# Found injured racing pigeon and need advice



## Lmartine (Jul 26, 2008)

A few days ago, a racing pigeon appeared, quite literally, on my doorstep. The bird was injured and could not fly, but otherwise seemed alert and quite happy to hang out at our front door. My husband and I got a small animal carrier, caught the very beautiful bird and tracked down the owner with help from a friend who knew how to look up the numbers on the band. However, the owner was not interested in retrieving the bird since it could no longer fly and told us to "do whatever we had to do" with it. Well, we would like to keep it, and help it heal if possible. We got a large cage from a friend who raises chicks, put down some pine shavings, gave it water, oyster shells and cracked corn and a large branch to stand on. The bird seems quite happy and alert. It is eating and drinking (and pooping) a lot. However, the right wing in definitely not working properly. There is no blood, but the feathers seem ruffled in the wrong way and the wing does not rest properly against its body. It can stretch both wings out, but doesn't seem to do this often. Any suggestions on how to deal with the injury? We would love to take it to a vet, but don't have a whole lot of money so any idea of what it might cost? Also, other than keeping it well supplied with cracked corn, fresh water, oyster shells, and a clean cage (with the branch which it was happy to perch on) is there something else we should be doing? Oh, we have it outside, but with no direct sunlight and we covered it with a black cloth at night. The cage is well secured from predators.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, a couple of questions: where basically are you in case we've got some resources in your area; and can you take and post a picture of his wing?

Pidgey


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## Lmartine (Jul 26, 2008)

Hi Pidgey,

Thank you for the fast response. I am in Downingtown, Pennsylvania and I will try to take a picture of the wing tomorrow.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

We'll be watching. If it were hanging down very far, you could tape it to the bundle of tail feathers. They don't like that but in severe cases it's helpful. However, it's entirely possible that you're dealing with an articular infection in a wing joint that's caused some swelling. We're going to have to converse a lot on that in order to try and figure it out. A picture might be a lot easier to figure it out.

Pidgey


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Could you please privately send me the owner's contact information and the complete band #? Depending upon what organization this person is with, the response you received is NOT even remotely acceptable. Your providing this information will in no way make it difficult for you to keep this bird and give it a good home.

Thank you so much for your kindness to this pigeon. We'll do all we can from here on Pigeon-Talk to help out.

Terry


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## Noisy_minor (Jun 20, 2008)

sorry if im going off topic im just wondering what do people get out of pigeon racing???. i dont understand why people that race birds dont seem to care a great deal about individual birds. Any way thanks for helping the pigeon you certainly came to the right forum for infomation. 

Pigeons are social animals so if its possile to get him a mate (after you have worked out his current issues) he would be very happy.


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## bluecheck (Aug 17, 2006)

It's not all racers who react like this -- in fact, I raced for almost 25 years. There is an absolute thrill to seeing a bird that you've reared, trained, and nurtured come winging its way back from up to and over 500 miles.

Race birds are likely the brightest of all pigeons -- I know, I've raised quite a few different breeds of them -- and they are among the friendliest when they are treated well. I've had birds come in from 400 miles and land on my head instead of trapping into the loft.

Homers also tend to outlive most other pigeons and they're fertile pretty much most of their lives. I've reared young from 16 year old birds.

I love all pigeons, but homers are something special and I swear they bond more intensely with you than do others. I don't know how to describe the feeling you get when you look up, see a bird about 500 feet or more in the air, suddenly close its wings and dive like a falcon for you and the loft.

If sometimes some flyers get caught up in the sport aspect it's no different than having some football (Aussie rules no less ) barracking like mad for their team and painting themselves in weird colors.

As for losses - yes, there are some. When you put a bird into the air and it flies, it's fair game for falcons, wind, and other natural hazards (and some not so natural like wires, lorries (trucks) on the road, etc. So racing guys are sometimes more realistic about their birds. The best make it home -- others don't. Sometimes, the best get injured. In my case and in the case of a lot of other fanciers I know, I often moved heaven and earth to get the birds back. They were treated and kept as breeders if they couldn't fly and were worth it; handed off to new folks if they were good birds and capable of breeding; or painlessly put down if they were so severely injured that they wouldn't be able to survive for long.

One thing I have found over the years -- and my name was put out to a lot of humane societies throughout California and even other states - is that the VAST majority of racing men/women WANT their birds back. The others get the PR, but you never see the stories about the guy who drove four hours to pick up an injured bird, or the fancier who had a three friend and even stranger line up of cars running 60, 80, 100 miles each to get his bird back to him.

Pigeon racers get intensely hooked into their birds -- we have them for a lot of years and put much more time in our lofts than do almost any other breeder of any other breed.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Lmartine....

