# Found an injured Pigeon in my garden.



## theKNI (Jul 5, 2015)

Hi,
I've just been looking for information about injured pigeons since I found one just now in my garden, so I signed up here. This seemed to be amongst the best places to get help.

I'm in the UK and the bird is a large Wood Pigeon. There is a hill at the end of the garden covered in trees and I've been lucky enough to observe the families of pigeons that have lived there for about 30 years. They are regular visitors to the garden itself for food etc.

I found this bird about an hour ago but I didn't realise it was there until I went outside and my dog spotted it. He chased after it as dogs do but I noticed the bird flew up and landed on my garden chair when normally they would fly back up into the trees. So the dog chased it again and it flew right towards the house and me but couldn't seem to gain any altitude. It sort of flew up a bit then on a long downward track towards the ground. It landed a few feet from me with its wings spread a bit but not on its feet.
My immediate assumption was that it has a broken wing but I also believe they can bruise them?
Once it had landed and realised I was close it stood up but didn't seem to want to move away from me, I'm guessing because it was aware of my dog being at the other end of the garden. He'd lost interest by this point. Eventually though the dog went back inside and the pigeon moved away from me into the flower beds. I went to get the keys to open the shed where we keep seed for our bird feeders, and when I came out again I couldn't see the pigeon. I found it hiding between a half barrel that has a plant growing in it and the garden fence. It has pretty much kept to that fence line ever since.
I put a few handfuls of seed in a couple of places near the pigeon but it was getting a bit nervous by this point so I put out some water in a shallow dish as well. I will check later to see if it's eaten or had anything to drink. If not then I plan to find someone I can call in this country who will have a look at it but not put the bird down.
We don't appear to have any foxes visiting the garden or any other predators that I know of. There used to be foxes but that was years ago and their den on the hillside has been abandoned since. Of course, being nocturnal, I can't guarantee there are none at all in the area. It is perfect land for them to live off to be fair. There are buzzards around the area but the pigeon is sheltering well out of sight I would say as the foliage along the fence is fairly thick but also, there are a murder of crows that live in the canopy above the pigeons who I've often seen mobbing any birds of prey that come near. The upshot is that I think the pigeon is safe in the garden for the moment. My only worry would be cats, however they are also rarely in our garden. I have seen them though since they sometimes hunt on the hillside. The only other things we get are squirrels. I have all day to keep an eye on it and will do so regularly.

The pigeon itself seems healthy, a good size etc but I'm 100% certain it only ended up in the garden last night or early this morning since I go out there every day with the dog and he is very quick to notice pigeons and squirrels. He didn't see either yesterday. I suppose that means it could be ill but not showing the signs yet.

So after my essay I guess I'm just looking for help with what to do next?
I can probably source a cardboard box easily enough and have plenty of towels to line it with etc in case I need to take it anywhere. I've never handled an injured bird before so I don't want to hurt it further and really don't want to frighten the life out of it by chasing it around the garden if it might be ok.
As I said, it can fly but just not very well and is avoiding doing so whenever it can. The wings seem to be folded pretty normally too apart from when it lands. I'm pretty certain it isn't going to get out of the garden on its own though.
Its eyes are pretty wide, as in the pupils are very dilated. I don't know if that means much since when they land on my window ledge I get to see them very close up and they have often looked like that (the window is tinted so I get some great views of them and other birds literally inches away from me). But it does seem pretty scared since it's hiding and sitting very still when it finds somewhere to stay.
A side note is that I've noticed a lot of pigeon activity in the trees and the neighbouring gardens. Is it possible the others are aware of this pigeon's predicament? They will likely eat the food I've left out for it so I will need to replace that. They pretty much eat everything the garden has to offer as there are usually about 12 - 15 of them each year. They often chase each other and there have been the occasional fights amongst them as well which I suppose could be the reason for its injury.

Anyway, sorry for the length of the post but pigeons do interest me and I'd like to get this right whilst making sure I've covered every detail of the situation.

Cheers,

Luke


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## theKNI (Jul 5, 2015)

Small update:
Having spent an hour writing that post I thought it might be a good idea to check on the pigeon.
I immediately spotted it sitting on the border of the flower beds in plain view. So it's not hiding at the moment, just hiding from me earlier probably.
I recorded it on my phone and during that time it was eating some of the seed so that's good.
It was still struggling to flap it's wings as it wanted to get away from me by hopping through a trellise fence section but didn't do too well. It got through relatively stress free but you can tell it wasn't as easy as it should be.
Is this forum set up to allow video sharing? I can link them from youtube but would have to spend some time uploading them in a while.

Thanks again,

Luke


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi

No, there's no video sharing facility.

If you are on Facebook I would advise the UK pigeon rescuer's group Pigeon Rescue and Protection

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PigeonProtection/

Sorry to be brief, am going out for the day in 15 mins.


