# Please Help, rescued a pigeon but it won't fly off



## CromeRed (Jun 17, 2012)

Hi,

A pigeon flew into the big glass front door of our apartment building and knocked itself really hard. We took him to the vet, who said that it's very young and simply doesn't know how to fly very well yet; but that otherwise it's fine. 
We didn't want to leave it outside because there are several cats in the garden and we're always finding dead pigeons, this little one doesn't stand a chance; so we kept it at home over night. He just sits hudled in a corner and refuses to move! (although he seems to feel right at home in my room)
I've pearched it on a tree in the garden now in the hope that it will get aclimatized and fly off, but it's not moving. It's not at all afraid of me and even climbs on my hand when I put it next to him. 
Please help, am I stuck with a new pet or is there a way I can get it to rejoin it's own species??

Cromered


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## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Pigeon babies will self release usually if you let them come and go. You can train them into following a routine as well, where they come in sometimes, and stay out sometimes.

I've had 5 pigeon babies in recent months in various stages of release. They were all very small when I took them in, and some had pox or wounds. The first two were allowed to come and go from my bathroom window when they recovered from pox, and one started to roost with other pigeons right away. The other took a month to gain enough confidence to roost outdoors. Now they only come back once a week or so now, when its raining or when they are scared.

The remaining three are still very little, so they go out during the day, and are allowed to come in at night to roost on a shelf. 

I do this because I learned the hard way that when I notice a baby pigeon looking a bit too small and hopeless, they almost always die unless I take them in. That really upset me, so i started to help. Sometimes they only need as little as a week, just to gain some strength.


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## CromeRed (Jun 17, 2012)

Hi, thanks so much!


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