# Help treating an injured pigeon!



## karianist (Mar 13, 2019)

Hello,

i've found a pigeon few days ago here in Casablanca/Morocco, it was trying to fly but it was injured, so I caught it and the wound was on one of its wings,

Here are some pictures ( warning : disturbing content )

Picture 1

Picture 2

I kept using only povidone-iodine on the wound (a guy who have pigeons told me to use it) and I can't tell if the wing is detached or broken, and I can't really tell if it got any better, and since I can't afford taking it to a veterinarian I'm here asking for help on how I can treat it myself if it's possible,

and also I'm not aware of any low cost or free service to help animals here in Morocco,

any help would be appreciated,

Thank you in advance!​


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If the wing is broken, then it will need to be set, and he still may not be able to fly well later. If predator attacked, then will definitely need oral antibiotics. Actually either way should get antibiotics for infection. Would be best to clean the wound with a saline solution, (boil a quart of water and add to it 2 teaspoons of salt). Then pat dry and cover with an antibiotic cream. Do you have a vet where you could get either Baytril or Amoxycillin?


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## karianist (Mar 13, 2019)

Jay3 said:


> If the wing is broken, then it will need to be set, and he still may not be able to fly well later. If predator attacked, then will definitely need oral antibiotics. Actually either way should get antibiotics for infection. Would be best to clean the wound with a saline solution, (boil a quart of water and add to it 2 teaspoons of salt). Then pat dry and cover with an antibiotic cream. Do you have a vet where you could get either Baytril or Amoxycillin?


Hi, thank you for replying,
This is my first time dealing with an injured bird so i can't tell if it's wing broken or not, 
I may be able to help it if you can give me detailed steps,
and for the antibiotics I don't think I'll be able to afford it, isn't there a replacement ?
your help is really appreciated, thank you!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Amoxicillin can be bought in places that sell tropical fish. Fishmox, comes in a capsule that can be mixed with water and made into a med that can be given to the pigeon. If you can get that come back on and we can help you with the dosage. If a predator has gotten him then he can die of an infection without antibiotics.

Here are some videos on a figure-8 wing wrap. Of course it is much better done when an x-ray can confirm where the break/breaks are.

Wrapping a hawks wing
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...D94797ABD087D712BFD0D94797ABD087&&FORM=VRDGAR

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...&mid=D712BFD0D94797ABD087D712BFD0D94797ABD087


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Hi, thanks for helping him.

Povidone iodine is a good disinfectant; usually, following my vet instructions, I disinfect the wounds and apply an antibiotic cream twice a day. If you can't find an antibiotic cream, you could apply honey, it's a natural antibiotic and helps to heal the wounds. 

Pay attention to any bad smell. When we rescued my broken wing pigeon, Apple (she needed surgery, a bandage, an oral antibiotic and a pain med), we noticed a bad smell. The vet explained us that she had that bad smell because the wound was becoming infected. In that case, an antibiotic is absolutely and urgently needed.
Do you have a cat or a dog or do you know someone (a friend, a member of your family, etc) who has one? If so, you could maybe have an antibiotic cream and/or an oral antibiotic helpful for your bird. 
You could also maybe have in your own first aid kit an oral antibiotic containing amoxicillin + clavulanic acid (for example, recently the dentist gave it to a family member who had an infection) and/or an antibiotic cream. 

Could you get a vitamin supplement for birds there? If so, you could add it to his drinking water. Btw does he drink and eat on his own? 

Please keep us updated and let us know if you find an antibiotic.


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## karianist (Mar 13, 2019)

Jay3 said:


> Amoxicillin can be bought in places that sell tropical fish. Fishmox, comes in a capsule that can be mixed with water and made into a med that can be given to the pigeon. If you can get that come back on and we can help you with the dosage. If a predator has gotten him then he can die of an infection without antibiotics.
> 
> Here are some videos on a figure-8 wing wrap. Of course it is much better done when an x-ray can confirm where the break/breaks are.
> 
> ...