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## theKNI (Jul 5, 2015)

Thankyou, I'll try them and continue to update here as I go.

Luke.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Hi Luke, 
Thanks a lot for caring for this bird. First of all if he isn't hiding anywhere, it is not safe for him to be out because any predator can find him an easy lunch as you said some cats do visit the garden sometimes. Even there must be Hawks too which have great eye sight.

If you could take him in, that will be good idea. There is a site www.pigeonrescue.co.uk which has a lot of information for rescues and on initial care.
Getting him warm, feed and water him will be the initial things you can do for him and then monitor further if you notice anything odd like injury or any other symptoms of any diseases. 

You could join a Facebook group if you are on Facebook 
Which is rescuers group in U.K.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PigeonProtection/

Pls join them and contact in case you aren't able to catch and take him in, they may prove beneficial to save this life in need. 

The video link can be posted through youtube but yes it does take some time to upload there and then you can paste the link. This site allows pics which can be attached along with posts. 

Thanks a lot for giving time to this bird. Pls keep us posted on the progress.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

When I was still typing I see John's post was already here so pls avoid some duplicate information which I shared in mine.it take me some time to type on a small cell phone screen.


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## theKNI (Jul 5, 2015)

Hi guys, thanks for the responses.

I've checked on the bird several times and it is just sitting out in the open now so yes I'm beginning to worry about predators.
I have a large cardboard box so I will put some towels etc in that and try to catch it and hope I don't injure it further.
The issue here is that it is a wood pigeon and I'm told they are very "scatty" and can die from an adrenaline induced heart attack pretty easily. I know what behaviour to look for that suggests it's beginning to panic but if that happens, they say I should leave it alone for a while.

If it comes down to it I am in a position to be able to sit with the bird most of the day if required to stop any cats etc getting near.
As I said earlier birds of prey are not too much of an issue since the local crows constantly chase them away.

The biggest problem I have is that not all rescue centres are open today with it being a Sunday.
I think I have found one that will take the bird but will have to await a response.


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## theKNI (Jul 5, 2015)

My brother came round to help me and we successfully caught the pigeon.
It's now in the house inside a large box with lots of towels, some food and water. Still no word from the rescue centres.
Can anyone advise me of a suitable temperature to keep it at? It's currently in the conservatory with the ceiling fan on and the windows open but it's still pretty warm in there so I might move it further into the house where it's cooler if needs be.

Something else of note was that when we first tried to coax it out of hiding it flew across the garden and smacked into one of my windows. It left what can only be desbribed as a yellowish slime on the glass which has since dried up and left a stain. I've seen them do that before and the same happened then but to a lesser degree. I'm also aware that they can have some infections that aren't harmful to us but it makes me wonder if it needs attention more urgently.

I'm not having any joy with the rescue places since the local ones seem to have somehow managed to all have open days on the same day as each other so they're all apparently very busy with that but not monitoring their calls.

Luke.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

No warmth is fine, he should just get proper ventilation and fresh air. 
And yes he must be sick as you see some yellowish substance, was it some kind of mucus coming out of nose or beak? Is he breathing fine? And eating and drinking on his own? How is his droppings? 

Did you join that rescuers group and contacted them too which John suggested?


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## theKNI (Jul 5, 2015)

There are holes in the box so the pigeon is sitting looking out of one of them. I think it's been sleeping a bit too.
It spilled the first dish with water but the second one looks to be ok so far. It panicked a little bit when I replaced the water.
It did eat earlier when it was outside, but I'm not sure if it's eaten anything whilst in the box.
The yellow substance is not coming out of the bird's beak or nose. It only happened when it flew into the window.
Everything else seems normal. It seems pretty content in the box for now.
I have joined the rescuers group yes but the request to join is still "Pending". So I guess they also don't do much on a Sunday.

I have JUST this second received a response from the Rescue Centre near me. They said they take in Wood Pigeons and have a few with them already. They'd like me to keep hold of the bird till tomorrow because they don't have a vet on site until Tuesday. So I will have to take it to my own vet and then take it to the rescue centre.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

The bird is exibiting signs of illness and weakness, when they try to fly off and hit things and land with wings spread open, it is weak. Give him some warm sugar water until tomorrow when u hand over the bird. Physically dip his beak into the warm water every hour untill bedtime and allow hiim to take sips. At this point u can withhold handfeedig but do scatter some seed in the bottom of the box a good cup so he can toss it around and pick out what he wants. No sense stressing him further if u are handing him over. If u dont get the bird to them by tomorrow am, they feed it some defrosted peas and corn warmed it hot water and pry open his beak and put one at a time at the back of his mouth, he willl swallow it and give him 30 of them in a feeding in total. Sure he needs meds but they will take care of that.


