# Rehabbed bird flew the coop and now returned



## wjpike1 (Nov 25, 2013)

I agreed to keep a pigeon that a friend found that had an injured wing due to being hit by a car. At that time it could not fly. She had been keeping it in a dog crate and I, on the other hand, had a nice large, empty homemade chicken coop where it could safely walk around and heal for awhile. We kept it for about a month and a half and it would flutter around in there but we didn't think it would ever fully recover and were prepared to keep it. The other day, during a light rain storm my daughter went in to secure a tarp we had over half the coop and the pigeon flew out and up on top of our roof. From there it flew to a roof two houses over. We were surprised but thought, "Well, I guess she's healed!" I was worried about her in the rain, but there was really nothing I could do. Now about 3 days later, I was by my kitchen window and who should fly up and land near the window looking in at me but the pigeon! She was really trying to get my attention so I went out and talked to her and she didn't fly away. I got a food dish out and gave her some seed and water. She sat and ate for quite a long time. The poor thing was starving. Then she proceeded to fly up to the top of a shelving unit we out on our porch and fell asleep. She is still up there now several hours later. We did leave the coop door open to see if she wanted to go back in, but she didn't try to. I put her food and water dishes up there with her. My thinking is that I would rather she would be able to fly free and know she could come back for food and water when she needs it than be cooped up the a cage, but am wondering if this is the best thing to do, and if so, should I provide any better shelter? What kind? Thanks for any advice you can give.


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## tbmama (Jul 3, 2013)

This is what I did with my rehab, it's called a soft release where you open the door to the enclosure and wait for the bird to decide if it's ready to leave or not. They may come back at first until they find their feet. This is what I would do, she is obviously not finding enough food yet and came back because she was hungry, but over 1-2 weeks you may find she only comes back every few days as her foraging skills improve and eventually she may stop coming back altogether. just so as not to disrupt her schedule, I would suggest you put the food and water in or near the chicken coop for her and leave the door open if she wants to sleep there. if she goes in there at night, then close the door to keep cats out, but open the door and walk away again in the morning so she can fly off.


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## wjpike1 (Nov 25, 2013)

Well, she does not want to go into the coop but has set up shop on top of an old bookshelf that is out on our covered back porch. I put some tree branches up there for her to stand on and put a food and water dish up there and she has not left at all. Every time we go out she talks to us and seems happy to stay. Now I am worried about the cold temps at night. In the coop she would go into one of the old chickens nesting boxes, but up on the top of the bookshelf there isn't much room for that.Will she stay warm enough if it freezes at night?


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## tbmama (Jul 3, 2013)

is it possible to attach one of the nesting boxes to the shelving? perhaps you could nail it to the side if it's all wood and put some nesting materials in so she stays warm. or you could find a cardboard box that may fit there somewhere. if she has all her feathers then she should have fairly good insulation against the cold, but then I live in an area with very mild winters so it hasn't been an issue for me.


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