# Here are some photos of Broken Foot



## Garye

I don't know how it got this way, whether the foot is broken or not. I don't know if it was a disease that did this but she (I know it's a she, the males are still attracted to her) cannot move her leg. It just stays up in the air and the foot hangs limp. I have been trying to get it to stay calm when I'm near her but she flies away so it doesn't look like there's much hope of me catching her. It's a good thing she can fly as that's the only chance she'll have to escape danger. I look out for her every day now and make sure she gets some food from me. She has a hard time getting around on one foot.

Anyways, Polly came back today - but filthy. She also must've been in the dumpsters. She used to keep her feathers so nice and white now there's a dull yellowish brown streak on her chest. Harry is still missing. Glad the carnival's gone. Now maybe things will get back to normal.


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## pdpbison

Hi Garye,


I see this often, or, on any given day, there is usually one or sometimes two out of the thirty five to fifty Birds of my wild Flock who exhibit such slightly 'held up' Legs.

This could be a green-stick fracture of a Bone, or a sprain or a pulled muscle or ligament.

I feel confident that as long as they are able to get around like that and get enough to eat and so on in their grazings ( and they do seem to do fairly well on one foot for a time,) it will heal and be allright with them dealing with it in their own way.

Over time, none of the feral Pigeons I see who have this, continue to have it allways...and while it is hard sometimes to remember the subtleties of many individual's appearance, I am sure the ones I see who have this, suceed the previous ones eventually, and are succeeded by new ones eventually, and do not have it for ever, but instead, have it for some several weeks and then resume a normal walk and so on, again.

I would think that the danger of making the injury worse, from trying to catch them, would be a greater liability to them, than leaving them be.

A truely broken Leg however, which is entirely limp and loose and out of line, might be worth considerintg to catch them if one were comfortable and experienced to correctly set and splint it and manage them for the five weeks or what for it's healing.

But even in this regard, I have never seen any ferals who showed old Broken legs which healed badly...so, there is something of a mystery there.

I once in a great while see one who has a small limp, but who can say what that is from or whether it is transient or permenent. 


Phil
Las Vegas


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## Keys & Eyegone

Garye,
I would catch the bird and try and splint to foot. When a bird has a broken leg the toes curl into a ball (or fist). 
I have experence in this because Zara broke her leg when she was a chick and I didn't splint the leg long enough for it to fully heal (and the fact that I felt it to the last minute cause I didn't know what to do) and the toes curled right up into a really tight fist. VERY, VERY stupid of me  . Now I have to massage her foot three times a day, everyday. I been doing this for a very long time and the toes are only starting to curl out, but the damge was done. She has bad balance and is in pain offen,   I blame myself for my stupidity and I'm working very hard to correct it. Don't do what I did. 
I learnd from my mistake and will never do it again. I am very ashamed of myself for doing what I did and I have to live with it everyday.
Hilary Dawn


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## Skyeking

This bird should be examined and rehabbed regardless. Can you catch her? She must be in pain. I would try to catch her, and get her in a comfortable position where she can have the leg supported until she is examined. Feed her and give her water and isolate her to a small box to keep her from moving.

What needs to be determined is where the injury is exactly, whether it is a fracture or sprain and bruising and how old the injury is. Once diagnosed, some kind of treatment can begin. 

Taking action and catching this bird should be the first step in getting her treatment.


Treesa


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## Garye

I would love to catch her if I could. If I put out anything other than food (even a small dish with food in it) they back away from it. They think it's a trap and will not go near it. So if I were to try a cage even with food in it, I don't think it will work. These pigeons have had bad experiences with people and do not fully trust them. I'll keep trying but I don't think I'll be able to catch her.


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## Keys & Eyegone

What I do is get an old blanket (large) wait till they get close and through it on them. Or you can buy a fishing net (with rope, NOT wire mesh) to catch her.
Please try and good luck.
Hilary Dawn


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## ElDorado57

*Fish-line?*

Unfortunately, I have seen very many pigeons and birds with injuries such as this pigeons'...
I think I see in the picture a white line just past the site of the swelling...it could be a coil of fish-line that is cutting off circulation, and eventually will cut through to the bone...catching the pigeon with a large fishing net is NECESSARY for a close look...if the fishing-line is cut-off soon enough, full-recovery is almost assured.
If not...


