# Caring for injured Feral Pigeon. - NEWBIE



## Marm (Jul 2, 2020)

Hi, first time on the boards, just wanted to check that I'm doing things right & want advice re release later. Please bear with me, this will be a long post. I want to give you the full picture, including his behaviour.

So I work for a pizza delivery company as a driver. Being in a semi rural town centre, we get a lot of pigeons around our car park in the back. Truth be told they are a pest. Well last Fri eve I'm doing my usual deliveries & about 3 times this pigeon kept getting in the way of my car, not flying away.

Later on I notice that it isn't flying at all and seems to be holding 1 wing at a different angle. Knowing of at least 3 different cats that frequent area its enough for me to decide that I want to catch it for closer inspection. My manager kindly gives me a box.

It keeps showing up in car park & then disappearing behind cars etc.. This goes on for about an hour, it seems to be searching around for somewhere safe, being visible then hiding. Eventually it appears in an area where I corner it & catch it using an old towel so I don't have to handle it. I'm still at work, so I close the box, place it in the boot of my car & hope the poor thing doesn't die of fright. 

It was like having Schrodinger pigeon, but I didn't want to go peeking at it & stress it more. Needless to say I switched from my usual "do this quick so I can take more delivers & get more money" to very careful driving. Don't think I've ever gone over speed humps so slowly. 

When I get home at midnight, I am delighted to find it is still alive. It is very scared & doesn't seem to be bleeding, so I line my bathtub with a towel, place some bread down along with a bowel of water, gently place the box on its side in the tub & close the door. We have a cat & I don't want the pigeon to be spooked further. 

In the morning it is still alive, but hiding in the box. It hasn't eaten or drunk a thing. I still cant see any visible injuries & its wing isn't drooping, so I decide the best thing for it would be space & rest. I live in a flat, but luckily I am the animal care assistant at my local school for a flock of chickens and a rather elderly guinea pig. I always have a quarantine cage set up & its not in use. A quick call for permission later & I make some adjustments to the cage, including lining the bedding with mite control powder & bring it to its new home.

Monday morning I finally saw the injury. It was under its wing, in the pit area, which I why I hadn't seen it before. Deeply regretting my hands off approach, I bring him home & with the aid of a towel over his head, manage to do a full inspection.

He has 3 deep puncture wounds in the wing pit area, but fortunately not his body. They seem to be quite old as the area surrounding them is covered in with black clots. I notice the flesh around these wounds is bright pink and hot to the touch. There is also a bad smell. 

As fate would have it I had a couple of Synulox tablets, stored in my cupboard from when a chicken died before completing its course. A quick google & much headache inducing maths later & I calculate the correct dose for him, based on typical pigeons weight. I also figure out how to divide a 1.7g tablet into 60 doses.

So again he is towel wrapped as I clean his wounds with saline solution & syringe feed him the antibiotic. 

He has been at home with me for 3 days now, so that I can finish a 7 day course of antibiotic with him. Thinking that life shut in a box isn't much fun, I have covered everything in my bedroom with sheets & allowed him out. My cat didn't go in there much anyway & she doesn't seem too upset that the door is permanently closed now. 

He seems to be very much on the mend. He flew a very short distance in the room today. I sat there and watched as he had a good preen, including the area where the wound is. I have had to give up trying to inspect the wound, as there is too much strength and resistance now when I try to pull his wing out to see. 

He seems to have adjusted to this well, perhaps too well as I can now pick him up, without him running away. However he still trembles with fright, even as he allows me to lift him from one part of the room to another.

I have dubbed him Peter Spitfire, as he seems to have one heck of a fighting spirit, to get away from whatever put those holes in him, to survive as long as he did grounded and then to not die of fright during his care.

I intend to release him when he has full flight capabilities back.

I guess my question is, will he be too tame by then? 

I have no where I can keep him long term. I was rather hoping I could create a dove loft type shelter / feeding station on my balcony and move him to there prior to release. That way he can have a free life, but can still return for food etc.. if he has difficulties. 

For someone who has previously called pigeons "vermin" or "rats with wings" I have become very attached to the little guy and want to do right by him. 

Thank you for reading this long post & any advice you may give.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

First, give him a decent seed mixture to eat. Bread is not good for them at all. Is there a way you can close off your balcony in such a way that he will be safe there during the day? If so, leave him there during daytime and bring him inside at night. If you can do it in such a way that he will be safe there during the night, you can provide him with a perch high up in one corner. Let him spend time there, provide him with food and water. Then when you think he is ready and healed, open up the balcony so that he can go. I'm sure he will come back for feeding and sleeping if need to.


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## Marm (Jul 2, 2020)

Thank you for your reply.

I only gave him a little bread, as being a town centre pigeon, I knew he would recognise it as food. He didn't eat the wild seed mix / mealworms I left him with. I have been weaning him onto them by sprinkling them over a little bread soaked in milk. He seems to finally be getting the idea as I saw him eating some seed yesterday. 

That said when I walked into the room this morning eating a packet of crisps he watched me like a hawk. Taking a crumb out of the packet I placed it on the windowsill he was sat on, right by the seeds. He ate it straight away, which he has never done for any other food I've placed down for him. But STILL didn't eat the seeds. I guess he must have lived on junk food in the wild. I will persevere and hopefully he will expand his palette. 

Will chat to husband about what we can do on the balcony, for when he's finished his antibiotics in 3 days time. I want to keep him close to hand until then for ease of administration.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

If he has puncture wounds he will need an antibiotic such as amoxicillin asap. Thank you for rescuing him! Our first pigeon, Phoebe the Wonderbird, was a seriously injured feral who had a broken wing and was nearly decapitated. We got her fixed up and she was our dearest love for eight wonderful years.


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## Marm (Jul 2, 2020)

Yup he's on antibiotics. Finishes his 5 day course today. 

After much consideration I have decided to do one last check of the wound as soon the last antibiotic is administered & then take him back to the school quarantine cage assuming it looks to be healing well. From there it will be get him back to his town centre ASAP. 

He is quite clearly very well adapted to his specific environment, most likely descended from generations that have been born & live there. 

I am going to put a ring on him, so that I stand a chance of spotting him whenever I go to work. 

Who knows? if I can find a suitable spot near there, I may start to feed them, give them a better diet than leftover bread & crisps. Will have to be careful though, as they are a pest in that area.


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Just make sure he is able to fly well before releasing. Just remember, if you start feeding them the numbers will just increase every time you put down food. They may become a nuisance to other people. Not everyone likes pigeons, unfortunately.


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