# Help Needed Please - Injured pigeon!



## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Unfortunately my cat attacked a wild pigeon in my garden yesterday afternoon. I managed to save it but it looks badly injured. Missing feathers on his back & a shoulder injury from what I can tell. I brought it into the house I put it into a small wool insulated cardboard box (with ventilation) for the night and to be honest I didn't think he (I'm not sure if it's male or female?) would survive the night, but this morning he's quite perky!

I've tried looking in my local area (Sheffield, UK) for a local Animal sanctuary/avian vets but with no luck. Base on his condition last night I was contemplating taking him to a normal vet to be put down but looking at him this morning I'd like to think that I'd be able to rehabilitate him.

He's now in a slightly larger box now with plenty of ventilation. I've taken out the wool insulation as he's now near a radiator. He also has access to water and food (wild bird seed and moist bread) 


Some questions:

Looking at the attached pictures is it possible for any of the pigeon experts on this forum to tell if I might be able to rehabilitate him?

If I can rehabilitate him what size cage should a bird like this need?


Please don't hesitate to ask if you need any other information.


Cheers Brent

P.s. Any suggestions/help will be greatly received


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Cat caught pigeons need antibiotics. Have you tried :

South Yorkshire Animal Rescue
South Road
Sheffield
South Yorkshire
England
S6 3TD
01142349656


I have them listed as pigeon friendly.


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Thanks very much for the reply Feefo. I've spoken to South Yorkshire Animal Rescue and they've given my some advice.

Cheers

Brent


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Jenks, just to reiterate what Feefo mentions, predator caught pigeons need to go on antibiotics, so hopefully in the advice you where given, part of it was to start them within 48 hours of the attack.

Could you have a quick look see inside the mouth/throat area and see if you see any yellowish/cheesy growths/lesions.

The wounds should heal fine with sometime and care.

Good luck with him,

Karyn


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi Dobato

When I contacted the animal sanctuary they told me that they could take the pigeon in but all they would do is clean it up and put in a cage under observation. I said that is that's all you can do I may as well look after him.

I did contact my local vet and asked if they would be willing to see him and put him on antibiotics but they said they would only take him in and put him to sleep (the animal sanctuary warned me that they might not be interested!). So I'm just going to do the best I can on my own.


On the upside the animal sanctuary told me do they have a high success rate treating pigeons that have been attacked buy cats without using antibiotics so hopefully if I keep bathing his wounds in salt water he will be ok.

Thanks for your help!

Brent


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Brent, perhaps you can check with your family and friends if they have any antibiotics on hand, for themselves, their children or their pets, most times 1 pill will be all we need for treatment. As you've been advised, he very well may survive the attack without treatment, but we always try and give them their best chance, and antibiotics would certainly tilt the odds much more in his favor.

Karyn


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## PigeonQueen (Aug 13, 2006)

Hi Jenks, please keep us updated. Although antibiotics would be very helpful as Dobato says your pigeon could very well recover. Do not give up on this pigeon which has a good chance of surviving if you care for it. best wishes Jayne


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

It's going to take a few weeks to regrow the primary flight feathers that he's lost, by the way. Those are the longest feathers growing from the actual wingtips (the flesh and bone part). He's lost way too many on that one side (that I can see) to actually be able to fly properly for almost a month.

Pidgey


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Brent,



Some good, close up, in focus, images of his newest poops?


Yes, best if you yourself oversee this Pigeon's recovery and care and eventual release, rather than handing him over to places too cheap and too busy to care or to do it well, whatever their sales pitch or schpiel.

As Dobato mentions, see what you can find by any means, for some wide spectrum Antibiotics.


And as Pidgey mentions, it will be a Month or even more, two months even, for his flight/Primary Feathers on his Wings to be grown back for him to be flying well enough for release...so, plan on having him a while.



What do you have for food for him?



Whatever Antibiotics you do find, make sure to communicate with Dobato/Karyn for determining the right Pigeon-Dose by dividing or making a suspension from the pill or tablet.



Phil
Lv


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Dobato said:


> Brent, perhaps you can check with your family and friends if they have any antibiotics on hand, for themselves, their children or their pets, most times 1 pill will be all we need for treatment.
> Karyn


No luck I'm afraid. Excellent idea though! 



PigeonQueen said:


> Hi Jenks, please keep us updated.


No problem, Will do!




Pidgey said:


> It's going to take a few weeks to regrow the primary flight feathers that he's lost, by the way. Those are the longest feathers growing from the actual wingtips (the flesh and bone part). He's lost way too many on that one side (that I can see) to actually be able to fly properly for almost a month.
> 
> Pidgey


I've taken in all sorts of rescue animals over the years so one to two months for this little fella won't be a problem (or longer) 




pdpbison said:


> Hi Brent,
> 
> Some good, close up, in focus, images of his newest poops?
> 
> ...


Np, I'll take some pictures when I clean him out.

