# Everyone thinks I'm crazy...



## CourtneyJ (Jun 5, 2017)

I walked outside at work this morning and right as I came around the corner, a pigeon literally fell from the roof while another one seemingly chased it down. I think it got an injured wing on the roof and when it fell, injured its leg as well. I popped a bunch of holes in a box and secured him or her and now nowhere will take him. I'm still at work so the Box will have to do for now. I think I just ended up with a pigeon. I don't know how to tell if it's male or female or how old and I'm fairly certain it is a rock pigeon but other than that, this is all new to me so any help I could get would be greatly appreciated.


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## YaSin11 (Jul 23, 2009)

Hi CourtneyJ,

Congrats on your first pigeon! Thank you saving this bird. 

From the pic, I cannot tell about its injuries, you might need to post more pics later, so that Forum members can provide input.

Nice looking bird, I think it is quiet young (less than 1 month old maybe..?..). No way to tell gender so soon. It looks like a feral pigeon to me. 

I know you are at work, and may not have proper resources; could you provide it with some clean water in a dish? that would be helpful. If you have any bird feed, that also would help.
For the time being, putting an old towel/rag in the box for the pigeon to rest on might be helpful also and might make it more comfortable.

Since it is young, you will need to take care of it meticulously. Upside is that, it will probably bond to you very well. Congrats again on finding a good friend for life


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## CourtneyJ (Jun 5, 2017)

I get off work in about an hour and a half and was going to go get it some food and a cage too then. I don't want to try and get better pictures while I'm here in case it gets loose but will definitely try and get some when I get home. He's fairly small compared to all the other pigeons around here so you're probably right about the age. I've never rescued a bird before so I don't really know how to take care of them when they're young but I've been researching all day.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes he is young, so don't know if he is just out of the nest and has learned to eat and drink on his own yet. If he eats...........great! If not, then you can feed him frozen peas which have been defrosted and warmed under warm running water. 
Put some seed down for him and peck at it with your finger to show him. He should be able to learn quickly at this age, if he doesn't already eat on his own.


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Hey Courtney... welcome to PT
Let'em think whatever, you know youre doing a good deed...
The younster looks good. Have you checked him for any considerable injury? If he's fine, you know from where he fell, could you try to put him back there and unite with parents...??


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## CourtneyJ (Jun 5, 2017)

So I put some seed down and I haven't necessarily seen him eat it but there was like feathers and whatnot in the water and the seed was a little more spread out when I came back to check on him. I'm trying not to hover because I don't want to cause him stress since I heard that was no good. I went and got a five foot tall cage but for right now he's resting comfortably in a dog kennel because I didn't want to move him a second time in one day. His great wing and leg are clearly injured and if I were to put him back there's no way he would be able to protect himself or even walk. There is no blood or protruding bone that I could see so there's that but he won't put any weight on the injured leg and the wing doesn't lay right. I'll try pecking at the food to see if that gives him an idea of what he's supposed to do. If he doesn't eat it, how do I feed him the peas? By hand?


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Those injuries need vet's examination.
You gotta defrost raw green peas and thaw them under warm running water. He at this age, can take 50-60 peas in one go. To feed, take him into your lap. Wrap a towel or cloth around him(not very tightly) with legs straightened out so he does not struggle/hurt himself. Then open his beak and put one pea at a time deep into his throat. Close the beak and let him swallow and repeat. Fill his crop until it starts to feel like a hanging soft bag.
Then dip his beak upto nostrils in a bowl of water and encourage him to suck water up to teach him to how to drink...


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Thank you for rescuing him! How is he doing today?


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## CourtneyJ (Jun 5, 2017)

Today he seems to be doing much better! He's eating the seeds I put out after we did the pecking thing for a while and his wings definitely looks better than it did yesterday. He still won't put any weight on his right foot though so I'm going to look around and try and find a vet who isn't going to just tell me to euthanize him. She does definitely seem much more comfortable with our presence today than he did yesterday. When I was pecking at the bowl of seeds, his head just kept twisting from side to side like he was trying to figure out what the hell I could possibly be doing. After a while he inched closer to the bowl instead of backing away.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's great that he is eating. Is he drinking? If not, just gently dip his beak into a small crock of water, but not over the nostrils. Does it seem as though the leg is broken?


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

What a little sweetie, glad you are looking after him and that he's now eating. I hope he's just bruised from the fall and not broken anywhere.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Glad to hear he is doing better!


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## CourtneyJ (Jun 5, 2017)

I put a figure eight wrap on his wing (which was a harrowing experience for everyone involved) and got a better look at his leg which I agree needs vet attention but the only avian vet in my area is out of town until further notice due to a family emergency. Also, we have eating seed down but water not so much. I finally took to mixing water with a little bit of sugar and a pinch of salt, soaking it up into a syringe and feeding it to him/her that way. I tried picking up the bowl to dip his beak into it and he just moved his head away from me and he's not yet comfortable enough with me to allow me to pick him up struggle free. I'm trying to strike a balance so as to not stress him out unnecessarily. Side note: he hates the wrap but is insanely adorable when drinking water out of a syringe.


