# First aid advice for injured pigeon



## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

My brother found an injured pigeon and brought him (her?) to me, of course. He's (for convenience) in the spare cage in a room separate from my other birds. His lower beak isn't broken but it doesn't look right, like he scraped it. We found blood on one foot but we can't find an injury on his feet or legs. One wing doesn't look quite right but I don't *think* it's broken. He's banded and we tracked down a pigeon breeder who recognized the band code and said he'd call the guy and have him call us back. Meanwhile, I've offered food and water and he isn't interested. He's huddled in the floor of the cage (which is low and flat, it's our hospital cage) and keeps trying to doze. He's quite tame. 

All I know to do is keep him warm and quiet. We very gingerly tried to clean the blood off his beak but we were afraid od hurting him. Any other ideas?


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi,

As you rightly say, first thing is for him to be warm.
Also especially as it's a racing pigeon he's probably exhausted and in need of hydrating.
If you haven't already, mix some warm water with a either sugar or glucose with a pinch of salt and gently dip it's beak in to encourage it to drink.
If it won't try dribbling some water along the side of it's beak and hopefully it will sip some in.

Yes I'd try to gently bathe the beak without putting any force on it to make sure it's clean in case of an injury.

Let it rest a while and if it's ok check it over for wounds under the wings or under the feathers on the back etc in case it's been attacked and in need of meds.

I don't know where you are but obviously if the owner calls you need to make sure they actually want the bird back to care for it if it's injured. If they aren't bothered then hopefully you'll be able to nurse it through to health.


Janet


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

I made him some oatmeal (and cooled it) in the hopes he'd eat something but so far he won't. He also has regular pigeon food and regular water. I'll try fixing him some sugar water. We looked him over and the beak seems to be the only immediately visible injury. One of the pigeon racers we talked to said they bonk into wires and it drives their upper beak into their lower beak and injures the lower beak. That's apparently very common. That's why I made oatmeal -- if his beak is hurt he might not be able to eat seed. I took Maggie in to visit him (at a distance) in the hope that seeing another pigeon would make him feel more comfortable, but she wasn't interested in him and vice versa.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Is the upper beak locked into the lower beak? Or can it open?


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## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

Siobhan, 
Janet is right, make sure the owner want to take care of the pigeon. I know from my own experience pigeon club members that don't bother treat their own sick pigeons. The advice for my squab with splayed leg was simple: twist the neck. That's awful. Because they are busy racing their pigeons, a sick/handicapped bird is a nuisance to them.

Can you post some pics?


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

He's sleeping right now so I don't want to disturb him by taking a picture. I'll do that after he's had a nap. He has moved -- I sneaked in to take a peek at him. I don't think his beak is stuck. The injury seems to be on the bottom side, not on the tips. And I will definitely ask them if they're going to take care of him or put him down, because I would be very happy to keep him. Of course, they may not call. I spoke to the secretary of the pigeon club he's from and that was hours ago and no one has called yet.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

It's more common than one might think, for a pigeon to fly into a window, side or a building or such and impact in the beak area. When this happens, the upper beak can lock into the lower beak, making it impossible to open the beak. That's why I asked, so do make sure he can open his beak.


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

I just checked on him and he's up drinking out of his water dish. And I still haven't heard from his people. Maybe he's going to be okay after all. Is there any way to tell if he's a boy or girl other than waiting to see if he lays an egg? I'm not as knowledgeable about pigeons as I am parrots in spite of Maggie. He's a dark gray with red eyes. We're just saying "he" so we don't have to say "it," which I hate. So apparently his beak isn't stuck shut, since he can drink. Now if he'll eat something, I'll really be encouraged.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Well it's good if he's drinking for a start. I'd still give the sugar/glucose in the water as he may need some strength before he tries fod.

It's good to know he'll get a good home if the owner doesn't want to take him back.

Janet


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

*his picture*

He woke up so I took a picture of him.


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

See how the flight feathers on his right wing are all gone? And his tail is ragged. Poor baby couldn't fly if he wanted to. He's standing up this morning and moving around in his cage but he's still frightened and doesn't want to be touched. He was fascinated watching me get ready for work, though. I doubt he's ever lived in a house or even been in a house so that's probably making him uneasy, too. But I'm much encouraged that he made it through the night and is standing up this morning. 

He has been pooping, but his poops are white with only the slightest tinge of green and some don't have any green.


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## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

Does anybody here thinks that it would be a good idea to pop food in his mouth taking into account of course that he has the beak problem..May be tube feeding won't hurt him.

Any suggestions? I hope the bird won't get sick for malnutrition.

Thanks.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi,

Well Dima's right. This bird will need to eat or it will start going downhill if it goes for too long without food.

