# an introduction



## fallenweeble (Sep 2, 2007)

hello everyone!
i'm new here.
i am a parrot person but in the last month the universe has brought me in contact with several pigeons and also some new pigeon-people friends. last friday i was at a local animal shelter and a man walked in with a pigeon that had crashed into a window. i offered to take the bird because i have a good avian vet, (plus the aforementioned pigeon-people contacts) so i figured i could help one way or the other. before i could leave the staff asked if i would take another pigeon too. they brought out a baby pigie with a splay leg! well, of course i couldn't leave him so off i went with two pigeons in tow. 
after arriving home with the birds i put them into my quarantine room and went out to get dove/pigeon mix. sadly, when i returned the (crashed) pigeon had passed away. at first i thought he was merely asleep because he looked like he was resting. when i realized that he was gone i was completely shocked because he hadn't looked critical at all. i felt very guilty because had i known he was so injured i would have rushed him to my vet. he was a gorgeous bird, large and shiny with irridescent feathers - i'm so sad that he left us before i had a chance to become his friend. 
the good news is that the little splayed leg fellow (named rick by the way) is doing fine. he is eating and drinking like a champ. a new pigeon-person friend of mine is coming over tomorrow to help splint his leg so that it can, hopefully, be put back into a more useful position for him. it is highly possible that he will not be releasable though, even after his leg is treated. 
so now i'm wondering how to move forward. he is in a large cage with a dog-bowl/tshirt nest that he seems to enjoy snuggling in. but how does one keep an indoor pigeon entertained? my parrots have a zillion toys, boings, gyms etc. so i'm not adverse to participating in all sorts of madness in the name of captive-bird enrichment. any and all ideas are very welcome! i'm wondering if another soft-billed pal wouldn't be a good idea . . . opinions on this are also very welcome (i live in s. california so i could easily take in ONE of the 200 rescues that are posted currently on the rescue board - that is one from the group of birds belonging to the elderly couple that are having to rehome their entire flock . . .)
anywhoo, hello to everyone and i'm looking forward to making some good pigeon friends here on the pigeon-talk board!


----------



## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hello and welcome to pigeon talk! 

You certainly jumped in at the deep end! I am so sorry that the crash pigeon died, there was probably very little anyone could do by the time you got him. PIgeons are great survivors so if one died so soon after rescue he must have had severe internal injuries.

Is there any room in your house or garden to build an aviary? Pigeons adapt well to being pets, and bond with humans, but they feel comfortable in the company of other pigeons.

Cynthia


----------



## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

pigeons dont need that much space (a dog crate size cage would do) but pigeons are addictive and you will end up with a small flock.

by the way, welcome to our site


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hello and Welcome to Pigeon Talk,

I'm sorry to hear the one crash victim pigeon died, I'm sure that was hard for you, but he probably had severe injuries, as Cynthia mentioned.

You can set the baby up in a bowl that inhibits his leg from trying to splay. Is the leg bendable at the joint? It needs to be set under him folded as the other leg is. Sometimes just taping the legs together works, but that depends on how bad the splay is. Also, using rubbermaid shelf lining will help give the baby enough traction to his feet to keep them under him, until your friend helps with the splay leg.

We have many members who have pet pigeons that love to play with stuffed toys, and plastic balls and more. You can just introduce the toys at random and the baby will let you know which toys he favors. Pigeons are smart and very adaptive indoors, but they do enjoy the sun and an aviary to fly about.


----------



## Hillybean (Oct 30, 2005)

Hello and Welcome to PT!

I have 4 indoor pet pigeons. They adapt very well to being spoiled indoor pets. They love the company of other pigeons, most do anyways. Mine are also very human social. 

My pet pigeons are Beautiful (a Mookee pigeon), Pretty Lady (Mookee cross), Charlie and Junebug (two lovely Satinettes).

Mine all play with toys, and get several hours of out of the cage time daily. Two toys mine seem to love is anything with a bell (cat toys, some parrot toys-anything), and ripped/shredded pieces of paper.

I'm sorry to hear about the ones passing. I don't think you'll have any trouble adopting another. 

Good luck with this little one! I hope you can post some pictures! 
-Hilly


----------



## amoonswirl (Nov 14, 2006)

warriec said:


> pigeons are addictive and you will end up with a small flock.


Hi there & welcome to pigeon talk!
Warriec is right - pigeons are definitely addictive. Thank you for taking these 2 home from the shelter. Very sorry about the crash victim, but it sounds like you did everything you could. And the little splay-baby sounds like a cutie! 

You may find that your single pigeon will be just fine without a pigeon companion. But once it is old enough to know the gender, you may consider adopting a mate for it. Sometimes same sex birds will not get along, but if you can find an available bird of the opposite sex, your little friend will most likely appreciate it.

My pigeons do not seem interested in toys. But they do respond well to human interaction & just love all the attention they can get.


----------



## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi, and a big welcome to PT. We're very happy to have you join and look forward to reading more and seeing pictures of Rick. 

I, too, am so sorry the crash pigeon died.


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Welcome or our wonderful forum and thank you for your kindness.

After treatment,I think it's very likely that your splayed leg baby could be in physically releasable condition. I currently have two that I thought would never be able to perch but now, no one would ever know that at one time each had splayed leg. Likely he/she will be so human bonded that releasing wouldn't be a good idea and then you will be bonded to the baby as well.
Be very careful with the pigeon around your parrots. My little Senegal nearly killed my pigeon, Sammy. Now the Senegal can't be out of the cage the same time the pigeons are out.
Pigeons do make wonderful companions and as every one else has said they are very social creatures.


