# Wood Pigeon



## bird_newbie (Jun 30, 2011)

We rescued a Wood Pigeon (thats a fledgling)from our outside cat 2 days ago (the bird had no injuries) my farther put it in a basket,with bird seed and water and had another basket on top of that to keep the Wood Pigeon safe in our large shed. We've put the basket outside and put the basket inbetween our washing line. It tried to fly, but our cat was near the pigeon again, so we put it back into the shed for it to relax for the rest of the evening. We've put the wood pigeon out side again and its still sitting on the basket thats stat inbetween the washing line, I slid my finger under where it was sitting and moved my hand up and down, and tried to make it fly, but all it did was fall on the grass and waddle off,so I put it back by the basket. Its still here after many hours.....What can we do? 

(ps: we've called the R.S.P.C.A and they told us "we only re-home animals, we don't deal with wild animals" )


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi

I suggest you keep the woodie in a safe place until we know more. Can you post a pic of the bird? If it is not flying then it may be

a) Not quite fledged, thus not ready to fly
b) Has a very small injury not very obvious, like a puncture wound (maybe under wing) 
c) Wing damage or bruising
d) Was unwell and therefore easily caught by cat

I think if we can first establish what approx age it is, that will be a start.

Birds caught by a cat may not have any noticeable wounds, but cat saliva itself can be toxic if the bird ingests it through preening.

Can you let us know where you are, in case there is a (non RSPCA) wildlife place in the area?


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## bird_newbie (Jun 30, 2011)

Heres a picture I only just took a matter of moments ago and I live in Cardiff.


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Best keep this little guy inside until he is doing better, as he may be able to make a burst of flight to where he can get to a place, or a location, where either you can't get to him or don't quite know where he went. As John mentions, cat caught birds have have been exposed to saliva that may contain bacteria that could be deadly to a bird, best to be on the safe side and treat this little guy for 5 days with an antibiotic like Synulox (Clavamox) Amoxicillin (there are others that will work, ask friends and family if they have any antibiotic around). Also, John and a few other of our UK members may be able to suggest some rescue/wildlife places that may be able to take in this little one for rehabilitation and treatment.

Good luck,

Karyn


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## bird_newbie (Jun 30, 2011)

Dobato said:


> Best keep this little guy inside until he is doing better, as he may be able to make a burst of flight to where he can get to a place, or a location, where either you can't get to him or don't quite know where he went. As John mentions, cat caught birds have have been exposed to saliva that may contain bacteria that could be deadly to a bird, best to be on the safe side and treat this little guy for 5 days with an antibiotic like Synulox (Clavamox) Amoxicillin (there are others that will work, ask friends and family if they have any antibiotic around). Also, John and a few other of our UK members may be able to suggest some rescue/wildlife places that may be able to take in this little one for rehabilitation and treatment.
> 
> Good luck,
> 
> Karyn



thank you for giving the useful advice and info Karyn, but we have lots of cats in our area and we have 2 cats in our house (plus we have no where for a wild bird inside our house, so we just keep it in the shed) I'm also wondering what could we feed the pigeon? I tired to feed it myself, and it opend its beak quite widely for a few seconds, so I'm gessing it still needs some kind of soft mashed up food?

and this is a close up of the Wood pigeons face.


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

BN, keeping him in the shed should be OK, when I said inside, I was more meaning a place where he would not be able to fly away, if he took a fright or something of that nature. If you could pick him up some wild-bird seed, this would do for now, or even if you had some barley around the house you could use barley until you picked up some seeds, and he will need a water dish of course.

We don't deal with Wood Pigeons on this side of the world and they can be more like wild doves, where they are easy to fright and not too cooperative with being administered to. I am going to PM a few of our UK members who are used to dealing with these guys to better advise on feeding methods and of course John may jump in is he is around as well. Please do look into the antibiotics though for now.

Karyn


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi

Another feeding possibility if he is not ready to eat seeds is corn and peas

These are the frozen variety thawed for a few minutes in hot water, then popped into his mouth one by one, warm. Try 20 - 30 for the first attempt. You may need to wrap him in a towel if he struggles and, anyway, it makes it easier to focus on opening his beak and popping food in.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

These two are nearest wildlife places to you:



> City Wildlife Care
> Newport
> 
> 07794 179 207
> ...


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Thanks for the PM Karen.

Hi bird_newbie,

The feeding John's suggested of de-frosted peas is the best idea for a Woodie this age for now.
I had a juvenile last week that looked the same age and it couldn't fly when it first came although where it was found being attacked by dogs, it couldn't have got to without flying. So maybe the shock of the event is an issue for this one too at the moment.

Definitely keep it confined for a short while and monitor it's abilities and let us know how he's doing on the flying front before considering any sort of release.

Janet


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## bird_newbie (Jun 30, 2011)

Sorry for the late reply all. The wood pigeon flew away weeks ago after us taking care of it for a week. We fed it (dried) wet dog food and water for a week. I still miss him/her


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