Ideally if he won't eat you could hand feed it defrosted peas or sweetcorn.
Obviously you need to be very careful not to put any pressure on the beak but it should be possible to gently open it from the side and pop a pea in and just push it towrds the back of the throat until it swallows it.

The pure white poops are just urine and they don't show any sign of food which would be the darker matter they're normally made up of.
Tube feeding isn't something you should do if you've not been shown or done it before. Not sure if you've ever done this with you other birds.
It would still need you to open the beak so I think I'd try the warm peas as this will help keep him hydrated as well.

Are you able to show a picture of the beak close up?

Janet


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

even though his beak needs to heal... he can't heal if he does not have food in him.. I would try to get some defrosted peas and corn down him if possible. crop feeding would be best..as it only takes minimal time to get something in him..but he is not where that can happen ATM.


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

A friend is a wildlife rehabber and it was only dried blood. She cleaned it off and he's eating and drinking on his own. We weren't going to let him starve to death.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Siobhan said:


> A friend is a wildlife rehabber and it was only dried blood. She cleaned it off and he's eating and drinking on his own. *We weren't going to let him starve to death.*




LOL...of couse you weren't!


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

He's eating and drinking and pooping and preening. I changed his paper and refilled all his dishes and he let me stroke his back. I wouldn't say he "liked" that, but he didn't hate it, and I think he'll like it when he gets used to it. Maggie dearly loves to be petted. His band says 2011 so he's still young and I foresee a spoiled and plump pidgie in the near future.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Siobhan...that's wonderful news.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

That's a great outcome. Well done

Janet


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

The pigeon club guy finally called us on Monday night and when he heard the bird is injured, asked my husband to "dispose of" him for him. It's going to be a long while until his feathers grow back so he can fly again. He can't get any lift at all and I don't think he could even glide down to the floor or boost himself onto a perch in his current condition, so he has to learn he has to walk. I put his cage on the floor last night and he came out and walked around and tried to fly, but couldn't even lift a little bit. He settled down on my dog's bed and decided it was pretty comfortable and sat there next to me for a while. He's still nervous about being touched -- and probably no wonder, he's been through a lot -- but he did let me kiss him good night when I put him to bed.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Did they say what *dispose of* means? From that comment though, it seems clear the owner doesn't care about having the bird back.


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

Hubby did not pursue that line of inquiry. He just said sure, we'd take care of it, and that was the end of the conversation. Granted, Mulligan (unless he turns out to be a girl, LOL) was in lots worse shape that day than he is now and we still weren't convinced he would survive, but a racing pigeon minus a wing and tail who can't fly isn't much of a racing pigeon. He is, however, a nice companion pigeon who is going to discover what Maggie already knows about getting carried through life on a satin pillow. He was very interested in looking around the bird room last night and when he's had regular meals for a few days and is stronger, I'll show him the rest of the house. He's severely underweight and we have to put some plump on him. It's not obvious until you pick him up and can feel how skinny he is, poor baby.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

That was good news about the beak..that could of been a challenge. If you are in the U.S. can you post the breeder or the band # so we know what club and person this bird comes from.?


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

I want to be fair to the guy. We thought Mulligan might not make it and the pigeon club is about a two hour drive from here. The man probably didn't want to drive two hours only to find a dead pigeon. Maybe he just didn't care about him since he's hurt, but I didn't talk to him myself and I don't know that for a fact. Since we're willing to keep him and take care of him, hurt or not, whether he can ever fly again or not, and he's not an exotic pigeon -- he looks just like the wild pigeons that I see around all the time -- the man might well have figured it was best to leave him with us.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I'm glad you are going to keep him. It feels like a happy ending to what could have been tragic end for the pigeon. Good for you...you done good!


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

There was never a question about keeping him unless the man desperately wanted him back. Since he didn't, and I'm glad he didn't, Mully is now retired from racing and can join Maggie in the absorbing pastime of bossing everyone else around, once he's well.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Siobhan said:


> I want to be fair to the guy. We thought Mulligan might not make it and the pigeon club is about a two hour drive from here. The man probably didn't want to drive two hours only to find a dead pigeon. Maybe he just didn't care about him since he's hurt, but I didn't talk to him myself and I don't know that for a fact. Since we're willing to keep him and take care of him, hurt or not, whether he can ever fly again or not, and he's not an exotic pigeon -- he looks just like the wild pigeons that I see around all the time -- the man might well have figured it was best to leave him with us.


I understand..best left alone. just thought with this practice of not getting ones birds (or of concern of it) is considerd by allot to be a bad practice perhaps the people who do it should be mentioned.


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

As skinny as he is, he was probably missing for a couple of weeks and the guy might have figured he was dead already until he got our message.


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