# Short keel bone?



## AliBlack

I've got a woodpigeon which flew into a window 3 days ago, the lady said he couldn't fly afterwards or the next day when she tried him, wings and legs are fine, one eye looks slightly closed which you often see in concussion.
Gave Dex amd metacam. He's acting normally and is in good shape, but his keel bone feels very short, 1 inch! Could his keel bone/sternum be broken? (keel and sternum ARE the exactly the same thing aren't they?!), it feels much shorter than other woodies, but there's no bruising, no blood, it all feels/looks normal just very short! I'm confused! Should I get him x-rayed (hesitant as he's a stressed bird, most woodies are but some are worse than others).
Any thoughts?
Thanks?


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## Pidgey

Well, they're not going to foreshorten a keel bone by a simple collision at that low of speed, methinks. What are you calling the keel? Can you take and post a picture using Paint to put an arrow on the picture?

Pidgey


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## Feefo

Hi Ali,

According to Wendell Levi (who is a good reference for abnormalities) - rarely - pigeons are born with a split keel, so instead of one sharp middle bone it splits into an inverted V, this could make it feel like a short one. The problem with this abnormality is that it leaves the heart exposed. 

Cynthia


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