# Montreal - S.O.S. Injured Pigeon with strong will to live needs foster home.



## spfrge

We found a pigeon Sunday November 8, that had been stuck by a car on the right wing and face. We rushed him to the SPCA, where they informed us that they'd euthanize him because of the injuries. We requested a few moments to say our good-byes and decided to clean his face using a little water. To everyone's surprise he tried to drink and after we picked up a dropper he actually drank some water.
The girl at the SPCA told use that if we left him there he'd have no choice but if we took him home and hand-fed him, he might have a chance.
Since then we have used a syringe to feed (Tropicana power) and water to him.
Yesterday our landlord found out we had a pigeon in the apartment, and pointed out the restrictions on our lease, giving us till this week-end to remove the him.
We need to find a loving home for him, because everyone deserves a second chance.
He as a bruised right wing and the a part of his scalp as been removed, making it difficult to open his eyes. He needs to be hand-fed and has a healthy appetite with regular bowel movements. When in sunlight he grooms himself and stands tall. 
His location is Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
I'm borrowing a camera this afternoon and will post pictures later today. 
Thanks


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## Skyeking

Thank you for caring for this needy bird.

Is he not able to eat or drink by himself? You can hand feed frozen corn and peas (thawed and drained) and wild bird seed.

I'm moving your thread to the adoption forum.

I sure hope you can find him a loving home.


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## BuenDia

How is the bird doing? Can you post pictures? I also rescued a bird with similar problems with a wing. Please let me know if you found him a home, thanks!


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## spfrge

*The Pigeon that won't quit.*



BuenDia said:


> How is the bird doing? Can you post pictures? I also rescued a bird with similar problems with a wing. Please let me know if you found him a home, thanks!


The bird improving and he's still in need of a home. Here are the pictures.
If the images do not display, below is the link to the photo album here at Pigeon Talk. 
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/album.php?albumid=997


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## spfrge

*Here are the pictures.*

Here are the pictures.


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## altgirl35

oooh poor guy, he looks like he is suffering, is he too swollen to open his eyes?? can you get your hands on any metacam (anti inflammatory and pain reliever)?? is he eating?? how do his poops look?


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## altgirl35

wish i was closer, i would take care of him


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## Larry_Cologne

Keep the scalp moist or hydrated if you can. Feathers can then re-grow over the spot, possibly (cell migration).

We rescued a young squeaker pigeon ("*Mr. Fifty*," found in 2006 on my wife's 50th birthday). Couldn't eat because of the PMV/paramyxovirus which caused him to turn his head upside down and miss seeds when he pecked. We hand-fed him 6 weeks, kept him in a pet carrier. Then he flew off, because we, too, couldn't keep pigeons in our small apartment. His voice changed while we had him, he became a "teenager" interested in the females, and my wife saw him a year later not too far away, acting like any normal male pigeon. He always had a bald spot as far as I know, even though i kept it moist, but it may have grown closed a bit. Because his scalp had already dried when I found him, he looked like someone expressing surprise or interest when they raise their eyebrows: a very cute expression. He was able to close his eyes. I have posted on him before. I missed him when he was gone, even though I had another rescue at the time, *Wieteke*, hand-raised from a three-week-old baby. 

Good luck! With good nutrition, and not too much stress, he has a good chance to recover. Hope you find a good home for him (I am in Antwerp now, formerly in Cologne the past 27 years. Belgium is famous for pigeon fanciers).

Larry


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## plamenh

His scalp is just split and skin covers the eyes. If you apply antibiotical cream on the bare area it will start healing and skin will pull back slowely and eyes will open.
Couple of weeks and he will be like new.


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## spfrge

Thank-you for all the tips. We'll start moistening his scalp right away.
Does it matter the type of antibacterial cream, or is their one especially for birds?
He's not always squatting, the camera and visitor might have scared him.
When the sun hits him he's upright and walking a bit. He opens his right eye, but the eye hole is a little lower then normal. We opened the lid of his left eye and the eye looks find, the skin is what's keeping him from opening the eye himself.
He's starting to peck at food but as yet been unable to eat any.
We feed him till he pulls away from us, usually about 20ml per meal.
Again thank-you for the support.


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## spfrge

Hello altgirl35,
His poop is a little watery.


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## Mindy

Poor baby, thanks for saving him and helping him. I wish your landlord was more sympathetic. I hope you can find a home for him. You may want to go to Starlingtalk.net and post on that form also. I know there are a couple member in Canada. It can't hurt to post everywhere you can. min


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## spfrge

Thank-you Mindy for the info. 
Would you or anyone else know of any other boards where
we can post?


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## maryjane

BuenDia said:


> How is the bird doing? Can you post pictures? I also rescued a bird with similar problems with a wing. Please let me know if you found him a home, thanks!


What about this person? Also, maybe a moderator could put your location in the title. Please let your landlord know you're doing all you can to find a home. Thank you very much for caring for him, he should heal up just fine and feel much better in a few weeks.


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## Roller mike

Hope you can find someone. I am to far away and have limited space.
I do have one adopted feral that came home with my flock.


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## Charis

Roller mike said:


> Hope you can find someone. I am to far away and have limited space.
> I do have one adopted feral that came home with my flock.



You are a good egg, Mike.


