Bird found in factory

[nightfeathers]

Hello. My husband brought home a bird which was found walking around in the factory where he works. I looked it over and saw no signs of injury or sickness, but the bird doesnt fly. I keep parakeets now, so I was able to supply him with bird seed and grit and millet sprays. He is in a large bird cage now with his food and water. I did get him to drink some water by splashing it around a bit. Ive not seen him eat though, and I couldnt feel any food in his crop. His dropping looked pretty normal, though they are runny. I cannot provide a picture so I will describe him the best I can. He appears to be fully grown as he is rather large and I didnt find any baby fluff on him at all. He is various shades of grey all over, with lighter grey spots on his wings and back. His eyes are a bright orangish-red as are his feet. The spot above his nostrils is white or very light grey. I saw no places where feathers were missing, no blood or any other signs of injury. The only odd thing about him really is that he seems reluctant to spread out his left wing. However, when I was checking his wings out I spread them myself and he didnt resist at all. Its like he doesnt know how to spread it out really. I tried to hold him and drop my hands to see if he would flap and he didnt. He just sort of flopped them about as if he didnt know how to use them. For now I am providing him with food and water and keeping him in a sunny room with my keets, but is there anything pigeon-specific I need to check for? The last pigeon I had was as a child so I am a bit of a pidgie newb. :) I have also heard that thier droppings are poisonous and I was wondering if that is true, and if so what should I do about it? I would greatly appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you!

[Birdmom4ever]

Hello and welcome to Pigeons.com. Thank you so much for rescuing this pigeon. The birdseed is fine for now. When you have the chance, pigeon or dove mix would be preferable and also pigeon grit. You usually have to go to a feed store for pigeon mix and grit but you should be able to find dove mix in the pet store.

A few questions: does the pigeon feel thin or is he in good flesh? It's possible the wing was strained in some way. It's also possible he is suffering from an illness. Salmonellosis/paratyphoid can cause joint pain and reluctance to fly, but so can lots of other things. Do you see any swollen joints, especially on the wing he's reluctant to use?

Also, could you check inside the pigeon's mouth? It should look clear and pink. If you see cheesy, yellowish growths he probably has Trichomoniasis ("canker"), the most common disease pigeons carry. It's easily treated with medication.

Droppings aren't poisonous, but I wouldn't let him get too close to your other birds in case he is ill. Care for him last and make sure you wash your hands thoroughly in between, etc.

Do you have an avian vet for your parakeets? If so, perhaps you can take the pigeon to see him or her on Monday. If not, here's the web site for the Association of Avian Veterinarians, which can help you locate a vet in your area. http://www.aav.org/

Best of luck, and let us know what you find when you examine the pij a little more closely.

-Cathy

[John_D]

Hi,

First, I would suggest segregating the new pigeon as far as possible from the other birds. It does not sound obviously that he has any airborne inter-bird virus, but always quarantine a strange bird of any kind - best to be safe.

Keep him in a little shade, if it is hot where you are.

Pigeon poops, as with any bird and domestic animal poops, can carry bacteria but they are not poisonous as such. Normal hygeine as one would take with any potentially sick or injured bird or animal should be practised. wash hands after contact with pigeon, before touching any other birds, until there is a better understanding of the problem.

There is very little risk of getting sick from pigeons - in fact, the most well researched illness humans can get (ornithosis) from a sick pigeon is the virtually the same as can be caught from sick birds of the parrot family (psittacosis). Neither are common.

Can you detect any kind of lump, bruising, odd sticky-out parts to the top of the wing (at shoulder)? Pigeons may sometimes bruise a wing badly hitting a wall (often when being pursued).

Does he feel excessively thin? Can be detected by a sharply defined keel bone.

Some pigeon-specific health problems can cause a lump to form which may prevent flying. Sometimes, a hard knock can damage the nerves and cause partial paralysis. Some pigeons just get weak through malnourishment. Too early to figure yet.

If you have the food in a little pot, he would normally show signs of eating or at least interest, from scattered seed. His poops should be fairly solid, but a poorly pigeon does often get runny. Are they a bright green? That would indicate starvation.

If you can check inside his mouth, is it clear or are there any yellowish cheesy-like deposits?

John (UK)

(Sorry for duplication - BirdMom was evidently posting as I was writing :) )

[nightfeathers]

His mouth looks normal. Pink and no puffiness. I could not detect any abnormal lumpiness on his wings. He looks pretty fat too. He is active. If I out him on the floor he will run away, and his feathers are all shiny and healthy looking too.

[nightfeathers]

Also I cant really put him anywhere else except maybe the basement because I have a cat. I keep my birds in a spare bedroom which gets lots of light. The basement would be too cold and mouldy to keep him I think.

[John_D]

Guess it will be just keeping hin as separate from the others as you can within the room.

I think it will be difficult to advise any specifics without an idea what the problem is now. You seem to have covered general look and condition and mobility.

It does sound like a bad bruise or sprain, but if you can get him seen by a vet (one who doesn't just put pigeons down) that is the best thing.

Can you give us a general idea of location, in case anyone reasonably near or someone knows a good vet or rehabber?

If he eats it'll be good. Sometimes they are shy of eating when watched :)

John

[nightfeathers]

Guess Ill just keep an eye on him and do what I can. My original thought was that perhaps he was just very young. Maybe he was old enough to learn to fly, but fell from the nest before he could learn to do it. Is that possible?

[John_D]

It is certainly a possibility. A recently fledged bird may make a squeaky sound rather than a coo, if it is male. Females are, however, generally less vocal.

I'd suggest for today/night (night here) just keep him comfortable and confined. Maybe towel in bottom of cage.

Oh.. and if you can get an idea if he is eating at all...

John

[nightfeathers]

You will be happy to know that Pidgie is eating and drinking just fine. After a closer examination of her wings I found that while her right wing is perfectly normal, her left wing muscles are very stiff. She wont flap it at all, though she flaps the right one easily. When I tried to move the wing, the muscles were far too stiff to move without hurting her. I think she must have strained the muscles and injured herself. Ive some to the conclusion that she will most likely not be able to fly again, at least not for a long time. Now that it is warmer outside, Im going to be building her a raised pen outside. So welcome to the new pet pidgeon! :)
On a side note, I got another pidgeon from the same place who had a bloodied wing. I kept him for a couple weeks, and he recovered just fine. He is now flying about my house annoying the doves. :D

[Birdmom4ever]

Thank you for the update. I'm so glad to hear the pigeon is doing better and you've decided to keep her. :) She might have been injured by a hawk. We have a roller hen who survived a hawk attack but her left wing has drooped a little ever since. The vet thinks the attack may have broken one of the small bones in her wing and it didn't heal quite right. She can fly, but the wing seemed sore for awhile after the injury.

[Reti]

This is wonderful news.
I am glad you are keeping her. Pigeons make great pets and friends.

Reti