The most thorough thing to do would be to get it to an avian vet. In honesty...this will likely cost several hundred dollars...like a minimum of $200, mybe up to $4 or $500....figuring a physical exam plus x-ray plus meds plus some other likely treatment such as a cast or wrap.

But it sounds like a reasonably serious injury, so that is the best course of action.

If you can afford some of this but not all....please PM me and we can talk about me chipping in a significant portion...if you can put it on a credit card or such, I would likely be willing to reimburse you some.... 

Only other thing most folks here would suggest would be to put it on heat. Do you have a heating pad ? Put the pad on a low setting, beneath a towel which lines the bottom of his box/cage. Heat is good supportive care. If it is very warm at night near you, perhaps no need to do this. But if it gets crisp or chilly at night, he/she could use some heat.

keep an eye...if he/she starts acting lethargic, fluffing up the feathers most of the time, droopy or closed eyes, not eating, not pooping,etc.; then he/she is going downhill and will need quick attention.

Some Q's: 

1) broken skin anywhere ?

2) any scabbing or swelling ?

3) does there seem to be any sort of puncture or entry wound (it may be small, like a pencil tip).

If any of these 3 things, birdie needs some antibiotics rather quickly.....

I agree w/ TA, also...that was a very inappropriate response from the owner...downright negligent.

Keep us posted.


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## Noisy_minor (Jun 20, 2008)

Thanks Frank. i didnt really think about what it would take to get a bird back that may have flown miles away from home.


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## Georgina (Jun 24, 2008)

OMG!! What the owner said is just awful!!  What's he expecting you to do with it?! He's basically told you to kill it!! GRRRRR!! What an ass!!

Sorry for the outburst, that just makes me mad!! But well done for keeping the poor bird and looking after him. I don't really know anything about pigeon injuries or how to fix them but I do know, with some love and care, he'll cheer up no end!! He's probably never experienced any love and care with his first owner so it sounds to me like he's very lucky to have landed on your doorstep!!


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

bluecheck said:


> It's not all racers who react like this -- in fact, I raced for almost 25 years. There is an absolute thrill to seeing a bird that you've reared, trained, and nurtured come winging its way back from up to and over 500 miles.
> 
> Race birds are likely the brightest of all pigeons -- I know, I've raised quite a few different breeds of them -- and they are among the friendliest when they are treated well. I've had birds come in from 400 miles and land on my head instead of trapping into the loft.
> 
> ...



Amen to all you said. The low lifes that give the rest of us a bad name make me as mad as anything I can think of. Not only do most fanciers care for THEIR birds, but many, many of them are willing to take in someone ELSE'S bird that is lost and too far from home to be able to retrieve it. 
You never get over the thrill of seeing that bird come in from 100's of miles away and you never forget the first one you saw come home or the first winner that you ever had.


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## Lmartine (Jul 26, 2008)

Wow, thanks to everyone for your responses. Okay, I have some photos but don't know how well you can see what is going on with the wing. Today, the pigeon seems to be stretching the wing out a lot more (hope this is a good sign) and there seem to be no punctures or open wounds. However, I noticed that the hurt wing trembles a bit, but not continuously. At first I thought the bird was nervous, but then noticed that only the hurt wing was trembling. Thanks again and if I need to take other, better pictures a few ideas of angle, etc. would be appreciated.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

The wing is definately hanging lower than it should. If she's stretching the wing, that's a good sign I think. The feathers are a bit messed up on that side too, so she may have hit something or something hit her. Whether the wing will eventually go back in to place or not, I have no idea. 
Can I make a suggestion though? If you could find some pigeon feed, it would be much better than the cracked corn. We don't normally feed them cracked corn. They will and do eat whole corn or popcorn, but the cracked corn, so I've always been told isn't really good for them because of the jagged edges. If you can't find a pigeon mix, wild bird seed with some unpopped plain popcorn, safflower seeds (Wal-Mart), lentils, split green peas can all be fed to her. 
Also, some red pigeon grit. The oyster shell is good, but that's mainly for calcium. The grit is needed to grind up their feed. 
Other than the wing, she looks pretty good. Hopefully some of the other members can tell more about her wing from the pictures.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Yeah, I think we're definitely looking at trauma, but not so bad as to require anything but rest and healing.

Pidgey


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## bluecheck (Aug 17, 2006)

Nice looking bird. BTW - cracked corn is a quick pick me up for a bird down and exhausted, but it's going to need better feed to recover. If you can find regular pigeon feed, it'd be best. If not, then if your chick raising friend knows a feed store, maybe you can get some game cock feed or other higher protein stuff for the pigeon.

Obviously, it's hard to tell from just a photo, but I've seen somewhat similar looks to birds that have been just missed by a cat or hawk or brushed a wire. Since you say there's no puncture wounds, I wonder if the bird is just nursing a bad sprain. 