----------



## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

HI! And welcome! AND, are we glad to hear you would be willing to adopt more pijies!

What a shame about the one pij! I'm very sorry to hear he didn't make it.

I have one pij who lives in a small apartment with me and 3 cats. Squeaks is out of his home while I'm here but he does not fly due to a partial wing amputation.

I did place a hanging bell in his home by his "nest basket." When he's in the mood, he will beak and shake the heck out of that bell! At least he waits until morning!

Wishing all the best for Rick...you have come to the right place for help! Our members are very knowledgeable and keep learning new things all the time!

Please keep us posted on Rick's progress. A picture would be very helpful to assess his splay leg. 

Shi & Squeaks


----------



## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

*W E L C O M E*

Hi there Fallenwebble,

I too want to welcome you to pigeon talk!

I started with pigeons when one came into our lives, injured and bleeding. His name is Tooter. He survived two BB shots and a hawk attack a couple of years later. We now have 8 pigeons, and they all lived in our house till late winter. They now enjoy their pigeon coop and their adjacent aviary, which was converted from a former larger dog pen.

I just added a couple more hanging bell toys in the aviary today, as they were competing with each other to play with the bell toys. A couple of my others just ignore them, but for the most part, depending on their own personality, will get curious, and peck, yank, and ring the bells.When I go inside with them, they prefer to play with me though.  

Welcome to the world of pigeons!


----------



## fallenweeble (Sep 2, 2007)

*thank you!*

good morning to everyone and thank you for all the kind, friendly replies - what an awesome welcome wagon ya'll have!
i will take some pictures of rick (little ricky - hee hee) today before we apply the splint and then after too. 
and just to address a few questions/statements/advisories:
- i don't have space right now for an aviary but we will move in the next two years and i suspect i may end up with one . . . 
- thank you for mentioning that the soft-bills and parrots shouldn't be mixed i wouldn't do it anyway but it's good to have this confirmation.
- the leg is pretty bad and he isn't super duper young (no yellow fluff left) so i don't know how much correction we will get from the splint but maybe he will be releasable . . . that will be a hard decision to have to make when and if we get to that point because no doubt we will be a bit bonded. 
- i am going to experiment with the toys - thanks to everyone who offered toy advice. he is skitty about everything right now so we will have to go slow but i really hope i can entice him to play. 
- i will wait to aquire a buddy for him but i suspect these guys are probably like potato chips no? it's hard to have just one right? i never would have thought that pigies were so darn compelling! 
SO AGAIN A BIG OL' THANK YOU to everyone who offered such a great welcome. i'm looking forward to being a part of the pigeon-talk community!


----------



## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

And we are darn happy to have ya!

As far as one pigeon, well, Tooter was an only pigeon for about two years. As long as you spend some time with him/her, it will be alright.

They grow up mighty fast though! 

My pigeon Paris has a son, that was born Feb. 14th oF this year, and is almost as large as him.


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Fallenweeble and welcome to Pigeon-Talk! It's great to see you here and posting! Good luck with your little patient today!

Terry


----------



## firstimer (Aug 26, 2002)

I went over to see Fallenweeble’s pigeon “Rick” with the splay leg, here is a picture of Rick as he was when I got there.
 Image Hosting

Very sweet little pigeon and very trusting. I discovered that his little leg still has flexability so I moved it and streched it a little and I could feel him moving it too.
 Image Hosting

I went with the make up wedge methed and Fallenweeble and I positioned the leg under him folded as it would normally be and used that self adhesive bandage wrap and a little cloth medical tape to hold legs together. 
Once the legs were positioned the best we could without forcing them in the right position we then put Rick inside a little bowl that kept his legs under him and then set that bowl inside a bigger bowl with old t shirts around him and the bowls as to support him and keep him in the right position. We then left him with food grit and water all with in his reach without him having to get up. We also left him a poop shoot area so it would be easy to clean after him.
This is how we left him for the night.
I also want to say WELCOME to Fallenweeble to a great site and some of the best people.
 Image Hosting


----------



## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

firstimer, you are fast becoming one of my PT heroes! Rick is looking good and I hope his legs straighten well.


----------



## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

What a cutie! Welcome to Pigeon talk and I hope little Ricky does very well in your care.


----------



## fallenweeble (Sep 2, 2007)

*vet visit*

rick (ricky, since we have a lucy now . . .) saw dr. t today. she splinted his leg but i don't know how much hope she has that this approach will work. ricky will go back in three days for a fresh splint and assessment. he was a big hit with dr. t and her vet tech. apparently he is a model patient! 
the trick now is to get him to rest quietly and not try to go floppin' around his cage too much. a head injury is ALL he needs at this point right? 
i have him tucked in 'donut' style with a rolled and folded towel and he seems content enough for now. 
everyone keep their wings crossed that the splinting works - we really don't want to put this poor fella through surgery.


----------



## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Thank you for the update and I'll be keeping everything crossed for a complete recovery.


----------



## michbird (Jul 5, 2007)

Greetings, fallenweeble 
So sorry to hear about the one pigeon passing, but happy to hear the other is doing well  
Lots of nice, helpful people here, as well as loads of info- Welcome!


----------

