Captured feral pigeon w/ broken(?) leg

[Lin Hansen]

Hi, I am new to this so please be patient. A feral pigeon has been hanging around our home since Tues. Was limping, and when it would feed the seed we put out, looked like the right wing was droopy. Could fly, but not far, maybe 15 feet up to the roof. We had been trying to catch it since the temp. the last few days has been close to zero. Finally, success yesterday. We brought him in, putting him in a newspaper lined large guinea pig cage. He is calm and eating wild bird seed w/ grit and drinking water. He stands on left foot only, with right foot held up and back. When he tries to walk, it is on left foot only. When he lays down, you can see right foot extended back and seems to use his right wing to keep himself balanced. Right foot looked a little grayish when we first brought him in, but today looks the same color as the other one.
Do you think his leg is broken? If so, should I try to set it? Found instructions w/ illustration on a web site from the UK. Our local shelter would just dispose of it, and it took six tries to find a vet locally who would treat a guinea pig, so I don't hold out much hope on finding a vet who would advise any thing other than disposal. I may be on my own here....Any advice anyone can offer asap would be greatly appreciated.

[TAWhatley]

Hi Lin and welcome to pigeons.com! It's very kind of you to help this obviously needy pigeon!

Yes, if you can determine that the leg is broken, it does need to be set. If you don't mind posting where you are located, we may have a member nearby or know of a wildlife rehabilitator who might be able to help you if needed.

Here is another helpful site that covers how to deal with splayed legs .. I doubt this is the case with the bird you have rescued, but it might be helpful for you to read.

http://www.duckpolice.org/BirdWeb/Pi...nresource.html


Please keep us posted on how you and the bird are doing.

Terry Whatley

[Lin Hansen]

Hi Terry, thank you for the quick reply..I checked out the site about splay leg..my pigeons leg does not go out to the side, but back going toward the tail feathers. Today, looked like pigeon was periodically using middle "toe" for balance. I live in Secaucus NJ, Hudson County. My sister in law is in her last year of vet school at Tufts up in Mass. I e mailed her pictures of the pigeon, hoping she can maybe instruct me. I had a kind offer from Carly in Oregon offering to take the bird if I can stabilize and ship it. I haven't replied to her yet, but really, I am not looking to get rid of it. Hoping to get it well and release...hung out w/ a pretty large flock, but of course once it was injured, they started bullying it. If I must keep it, I would try my best to care for it correctly. Of couse is too soon to say for sure..for now pigeon is calm, eating and drinking, and preening now and then...I would not be afraid of trying to set the leg, looks fairly simple, but I would be afraid of causing this poor bird further pain.
Thanks and I hope to hear from others w/ some good advice soon...Tks again for quick response.

[Lin Hansen]

Hi, I just thought I would say that my sister in law (in vet school at Tufts) called me and said by the pictures, that it looks like a femoral injury w/ damage to the nerves..bird is not in pain...she told me I should try to find a vet who will see it, but if I cannot, she will be down in about two weeks and will take the bird back up to school with her for the doctors up there to look at it...they will be able to fix it or they will want to euthanize....I do not want it euthanized if it can live a decent life w/ just one working foot...I have seen wild gulls will one foot missing doing just fine so I would resist that option if it is not cruel to the bird.....any opinions or advice would be appreciated...thank you

[maryco]

Hello and thanks for caring

I have a pet bird with only one foot, he was in the wild like that and one cold winter day I caught him because he didn't look very good, he also limped aroung getting bullied by other large male pigeons and used his wing to balance, he only stayed for afew minutes on my balcony because of the bullying but would visit every few months, now he is my pet pijjie living in my room along with his lovely wife Pearl who is a lost homing pigeon..

If your bird's leg can't be fixed he would make a wonderful pet

Hopefully the leg can be fixed, I had about 2 or 3 birds so far with broken legs, it's best to take it to the vet asap otherwise it might not be able to be fixed, mine recovered just fine and were set back into the wild except for one who passed away because of a blood clot.

Keep us posted and if you have any questions we will do our best to answer..
Mary