird have an eyelid or was that damaged too?
If you keep the scalped area clean it should stay uninfected so it can stay dry. Any antibiotic ointment or cream you use would wind up in the eyes and that is not a good thing to happen. 
Nolvasan is an excellent product for the scalp but if you can't get it, clean the scalp with a bit of Ivory soap twice a day. Ivory soap from bars acts as a disinfectant. Just use a little with tepid water.
If you don't know how to syringe liquid food down, I would hand feed soaked Purina Puppy Chow for a few days because this bird cannot be feeling well enough to eat on its own, even if it knows how. If you do know how to syringe food down, use a baby bird formula. 


[This message has been edited by fred2344 (edited April 30, 2003).]


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## Amber (Nov 17, 2002)

Thank you guys for all your help. I woke up and fed the baby at 8am he was very fiesty and alert. When I woke up at 11am he had passed away. 
I am starting to feel paranoid, that I killed him. I was told that i shouldnt get it under his tongue and that, that was where his windpipe was! So I hope that I didnt choke him to death another post said it was behind his tongue. I was having to force feed him and he fought hard every time. So when i did get his mouth open I had to work quick. I waited after each time to make sure he was okay. Even after the last one. Do they make any certain noise where you know they might be choking. He made a clicking type hard swallowing sound everytime he ate, but I assumed it was normal. I had made him a nest bowl. When I found him dead he was hanging half out of it. I dont know if he tired himself trying to get out of it, or if he was choking and panicking. But I am feeling real bad.
To answer some other questions....he didnt have a cere but he had an eyelid on one side and that one was not crusty it was just like a hard skin over it, and made it to where he couldnt close his eye, but the ointment helped that and he could then open and close his eye until the ointment dried. The other eye was leaking a clear fluid from the eyeball. Whenever I approached the cage he acted as if he was blind, which I believe he was, but recognized me. 
I do not know how long he had been this way, the gentleman couldnt tell me, it looked as though it had been quite a while though. He also couldnt tell me when the last time he thought his parents had fed him either.
Thank Yall for answering my questions, i feel so bad for this little guy. I just felt like he deserved some sort of chance at life, for all the horror he had been through in his short existence. If you could answer my other questions in this reply it would be great. To help me if this ever happens again. 
Thankyou!
Amber


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## Amber (Nov 17, 2002)

I thought i would let yall know on a brighter note that my 3 babies in the nest are doing great, i pulled them out cleaned the nest which made a little bit more room for them. They are about 2-3 wks old now and doing good!
Amber


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## fred2344 (Jan 9, 2002)

Amber,
You did nothing to hurt this bird. It sounds like he was very sick and it's possible that the parents chased him out of the nest because they will not feed a sick bird. 
The opening to the widpipe is on top and behind the tongue not under.
You did your best and it sounds like this was hopeless.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Amber,

I answered your e-mail before reading your post. From what I have read, if the baby had choked he would have died within seconds. So please don't blame yourself.

I am so glad to hear that the three-in-a nest group is thriving!

Cynthia


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## Amber (Nov 17, 2002)

Thanks again for all your help.....if he would have died that quickly then I am pretty sure that he didnt choke...I watched him for a few minutes afterwards to make sure he was okay....thankyou for you support and thanks for the website Cynthia

Amber


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## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

Amber
I have dealt with many identical cases just as bad and this condition taxes the skills of any experienced avian nurse. You did well to do as much as you did.
Blass you for trying anyway.
The youngest case of this I had in at the age of 5 days. I successfully treated him and you can see pictures of his recovery ranging over a period of 7 days at this link - http://community.webshots.com/album/71493131yCCHGw


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## Amber (Nov 17, 2002)

Wow Nooti...that is great....that you were able to help and save this little guy. I was concerned when i got this little one about his recovery because there was no blood or tissue. Nothing was moist, it was all very dry. He must have suffered for a while. I told the gentleman to check his nests more often and that if this happened again I would be more than happy to take it. But that he should get it to me as quickly as possible, for the best results at recovery. I am going to buy materials for tube feeding so that I have everything on havd to start feeding right away. 
Amber


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## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

Good for you Amber. This has been a learning experience for you and if it helps saves one in the future it will not have been in vain.
You go girl!


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Nooti,

Please, if you have time, tell us how you did it? That would enable us to instruct a vet if any of us comes accross a baby in the same condition!

Cynthia


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## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

Please, if you have time, tell us how you did it? That would enable us to instruct a vet if any of us comes accross a baby in the same condition!

Jeez - Cynthia - I've slept since then! 
Well the first thing I did was inject IP (inter-peritonium) with fluids - I guess 5mls for a bird that size. It replaces lost fluids. I remember having to do it twice. I also gave Lectade orally - that's a rehydrant fluid. I cleaned down the wound with saline and a final rinse with Metronidazole and did this twice a day. Daily injections of Amoxycillin and Clavulanic acid were given, and I think that was it. In a week the wound was fully healed.
The younger the bird the faster they heal as cells are reproducing at a rapid rate in order for the body to grow, so any wounds heal quickly. i have known a leg fracture knit together in 36 hours in a baby bird only a week old. This would be unheard of in an adult!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Wow, amazing pics Helen. That youngster really healed up quickly. My Punky is still trying to get her bare spot covered and not quite there in now over 6 weeks.

Here's the original pics and a couple from today:

http://www.rims.net/punky.htm 


Terry Whatley


[This message has been edited by TAWhatley (edited May 01, 2003).]


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