# found injured pigeon, Please Help!



## xylia.burns (May 10, 2010)

I found a young pigeon, it was being bullied by two adult pigeons. We brought him home with us and he is snuggled on top of a hot water bottle and fabric. He has a wound on the top of his skull it looks quite bad, it looks like a skin flap is coming off. It's been cleaned with water and salt. he won't drink anything, nor are we sure what to feed him. Please help! We're in Vancouver, Canada if anyone knows of any resources.
Thank you so much.


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## xylia.burns (May 10, 2010)

She/He just had some water, we've mixed some sugar and salt into it. He has begun cleaning himself and opening his mouth like he wants food. Here are some photos.


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## xylia.burns (May 10, 2010)

and another.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

That's pretty bad but the baby can recover. She does need antibotics though.

It's important that the baby eat. This is a young one that likely doesn't know how to eat on her own yet. Here are some pre-written instructions. You will need to be extra gentle because of the head injury. Do you have any human antibotics around? If so...What do you have?


You can hand feed defrosted corn and peas. Run some hot water over them until they are defrosted and slightly warmed. Put the bird on your lap and hold it next to your body. If it helps, you can wrap a towel around it or put it in the sleeve of a tee shirt, with the head out the wrist. That confines them without hurting them and makes it easier to handle. Gently open the beak and pop the piece of corn and peas at the back of the mouth and over the throat. 
You will need to feed 40-50 per feeding and every time the crop empties until you know the baby is eating on his own. 
This is a wonderful method for teaching babies to eat because they feel the whole food in their mouth and it’s soft and easy to pick up and hang on to. The next step… seeds. 
The crop is located right below the throat and with food it fills up like a little balloon. The peas and corn make it lumpy and squishy.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I'm going to send you a private message with the number of a member in your area that can give you some advice as far as resources. Please be very careful to not give the bird up but rather to find a veterinarian that will treat a pigeon. If you give the bird up to a vet as she looks, likely they will euthanise her and that is totally unnecessary.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

First of all, wherever you take the pigeon please don't let anyone persuade you to euthanase it!

This is a photo of an adult pigeon I found with a scalp injury.










After flushing the area with sterile saline I used Intrasite gel to keep the area moist and as a barrier against infection, changing it every two days.and gave her Metacam for any pain (a baby that age would need half a drop a day, to get that you mix one drop of Metacam with 0.5 mls water and give the pigeon 0.25 mls of the mixture). World Wide wounds recommend the use of a broad spectrum antibiotic.

It took about 4 months for my rescue's scalp to regrow.

This is from a thread by fred128 on how to care for scalped pigeons:

*Unless the scalp has not been entirely ripped from the body and could be reattached with sutures, the bare area could take months to heal. Anyone wanting to help a bird in this situation should expect to hold that pigeon for a long time. The only treatment is to keep the wound clean. There is a very good disinfectant on the market called Nolvasan. It is used to clean cages and coops and swabbing the wound with Nolvasan twice a day will serve to keep the area clean and infection free.*


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## xylia.burns (May 10, 2010)

*Thank You*

Thank you all for your help, the pigeon is doing much better this morning. Eating and drinking and standing on the windowsill looking out the window. We are taking it to a wildlife rehab place for medical attention and hopefully it will go on to live a full life in the wild. If it too injured for that to be attainable, a member in my area will be taking it home!
Thank you all for your help, it is much appreciated. We are so lucky to have a community of caring people available worldwide thanks to the internet!


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I'm glad to hear the update, sounds very positive

Please do give us another update as to whether the bird will stay at the wildlife center or go on to private care, when you know.

Thank you for helping this needy youngster.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

One term used for regrowth of feathers on a "bald spot" is called _feather migration_.

There are other posts and threads here on "scalped pigeons." Injury should not be allowed to dry out.


I rescued a squeaker, *Mr. Fifty*, on June 5, 2006, with a bald spot on his head, and suffering from PMV (ParaMyxoVirus). scalp was dried, so feathers didn't re-gor, but he flew off in the summer, survived the winter, and my wife saw him on the street a year later with the other pigeons at Chlodwigplatz in Cologne, Germany, acting like any healthy male. (Option to keep him indoors or in an aviary were not then available to us).

Larry


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