And more information here:

[bigbird]

Many times a person who is not familiar with the racing pigeon sport finds a pigeon and wonders what to do with it. If you can catch the bird chances are it is run down and has been on the road trying to find home for several days. These birds are truly domesticated and many of them have a hard time finding food in the wild.
The first thing you should do is offer the bird a drink. Pigeons siphon water and need the water to be about an inch deep to drink comfortably. If the bird is run down it wouldn't hurt to put a bit of salt and sugar in the water. About one teaspoon of salt to a liter will act as an electrolyte helping the bird to recover quickly. Adding several tablespoons of honey or sugar will give the bird some instant calories.
Pigeons eat whole grains. They will eat popcorn, rice, peas, etc., some of which may be readily available in any home or at the corner store. These will keep the bird alive and well till the owner can be found.
For a day or two the bird can be kept in a large cardboard box, put a layer of newspapers in it to help absorb moisture and make sure there are plenty of air hole in it. If you have a larger cage to keep it in this would be preferable.
In order to trace the birds owner we need to know the birds permanent band number. This permanent band is either a seamless metal or plastic band. It can be anyone of a variety of colours. These bands will all have numbers and letters on them. These will allow us to trace it's owner through a central registry that each national organization runs.
The first thing to determine is if it is a Canadian or American bird. All Canadian bands will have the letters CU or CRPU on them. American racing pigeons will have either AU or IF somewhere on them. Each band will also have on it the year in which the bird was banded for example: this years young birds will all be marked l997 or 97 last years were marked 1996 or 96.
Most North American bands also have club letters on them. My clubs letters are Tills & Dist. This stands for the Tillsonburg and District Racing Pigeon Club. Not all bands have club letters on them.
The last set of numbers are the birds registry numbers. They can be up to 6 numbers long, some may start with one or two 0's. It is important that all the numbers and letters are reported.
Some of our fanciers import racing pigeons from Europe and these will have different letters on them NL for the Netherlands and B for Belgium. You may also see some British and German bands. These birds can only be traced if the owners have registered the imports with the various national organizations

[phantom]

As a wildlife rehabilitator, we receive many pigeons that are orphaned, injured or off course from a race. Our normal protocol is to rehydrate with pedialite, lactated ringers, or a formula of 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a pinch of salt. We do not use honey. We introduce seed in small amounts at first so that they don't impact the crop from eating too much too fast.

For injured pigeons, or any wildlife, it is essential that they are kept warm with a heating pad, hot water bottle, or fill a liter bottle with hot water and wrap it in a towel. Putting them in a dark, quiet place will reduce stress. Let them clam down and warm up before introducing any food. Fluids can be given, but it may be better to give them a little time to settle down first. Injuries can be assessed and treated once the bird is stablized.

Pigeons are tough birds and can survive through some of the worst injuries I have seen. I like to start trainees with them, cause they usually are successful and I like the students to have a positive experience when they begin. The young take some time to learn how to feed, but it is rewarding once you get the hang of it. I recently had a blind, starving fledgling come in, and it took a long time to teach him to eat. He was with a mourning dove and they got along well and it helped to teach him to pick up food. When the pigeon finally learned to pick up food on his own, he was given to a student to keep as a pet. He is doing well. (the mourning dove was released to the wild)

[Lin Hansen]

Hi Phantom,

Welcome to Pigeons.com. Thank you very much for the very useful information you have added to this thread.
Would you mind telling us where you are located? Wildlife rehabilitators who are pigeon friendly are few and far between, so you just may be our new best friend! LOL
I hope that you will be a steady visitor at Pigeons.com. Experienced, knowledgable people such as yourself are an invaluable resource here, especially when it comes to people looking to help sick or injured pigeons.
Thank you again for the information and I am sure others will be along shortly to welcome you.
Linda

[phantom]

Thank you for the welcome. I would glad to be of help, if I can. I live in Western NY near Buffalo and Niagara Falls. I care for all species of birds. Every life is important.

I sometimes have trouble locating banded pigeon owners, though I do have a phone number, they don't always return calls. A lot of times, when someone calls me with a racer that seems to have just stopped for a rest and is hanging around their house, I tell them to put food and water out for them and let them go home on their own. Will racing pigeon owners keep maimed birds? Do you have anyone on the list that wants unusually colored birds? Last year I had a beautiful rose and white colored female that reprodued some young. She was disabled, but I found a home for her and her mate (also disabled) and I had to released the young.