found pigeon cant fly,

[suzie]

Hi pigeon lovers, i posted here a few years back about a lost racing pigeon and you were helpful so i,m back again to ask for more help and advice regarding another pigeon. I found it today when i was out with my dog and as my dog got closer it was walking quickly away whereas it,s mate(the male...i think as it was much bigger) was able to fly away but he still watched me when i tried to get near the bird. So i took my dog home and went looking and couldnt find it....i,v been up and down all night and then as my partner took the dog out he found it on some steps shielding from the wind....9 hours after i had first seen it. Now i have her in a big box with a blanket and some water and seed. She can walk ok but her wing isnt working I think at the moment she is in a bit of shock so i,m leaving her be for the night as it,s nearly 1am here in the UK. I noticed poops and they look white whith a chunk of green...is that ok? She isnt shutting her eyes and seems alert enough. No feet injuries. Wing looks a bit bent though...like when she flaps it,s not straightening out like the other. In the morning i will be able to have a better look but i,m just not sure what to do. I have twice taken wood pigeons to my local PDSA and my friend said they would have probably put them to sleep as they are a charity run vet and wouldnt save a pigeon but i called and they told me the RSPB came for it...was i being told that just to make me feel better..i dont know. I would be really thankful for any advice and what i should do in the morning. She just let me stroke her without flinching much so she seems calmer than she did a little while ago

[suzie]

tried to edit that to mention she isnt a wood pigeon but a feral street one.

[mr squeaks]

others will be along to help.

I do know that heat is important. Do you have a heating pad you could put under her with setting at low and towel over it? Also let her have opportunity to move off heat if she wants.

Sounds like she's hydrated. But, mixing a pint of water w/pinch of sugar and pinch of salt, mixing til dissolved and give some luke warm in small dish might also help.

[suzie]

Many thanks for that... I have a hot water bottle and i,ll give her the water solution.

[mr squeaks]

Originally Posted by suzie

Many thanks for that... I have a hot water bottle and i,ll give her the water solution.

be sure and put a towel over hot water bottle so it's not too hot...

hope she will be OK...do you have any seeds for tomorrow?

Thank you for rescueing her! I bet she appreciates too! Do you have an Avian Vet around to have her checked or a rehabber? Anyone??

[feralpigeon]

Hi suzie,

Thanks for your compassion and concern over the well being of this feralpigeon.
Have you actually pulled the wing out in extension to see if the bird is able to retract it?

fp

[BrianNAmy]

How is she holding the wing when she walks? Is it drooping or held tight against her like the other?

She might not like this, but try to give her a bit of a checkup. Feel along the working wing and then compare the injured one. Feel for any lumps or abnormailities that you don't notice on the functional wing.

Wet the feathers down a bit with a warm wet towel and then take a look at the skin below the feathers on that wing. Look for any discoloration greenish in color or even blood.

If you don't notice any lumps, breaks or bruising on the wing, then try extending it gently and seeing how stiff it feels. The injury might be farther up on the body and not the actual wing itself.

If you still see nothing, check along her body on that side and along her back for any lumps, cuts or bruises. Lift her up in your hands, cupping both wings with her head towards you. Tilt her forward and backwards then look at her tail. If it shifts positions as you move it means there's no spinal injury at least.

Chances are after a couple days the healing process would have started already so you might not be able to do anything outright. If her wing is drooping at all you can bandage it against her body and hope that it heals in a normal position (worked for our feral, Puffy).

If nothing seems wrong, offer her a warm, dark, cozy corner (box on a heating pad with a towel on the bottom) to hide in for a while and keep checking in on her. The injury might be internal or too slight to notice and time will be the best cure.

[cyro51]

Hi Suzie,

Thank you for rescuing the pigeon. Sorry to be negative but he RSPB don't do bird rescue and would turn up their noses at a pigeon. The RSPCA treats them as vermin and puts them down. For the PDSA you have to have an animal registered and a vet that is registered too. (We rcently lost the PDSA vet here).

However, there are vets that will treat pigeons but you have to ring around.

I have found a number of pigeons that were unable to fly in the city centre, one was living under one of those refreshment caravans and as far as I remember all but 2 recovered the ability to fly . One of the ones that didn't fly again was taped up by an avian vet.

If the wing is drooping I will tape it into position with with white self adhesive support bandage from Boots. I wrap it once round the body, firmly enough to hold the wing in its normal position but not so tightly that it would interfere with breathing or cause the joint to stiffen through immobility.