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## AndreiS (Jul 28, 2013)

Maybe you won't consider necessary to post a video anymore if you handle the bird to that rescue center, but for those who want to upload videos on youtube, I can tell you that is very fast, a video with a lenght of one minute at HD quality will take no more than 2 minutes to upload and will be available few minutes later.


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## theKNI (Jul 5, 2015)

I appreciate the responses.

Understandably the bird doesn't seem to like being handled so hand feeding it may not be that great an idea?
I've been told that an adrenaline rush can kill this kind of bird quite easily so I'm quite reluctant to disturb it too much. I can open the box and replace the water etc without too much fuss but anything more and it starts to panic.
There is food there for it which they do like since it's what I put out for them in the garden and they eat it all.
I'll try the warm sugar water in a little while but the bird seems very perky and aware of what is going on around it already. I'll still give it some though. I understand that they can try to hide their weakness so I think that's worth a go.

With any luck the vet will have it tomorrow morning.

As for the video, I know it doesn't take long for most people to upload but it does for me since my internet connection is very slow.

I'll keep updating,

Thanks again,

Luke.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

If you can take him to vet tomorrow, there is nothing like it but pls ensure that the vet isn't just going to put him to sleep. 
I am also looking forward if you get added to the Facebook rescuers group, you may get benefitted with the help there too. 
There is nothing to fear about heart attack, there are many who rescue them and feed but since you are new and have fear of handling and hurting him and also you are going to take him to a vet tomorrow, so lets see first what the vet has to say. 
Just keep feed and water for him and monitor if he shows any further signs of illness. 
Thanks for all the help needed for the bird. 

P.S Yes it does take time to me too to upload YouTube videos because my Internet connection too is dying these days so it's not as easy as for everyone.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Please let us know how the bird is doing. Please also as kiddy said make sure that they are going to try to help the bird and not just put it to sleep. Thanks!


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Yes cwebster I am emphasising on it because in an ongoing thread I see that in U. K generally vets are practicing that way. They consider pigeons as pests and don't think of their lives even a little. So be careful whom you approach and the bird could get a chance to be treated carefully and survived.


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## theKNI (Jul 5, 2015)

Ok so first of all, bad news I'm afraid.
The pigeon died this morning. Not sure of the cause. I checked on it when I got up, all seemed fine apart from it didn't look like it had eaten or drunk anything overnight. I checked an hour or so later just before carrying it to the car and it had died.
So all in all a sad ending but it was better than being killed by a cat I suppose.

As for the vets, I took the bird there anyway just to be sure it had no pulse and sadly it didn't.
I should probably have mentioned earlier that I'm a vegetarian and I love all creatures including birds and insects etc. It's relevant because I have a dog as you know but it means that I'm very careful about who I take my pets to for treatment. So, the vets I chose many years ago are very good, they are more than willing to help with rescued wildlife with little or no notice given. They have a "no unnecessary euthanasia" policy. So the pigeon would have been ok with them had it not died already. And even so, they give the owner or rescuer the choice of whether or not to put an animal down.

I had actually lined up a rescue centre to take it to after the vets. I wasn't going to let the vet put it to sleep at any point and they wouldn't have done so unless I'd asked them to. The rescue centre is another "no kill policy" place and they're great. They have all sorts of other rescued animals and birds which they look after, including some wood pigeons currently in one of their aviaries.

Unfortunately this time there was literally nothing anyone could do. The pigeon just didn't have the strength left by the time I found it I think.
I'm a bit annoyed by the fact that I couldn't get anyone to sort it out yesterday because then maybe it would have lived.
But anyway, I'd like to thank everyone for the advice and just for caring. Lots of people do consider these birds "vermin" in the U.K but I certainly do not. They're amazing.

Luke.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Luke I can tell you why it died. Being THAT weak that it was, and that thin, it would have needed to be handled asap, forced to drink sugar water and kept warm, then force fed. Birds die quickly with no nutrients, as early as 24 hours in that weakened condition. In the future, you must be cruel to be kind. The bird will have to die with you TRYING. Meaning, you have to give the basic necessities of life no matter how scared it is. It wont survive without water and a bit of feed. Im not sure it would have survived either way based on your description of weakness, but you must try. Time is always of the essence when in that condition. Anything less is a death sentence. Thanks for caring and trying.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Luke, am so sorry to hear the poor thing died. Thank you for caring.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

I am sorry for your loss Luke but yes not much surprised. He seemed sick and to be treated soon and you were afraid of handling and hurting him and being Sunday rescues were closed, all things went in the same direction which was not the way to survival. 
Agree with CBL completely, next time onwards pls have a bit confidence and handle birds too as you love other pets and handle them. They need care as others have. Well you did your part well whatever you could do best and thanks for your time for bird. As you love critters a little efforts towards handling and caring for them will lead you towards their survival, so just have in your mind and look forward to help the critter whichever comes your way. Nice to know about your vet, hope others try to be like your vet.. Thanks...


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