pigeon in chicago - where to get help?

[PattiRMA]

Good morning,

My name is Patti and I live on the far south side of Chicago. This morning,
I noticed a pigeon that was very close to my front door. Unfortunately, it
seemed to be in some distress. It was listing to one side as it walked and when it tried to fly, it could only manage to go a few feet before it had to land again. :-(

I (easily) captured the pigeon in an old baby blanket and gently tucked him
into a box, which I have placed in my garage. (I can't bring the bird into my
home, because I have a dog).

I'd like to help this bird, but keeping it would not be possible. I'd be so
afraid my dog would get it. If I take the bird to the local animal shelter,
I'm pretty certain they'll just euthanize it.

Do you know of any organization in Illinois (preferably close to the south
side) that might take the bird and tend to its injuries? I half suspect, tho,
that it ate poison in our alley -- the city puts rat poison out to control
rodents. :-(

Any help you can offer will be most appreciated.

Thank you,
Patti

[Victor]

Hi Patti and welcome! Thank you for rescuing the pigeon in distress.Please check the following link, as it does provide two names of rehabilitators in your area.You may also check your local vet centers, as some carry a list of people who take in and care for the injured ones.

http://www.pigeons.com/prd.htm

Good luck with the pigeon and please keep us posted.I am sure other members will be along shortly as well.

[Victor]

Patti:I was able to do a little bit more research before I have to leave for work.I found a link dealing with poisoning that one of our moderators ,Lin Hansen, supplied a while back.Check this one out.It is very important to get the pigeon to a avian specialist as soon as possible, especially since you do not know the exact substance the pigeon consumed. They can perform tests.I have discovered that vet bills are pretty reasonable for pigeons. Do what you think is best.Here is the link:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=103

For some reason the link is going a different direction.Go to search at the top right of this page and type in poison antidote, and it will lead you to what I want to share with you.Good luck.

[PattiRMA]

Good morning...

Victor, thank you very much for your help yesterday. I did manage to reach one of the people on the list you sent me. I'm not sure of your message bd. rules about using last names, so I will just say I spoke with DD from IL, who led me to another list person, who gave me good advice on caring for Mr. Bird. Yes, now the pigeon has a name - oh my.

I'm certainly not a bird expert, but if Mr. Bird were poisoned, he must have handled it well (so perhaps poison was not his problem). Yesterday, when I found him, he looked rather pathetic and could not stop bobbing his head, even when he was resting. Today, his eyes are clear and his head is still, so just from outward appearances, he is not in too bad of shape.

Today I gently lifted him up, because he still does list to one side pretty badly. I extended one wing, which moved easily. His other wing, however, didn't seem to have the same freedom of movement, so perhaps his pathetic appearance yesterday was a type of shock over whatever caused his unfortunate situation. Please remember, tho, that I have NO training with birds, so I'm just going on what seems right to me.

If he were poisoned, I would think I could release him today or tomorrow, given that he looks pretty chipper. However, with what may be a hurt wing, I'm reluctant to set him free. However, I really can't keep him. I don't have the knowledge necessary to give him a permanent good home. I have called many places in IL (my vet, a bird rehabber in a nearby suburb, wildlife authorities) and haven't come up with anyone who might take him.

So... if anyone who reads this knows of someone near Chicago who might be able to keep Mr. Bird, or fix his wing and let him go, I'd love to hear from you.

In the meantime, I'll do my best to read this website for tips on how to care for Mr. Bird and will hope someone with more experience and know-how will come along and take care of our newest little friend.

Thank you, Victor for your help and thank you also, DD and TW, who spoke with me by phone last nite, offering excellent help. I appreciate you all very much.

Patti

[cyro51]

Hi Patti,

Please don't release Mr. Pigeon just yet. Being able to fly is not enough to ensure survival, you need to be certain that he is well enough to evade predators and to compete for food.

