# Found homer near Elgin, IL



## caitlynnmm (May 5, 2012)

Hi all! Yesterday my cousin found a pigeon outside of a Noodles and Company in Elgin, IL on Randall Road with a broken wing. He is a beautiful, healthy looking bird, aside from the wing, and has a purple band on his right leg. He is at my mother's right now, and I'm headed home tomorrow to help her immobilize the wing and get a closer look at the band, which she and my cousin claim has no markings on it whatsoever. He is in a small dog crate (one of my own pigeon transport cages) and is eating, drinking, and pooping fine. Like I said, he is a very stocky and healthy looking bird. 

I'd love to find his owner. I called a few numbers, one was an old disconnected number of the Elgin Homing Pigeon Club (I'd actually had contact with them about six years ago when I was looking for a mate for my common, Winnie, and several members of this forum helped connect me with them), and a few other numbers in the area, all saying that the band should have numbers on it and if it didn't there was nothing they could do do help connect us with his owner. 

I'm obviously willing to foster him until we can find his home, but there aren't a whole lot of places out here that raise pigeons and would care enough to band them, so I'm sure someone is looking for him or waiting for him to return and have probably dealt with broken wings before and can fix it better than I can (thankfully I've never had to deal with anything broken on either of my pigeons, I'm just going to immobilize it the way I've read on this forum). 

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to put this out there in case anyone knows anyone else I should try contacting, or if his owner comes searching on here (best to try everywhere, right?) Thanks! 

Caitlynn


P.S. Below is a photo of the bird, sorry it is a little dark and low quality, it was taken with my mom's cell phone.


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## Nkloft (Jan 24, 2011)

What color is the pigeon ? i cant see the picture


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## jondove (Nov 17, 2011)

Try posting the picture again.

In the unlikely event that someone does claim the pigeon, you should make sure it's the rightful owner and what their intentions are. Some fanciers will take a lost pigeon back out of obligation and only to kill the bird that's of no use to them anymore, especially with a broken wing.

That's less likely to happen if the band has no markings, as they won't be obliged by law to collect a bird that cannot be traced back to them. But still, someone might claim the pigeon as theirs while having a totally different agenda, like for example using pigeons for dog training.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

caitlynnmm said:


> Hi all! Yesterday my cousin found a pigeon outside of a Noodles and Company in Elgin, IL on Randall Road with a broken wing. He is a beautiful, healthy looking bird, aside from the wing, and has a purple band on his right leg. He is at my mother's right now, and I'm headed home tomorrow to help her immobilize the wing and get a closer look at the band, which she and my cousin claim has no markings on it whatsoever. He is in a small dog crate (one of my own pigeon transport cages) and is eating, drinking, and pooping fine. Like I said, he is a very stocky and healthy looking bird.
> 
> I'd love to find his owner. I called a few numbers, one was an old disconnected number of the Elgin Homing Pigeon Club (I'd actually had contact with them about six years ago when I was looking for a mate for my common, Winnie, and several members of this forum helped connect me with them), and a few other numbers in the area, all saying that the band should have numbers on it and if it didn't there was nothing they could do do help connect us with his owner.
> 
> ...


This may not be a race bird at all as it does not have a band to show that. so this bird could of been feral for any number of weeks or years. It is nice you want to find his owner..but if they were not responsible enough to band him to be found then IMO the pigeon is yours. If you do not want him you can place him in an appropriate home so he does not have to live out on the streets anylonger. a picture of him would be nice to see just to make sure what you have there.


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## caitlynnmm (May 5, 2012)

Here is the photo, sorry it didn't work when I tried to attach it yesterday.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yep he is a homer with only a snap on band... too bad. do you want to keep him?


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## caitlynnmm (May 5, 2012)

Well, if it is like you guys said and the owner who may take him back will just euthanize him just because he can't fly anymore, then yeah I'm going to keep him. I think that is just awful, and he deserves a posh retirement. 

I have a large aviary/coop that my common and tippler, a mated pair, live in now in my backyard, safe from predators and such and insulated in the winter. They've lived in there together for about five years now and it is a great arrangement. The aviary is pretty big, and could easily house another bird happily.

My question is: Is it possible to introduce him into the aviary with my pair or is that a bad idea? I would obviously want to keep him in quarantine until his wing heals so he doesn't injure himself anymore, and I can also be sure he doesn't have anything that he can give to my birds. It would also be nice to try to bond a little with him at this time and get him used to me.

I'm worried if he is a male it is a bad idea, especially because he is so much larger than my birds (almost twice the size). Winnie, my male, a common pigeon, who was hand raised from a baby, is very territorial and a spoiled little boy with a temper. I'm sure he wouldn't be having another male in his roost, but a female, perhaps. Brodie, my female, a tippler, has her hands full with Winnie so I think another male might kill her. She also has some balance issues. I got her when she was just under a year old so Winnie could have a mate. She has never been graceful, always wobbly, even when just walking, which is why I think the person who had her gave her to me in the first place. I most of all don't want to do anything to hurt or endanger my birds. 