If you can see under the wing and and the flesh is a "wonderful" blue/green color, then it's likely a wire bruise and time and care usually heal it up.

BTW -it REALLY is a gorgeous young silver (Ash-red bar for the geneticists among us) and just FYI, I'd put it at about 4 months.


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## Lmartine (Jul 26, 2008)

Lovebirds,
Thanks for the tip on food. Our local grain store had pigeon food only in 50 lb bags which was a little more than we could imagine at first! I'm sure there are other places I can find pigeon food and grit. And just out of curiosity you say "she". I understand it it difficult to sex pigeons but any ideas from the photo?


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Hey Bluecheck.........I was thinking about the same age.....also, I don't see any black flecks PLUS it has a pink snap band on, so I'm thinking it's a "she"...........


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Lmartine said:


> Lovebirds,
> Thanks for the tip on food. Our local grain store had pigeon food only in 50 lb bags which was a little more than we could imagine at first! I'm sure there are other places I can find pigeon food and grit. And just out of curiosity you say "she". I understand it it difficult to sex pigeons but any ideas from the photo?


Well, without getting too complicated..........the silver or red pigeons like the one you have............the males have black flecks in their tail and wings feathers. Of course I can't see the whole tail, but it appears to not have those flecks, plus the pink band...........that may or may not mean anything........I'm just thinking it's a girl bird though.


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## Lmartine (Jul 26, 2008)

I can see I found the right place for advice! Thanks again to everyone. I am especially happy to know the approximate age and breed (thanks Bluecheck). Is it just called a "silver pigeon" or is there a more official name? Also, how long do they live? My son wanted to name it Xerxes, but I can see we might need to rethink if it is indeed a female. My mission today is to get pigeon food and grit, but a few more questions:
1) Is it okay outside? We have indoor cats but could close off a room if that is better for the bird.
2) Should we cover it at night? We might have some stray animals around and the squirrels would love to get to the food...but the cage is well constructed and secure. I thought the bird might feel more comfortable with a cover, though.
3) Should we keep it out of direct sunlight? We have it under the eaves of a storage building (up on a table) so it is in the shade but when the sun is low (around 6pm) it hits the cage, so we pulled the black cover up part way to give it shade.
4) The cage is 3.5 feet by 2.5 feet and 18 inches high. This seems good for recuperation but how long can it stay in there comfortably?
5) If/when the bird heals, will it just fly back to its owner? 
I have a lot to learn, I know, but this will help me get started!


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Lmartine said:


> I can see I found the right place for advice! Thanks again to everyone. I am especially happy to know the approximate age and breed (thanks Bluecheck). Is it just called a "silver pigeon" or is there a more official name? Also, how long do they live? My son wanted to name it Xerxes, but I can see we might need to rethink if it is indeed a female. My mission today is to get pigeon food and grit, but a few more questions:


You've got that right. There's more knowledge on this web site than you could ever imagine. It really is amazing. 
Silver is her color. She's actually a homing or racing pigeon. There are over 300 different breeds of pigeons and homing pigeons are one of those many. 
One of our members, TWhately, just had a pigeon pass away not long ago. He was 21 years old if I remember correctly. 



Lmartine said:


> 1) Is it okay outside? We have indoor cats but could close off a room if that is better for the bird.


As long as the cage is secure, the bird is fine outside. 



Lmartine said:


> 2) Should we cover it at night? We might have some stray animals around and the squirrels would love to get to the food...but the cage is well constructed and secure. I thought the bird might feel more comfortable with a cover, though.


Depends on how the cage is constructed. They do like to be in a safe enviroment during night time hours. A loft for example is enclosed with 4 walls but has an attached avairy on the outside. They spend time inside and outside during the day, but come night fall, they will always go inside to roost.



Lmartine said:


> 3) Should we keep it out of direct sunlight? We have it under the eaves of a storage building (up on a table) so it is in the shade but when the sun is low (around 6pm) it hits the cage, so we pulled the black cover up part way to give it shade.


They enjoy sunshine and it is in fact needed to keep them healthy. She should however, have the option of getting out of the sun if she wants to. 



Lmartine said:


> 4) The cage is 3.5 feet by 2.5 feet and 18 inches high. This seems good for recuperation but how long can it stay in there comfortably?


Well, you said it right. For recuperation and for now, the size is ok. If you plan to keep her and her live outside, she will need something bigger. If you plan to make her a house pigeon with free time inside, then this size could be her home and own private little space




Lmartine said:


> 5) If/when the bird heals, will it just fly back to its owner?