The symptoms that you describe are compatible with Paramyxovirus (PMV). If they are related to PMV they will probably return with stress. A sudden loud noise should start his head bobbing again, or make him fall over or twist his head over so that he ends up staring at the ceiling

Pigeons suffering from this usually recover if someone can give them rest and care and keep them isolated from other pigeons for 6 weeks (sometimes a lot longer). However, not many rehabbers have the facilities to keep a pigeon isolated for any length of time.

The symptoms could also be those of paratyphoid. which is treatable with Baytril.

Cynthia

[peggy campbell]

:) i love pigeons my self ! i feed them alot in chicago, i thought i replyed to you or e mailed) sorry getting this right! my first day! if you like to e mail me or reply , since i live in chicago also ! that would be neat! have a nice day, peggy- south side of chicago! :D

[PattiRMA]

Hi Cynthia,

Thank you very much for your note. I wish to reassure you that this pigeon may stay here until he is feeling 100% again. If it gets to the point where I feel he can be released back into the wild, I will first check in here at pigeons.com. I know you good people are more aware of the best course of action.

I'll admit that having this little guy is not a first choice; I lack confidence in what I'm doing. However, I guess his chances with me are a little better than his chances in the great outdoors.

I think he ate a little bit today - not certain of this, but I think so. We'll take this a day at a time, I suppose. :-) Wish me luck. :-)

Thank you very much for your help,
Patti

[Dana]

Hi,,,,,
I found a pigeon, it was hurt so I found a vet that did birds, she gave me thechoice to surrender the bird to them,, or I take it home & take care of him, well,,,I have him here, it only cost the office call & some pennicillan. So I decided to treat him/her,,,so far it is doing good. it takes its pennicillan, and some peroxide for its injered wing. I will release it when it does well to be on its own. The vet thinks its a Homing Pigeon,,,could anyone tell for sure??If anyone saw a picture of it , could you tell?? Id kinda like to know what type of pigeon it is.
Thanks for letting me ramble on lol
Dana

[Victor]

Hello Dana, Welcome to Pigeon-talk.Your vet probably might be able to tell if it is a homing pigeon, maybe in the way that it responded to him.Does your "patient" have a band on its leg?By all means show us a picture of course! Do make sure that the wing is completely healed to insure he does not fall prey to an enemy.Thank you for your kind heart in reaching out to help this little creature.Let us know if there is anything we can do.Keep us posted please. :)

[Victor]

Hello Patti.I am quite confident that you will do just fine caring for your rescued friend.Please give yourself more credit, as most of us here have been down that unknown path.Each day you spend caring for the pigeon will make yoiu BOTH stronger.You will both be just fine.And yes he is much better off with you, especially right now.Here is luck to ya! ;)

[cyro51]

Hi Patti,

I think that most of us started at the same point as you. Five years ago I had never handled a pigeon, knew nothing about them (or any other birds) and didn't even have access to the internet for advice. Fortunately pigeons make fairly easy patients and are very endearing so you should be fine.

Cynthia

[Dana]

Hi,,,
Found a Pigeon Sunday and you wanted me to put up his/her pic,,,,I tried & dont know how to do it :confused: Sorry
Dana :o

[Victor]

Dana: To post a picture, click on "post reply"scroll down and click on "manage attachments" then "browse".Choose your photo and click "upload" then close window. We shall be waiting! :)

[Dana]

Vdog505...
I tried to put it up,,,wont go :( Says its too large.
I can send it to you? then you can post it??
Dana

[TAWhatley]

Sure .. send it to me .. TAWhatley@earthlink.net

Terry

[Dana]

Tawhatly....
Did you get my email of my Pigeon????? Hope he/she will start to trust me a little, She don't sem real scared or anything,,,,but I would like to keep her as a pet, but I also want what is best for her, if releasing her after she heals up & can fly, then she will be realeased. :confused: it will be up to her I guess.
Thank-You for your help.
Dana :p

[PattiRMA]

