# limping pigeon?



## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

my grandmother found a pigeon that was limping on the sidewalk. She caught it (it apparently can't fly bc she caught it), put it in a cage in the dark, and now has asked me to "nurse it back to health". I've read about pigeons who are limping, pigeons with hurt feet, etc, etc. but I thought I might get more info asking a question myself. I have a small metal dog crate lined with newspaper, and I put it in my closet and covered it with an old towel. I want to help the bird but I have 3 cats who will for sure be very interested in it, and might try to bang on the closet door. Do pigeons die from stress like other birds do? I might be able to keep the cats away with an essential oil "fence". I live in Spokane, Wa, if that is of any importance. I asked my grandma to send a pic but ill probably have to see the bird myself to see what is wrong with it. I don't have the pigeon yet, I'll get it in a couple hours, maybe.


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## hdslilhideout (Nov 15, 2020)

Yes they can get sick and die from stress. Quiet and dark with water and normal bird food or pigeon food will be good too. As for a limp it could be a number of things; salmonella, ingrown feather in between its toes, injury to the leg, or other injury. Hard to say what might be going on there with the limited information. More details would be helpful for everyone to help, or get it to a bird vet.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

hdslilhideout said:


> Yes they can get sick and die from stress. Quiet and dark with water and normal bird food or pigeon food will be good too. As for a limp it could be a number of things; salmonella, ingrown feather in between its toes, injury to the leg, or other injury. Hard to say what might be going on there with the limited information. More details would be helpful for everyone to help, or get it to a bird vet.


ok so im getting it tomorrow and gonna put it in the cage in the garage, with a heating pad wrapped in a towel. I dont know if it'll get to cold? it's getting down to 40-50 at night here and I dunno how warm the heat pad will be. I will describe the foot/leg situation in more detail once I get the bird. how does salmonella cause a limp?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Please post photos when you get him. Might be a youngster that has not started eating by himself. Then you will need to handfeed.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> Please post photos when you get him. Might be a youngster that has not started eating by himself. Then you will need to handfeed.


Like feeding seed out of my hand? or some sort of liquid formula? My grandma thinks a hawk tried to snatch it, so maybe its wing is hurt and that's why its not flying away? is there some sort of birdseed i should get, or is regular robin/finch seed fine? sorry for asking so many questions btw


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## Selphiechen (Aug 6, 2021)

Hi, for the seeds you can buy dove seeds at the supermarket or wild birds seeds will be ok, don't buy he small parakeet or canary ones.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Selphiechen said:


> Hi, for the seeds you can buy dove seeds at the supermarket or wild birds seeds will be ok, don't buy he small parakeet or canary ones.


alright, thank you.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

I touched its feet and they didn't grab my finger, I read that that is bad? I just brought it home, also found some pigeon food, so i'm giving it that. I really have no clue what im doing, but I hope it'll be okay


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

also, it squeaks.


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## Selphiechen (Aug 6, 2021)

Hi it's weird that he squeaks because he is adult ?
How do his droppings look like ? 
Is she just limping or losing balance aswell ?
Did you check his body under feathers for a possible wound ?
Limping can have several reasons it can even be egg problem especialy if there is no strengh on the feet ? so it would be nice to know a bit more about what exactly are the symptoms. he could need a vet.

It would be good to check in his mouth/throat with a flashlight to see if he has any unusual color/growth. It should be clean and pink.

You can leave a deep dish for him to drink and lead his beak inside it ( not over the nostrils ) I would put a tiny pich of salt and sugar today in case of dehydratation.
I'm glad you could get pigeon seeds ! I hope she has appetite 😉
The cage is not predator proof (cat, even rodents, ... ) please make sure she keeps safe.

Thanks for saving her/him, she looks great !


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Selphiechen said:


> Hi it's weird that he squeaks because he is adult ?
> How do his droppings look like ?
> Is she just limping or losing balance aswell ?
> Did you check his body under feathers for a possible wound ?
> ...


droppings are green and white
it can stand fine, but I didn't see it walk.
no, I did not, it had just been in a probably very stressful car ride and I didn't wanna stress it out any more than it had to be. ill check it out more tomorrow.
it has a dish of water, but its on the top level of the cage as I don't want to risk a spill on the heat pad. i don't know if it knows that the food and water are up there, but it'll probably figure it out
can rodents hurt pigeons? the cage is inside of the garage, so


