broken legs

[Kristyb]

The baby pigeon i found seems to have broken legs. She pushes herself around with her wings and pulls with her head. she doesnt move her feet at all. What can i do to help her?

[cyro51]

Hi Kristy,

Are the legs in their normal position, or growing out to the sides of the body? If they are normal it could be lack of calcium. Can you try giving her some, it can't do any harm and sometimes has the effect of an almost miraculous cure.

If her legs are sticking out to the side it could be splay legs which can be correceted if caught early enough. Can you check out Baby Sarah's picture, and assess her age? in the meantime she might be more comfortable if you made a little bun out of towelling and let her sit in that.

Cynthia

[cyro51]

I have just checked out how you found her, she might need an X-Ray to establish whether her legs were broken due to whatever caused her to appear alone on the sidewalk.

Cynthia

[Nooti]

kristy, you can check for fractured legs by holding the bird and running forefinger and thumb down both legs from the thigh to the foot. Even to a novice, quite often a fault can be spotted when you do this. It is uncommon for both legs to be fractured in an accident and this is more likely either splay leg as Cynthia guesses, or even just a simple calcium deficiency. Try giving a vitamin and calcium supplement daily and this may correct the problem.