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## CourtneyJ (Jun 5, 2017)

I'll probably take him to the regular vet in the morning if I can't find a better option.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Be careful feeding him water with a syringe, as they are easily aspirated. Put a small crock of water in front of him, take his beak by each side, and gently dip it into the water, just not past his nostrils. He will learn if you keep doing this.
Regular vets often don't see birds, and usually aren't much help with birds.


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## CourtneyJ (Jun 5, 2017)

So we took Cher Ami (the name I picked out) to a wildlife vet about 45 minutes from my house. She said her leg was broken in two places, her wing is sprained and one of her air sacks was damaged. She convinced us that the best thing to do was leave her there to be rehabilitated and released. It was sad but what's best. I have however, decided to adopt one of the birds that couldn't be released for one reason or another. This has been an amazing and eye opening experience and after all the research I did on pigeons, I've been educating everyone I talk to about their nature and intelligence. Thank you all for everything. This forum was instrumental in Saving this baby bird.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

It's nice that you adopted a non releasable bird. Was it a pigeon? If so then maybe you could take this one back when well again, for company for the other one, just in case the wing isn't 100% afterwards.


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## CourtneyJ (Jun 5, 2017)

we are going to go back down there Monday to see the adoptable Birds that she has. I was also going to bring up the possibility are bringing her home if she can't be re-released. I would definitely like to get a pigeon if possible, especially after all I've read about how amazing they are and how well they do assimilating into a family. We also figured that adopting from a wildlife rescue is better than getting one from a pet store and it leaves a space open for the next bird that comes in needing Care at her facility.


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## CourtneyJ (Jun 5, 2017)

Update: I know it's been awhile since I've posted on here but I've been very busy volunteering at the wildlife rescue that I took Cher Ami to. I wanted to give everyone an update on the last two months and ask for advice on where to go from here.
She ended up having a leg broken in two places, a sprained wing, a damaged air sack and spinal damage which prevented her from flying. When it seemed she was as healed as she was going to get and was apparent she wouldn't be able to be released, I decided to bring her home. She had bonded with the pigeon who was housed next to her at the wildlife rescue who also couldn't be released since he had been hand fed from the egg and didn't know how to pigeon properly. So I ended up with two pigeons. Everything went well over the last few weeks other than the fact that I felt horrible for her for not being able to fly. She showed no signs of distress over the last week other than just sort of standing around here and there but when she walks she looked fine, her poop looks fine, Etc. I checked on her at about 1 a.m. Saturday evening and everything looked good so I went to bed. when I woke up at 7 in the morning I had a bad feeling and ran over to her cage. as soon as I got over there I knew she was gone. This was completely devastating.
I immediately called the vet and described what was going on to see if I needed to bring Pidgey in in case it was a virus or something. The vet was pretty confident that she died from complications from her original wounds that just hadn't manifested until now. Now I've noticed that Pidgey has a little bit of an anger issue which he never had before. He used to allow us to lightly pet him and if you put your fingers in the cage he wanted you to squeeze his beak. Now if you put your fingers in the cage he bites. I don't know if he needs another friend or just some time for the mourning period. I also would like to know what the best toys are for pigeons since I find toys for parakeets and finches and everything else but nothing specifically says pigeon toys. Any other advice on socializing a pigeon and raising a pigeon for the first time would be helpful. He's only about two months old I believe since he was just a couple weeks younger than Cher Ami. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## YaSin11 (Jul 23, 2009)

Hi CourtneyJ,

Sorry to hear that Cher Ami passed away. I know you tried your best at helping it. 

I cannot comment on 'pigeon toys' as I have no experiance about them.

Mood swings could be due to loss of other friend pigeon; 'biting' at hands? make sure it is feed properly, sometimes they will do that if hungry. Other times, it's just a show of affection.

You have already learnt quiet a bit by having your first pigeon, the Forum is full of information on raising a pigeon for the first time. 

Personal opinion; eventually a mate/friend pigeon might be helpful for your lone pigeon.

Good Luck


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Am very sorry to hear Cher Ami didnt make it. Thank you for adopting the nonreleasable pigeons. Agree that a nonreleasable friend for your other bird would be great. Thank you also for volunteering. Our first pigeon was a severely injured nonreleasable feral, Phoebe, who was our dearest love for eight great years. Now we have six pigeons.


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

Oh that is sad news but she had the very best care and treatment and passed away in a place she knew as home and with a friend. Sad for you to have helped her so much and then lose her - such is life I suppose. 
Your male will want a companion I'm sure, I think females aren't too bothered about pairing but males will just constantly call for a mate and will be much more settled once paired. 
Be warned about 'oops babies' though, before you know it you'll get the pigeon love bug and have a family in the house. All individual personalities and all adorable.


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