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

my grandmother thinks that his leg needs to be splinted? does anyone else think that his leg is broken


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## hdslilhideout (Nov 15, 2020)

Pigeons can be a little dumb at times, so you definitely want to dip its beak in the water where it is or it may not find the water on it's own and water will be very important for this bird. Also monitor the food to be sure it is eating. Lastly, I didn't see any injuries to the legs in the photos I saw above.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

hdslilhideout said:


> Pigeons can be a little dumb at times, so you definitely want to dip its beak in the water where it is or it may not find the water on it's own and water will be very important for this bird. Also monitor the food to be sure it is eating. Lastly, I didn't see any injuries to the legs in the photos I saw above.


alright, i'll do that. so, if the legs have no injuries that you can see, what could be the reason for the limp and the resistance to fly?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

The dropping in the photo shows that he has not eaten for a while. Remove the heatpad (only keep him on the pad during the night) and put the water and food dish on ground level. Most important now will be to get him to drink and eat. Put him on your lap and dip his beak (not over the nostrils) in a small bowl of water. Do you have frozen green peas? Defrost a few and handfeed him about 15. His droppings will change when this gets digested and then you can feed 20 more.

Just open his beak and put one pea deep inside over the tongue for him to swallow. Have you checked for yellow growths inside his beak and back of the throat? 

He is old enough to be eating on his own, but might be too stressed to eat now.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> The dropping in the photo shows that he has not eaten for a while. Remove the heatpad (only keep him on the pad during the night) and put the water and food dish on ground level. Most important now will be to get him to drink and eat. Put him on your lap and dip his beak (not over the nostrils) in a small bowl of water. Do you have frozen green peas? Defrost a few and handfeed him about 15. His droppings will change when this gets digested and then you can feed 20 more.
> 
> Just open his beak and put one pea deep inside over the tongue for him to swallow. Have you checked for yellow growths inside his beak and back of the throat?
> 
> He is old enough to be eating on his own, but might be too stressed to eat now.


is it that easy to handfeed a wild pigeon? i'll try. There's some spots on the wings and near the right leg where the feathers are all ruffled. is that bc he isn't preening or bc of an injury? is neosporin safe for pigeons?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

It's difficult to handfeed when you do it the first time. Either that, or the bird will starve. It's easier if you put him on your lap (facing to the right if you are righthanded). You can cover his body with a lightweight cloth so that only the beak sticks out. Reach with your lefthand over his body and head and open the beak with those fingers. Have the pea ready in your righthand and put deep inside the beak over the tongue. If he spits it out, you need to put the pea deeper inside the beak.

Yes, you can use neosporin. If he was attacked by a cat, he will need antibiotics as cat saliva is deadly for birds.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> It's difficult to handfeed when you do it the first time. Either that, or the bird will starve. It's easier if you put him on your lap (facing to the right if you are righthanded). You can cover his body with a lightweight cloth so that only the beak sticks out. Reach with your lefthand over his body and head and open the beak with those fingers. Have the pea ready in your righthand and put deep inside the beak over the tongue. If he spits it out, you need to put the pea deeper inside the beak.
> 
> Yes, you can use neosporin. If he was attacked by a cat, he will need antibiotics as cat saliva is deadly for birds.


alright, i'll do that. and my grandmother thinks that it was a hawk that attacked him


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> The dropping in the photo shows that he has not eaten for a while. Remove the heatpad (only keep him on the pad during the night) and put the water and food dish on ground level. Most important now will be to get him to drink and eat. Put him on your lap and dip his beak (not over the nostrils) in a small bowl of water. Do you have frozen green peas? Defrost a few and handfeed him about 15. His droppings will change when this gets digested and then you can feed 20 more.
> 
> Just open his beak and put one pea deep inside over the tongue for him to swallow. Have you checked for yellow growths inside his beak and back of the throat?
> 
> He is old enough to be eating on his own, but might be too stressed to eat now.


i dont see any yellow in the mouth


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

so I watched him a little more and he doesn't wanna put weight on the left leg, but I don't see anything wrong with the leg or foot and he grabs my finger with it. his left wing droops too, just a bit. on that wing there are some feathers missing and some ruffled, and underneath, the skin is blueish. should I just put neosporin on it? if so, how often?