Hi , and thanks again for replying i will use the water with salt as you said or the iodine is enough I guess, I will also use honey as colombina said, and i managed to get a two amoxicillin's pills (Amoxil 1g) but i don't know the dosage and how to give it to it, thank you again!



Colombina said:


> Hi, thanks for helping him.
> 
> Povidone iodine is a good disinfectant; usually, following my vet instructions, I disinfect the wounds and apply an antibiotic cream twice a day. If you can't find an antibiotic cream, you could apply honey, it's a natural antibiotic and helps to heal the wounds.
> 
> ...


Hi colombina, thank you for replying I appreciate it, should I use the honey on the wound after cleaning it again with iodine or water with salt as Jay3 said? and also should I wrap it or not after using the honey? 
and also i managed to get two pills of amoxicillin ( Amoxil 1g ) and I don't know the dosage or how to give it to it,
and yes it does drink and eat on it's own, here is an other picture of it : ( i use "it" because I don't know if it's a male or female, I don't know much about pigeons ^^ )










Thank you again for replying!


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## Ladygrey (Dec 10, 2016)

That is an older domestic pigeon. It will need a home and retirement . That wing looks pretty bad, but not sure what the wound looks like under that. I hope you got a dosage amount for the amoxicillin.


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## karianist (Mar 13, 2019)

Ladygrey said:


> That is an older domestic pigeon. It will need a home and retirement . That wing looks pretty bad, but not sure what the wound looks like under that. I hope you got a dosage amount for the amoxicillin.


Hi , thanks for replying, I included some pictures of the wound, if you wanna see them click on the links below: 

( warning : disturbing content )

Picture 1
Picture 2


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Sorry for the late reply.

How is he doing? 

So I'm going to explain you what I usually do following my vet instruction:
I usually disinfect the wounds with povidone iodine (or Éosine) twice a day (morning and evening) then apply an antibiotic cream (when we treated our pigeon Fabio we applied even a small amount of honey). Last summer we rescued a dove badly injured by a predator: just to get you an idea, we disinfected the wounds and applied the cream twice a day for about 10/13 days.

Have you noticed any bad smell? 

Saline solution is good to rinse/wash a wound.

It's a good sign that he is eating and drinking on its own. 

Personally I have never used amoxicillin so I can't help you with dosage (I used other antibiotics like marbofloxacine, etc).
I'm sure someone else will soon help you; if not, you could start a new thread asking about amoxicillin dosage. 
In the meanwhile I'm going to send you a link about medications (you can read there also about amoxicillin): 

http://www.homingpigeon.com/article/Dosage.html


This is an old thread "Pigeon with Injured Wing - Vet is not an option" : here a member explained how to give amoxicillin (the explication is in post n. 2): 


https://www.pigeons.biz/forums/#/topics/107370?page=1


If the wing is broken or dislocated a bandage would be needed. You have however to consider that birds bones heal quickly.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I didn't get a notification of your reply that you got the med. How many mg is it? In a capsule? He should get between 25 and 50 mg. divided into 2 doses daily, 12 hours apart. If you can weigh him that would be good to determine the dose. Marina, a member here who uses it often wrote this:


_The best antibiotics will be amoxycillin for humans (also called betamox and contains 500 mg of amoxy) and hopefully you can also buy that from a pharmacy like we do here. I give 0.12 mg of amoxy per gram bird weight, so you have to weigh the bird first. Dissolve the tablet in 5 ml of water and then do the calculations. Give twice daily for 7 to 10 days. I've saved quite a lot of young doves and pigeons by sticking to this formula and hopefully this info will help you in the future._

So depends on what the mg of the med are, and the weight of the bird. If no way to get his weight, then I would go with 30-50 mg, divided into 2 doses daily. Also, I would use an antibiotic cream like Neosporin or something rather than honey. Easy to get and cheap.


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## catsnbirds (Sep 18, 2014)

SPANA animal welfare organization has 5 centers in Morocco and a mobile vet clinic in a van. They may be able to help you, as well. Thank you for your kindness to the injured bird.


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