# Wing that is not repairing properly?



## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

I have a pigeon that turned up with a wound on top joint of the wing(i.e. the point at which it folds) and another scrape wound where this touches the chest. I could not work out how she got this wound, it looked like she had somehow scraped it quite bad. It was obviously very sore and although she could just about get up in the air, she was reluctant to do so. Anyway, I gave very little medication, just cleared things up. She has been healing here for about 3 weeks now. The wing is still hanging low, as it did at the beginning, but she is able to fly better with it now. A lot of the swelling has gone down and the skin has healed. 

The thing is, she contiues to hang the wing low, and when she flies to try and get away from another pigeon, she does not use the wing properly. Am I expecting too much too soon? Should I leave here to continue to heal by herself or should I intervene? I was wondering if I should hold her on my lap and stretch out the wing and then fold it up again? Sort of trying to see if there is any problem with it moving where it should. If it is getting stuck at some point she may have a bone that is not fixing properly? 

Would anyone like to express an opinion?

Thanks,
Brian.


----------



## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

A hanging wing usually implies some sort of a broken wing. It may be that it can still fly. Hard to say what the best thing to do is.

I had a pet Ringneck Dove that flew into a window and broke his wing. I took him to the vet and they put the wing in a sling. It healed and he holds it upright now but it is not perfect. He can fly a bit (around my house) but the healed wing is a little off centre, when you look at the bird from above. He would not be releasable if he was a wild bird. The vet explained to me that there are many tiny wing bone involved - i.e. it's not as simple as human broken arm, for example.

So it's hard to say what is best for this pigeon. There's a chance it could heal _correctly_ on it's own and there's also a chance it could heal _incorrectly_ if set by a vet. Is this a wild bird? If it is a pet, it can probably adapt to whatever happens. But if he is wild and unable to fly correctly, his days may be numbered! Any chance you could adopt him? Or at least keep him longer?

My dove with a sling:


My dove today - he flies around OK in my solarium but he would never be OK with his "repaired" wing if he was a wild bird:


----------



## applecheeks (Nov 1, 2013)

This sounds exactly like the bird I took in 2 weeks ago, Brian. I didn't know you could put a sling on them so I just put some antibiotic ointment on it and have been keeping him in a cage that is too small for him to try flying so that the wing could rest. I'm putting him in a bigger cage this weekend. His wing is still hanging lower than the good wing. Looks like your dove is doing great, Ron. So pretty too.


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If the wing is broken it needs to be set right away, as in a week or so the bones have mended. Wrapping it to hold it where it should be held helps to align the bones so that they heal properly. If that isn't done, and the bones aren't lined up well, then they heal in that position. After this much time, it's really too late to do anything with it. The bones would have healed as they did. And I agree that the bird should not be released, as it wouldn't have as good a chance of survival with a wing like that. It's hard enough for them out there with two good wings.


----------



## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

An avian vet set my dove's wing. My dove had to wear the sling for 2 or 3 weeks. The vet warned me that it was complicated to set a wing and he might never fly. 

At first, the wing seemed to be "stiff" and he wouldn't fly. But I let him out with my other doves (in my 18 X 20 foot sun room) so he would get exercise, walking around anyway. Eventually, he tried flying. Now he can fly from around my sun room and can fly from the floor to a 7 foot high perch. But again, as I explained, my dove is a domesticated Ringneck Dove and would never be released to fly outside anyway. So... I can say his wing repair was "successful" in that he can get around my sun room, fly up to perches, fly to my arm, and return to his cage. But his wing repair was not perfect. He can get around but his flying ability would not be sufficient to release him if he were a wild bird.


----------



## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

Sorry to all who have replied, for some reason I am not receiving updates when people leave messages.
Ron, that is a lovely looking dove! Unfortunately the local blue cross will not help me with pigeons, and I do not have the fund to take the pigeon to a normal vet. I would love to know how to put a sling on a wing? I think it is too late for a sling for this little fellow, and as you say Ron, I think he is going to be joining my permanent residents. I should say SHE as she is now courting with one of the males I have, but the wing is still hanging low and flying is more of a mad flap trying to stay up lol.

Jay3 I was told once that if a bird can get airborne, it is unlikely that the wing is broken. This bird was able to get airborne although was obviously reluctant to do so. It looked like the wing has some how been scrapped. It swelled up a lot at first and I gave some meloxicam for pain and swelling, but the swelling took a long time to go down and now the wing seems to still be weak in some way. It may not have been broken, it may just be a very bad joint damage. that joint in the middle of the wing is very complicated and the swelling may have pushed things out of place. Time will tell I guess. It looks like she will be part of my permanent residents.

Thank you all for your help, and sorry for not replying sooner, but I am not getting any messages to tell me I have replies to any of my posts.


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Well she might be able to get airborne, depending on where the break was, and how it healed.


----------



## hong kong pigeons (Sep 30, 2013)

anyway, if its wing can't be healed perfectly. The best way is to adopt it? right? A pigeon at most has only 5 years life, so you may need only to look after him for 3 years.


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

she may of hit an electrical wire. I have had a feral that had a thickness in his wing and the same inury, it took him a month for it not to droop, he still does not fly up to a perch yet by himself, but I have seen him go 5 foot up on a ledge with no problems. he is with two large breed pigeons that stay grounded so perhaps that is why. I will put him in with the homers to see if he improves.


----------



## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

hong kong pigeons said:


> anyway, if its wing can't be healed perfectly. The best way is to adopt it? right? A pigeon at most has only 5 years life, so you may need only to look after him for 3 years.


On the contrary..................An owned pigeon can live for like 15 or even 20 years. In the wild it would only be a few years if that.


----------

