Adolescent Tucson Pigeon Needs Home

[pigeon_guy]

I rescued a young adolescent pigeon 6 days ago. He/She knows how to feed him/her self but is still missing a lot of feathers, and doesn't quite know how to fly yet. My intention was to keep the little guy safe and well fed until he was old enough to fly and then release him. Toward that end I was minimizing his exposure to people and making sure he saw other pigeons every day. I'd noticed one wing drooping, but he didn't seem to have a problem flapping or stretching it, so I didn't worry about it. He's starting to make short flights now to get on top of low objects. He'll fly maybe a foot or two to get on top of things. I can see clearly now though, that he never puts his left wing back in place where it's supposed to go -- he sometimes drags it a little bit and it hangs a lot lower than the other one, so he's probably got some sort of a shoulder injury. Maybe it's too early to say, but I suspect he may not ever be able to fly well enough for me to set him free. Since I travel a lot for my job, I can't plan to keep him as a pet. If anyone is interested in adopting him (or her -- how do you tell?) please let me know.

I posted some pictures here:

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm164/pigeon_guy/

[Trees Gray]

Hello and Welcome to pigeon Talk,

Thank you for rescuing this little sweetie.

Is he/she able to extend his wing and stretch it as high as he extends the good one? Have you run your fingers gently along both of the wings, the droopy one and the good one? Do you feel any swellings? It could be an injury at the shoulder or something else, I just want to be sure, if you haven't checked already.

[pigeon_guy]

Hi Treesa,

Thanks for the reply. I have checked over his/her wings and shoulders as best I can, but he doesn't exactly sit still and cooperate. I haven't been able to find any obvious problems, but I have a friend who is a former veternary assistant who is going to help me do a better exam Wed. night.

He seems to be able to stretch and lift the droopy wing the same as the other one. In fact, sometimes, right after he stretches both wings, he'll put the droopy one back in what looks like the right position. Once he starts to walk around a few seconds later though, he starts to drag it again. I've also noticed that, when he "lays" down to sleep or rest or whatever, he puts the droopy wing out to he side a little bit. I'll try to get a picture of that for you.

It would sure be nice if he just had a sprain or something and he ended up being able to fly eventually. (Do pigeons get sprains?)

[Trees Gray]

Yes, they do get sprains-in their legs, not sure about in the wing though.

It may heal up on it's own or be a very small break. Have you tried keeping him restrained in small cage and supporting the wing in place with a bit of tape?

I have a hen who did break an area in her wing, where she can only lift the wing up a little and can't fully extend it like the other. She too, can hold it correctly to her side, until she gets tired or stressed, then it kind of drags.

Anyway, I'm glad you are going to have someone look at it, because if there is any kind of swelling, it could be paratyphoid, which is remedied with Baytril.

Thanks' again for taking such good care of this baby.

[pdpbison]

Originally Posted by pigeon_guy

I rescued a young adolescent pigeon 6 days ago. He/She knows how to feed him/her self but is still missing a lot of feathers, and doesn't quite know how to fly yet. My intention was to keep the little guy safe and well fed until he was old enough to fly and then release him. Toward that end I was minimizing his exposure to people and making sure he saw other pigeons every day. I'd noticed one wing drooping, but he didn't seem to have a problem flapping or stretching it, so I didn't worry about it. He's starting to make short flights now to get on top of low objects. He'll fly maybe a foot or two to get on top of things. I can see clearly now though, that he never puts his left wing back in place where it's supposed to go -- he sometimes drags it a little bit and it hangs a lot lower than the other one, so he's probably got some sort of a shoulder injury. Maybe it's too early to say, but I suspect he may not ever be able to fly well enough for me to set him free. Since I travel a lot for my job, I can't plan to keep him as a pet. If anyone is interested in adopting him (or her -- how do you tell?) please let me know.

I posted some pictures here:

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm164/pigeon_guy/

Hi Pigeon guy,



If your travels take you to Las Vegas, I'd be glad to take over his care from here...


Phil
l v