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## Jay3

Oh the poor baby. Yes, maybe if you explain to your landlord that you are trying to find him a home, he will give you more time. I wouldn't think just one little bird would matter all that much to him. I hope he heals, and that you can find him a home. He certainly deserves it. Thanks for trying for him. Right now, you're all he's got.


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## altgirl35

amal and lovelyflight are both looking for a place to care for thier birds, you may want to consider contacting them, maybe your injured guy can go also
i found someone in ottowa , super nice people and they will be released in a big group
i spoke with debra haas at the wild bird care center
the address is
734 moody drive
phone is 613-828-2849
you don't need to call first but you may want to call when you get close, she said it's kind of hard to find.
they are open 7 days a week from 8-4


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## spfrge

LovelyFlight and amal will take him to a wild bird care center. 
From the bottom of our hearts we would like to thank altgirl35, Charis, Trees Grey, Alienbaby, buenDia and all the other, marvelous, beautiful people at Pigeon Talk (And PnA), for their support and help in finding a home for this handful of feathers who unwillingly came into our lives and quickly won our hearts.
From him and the both of us to all of you a great *Big Hug!*


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## altgirl35

hugs right back at ya!! thank you for caring enough to help this little guy in his time of need


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## Mindy

I love happy endings. It is amazing how many wonderful people you can meet when you have a little feathered friend. Great job to everyone involved. min.


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## alienbaby

Woo hoo!  I second that, Mindy. I love happy endings, too! 
Way to go everyone!


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## BuenDia

Hello, I also posted a few weeks ago about a crippled pigeon I rescued and asked in the forum who could adopt or where I could place her. Could someone be good enough to tell me who are LoveFlight and Amal and how they are helping? I would be extremely helpful because my bird also needs a good place to be, I cannot keep her forever and been trying to find help. Thanks! (I have kept contact with sprfge by private messages, that is why he mentions me in his post above).


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## altgirl35

wow lots of piji's in need in montreal, contact sprfge, he's in contact with amal and lovelyflight they are members on pt also, they are taking their birds to the wild bird care center.
address is in the above post.
please be aware that if your pigeon is unreleasable the wild bird care center may put him down and you should keep him as a pet until you can find her a home


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## BuenDia

Hello altgirl35, thanks for answering. I already sent sprfge a private message and Lovelyflight too, no answer so far. Sprfge's bird also has an injured bird, so aren't we in the same boat, i.e. a possibly crippled for life birdie? 

I checked the address and called them just now, and yes, they did say if the bird does not recover they are required by law to put him down. She told me that if the bones in the wing are not broken, chances of recovery are good and they can do all they can for it.

No one with pigeons has offered to take my bird, what am I to do? I can't keep him forever. I will be moving next summer and I won't be allowed to take him. My landlady has already told me wild birds are not allowed and she just might take me to the regie (she has tried to evict me already because I have 3 cats instead of the 2 allowed in the lease).


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## altgirl35

i think sprfge's bird has injuries that he can recover from, i went back and skimmed thru your post about him, he is just has alot of broken feathers right?? no broken bones??


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## BuenDia

I can't really tell as I don't know birds well enough and this birdie is very scared of being touched. But when he is flapping his wing looks very tall and symmetrical, like I told the person whom I talked to at the Wild Bird Center this afternoon. My main concern is that she/he is very lonely, coos sadly... I can't get another pigeon, cage is not big enough, and I don't want to deprive yet another bird of his freedom. People into raising pigeons have lofts and arrange for them to fly out when they can. I can't do that. Let me see if I can post pictures successfully of his cage


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## altgirl35

you want to look to see if his wings hang (when resting) exactly the same, compare one to the other.
you can also carefully feel each part of the wing, bones and joints and compare to the other side, try to feel if anything feels different or doesn't match.
you may need to wrap him in a towel to do it, keeping him completely covered just working one wing out at a time


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## altgirl35

wonder why pics are pending approval


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## BuenDia

sorry that the pics are sideways, I could see them properly in Picassa because the program automatically rotates them for viewing but the files themselves are sideways and I didn't realize that, but you get the pic


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## altgirl35

bars can be tough on feathers, especially horizontal ones.
he looks good in the pic


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## altgirl35

i use screen reptariums, i learned the hard way with having to keep birds for so long because they wrecked their feathers in the cage.
i like them also because i can take the screen off, and run it on the gentle cycle in the washing maching with cold water and a little bleach and it comes out all clean an disinfected, no dryer though


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## BuenDia

You explained that to me, about the bars before, but I already had bought the cage which cost me $110 and I am on a very tight budget. Howeve ,since you told me about that I watch him when he flaps his wings, he stands in the middle of his perch and the feathers don't touch the bars. By the way, his cage is right behind me in my living room, and I spend most my day by the computer working, so I keep a good eye, I also installed a camera to watch him on my screen with my back turned so he doesn't even know I am looking...  This weekend with a friend I might give a try to your suggestion of examining his wings, I feel a bit intimidated since have never held a big bird like him in my hands, I don't want to hurt him.


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## BuenDia

altgirl35, I have wonderful news. Lovelyflight contacted me and she is going to take my birdie to the Wild Bird Care Center in Ottawa this Saturday. I am very happy because she will have a chance there to survive and make it back in the wild. I am very grateful to have found this forum, believe me! Just thought you'd like to know.


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## altgirl35

that's awesome, so glad i could help find a safe place for all you little birdies, and so happy to know they will get to be free birds in the spring


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