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> The dropping in the photo shows that he has not eaten for a while. Remove the heatpad (only keep him on the pad during the night) and put the water and food dish on ground level. Most important now will be to get him to drink and eat. Put him on your lap and dip his beak (not over the nostrils) in a small bowl of water. Do you have frozen green peas? Defrost a few and handfeed him about 15. His droppings will change when this gets digested and then you can feed 20 more.
> 
> Just open his beak and put one pea deep inside over the tongue for him to swallow. Have you checked for yellow growths inside his beak and back of the throat?
> 
> He is old enough to be eating on his own, but might be too stressed to eat now.


should I be handfeeding the pigeon seed mix too? is there specific nutrients the bird needs? protein? (is that why you said peas? cuz i have frozen corn too, should I defrost that to feed as well as the peas?) fat? should i put calcium powder in the water?


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

update: the blue skin i saw is a lump on the wing. i felt all the parts of his right wing and then the left and the left one def has a very large dark blue lump. its like right near the shoulder I think. it eats a bit on it's on but not a lot. its poops are green and white still, and it poops a lot. it's still favouring the left leg/foot. im handfeeding peas and a bit of the pigeon seed mix. I'm wondering if i need to give it defrosted corn? and I'm wanting to know if I should be giving it vitamin d, as it is in a dark garage and not getting any light. also, it's still squeaking whenever i pick it up


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Sounds like some bruising. So there's no open wounds? Just cover the bruised parts with the neosporin, if this stresses him out then no need to repeat.

Did you manage getting food into him or did he start eating?


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

You can give him defrosted corn as well. When getting fed peas, the droppings will be huge and dark green. I would feed him 40 pieces in the morning and again at night (if you think he has not eaten enough seeds during the day). Is there enough light in the garage for him to be able to see the seeds and eat? Should not be too dark. You can sprinkle a pinch of calcium powder on the peas before feeding to him. Peas are just so much easier to handfeed than seeds.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> You can give him defrosted corn as well. When getting fed peas, the droppings will be huge and dark green. I would feed him 40 pieces in the morning and again at night (if you think he has not eaten enough seeds during the day). Is there enough light in the garage for him to be able to see the seeds and eat? Should not be too dark. You can sprinkle a pinch of calcium powder on the peas before feeding to him. Peas are just so much easier to handfeed than seeds.


I can leave a light on in the garage


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> Sounds like some bruising. So there's no open wounds? Just cover the bruised parts with the neosporin, if this stresses him out then no need to repeat.
> 
> Did you manage getting food into him or did he start eating?


would the bruise be making it so that he can't fly? he flaps the right wing, but doesn't open the left one all the way. no I don't see any open wounds, just a couple ruffled spots and the bruise. he eats, but just a little bit, so i'll be handfeeding like you said


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Yes, the bruise can cause this. Even a small chestwound can affect their flying.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> Yes, the bruise can cause this. Even a small chestwound can affect their flying.


okay, so what could be the reason for the limp? it's the left leg


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

so i messed up, it's been the right wing, and right leg this whole time. oops. the image doesn't show it, but she's not putting weight on the right foot. I just wanted to give you guys a pic of the droopy wing


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

One can't say what caused this. Just give supportive care. Limit her movement and make sure she is eating.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> One can't say what caused this. Just give supportive care. Limit her movement and make sure she is eating.


okay ill do that


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## hdslilhideout (Nov 15, 2020)

That looks like a swollen elbow joint. Can you feel the joint in both elbows and see if the one is swollen more than the other. It would feel like a ball of fluid if swollen at the joint. So Salmonella gets into the elbow joint and causes the wing to look just like that. We had in late 2019 like that. Another bird had a limp who also had salmonella. He also got a respiratory issue from it because it took us a while to figure out what the problem was. Those are visible signs and I would get that bird on Baytril/enrofloxacin asap if the wing joint is swollen. It may take a month or more to get that joint back to normal on the meds, but that's exactly what our birds looked like with it in their wings, and the limp on the other guy.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

hdslilhideout said:


> That looks like a swollen elbow joint. Can you feel the joint in both elbows and see if the one is swollen more than the other. It would feel like a ball of fluid if swollen at the joint. So Salmonella gets into the elbow joint and causes the wing to look just like that. We had in late 2019 like that. Another bird had a limp who also had salmonella. He also got a respiratory issue from it because it took us a while to figure out what the problem was. Those are visible signs and I would get that bird on Baytril/enrofloxacin asap if the wing joint is swollen. It may take a month or more to get that joint back to normal on the meds, but that's exactly what our birds looked like with it in their wings, and the limp on the other guy.


