Found a young pigeon but it cant fly and laying on its side

[cally]

Hi there yesterday i found a young pigeon laying on the ground near my conservatorie, it is a wood pigeon, at first i thought that it had flown into the window and was stunned or injured so i put it in a box and gave it some porridge and water. This morning it is still alive and i have had a look at it and it looks as though it has trouble holding its weight up, its legs are just bone no muscle and on the what would be our elbow it looks as if it has been resting on them for some time as they are calloused and rough looking so i think it may have been like this for some time.

It is very thin and it crop was empty i have fed some more porridge made with water and some wild bird seed and given it a drink. Could you please advice me as to what i can feed this bird as i would reallly like to help it if there is a chance that it could recover if it is like this from malnutrition,

I would be very grateful for any advice you could give me,( i am in England)

Cally

[Trees Gray]

Make sure to follow this advice:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=8822

I will notify Cynthia, one of our wood pigeon experts, and she lives in the UK.

.

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Cally,

Here is a post from Cynthia, our resident Woodie expert She mentions in this post what you use to feed. Hope this helps in the interim.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpo...82&postcount=7

[cyro51]

Poor little thing, he sounds as if he has had a rough time.

Can you look inside his mouth, check that it is clear and pink?

Also examine his body for injury, if you see any disturbance in the feathering look closely just in case he has been shot.

Has he got his white neck band?

Cynthia

[cally]

Hi there and thankyou for your reply, i have looked inside his mouth and it is clear and pink he shows no signs of being shot, and no he has not got his white neck band i have taken a few photos of him.

I am going to try him with some bread and water i a while i have given him some bird seed earlier which with a little help he ate, hope this will be ok for him.

thanks again,

Cally

[cyro51]

He is only a baby, bless him, he still has the big beak. Probably unable to feed himself yet in which case you can hand feed him, someone on another forum suggested rusks and ready brek, the Gower Bird Hospital uses day old wholemeal bread , I use chick crumbs soaked in hot water for half an hour and rolled into little balls. You pop them into his mouth one at a time.

He will need about a tablespoon full 4 or 5 times a day.

Can you make a little doughnut out of a small towel and sit him in it, so that it gives him a bit of support and his vet is unobstructed? His legs should hang down inside it freely, just in case they are broken. You could also check the vent area to see whether it is clean.

He could have been injured or be suffering from metabolic bone disease, which is caused by a calcium deficiency. Either way, calcium syrup won't harm him.

I use the Gem calcium Syrup and Vitamin D3, it works very quickly on my collared doves. If you e-mail me your address I can send you some.

Where in Kent do you live?

Cynthia

[arnieismybaby]

Poor little mite .... I'm not pigeon savvy ... but the guys on this forum are friendly and full of wonderful advice.

He is lucky that you have found him.

Michelle.

[AZWhitefeather]

For whatever reason, it looks like this poor bird is going light & quickly. Is his keel (breast) bone sharp? Two indications of starvation are a sharp keel bone & falling face forward.

PLEASE do click on the link Treesa has provided & follow the directions step by step.

Do keep us posted.

Cindy

[cyro51]

PLEASE do click on the link Treesa has provided & follow the directions step by step

Yes it is vitally important that those steps are followed before any food is offered.

I wait a few hours now during which I offer the International Rehydrating Solution only, not food . That has glucose in it which will cater for his immediate energy needs. The heat pad ensures that he does not waste energy trying to keep warm.

Keep him away from any other birds that you have as wing and/or leg paralysis can be symptoms of diseases that can pass between birds.

Cynthia

[cally]

Hi there, i have made the bird more comfortable he is warm and i have placed him in a towel shaped as a dougnut as adviced, i found him yesterday and have already given him water and food should i not feed him any more and give him the rehydrating solution?
I have felt his breast bone and yes it is very sharp, i want to do my best to help this poor bird and will try my best, thankyou for your advice, and i will keep you posterd,
Cally

[cyro51]

Is he pooping something a bit more substantial that small dark green daubs? If so, then his digestive system is coping with the food, so I would continue but giving him little and often and checking the poops all the time.

A photo of his poops and of his "elbows" would be good!

As he is on the doughnut now can you place a lamp near him so that he is heated by the bulb? Rehabbers use an angled desk lamp over a box with a grille over it. A red bulb is easier on them.

Cynthia

[cally]

Hi here are the photos of poop and elbows sorry not that clear,
Cally

[

[Pidgey]

By "elbows", you mean that he has a lesion on the leg on the joint just up above the spread of the toes? If that's the case, it's actually analogous to our heel, believe it or not. His legs look as though they may be paralyzed so he couldn't really get around too well whilst he was growing up in the nest. It's possible that his parents eventually abandoned him and he's been trying to live ever since. That time span is probably very short.

When they're emaciated, it can be very tricky to bring them back as it's easy to feed them too much in the first few days. Good luck. It would be good if there was some motor control of the legs and what you're seeing is just advanced weakness. However, it's certainly possible that he's a paraplegic. About all you can do is see if you can bring him back and then see how he gets on.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Here's a link for you to look at some drawings and identify the areas affected by the lesions:

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/skeleton.html

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Well, I saw by the "Who's Online" function that you've been looking at broken leg threads. Judging by the ones you've seen, you may have enough information to make that call. It certainly is possible that this little fellow didn't have enough feather or strength to take the fall and so he might have broken his legs or strained his back in such a way as to swell, pinch the nerve and impair motor control. Incidentally, their sciatic nerves (controlling the legs) run through the kidneys so if the kidneys swell for any reason, it can affect the legs that way.

It can be tough to determine whether the legs are broken in some cases. That is, they can be broken near enough to a joint that the joint feels like it's working properly but it's really broken. In such a case (especially when it's both legs) it's a good idea to put them in a sling for the weeks that they're healing.

Pidgey