# Injured ringneck dove



## Kyky97 (Jun 10, 2019)

I saw a ringneck dove being attacked by two black birds. I got out of my car and helped it up but it wouldn’t fly/move. I brought it home and noticed it has a lot of feathers plucked out of its neck and it has a small wound. It wasn’t bleeding but you can see the flesh. My friend used to have pigeons and told me to clean it with saline spray so I have been doing that the past couple days. It still won’t fly and I’m not sure what else I can do. I have been feeding it wild bird seed and giving it water and it’s been eating and drinking fine.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Hi, last year I rescued too a dove badly attacked by a predator (probably a seagull). I also had similar experiences with pigeons. 

Usually (following the instructions of my vet) I disinfect the wounds twice a day (with Betadine 10% or Éosine 2%) then put an antibiotic cream. Have you noticed if the wound has a bad smell? 
In my case, I also gave to the birds an oral antibiotic because they had open wounds. 

I would give her a complete vitamin supplement (vitamins + amino acids + trace elements), you can put it in her drinking water, it will help her to get stronger. 

It could be possible that she has a broken wing or/and leg? 
Some years ago my vet explained me a "test" which helps to understand if a leg/foot is broken. I'm going to tell you it and send you some pictures:

- take your pigeon and gently turn him upside down;

- put your finger in the centre of the sole of the foot and exert a light pressure;

- if the pigeon close his foot and squeeze your finger with his fingers everything is ok.

If the bird is too scared maybe he will not close the foot at the first time so try the test again.
In any case, she could maybe just feel too weak or too painful or too scared to fly/move. Keep her in a quiet room in a cage, she surely needs to rest.

You could add to the wild bird seeds a dove/pigeon mixture, dry legumes like small lentils, mung beans and peas (the ones for humans that you can find at supermarket) and a mixture for canaries containing dehydrated fruits.

Are you monitoring her droppings? Is she eating enough food?

When I rescue a new bird I always check her/his mouth/throat with a flashlight, have you done it?


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## Kyky97 (Jun 10, 2019)

Colombina said:


> Hi, last year I rescued too a dove badly attacked by a predator (probably a seagull). I also had similar experiences with pigeons.
> 
> Usually (following the instructions of my vet) I disinfect the wounds twice a day (with Betadine 10% or Éosine 2%) then put an antibiotic cream. Have you noticed if the wound has a bad smell?
> In my case, I also gave to the birds an oral antibiotic because they had open wounds.
> ...


Its feet and legs are okay. Today it has been moving it’s wings around for the first time and flew onto a chair but won’t do much more. I bought a vitamin supplement for the water yesterday so I gave it that. I will go to a pet store today and buy the foods you were talking about. It’s acting more active today so I think that’s a good sign. The wound doesn’t smell at all and looks like it’s getting better. And it has been eating and drinking a good amount. Do you have any suggestions of where I can get an Oral antibiotic?


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Glad to hear that her legs and wings are ok. No smell, being more active, eating well, moving the wings are all good signs.

Usually you can buy an oral antibiotic in any pharmacy, here a prescription is needed to buy them. I don't know where you live so I don't know if it is needed even in your country. 
You can also get them from a vet. Do you have a cat or a dog? If so, you could maybe have an antibiotic good even for birds. You could maybe have one also in your own first aid kit. 

If the wounds are healing well (no sign of infection) and she didn't have any open wounds you could maybe just disinfect the wounds and apply an antibiotic cream or a small amount of honey (it's a natural antibiotic and helps to heal the wounds). My birds had open wounds (my dove also had holes in her crop), bleedings. As I can't see her, I can't tell you an opinion. Maybe you could post a photo.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

How is she doing?


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