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## feralpigeon

Hi Garye,

Just wanted to encourage you to action w/the rescue of this pij. If the birds are scittish, I'd put my mind to thinking of ways to work around it. If you can't feed against a building or the like & are limited to open spaces, so be it. The important thing is to visualize in your mind how you can do it first, then act. If you need to use the blanket/net method, I would think the netting would be better so that you can see who's who after you throw it. You may need to attach some kind of weighting on the corners that won't hurt the birds. Have the netting ready when you get out of the car, throw your seeds down "tighter" to get them in closer to you. Try not to throw the seeds any further than you can cast the net successfully. You might want to set something on the ground @ home & see how easy or difficult it is to throw
the net over the object, then try to do it @ different distances so you have 
a good idea of what you are able to do w/it before you try on the pigeons.

Don't be afraid of how the group will feel about it, you'll find them to be very forgiving, and, they already look on you as their guardian from what I've read in your posts. Once you have the bird, maybe you can leave them w/some
extra treats before you go to reassure them. If this is your first time, it might
feel weird, but remember that you are doing it for the bird, not for selfish or 
harmful reasons.

Whether it is a string, sprain, fracture or break, the bird will fare better if it 
doesn't have to do food searches to maintain everyday. Please keep us posted on your project.

Thanks,

fp


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## Garye

I think what I will have to do is find out if any of the vets around here will treat a pigeon. I've heard stories that some vets won't treat pigeons and I come from a small town so I don't know how they will feel about treating one.

Second, I probably will have to buy a net. I don't think I will have much luck with a blanket. They see me coming with anything in my hands and they back off and a blanket is way too noticeable. You only get one try and after that I don't know if they'll ever trust me again. Broken Foot lunches with 3 to 5 other pigeons usually. I have a feeling all of them in the morning breakfast at a dumpster which is probably how Broken Foot got messed up.

I will try my best.


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## feralpigeon

USA MA Hingham New England Wildlife Center 19 Fort Hill Street 02043 781-749-5387 http://www.newildlife.com Rehab-- Yes 

Hey Garye,

Above is the only listing for MA. If it's too far away, and you were up for it,
I'm sure you'd get lot's of help here on it, maybe too much, lol  

Remember to keep the feed tight around you and dole it slowly so they move
in.
Believe me, they will trust you again, like the next day when you show up to feed them.


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## Lin Hansen

Hi Garye,

In case you are successful capturing the pigeon and need a place to take it:

You may want to check out this place...it is in N. Grafton, MA (exit 11 off MA turnpike). It is the Wildlife Clinic at Tufts University, phone #598 839 7918. Their hours are 8-5 monday through friday, 9-12 saturday and sunday. Here is the link:
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/wildlife/service.html

My sister in law is a veterinary student at Tufts and did a rotation there and said many people bring in injured animals and birds and that they are pigeon friendly and do not euthanize unless it is a hopeless case. She also said the head doctor has many connections with people who do rehab in the area, so you may want to check this out.

I don't know how whether this place is near you or not, but thought I'd mention it, just in case.

Good luck,
Linda


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## Garye

Both towns listed are very far from where I live. I'm out in the boondocks - believe me. First of all, I'll see if I can find someone near who is willing to help me. If I can find someone near, I'll see what I can do.


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## Garye

Broken Foot does not appear to have a string attached to her foot. I looked at it through binoculars because that is about as close as she was going to let me get to her. The carnival thing has spooked all of them. Before they used to be more comfortable with me, now they are cautious. It looks like Broken Foot once in a while tries to put down her injured foot but pulls it back up. As usual I'll keep an eye on her and see what I can do.


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## kyaro59

*Thanks to help from your site.*

Thanks to the information I gathered from PigeonTalk, I was albe to care in a comprehensive way for my found pigeon with a broken foot. After three weeks, I decided to let her go on Saturday, August 20. All went well. She took off with great success. Now she comes back to visit me. I was elated to see her do so well. Thanks again.

Kyaro59


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