I guess I'm really hoping this homer is a female, because that wouldn't be such a bad arrangement, right? I've heard of set-ups with two females and one male before. I just don't know about mixing the three different breeds together. Any advice or knowledge you can offer on this matter is appreciated. Thanks!!!


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

Hi caitlynn,

That is one of my birds. I "repair" feral pigeons in the Chicago area and mark them with a colored plastic snap-on band when they are released. The purple band means he was released during 2010- 2011. I am certainly surprised to see it made it all the way to Elgin from downtown Chicago.

Are you certain about the broken wing? Nothing seems to be hanging down which is the characteristic sign of a broken wing.

In any event I would certainly be happy to take him back. This will be his second time with trouble which means to me he just may not be cut out for the feral life. I have contact with some farmers in downstate Illinois who take my recidivists in. Send me a PM if you wish.

Thank-you for looking after him!


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

BY the way,

If you can post a shot of its back and feather pattern (with the one wing extended), I do keep records of the birds I pick up for one reason or another, and may be able to pin-point the date he was picked up and why. Or if it really is a male. I keep them segregated when I take them in, but the males identify themselves as soon as they start feeling better and start picking fights. courting the females, etc.


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## caitlynnmm (May 5, 2012)

Grimaldy,

Thanks for your reply! I hope this picture helps (sorry, I was trying to hold him myself so it was difficult to get a great picture). Was this what you were looking for? Is he one of your rehabs? It surprised me that he was feral considering how well he is with human handling. He is almost as tame as my Brodie, who I've had for six years.

I live in Chicago and originally made the post before I had seen the bird and he was in my mother's care. I've since come to my parents' house where I've spent a little time with him. I'm 95% sure he is a male, as he did a little cooing, tale dragging, mating dance around my hand yesterday. haha. I'm not sure how he got to Elgin, but he must have been fully rehabilitated when you released him if he was able to make it this far. 

I'm not sure what happened since your release though. After examining it I don't think the wing is actually broken. It hangs much lower than his other wing, and it gently shakes when the rest of his body and other wing are still. When we first took him in he would try to fly and only half extend the injured wing and tumble head first into the ground. His personality has changed completely from when I first got home, though. I'm pretty sure he is feeling better just from resting and eating real pigeon feed. He even wingslaps me now when I try to take him out of the dog crate I have him in, and grunts if I walk by. 

He must have been hanging around with a bad crowd though since you released him, because he was absolutely covered in feather lice. I sprayed him with some bird lice and mite killer I had around, then gave him a nice borax bath, and have been sneaking a splash of applecider vinegar and garlic in his drinking water just for good measure. He is lice free (lets hope those pesky little eggs are gone too) and I caught him grooming himself today, which was the first time since he's been here. He seems a lot better, but probably isn't releasable yet. A farm might be his best bet. Where are you located? Are you willing to take him back and rehab him again? You seem to know a lot more than I do about it. As I've said, both of my birds have been, for the most part, perfectly healthy and I've never had to deal with this stuff. You might be able to better figure what is wrong with him. 

Thanks again for your reply!


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## Grimaldy (Feb 25, 2007)

Hi Caitlynn,

That is a bird that was spotted at the Daly Plaza in downtown Chicago by a young woman known to me only as Tina. She thought it was unlikely to survive the winter, that was October 2010, so I picked it up.

Indeed, it had a broken left leg and a mite infection that had stripped all of the feathers from its back and all of its tail. The bird was a young squab, about one month old then. It made a long and difficult recovery and by spring of 2011 it was making itself clear to me that it wanted to go. It was a very pleasant bird, it had recovered its feathers and the leg had healed, so I released it at the Plaza in April 2011. Marked with a purple band, and I never saw it again.

The bird apparently has a genetic disposition to parasites, something that some birds seem to otherwise avoid. However the falling on his head when trying to fly does not sound at all like a wing injury. Sometimes the birds pick up a bacterial infection that produces neurotoxins, like S. Enterica, Clostridium and Enterobacters. Their immune system beats the infection but the toxins stay on and do a lot of damage to the nervous system. 

Anyway, the bird has a great disposition and a lot of heart but it is just not programmed, by genetics or disposition, to survive in the wild. Over the years I have noticed some birds do it very well, some barely get out of the nest. I will gladly take him back unless you want to continue to spoil him for a while. DO not bind up the wing; that is a lot of half-baked nonsense that causes permanent damage to birds. There is a nerve that runs along the wing's leading edge that is very easily injured by binding the wing up like a human arm. All you need do is tape the wing tips together; the strong wing will support and hold the other wing up.

So send me a PM if you want me to take him. I live up on the north shore and I can come to Elgin to pick him up.


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