We rescued an injured pigeon...

[crabshel]

Ok...I think our property has a neon sign that only animals can see...and it reads "If you need help or a new home, stay at this house!" We repeatedly get stray dogs, etc who STAY in our front yard until we take them in and eventually adopt them out. But...now we have a pigeon. He/she..for ease of typing, lets assume it is a he...Anyway, he showed up a few days ago in our front yard and hasn't left. We have chickens, so we put out some mash and water (we don't know what pigeons eat). We tried to coax him into a large dog kennel, etc, but he wants NOTHING to do with us. Finally today, we decided the best we could do for now is coax him into the garage. At least he will be warm and safe from predators. He appears to be a rock pigeon and is primarily dark gray/black with the iridescent blue/green/purple on his neck. Very beautiful! He is not banded, eats and drinks normally as far as we can tell, his eyes are bright, his feathers are flat and shiny, so we are assuming he is healthy. He cannot fly though and one wing is bloody on the end. He tries to fly and gets a couple inches before falling. Darn thing can run fast though! he he We are assuming the wing is broke and we read the tutorial on how to wrap his wing...but we can't catch him (maybe it is just scratched too). We are trying to entice him into the dog kennel in the garage, but we've had no luck so far. I fear that if we don't wrap it soon (if it isn't too late already), he will never be able to be released. We have no experience with pigeons...especially feral ones. We decided that if he can't be released, he will remain a pet, though I know that as a wild bird, he won't appreciate that. Also, if he is feral, should we treat him with an antibiotic? What diseases, etc should we worry about in order to protect our chickens? Could he eventually be introduced to the chickens and live in their coop and run rather than being stuck in a bird cage? Please help! I'm clueless!!

[Charis]

Wow. The first thing you need to do is catch him. Pigeons can't see in the dark so if you can grab him in the garage tonight and put him in a kennel, well then at least he will be accessable to examine.
I know what you mean about that neon sign. I think there's one out at my place too.
Where do you live in case we have a member near by that can help you?

[crabshel]

Wow...I had no clue that they can't see in the dark. I live in Hesperia, CA (Southern California).

[Charis]

We have quite a few members in Southern California.
Go catch the pigeon, put him in the kennel with a towel in the bottom. IN the morning you can give him food and water, but don't let him out of the kennel. I'll send you a private message with a phone number to call tomorrow.

[TAWhatley]

Hi Crabshel and Welcome!

It's my phone # you've been given, and I'll be happy to talk to you about the bird tomorrow. We'll get more accomplished if you actually have caught and confined the bird as I will need you to to look at some things and tell me what you see. If I were closer, I'd say to just bring me the bird but we're about 85 miles apart. I'm in Lake Forest in South Orange County. Depending on a lot of things, I may be going to Norco this weekend, and that would put us in at least "shooting" distance.

Hope to speak with you tomorrow, and thank you so very much for assisting this pigeon!

Terry

[Matt D.]

And as far as the diseases go that you will get there wont be any: http://theracingpigeon.googlepages.c...tahealthhazard

[crabshel]

Thanks Terry, I wish be calling you today for sure!

Matt, thank you also for the link. I am not concerned about diseases, etc. that affect humans so much, but rather those that can be transmitted to my chickens.

[TAWhatley]

Crabshel and I spoke on the phone this morning. She is going to continue to try to catch the pigeon so the wing injury can be closely examined. The pigeon is now residing in the garage with food and water available, so it is not at any risk from predators.

Terry

[crabshel]

Just an update...we have yet to catch our pigeon, but he hangs around the dog kennel, so we are hoping that this evening he'll go inside and we can just shut the door. We got Dove feed with all the good stuff that posts on this site have recommended and we also put an antibiotic in the water just in case the wound is infected. The poops all look normal, so that is a great sign too. Thank you all for your help! I will keep you updated in his/her wing!

[Charis]

LOL...Just look and see where the bird is after dark, turn off the light, have a flash light in case you need to check the pigeon's location and just pick him up by placing your hands around the body and over the wings.

[crabshel]

Ok..we will definitely try. Chickens are SO much easier to catch! ha ha Either, way, he/she now has good food, water and an antibiotic and hopefully by morning a wrapped wing! Thanks again!

[Matt D.]

Hey if you can we all love to see pictures...

[crabshel]

Here are a few pics of our little guy or girl. He/she has been using his/her wings to jump up in blocks and quad tires up to 10 or 12" in height. Maybe the wing isn't broke? If a feather is damaged it can bleed right? She/he doesn't hold the wing funny as you can see, but he/she sure can't fly. There are five pictures at the link below. It should be open to view, but if not, let me know so I can fix it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22981273@N04/

[Charis]

Haven't you caught the bird yet?
Pretty bird. I can't tell anything from the pictures other than that.
He/she sure knew the right place to go for help.

[Reti]

That's a cute little pij. Good luck with him/her.

Reti