The short answer to this question is yes..........she's a homing pigeon and it's most likely that if she was ever free again, she would attempt to go home. Whether she would make it or not, we wouldn't know, but she would most likely try anyway. That's just what they are bred to do. 



Lmartine said:


> I have a lot to learn, I know, but this will help me get started!


We've got a member who makes pigeon diapers and they are constructed individually for each pigeon. That's an option if you wanted to make her a house pet.
http://www.birdwearonline.com/index.html
If you plan to keep her outside, it would be best for her if you got her a companion. Pigeons are very social creatures and don't like being alone.
There's lots of other things that I could tell you. I've actually got to run now and will be gone most of the day. 
You might enjoy reading this story.
http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/pigeons/BerniePijStory.html
Search around on our site. You can find some amazing rescues, and stories about people's pet.


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## Georgina (Jun 24, 2008)

I was just going to add don't let her out but Lovebirds got there before me! Heaven forbid the poor sweet little thing should fly back to that awful owner!! Also, obviously the owner has contacted you, if you needed to know the sex, could you contact him again and ask? He'd unfortunately be the only person who knows for sure.


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## Lmartine (Jul 26, 2008)

Georgina -we are happy to call her a girl for now. I don't have much desire to contact the owner again and my husband threw away his name (the fellow didn't even thank him for calling).

Just to update...I got a bag of pigeon food and some red grit. She seems content and is stretching her wing out a lot more today. We just love watching her and are trying to figure out what kind of arrangements we can make for a more permanent home after her convalescence.


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## scoobyz11 (Jun 4, 2008)

Hi the racer looks good and it doesnt look a serious injury, it should heal up with some TLC and i think it will be able to fly again.
Once i found a racer that was run over by a car with blood everywhere but she soon healed after 6 months and took to the sky only to return and stay with my tumblers.
As long as no broken bones it will fly in the pics the wing is not hanging that bad all the pigeons i have seen with broken bones cant keep thier wing above the tail it always will be draging on the floor. I think it is only sore so the pigeon is letting it hang a bit but it should recover in a month or so.
Feed it pigeon food if you can otherwise like everyone is saying some wild bird seed should be ok and give it some water in a tray some times so it can have a bath and fix its feathers.
The owner of this bird is out of line and should be reported to the club the bird belongs to ask your friend if they can help you do that. If we dont do something this will keep on happening over and over again thiers no use just saying it we need to take action.

Good luck with the racer i hope it recovers.

Imjid


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## Lmartine (Jul 26, 2008)

Thanks Imjid....we named her Penny Pretty (anybody know the movie _Buckaroo Bonzai_?)and she is still alert and eating and drinking well. We examined her wing a bit more this evening while cleaning out her cage and she had no bruising that I could see. But the feathers are still out of alignment - sort of like venetian blinds that get all crosswise and won't lay straight any more. Will she lose those feathers and replace them? Or will they just realign themselves?


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2008)

i think like someone else said either she hit something or something hit her as she dont look to worse for wear and being so young she should recover quite nicely and fast to boot .. so you should just let her rest and heal then sit back and enjoy your time together for years to come  welcome to the world of pigeon paradise hehe


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Lmartine said:


> Thanks Imjid....we named her Penny Pretty (anybody know the movie _Buckaroo Bonzai_?)and she is still alert and eating and drinking well. We examined her wing a bit more this evening while cleaning out her cage and she had no bruising that I could see. But the feathers are still out of alignment - sort of like venetian blinds that get all crosswise and won't lay straight any more. Will she lose those feathers and replace them? Or will they just realign themselves?


Bless you for helping this sweet and lovely pigeon. I'm sorry the owner was such a jerk. Unfortunately, as others have said, a few bad people give the racing hobby a bad name. But most racing people do care for their birds and want them back. In this case, it sounds like the bird is better off with you anyway. They seem to have a sixth sense about who will help them. 

In answer to your question, Penny will replace those damaged feathers in time. They go through a big molt starting around this time of year, so it shouldn't be too long before she gets new ones. Just so you know, a broken or damaged feather isn't replaced until the molt but if a feather is pulled out, it will be replaced. 

Welcome to the wonderful world of pigeon ownership!


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## Lmartine (Jul 26, 2008)

*Update*

Thanks again to all who helped out on this thread. We feel like we can move forward as new pigeon caretakers with confidence knowing that there is a whole community to help out as we take each step! Penny is doing really well and actually shed (correct term?) the two wing feathers that are sticking out in the photo. The wing is still sitting pretty low, and I notice that she rests it on the log sometimes but I think it is just a matter of time now before she is fully recovered. I'm sure I will have many questions as time goes on, but for now all is well. Her cage is near an alley where people walk by and she has become quite the neighborhood star. Everyone seems to love watching her and they all comment on her beauty. Thank you all!


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