so the gaint lump bruise isn't causing that? how much of the drug would I give? i don't know how much money we have to spend on this bird...I'll check for swelling today


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## ImLadyToucan (Mar 10, 2021)

opossum-corpse said:


> ok so im getting it tomorrow and gonna put it in the cage in the garage, with a heating pad wrapped in a towel. I dont know if it'll get to cold? it's getting down to 40-50 at night here and I dunno how warm the heat pad will be. I will describe the foot/leg situation in more detail once I get the bird. how does salmonella cause a limp?





opossum-corpse said:


> so I watched him a little more and he doesn't wanna put weight on the left leg, but I don't see anything wrong with the leg or foot and he grabs my finger with it. his left wing droops too, just a bit. on that wing there are some feathers missing and some ruffled, and underneath, the skin is blueish. should I just put neosporin on it? if so, how often?


You do not need Neosporin unless the skin has a deep slit. Pour hydrogen peroxide over the wing and leg (one time) to clean it. It's fine to keep the cage covered some of the time but doves & pigeons (same family) do not see in the dark. So if you are going to feed it the cage or carrier should not be covered.
The bird will not get cold. It is acclimated to the temperatures no matter where you're located. If you do use a heating pad, be sure the bird can move away from the heat if it gets too hot.
Offer it scratch grain & veggies. Water should be in a bowl it can't knock over. Do not try to give it water directly in the mouth; birds are too easy to aspirate.
Can you keep the cage in your car while it's parked in the garage, with windows cracked? Do the cats have access to the garage?


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

ImLadyToucan said:


> You do not need Neosporin unless the skin has a deep slit. Pour hydrogen peroxide over the wing and leg (one time) to clean it. It's fine to keep the cage covered some of the time but doves & pigeons (same family) do not see in the dark. So if you are going to feed it the cage or carrier should not be covered.
> The bird will not get cold. It is acclimated to the temperatures no matter where you're located. If you do use a heating pad, be sure the bird can move away from the heat if it gets too hot.
> Offer it scratch grain & veggies. Water should be in a bowl it can't knock over. Do not try to give it water directly in the mouth; birds are too easy to aspirate.
> Can you keep the cage in your car while it's parked in the garage, with windows cracked? Do the cats have access to the garage?


we moved it inside, it seems to be doing better now, the bruise is also more yellowish green than blue, and smaller, so i think its getting better. it eats on its own and pecks at me when I clean the cage too.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

ImLadyToucan said:


> You do not need Neosporin unless the skin has a deep slit. Pour hydrogen peroxide over the wing and leg (one time) to clean it. It's fine to keep the cage covered some of the time but doves & pigeons (same family) do not see in the dark. So if you are going to feed it the cage or carrier should not be covered.
> The bird will not get cold. It is acclimated to the temperatures no matter where you're located. If you do use a heating pad, be sure the bird can move away from the heat if it gets too hot.
> Offer it scratch grain & veggies. Water should be in a bowl it can't knock over. Do not try to give it water directly in the mouth; birds are too easy to aspirate.
> Can you keep the cage in your car while it's parked in the garage, with windows cracked? Do the cats have access to the garage?


we moved it inside bc it was too dark for the bird to see, and we couldn't keep the light on all day bc it burnt out. its getting colder outside now, and I dont think the bird will be able to be released for a while more. will I have to keep it inside all winter, even if its all beter? can it go from indoor temp (68) to fall/winter temp (20-50)? putting the cage outside is not an option bc there are raccoons and coyotes and the cage i have has wide bar spacing and like I said theres no lighting in the garage. i dont wanna keep the bird for any longer than I have to but if I must wait till spring to release it, I can deal with that. the bird hates me tho.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Sounds as if he is healing. Rather keep him till after the winter. Do you have a nice garden where he can be released? He will probably stick around, esp if you provide him with food.

He doesn't hate you. You are the only creature interacting with him, it's normal for them to attack hands.


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## opossum-corpse (Sep 21, 2021)

Marina B said:


> Sounds as if he is healing. Rather keep him till after the winter. Do you have a nice garden where he can be released? He will probably stick around, esp if you provide him with food.
> 
> He doesn't hate you. You are the only creature interacting with him, it's normal for them to attack hands.


i've got a garden, but i dont think it'd be safe to stick around, there's a bunch of crows and falcons around here, and no other pigeons for company. i think i'll release it where my grandma found it


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