# Ive Found a Pigeon With a Beak Problem



## Dstarkey (Sep 19, 2010)

Hi All, im new to the site and have just found an injury baby pigeon

Ive never kept or owned a pigeon before but have some previous experience with other more exotic species such as lovebirds and cockateils and have worked with birds of prey as a volunteer.

whilst walking home from the pub last night i found a young pigeon on the floor by a busy main road. at first sight i believed the bird to be deceased until it began moving. it appeared really cold and was lying on the pavement of the busy main road. at it was a saturday night i thought it best to move the bird to safety so as not to be harmed by drunken night club goers. i waited with the bird for half an hour and looked for a nest or its parents near by, there was a nest but no family. 

i arranged a lift home and have been keeping the bird in a cat carrier overnight on newspaper that i change regularly. whilst the bird was secured i did some research and found out what it needs to be fed and the age of the bird etc. froim what i can gather it is roughly 17 - 20 days old as it has a lot of yellow downy feathers left and only a few main flight feathers grown through on its rear and each wing. i have provided a water bowl and this morning fed it on some defrosted peas and sweetcorn- it managed 20 before not eating anymore. 

the pigeon has an obvious deformaty on its beak which i cant tell if it was caused by the falling from the nest or is a bacterial infection. it has a large swelling along the left side of its lower beak and a slight yellow tinge to the inside of the upper beak that i noticed whilst feeding it. apart from that it has good ease of movement in both wings and will hiss if it feels threatened.

i was hoping someone will be able to advise what i should do next. ideally i will only look after it for a few weeks before giving it to a specialist wild bird centre which can rehabilitate it with a flock so that it has a better chance of survival in the wild when it is old enough to be released. if there is anything i can do to help the beak myself i will do, if not i will get it to a shelter where it can be saved asap! 

any help would be great or anyone that can let me know of a good pigeon rescue in bedfordshire UK or around dunstable would be excellent


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi

Thanks for taking little one in. Would it be possible to post a picture or two so we can see exactly what the problem (and the bird) looks like? Be best if we can establish if it is a baby wood pigeon or baby feral.

The swelling could indicate a couple of things and the yellow tinge _may_ be a symptom of a particular kind of infection.

This is a list of wildlife rescue places which take pigeons, and there is one in Bedfordshire. The site also has a section on caring for baby pigeons.

http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/rescuecentres.htm

John


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Thanks for saving your lil' pal. You have done very well, so far and it's particularly great news that he/she is eating. As noted, a photo would help a lot.


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