As for food I've been giving him wild bird seed & moist bread. Let me know what you would recommend please?


Again, thanks for all of your help so far. It's very much appreciated.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

When you clean him out?


I do not know what that means.


If you have him in a Cage, use white Paper Towels for the Cage Bottom...then you can see and evaluate the poops.


Skip the moist bread.


Assuming he is making actual poops enough to show his digestive system is working, then, Wild Bird Seed would be fine.


Predation Birds are usually Birds who are already sick or injured - seeing the poops can help to evaluate his conditions.


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

pdpbison said:


> When you clean him out?
> 
> 
> I do not know what that means.


Apologies, I meant when I clean his box out.


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

pdpbison said:


> Hi Brent,
> 
> Some good, close up, in focus, images of his newest poops?
> 
> ...


Yesterday evening when I cleaned out his box his poop was just yellow/white liquid. Now it's more sold & darker.

Brent


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

Brent the droppings look good, better than I was expecting (and a decent amount).

One last long shot, if you have a long term relationship with a pharmacist, perhaps he would let you have a single pill/capsule of Amoxicillin/Clavulanate (or just plain Amoxicillin), just a thought, you never know, thanks for trying.

Karyn


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Dobato said:


> One last long shot, if you have a long term relationship with a pharmacist, perhaps he would let you have a single pill/capsule of Amoxicillin/Clavulanate (or just plain Amoxicillin), just a thought, you never know, thanks for trying.
> 
> Karyn


Hi Karyn!, Unfortunately I Don't. But on the upside he's looking good (in my opinion). His wounds seem to be healing nicely. He's also very feisty and he's eating like a trooper (and pooping like one too  ). And at the moment I'm cleaning his box out twice a day. That includes giving him fresh water & food. 

Thanks again!

Brent


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi kyomi, 

I have no qualms with you posting on this thread but I think you will receive more help if you start a new thread/post. I know you said you couldn't seem to post a new question. Just go back into the ' Wild "Feral" Pigeons' Boards and look for the button called 'new thread' near the left-hand side of the bottom page and click on this to start a new post (see attached picture).

I think it's great that you didn't let the vet put Kym to sleep. Hopefully the Experts on this forum will be able to help you as much as they've helped me.

Brent


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Moved Kyomi's post to new thread on Woodpigeons etc. forum

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=47540


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi All!

Here's a pic of the pigeon taken today and as you can see he's doing well. Just one question though. If you look at the picture you can see that the wing facing touches the floor slightly. Is it possible that it's broken?

Cheers

Brent


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## PoppyFieldVet (Apr 9, 2009)

One wing hanging down like that means it is painful, but this could be because there is a break, soft tissue damage or bruising. One of the more experienced members should respond soon. One of my birds this summer had a broken wing and had to have it bandaged up. It all depends on the positioning of the break and the severity of it. 
If you gently feel along the bone you may be able to feel the break. Photos taken head on and from above can help. 
XxX


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Many thanks for the reply Charlotte! I'll try & get some more pictures tomorrow.

Regards

Brent


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

Well you are almost one month into his recovery how is it going? sorry I did get to page 2 good job


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

GEMcC5150 said:


> Well you are almost one month into his recovery how is it going? sorry I did get to page 2 good job


Yes, his wounds have healed nicely and his feather have started growing back so apart from the problem with the wing He's doing great thanks 

Cheers

Brent


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

PoppyFieldVet said:


> Photos taken head on and from above can help.




Not sure if this will be of any help as he's not very compliant when it comes to taking pictures but here's a picture from above.

Brent


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi all, 

Just to let you know that I successfully released the pigeon back into the wild last Sunday (14th Nov). Originally I was going to release him at the end of November but over the week prior to me releasing him he started to become very restless and made numerous escape attempts. Also about a week before I released him his wing had healed so I thought it might be the right time to let him go. So I released him early Sunday morning and he flew off to a nearby tree with no problems.

So thanks to everyone for their advice. I couldn't have done it without you!

Regards

Brent


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi Brent,

Well done, that's amazing and must be so rewarding to see. 
Thanks for taking the trouble to look after him, it's frightening to think he might have just been PTS by the vets but thanks to you can now enjoy life again.

Just hope he's learned his lesson about cats !! 

Janet

ps. Also thanks for letting us know the outcome, I often wonder how things turn out for some of these rescues.


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## Jenks_bia (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi Janet,



amyable said:


> Well done, that's amazing and must be so rewarding to see.


Yes it was. But I wasn't sure what to expect when I released him. Would he be able to fly or would he not be interested in leaving at all since I've been waiting on him hand and foot  So to see him fly away was great!



amyable said:


> it's frightening to think he might have just been PTS by the vets


Yes, this really did surprise me. I thought with me already having an account at the vets and also willing to pay for any treatment needed I thought they would have snatched my hand off at the chance to treat him.

All the best, 

Brent


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## Ede-bird (Jul 7, 2010)

Well done and thanks for the update


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