Dear Victor and Cynthia,

I hope this is not a double post. I was writing my reply a few minutes prior to now, and poof... my screen went blank. I didn't see my previous post there, so I'll try again. If this turns out to be a "wretched repeat" then I am sorry for the glitch. :-)

Thank you both very much for your encouragement and support. You were kind to take the time to write. Thank you again. :-)

Mr. Bird and I have settled into a routine. I do morning chores and then before I settle down to work, I shred up lots of newspapers and head out to see this feathered friend. He gets new bedding, water and food, and seems less anxious now that he knows this routine. (Or maybe I'm just HOPING he is less anxious). Today when he was all cleaned up, I settled him in on his cushion of shredded papers and gently gave him a little rub on the front of his neck. He seemed like he closed his eyes for this. Very sweet.

He seems chipper but is definitely not 100%. Yesterday, he readily ate his food, but today he was not as interested. Perhaps he is eating now that he has a little privacy? I'm not sure. He still lists to one side and this hampers his ability to sit up straight and step up and away from his waste material. Today when I cleaned his home, I saw that his underside was somewhat matted with just a tiny bit of waste material, so I cleaned him up with some paper towels.

My vet does not handle birds and didn't have a referral for me. Likewise, calls I made yesterday to nearby suburban bird rehabbers were not returned. I will try a bird specialist vet today to see if I can get this bird somewhere more comfortable.

I guess that sums up the info I have for you. Thank you again to all who have helped me so far with information and encouragement. I can tell this is a list filled with caring people.

Warm regards,
Patti

[Victor]

Yes indeed Patti, your pigeon,Mr.Bird is a fine looking specimen! You mentioned that you cleaned his underside with some paper towels.Try running some water in beteen cool and warm, maybe in the kitchen sink, and just place him in there.Three or four inches deep is ok.You probably should move any clean dishes you have in the strainer, and prepare to get wet yourself!That will make him nice and clean.Ours just loves his bi-weekly shake and dip! Please continue to give us feed back on Mr.Pigeon, and keep up the good work! ;)

[PattiRMA]

Good morning, Victor and all who have helped me with the pigeon I found...

I am sorry to say that this morning, when I went outside with fresh bedding, etc., I found that Mr. Bird had died. :-(

Thank you all so very much for helping me try to figure out how to care for this bird. I think he was able to live for at least a couple more days, courtesy of the information that you all shared with me.

So thank you again, Victor, Dave D. Cynthia and Terry W in particular. You were all good to answer my questions and help me try to help this little guy.

One final note - the picture in this website, Victor, belongs to another list person. I did not post a picture of the bird I tried to help, so you can be pleased that the photo you saw is of a bird that will likely recuperate quite nicely.

Thank you again to all...
Patti

[Victor]

Patti,I am so very sorry that things did not go better for you and especially Mr.Bird.You did all you could do in what little time you had but you kept him safe and comfortable.Things do not always turn out the way we hope they will but do understand that you did your best and are a better person for it.

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Patti,

I'm very sorry that things didn't turn out well in this case. Sometimes birds are a lot sicker than they appear, this is how they protect themselves from being targetted in the wild by predators. It would seem that this bird was more seriously ill than he might have seemed. Thank you very much for trying to help him, it's all anyone can do.


Thanks Patti for clearing up that the picture posted in this thread wasn't your pigeon. I was a little confused as well because I didn't think you posted one of your bird.

I'm going to delete that entry as Dana (the other member) has already posted this picture in her thread.

[Pete Jasinski]

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss :( You made Mr. Birds last few days on this planet comfortable and let him go in a dignified manner by not falling pray to a predator or passing alone. He knew he was loved and cared for and will remember you for that. Thank you for caring for this lost soul.

[PattiRMA]

Dear Victor, Brad and Pete...

Thank you all from my heart, for your so very nice words. I'll admit that I was sad to see Mr. Bird all still this morning.

Your kind words are most appreciated. Thank you again for all your kindness.

Best wishes to all of you and the efforts you do on behalf of these birds...

Patti