Juvenile pigeon found, seems hurt, about 28 days old.

[natasha]

Hi,
My husband and I found a juvenile pigeon across from our apartment in Manhattan this morning. He was right on the road where a car could hit him, and he did not appear to be able to move much – my husband was able to just pick him up.
We have rehabilitated a couple of pigeons before (thanks to the information posted on this website! We didn't know much about what to do the first time we found a bird that needed help), but never a young one. This bird seems like he is not able to fly yet – we looked at http://www.speedpigeon.com/baby_racing_pigeon.htm and decided he was about 28 days old. He looks a little older than the guy on the picture in this thread http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f20/fo...ing-38521.html. It appears like one of his feet and possibly one of his wings have been hurt (perhaps he fell out of his nest?) but not too severely -- he just holds the wing kind of weird and tries not to step on one foot when he gets up.
We brought him into our apartment and put him in a box. We gave him some rehydration fluid and later some defrosted peas, corn, and water, following advice in other threads. He managed to get 2 peas and 2 pieces of corn, but then couldn't seem to eat any more -- he would peck at them, miss, and then finally give up. He is sleeping now. We are a little worried about him not getting enough food (my husband tried to push some peas down his throat but couldn’t quite manage to hold him and push them down so he got worried he was doing something wrong).
In addition, this bird has pigeon flies. I don't know much about those, but we saw some fly off him and some more still on him. Are they dangerous to him or to us? Should we do something about them?
We are perfectly happy just continuing to take care of him and see if he starts eating and grows stronger, but we want to make sure that just doing that is enough for this guy, or whether we should be doing something else, or, perhaps, trying to find a more experienced rehabilitator.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[TAWhatley]

Hi Natasha and welcome to Pigeon-Talk! Thank you so very much for assisting this pigeon! The pigeon flies are debilitating to the bird as they are blood suckers, so they need to go. A bird spray from the pet store will get them as will Sevin Dust like you use on plants.

If you are able to do so, I would suggest that you take the bird to the Wild Bird Fund there in NYC to be evaluated. http://www.wildbirdfund.com/ Though there is no charge, a donation would be greatly appreciated, and you would be likely asked to take the bird back home and care for it but would be given any medication needed along with care instructions.

Terry

[natasha]

Hi Terry,
Thank you very much for the references. We were worried about using sprays and powders on a young bird, but I guess his size is practically that of an adult bird.
We will try to go up to the Wild Bird Fund tomorrow for an evaluation.
Thanks again for your help,
Natasha.

[Jaye]

Good call. If you cannot get in there early, you can treat the bugs...just make sure to cover the lil' guys face, eyes, and cere.

Also, sometimes on veggie popping, better to have 2 people doing it..one to hold the beak open, one to pop the veggies in, maybe attached to a blunted toothpick or such so you can position the veggie behind his airhole and into his esophagus.

Thanks for saving him ! Keep him warm and calm !

[plamenh]

Hi Natasha,
Thank you for helping this poor injured fellow.
Despite people’s fear of pigeon carrying diseases, there are very slim chances to catch anything from pigeons even if you handle diseased pigeons on daily bases.
Just wash your hands after handling him and keep to the basic rules of hygiene.
Bird bugs do not go for people as we are to “cold blooded” comparing to pigeons.
Any pet shop will have biodegradable insecticide.
It is possible that bird was injured by car if it is limping and holding wing down.
Mix some honey in his water and let him drink. This will give him energy even if it’s not feeding properly. There may be internal injuries though and it is good someone to check him. Wing and leg should be treated too.

[Jay3]

Originally Posted by Jaye

Good call. If you cannot get in there early, you can treat the bugs...just make sure to cover the lil' guys face, eyes, and cere.

Also, sometimes on veggie popping, better to have 2 people doing it..one to hold the beak open, one to pop the veggies in, maybe attached to a blunted toothpick or such so you can position the veggie behind his airhole and into his esophagus.

Thanks for saving him ! Keep him warm and calm !

The toothpick is really not a good idea. If he jumps or moves quickly, he could get hurt. Just put the corn or pea into his beak and push it toward the back. It will go down. He can't aspirate it. It's too big.

[Jay3]

It's actually very easy. Check out this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU1SO0ZJoow

[Charis]

Originally Posted by Jay3

It's actually very easy. Check out this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU1SO0ZJoow

LOL...that's one calm bird. They can be a bit more frantic if they have never been in human hands before. I can handle most of them but for some I have found it beneficial to put them in the arm of a long sleeved tee shirt with the head out the wrist hole.

[Jay3]

I just hold them against my stomach, facing my right, open the beak with the thumb and forefinger of both hands, keep it open with the left thumb and forefinger, and put the pea or corn in with my right thumb and fore finger. Never have any trouble. If you hold them in your lap, against your tummy, it really gives you a lot of control. If not, then the sleeve would work, or maybe even a cut off sock, to make a tube.