Cynthia

[suzie]

Hi again, i,m sorry i havent posted back until now. I spent all day yesterday trying to get an avian vet and then try to organise transport. I managed to take the pigeon to an animal hospital and a specialist vet had a look at it today and called me to come pick it up as there was no obvious breaks, lumps or swelling. I had to call them twice to get them to inderstand i wasnt just handing the bird in for them to deal with it and that i would be happy to pay for any treatment it may need. They basically said to me today was that it seems fine exept it cant fly, they also wanted to give me a number for somewhere to take it but im scared to let them have it in case they put it to sleep. So i have her in an old cage at home...it,s actually a big guinea pig/rabbit cage but she can stretch out and walk around. I,m reading through your helpful replies and i would say that she is holding one wing slightly higher than the other and i know it,s been suggested about taping her up but i dont think i,m confident enough to know exactly how to and i thought the vet may have done that but no. They told me to see how she was after a few days and to call that number and they may help me with x-rays? I dont know much about pigeion care but am i being fobbed off? Its not like her wing is drooping but if you can imagine as if she is holding it up against herself. I can hear her shaking about and she can walk ok. How do i begin to know i,m caring for her the right way....if she cant fly but is ok i could keep her but i,d need to do my research so ANY advice would be great..many thanks for reading and all your feedback on this.

[Pidgey]

There are arthritic processes that they can get where the first thing that happens is they get real reluctant to fly. As it progresses, you can start feeling a puffiness about a joint of the wing and that can be any of the three: the shoulder, the elbow or the equivalent of the wrist. Of them, the shoulder is actually the hardest to detect it in.

Sometimes, when they get that, you may see them standing looking a tad out of balance as if they're holding the bad wing out just a bit. You can see that if you look straight on to 'em, front and center. The forward fold of the bad wing will just seem to set out a bit farther away from the breast than the other one. Also, if you see them stretch their wings upward, it'll seem like the bad wing isn't extending as far as the good wing. Sometimes, in order to get them to do just that, you can hold them away from the area that you've been keeping them and that they've learned to think of as their new temporary home. They will think about jumping off of your hand and if you've spaced it right, they'll almost but not quite do it. You can see the reluctance to fully extend and spread the bad wing at that point.

Anyhow, if that's what it is then the usual fix is an appropriate antibiotic, which can be a little fun as it's very much not easy to know what the causative agent is for sure. Even a vet would have a hard time with that one. I don't think I've had one of those that didn't respond to Baytril but it has a been a long haul (~3 months) for the worst of them.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

So, I guess I'm saying that since you can't tell whether it's a light injury versus a disease process that you're going to need to start feeling the bird's wing joints on both sides for comparison every day and see if any swelling starts coming up. If it does, then you can suspect a disease and try to acquire some Baytril (Enrofloxacin) or something like that.

Pidgey

[jazaroo]

Hi Suzie,

Thanks for rescuing this little one.

I was thinking it may be helpful, if possible, to post some pictures of this bird as they may be useful in making a better determination for him.

All the best,

Ron

[Lovebirds]

I had a bird in my loft a couple of years ago that all of the sudden couldn't fly. I never knew what happened but assumed that she hit a perch or something. I saw her try to go into the aviary one day, which is only about 8 inches high and she didn't make it. I picked her up, held her by her feet and "dropped" her in the air, and she never even raised her wings. ( I didn't drop her, I had her in my hand, just to see if she would flap her wings. ) I put her in a breeding pen by herself. Every morning I would put her in the floor so she could get out in the aviary and at night I would put her up on the shelf to roost. I did this for a week and then one night I went out to get her off the floor and she was already up on the shelf. I put her back in the loft and she was fine after that.

[feralpigeon]

It would be helpful if you could, to post pictures of the bird. Also, if you have
this capability, it would also be good to take a couple of pictures of the bird's
droppings. It could be illness related, there are a few things that may make them reluctant to fly, or could just be a sprain that will desensitize w/some
time healing and getting R&R.

Also, sometimes, they do just hold one wing higher than the other yet are fully functional flyers...so even though a wing may be lower than the other, if the bird is still alert and easily can take to flight, I don't get concerned. Yours isn't
of course, but maybe one wing being lower than the other is not where the health crisis lies for the bird. Again, pictures would be helpful. Hopefully you can get access to a digital camera.

fp

[suzie]

Thank you all for advice, Pidgey your post says it better than i could but she is as you have described in your post. I did take pictures of her today but cant actually upload them myself...i,ll get my other half to do it ASAP. I have had her out of her home and she walked around ok but just slightly off balance with the wing but she does try to extend it and it doesnt fully...it seems as though her shoulder of the bad wing is up bit...not as definate as a point but maybe a bump of sorts?... At the moment she seems quiet and when i peek in she is perched up on her water dish not asleep.....birds need a perch dont they...i wouldnt know where to start with a cage so if she is mine for good i need to ask a lot of questions on here. HA HA...you all seem to love pigeons very much and i cant believe the way some people act as if they are vermin! I was going to make an appointment with another vet..also i have given Baytril a lot over the years to my rodents so maybe if i go to another vet i can ask if she needs some. I found an exellent vet who saved my hamster by giving her a hysterectomy and she lasted a good while after that and the local vet i seen just gave me baytril and as it go,s by weight of the hammy...the fool mis-calculated and gave her 10 times the dose. This practice takes it seriously when you bring in a rodent so i know they have an avian vet certain days as well as a rodentologist...i mean that vet took the time to show me digital pictures of the surgery so i really respected that. I have had a busy couple of days but i promise to post pics. Thank you once again for the time you have taken to reply to me.