found pigeon on side of highway

[pigeoto]

Hello everyone. We recently found a pigeon on the side of the highway who appeared to be injured. We stopped and grabbed it. Obviously it was injured or we wouldn't be able to get it. Anyway it's wing looked broken. I took it to the vet and after an x-ray, she determined that it's wing was dislocated. She was able to pop it back in place and now it's in a cage in my room recovering with it's wing bandaged. The vet told me that in a few weeks, she would check it and I could begin test flights with it.

What I am wanting some advice on is when to let her/him go. I mean it will be very cold when her wing heals and I hate to let her go then but I also don't know if it's a good idea for me to keep her/him until spring because I'm not sure if it will be hard to adapt to the wild again. I plan to let it go at a park under the highway/bridge that I found her because I figure that it's best to let her go at a place she is familiar with.

Any advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, I got very lucky with the vet. She only charged me thirty five dollars. Ten for the office visit, ten to pop the wing back in place and fifteen for the x-ray. No charge for the overnight stay.

Thank you.
Toni

[TAWhatley]

Hi Toni and welcome to pigeons.com! Thank you so much for helping this injured pigeon! Also, please take a moment to thank the vet that treated the bird .. it's kind of rare to find a vet that is even willing to help a feral pigeon let alone one who will treat it at a reasonable price.

My best advice is to just wait and see how things go. First of all the dislocation must be "cured" and the bird has to have full flight capabilities before release. Once we know if that has happened, we can worry about when (and even if) to release the bird.

Thank you again for your kindness.

Terry Whatley

[pigeoto]

Hmmm...I notice your "if"

This bird is an adult. I would love to keep her but I just feel that her being a wild bird who has been used to freedom that it wouldn't seem right to keep her now. If she were a baby maybe that would be a different story. I know pigeons are special. Is it possible that she would learn to love being with me confined being an adult already. As of now, obviously she acts frightnened when I touch her but what I find amazing is that she is not aggressive at all. She doesn't peck at me or anything. Yes I will make it a special point to thank the vet. I think maybe I will find a little veternarian figurine on ebay and get it for her for Christmas. Man I am a cheese.

[This message has been edited by pigeoto (edited November 23, 2003).]

[Feefo]

There is a little Schmid musical figure of St Francis of Assisi holding a dove on e-bay at the moment...I was tempted but am in the UK so the postage would be more than double the cost of the figurine and have spent almost a month's salary on vet fees (cat and dog) this month already.

I am in the same situation as you, I found a lovely injured pigeon a few weeks ago an have had her in the aviary with my unreleasable rescues ever since. I planned to release her as soon as she was fit, but I am thinking now that spring would be better. An adult wouldn't lose its foraging ability over such a short period, but if the weather turned really bad all wild birds will suffer however well adapted they are, and many will die, so I think that a soft release at a gentler time of year would be better in my case!

Cynthia

[kayzee123]

Hi Toni,

The 'iffy' part here can also include whether the dislocation will not happen again. Because the wings must be able to withstand a tremendous amount of activity and pressure, it is possible the tendons will not have the same amount of strength to keep the bones in place afterwards. A good reason to winter over the bird would be to see if the bones stay in place over a long period of flying time.

If you don't have the space to keep the bird in a place where he/she can practice flight afterwards, you may want to consider looking for a rehabber that does. Where are you located? I'm a rehabber in southwestern Ontario and have an indoor facility. I would be happy to take the little pij. Let me know.

Kaaryn

[Fred]

Hi,
A bird's feathers lose their heat insulation abilities in about a week so it does become a significant problem when the time comes to release. I go by a rule of thumb in situations like these. If it's above 40 dgrees fahrenheit, it's okay. Below 40 is dangerous.
I also agree with the statement that a dislocated wing may not be trusted to support the bird in all situations so if you are going to release, I would give this bird's wing plenty of time to gain strength.

[pigeoto]

Originally posted by Fred:
Hi,
A bird's feathers lose their heat insulation abilities in about a week so it does become a significant problem when the time comes to release. I go by a rule of thumb in situations like these. If it's above 40 dgrees fahrenheit, it's okay. Below 40 is dangerous.
I also agree with the statement that a dislocated wing may not be trusted to support the bird in all situations so if you are going to release, I would give this bird's wing plenty of time to gain strength.

Well then I guess it's settled. I won't releaser her until the spring. Currently, no I do not have a big enough space for her. I live Missouri so I think you as an option wouldn't work out to well . If anyone knows of a rehabber near me, I would be happy to look into it. If we keep her, we will definatly build something big for her.

[Fred]

I managed to dig up a list of Missouri rehabilitators. If they can't help, maybe they know somebody who can. Also, your local vets or zoos may know of people who could help.
I want to personally thank you for saving the life of this bird.
Missouri, Central

Missouri, Central region (Columbia)..... 573-446-0648

Debbie Tolentino, RVT, D-D Farm-Animal Sanctuary and Rescue
Missouri, Central region (Columbia)..... 573-882-7821

Raptor Rehabilitation Project
Wildlife Species: raptors ONLY
Comments: The MU Raptor Rehabilitation Project is a service and education activity
of the University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine in Columbia, Missouri, with support from
the Missouri Department of Conservation
Missouri, Central region, Lafayette County (Bates City)..... 816-230-7302

Lakeside Nature Center
isaveum@msn.com


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Missouri, East Central

Missouri, East Central region (St. Louis)..... 636-984-9116

Carol Kershner, Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center
Wildlife Species: Care for ill, injured and/or abandoned songbirds
Missouri, East Central region (St. Louis)..... 636-938-3268

Beth Norman, An Animal's Voice www.mowildlife.org or ananimalsvoice@aol.com
Comments: do rehab in Missouri and Illinois, as well as dangerous exotic animal rescue
Missouri, East Central region, St. Louis County (Fenton)..... 636-343-6200

Bobbi Baker (president/director), Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic
irishraccoon2@aol.com
Wildlife Species: all native Missouri mammals
Specialty: 18+ years specializing in raccoons, groundhogs, and skunks
Comments: we take in about 500-600 animals per year


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Missouri, Northwest

Missouri, Northwest region, Clinton County (Holt)..... 816-320-3951

Joyce Rosson (volunteer rehabilitator), Lakeside Nature Center
motherswift@cs.com
Wildlife Species: songbirds


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Missouri, West Central

Missouri, West Central region, Benton County (Warsaw)..... 660-438-9423

Marcus Ealey (director), M&J Ranch Wildlife Rehabilitation
mandj_wildliferehabbers@yahoo.com
Wildlife Species: we accept only animals native to Missouri; small mammals, whitetail deer, and raptors
Specialties/knowledge: whitetail fawns and raptors (including American Bald Eagle)
Missouri, West Central region (Centerview)..... 660-656-3297

Brenda Breeden, licensed wildlife rehabilitator
Missouri, West Central region, Jackson County (Kansas City)..... 816-513-8960

Debra Hilburn (subpermitee), Lakeside Nature Center
isaveum@msn.com
Limitations: do not accept Starlings or pigeons
Specialties/Knowledge: 11+ years of whitetail fawn experience; neonate animals;
raising single beaver; emergency care of all species
Missouri, West Central region, Jackson County (Kansas City)..... 816-513-8960

Lakeside Nature Center
Comments: The volunteers working through LNC help rehab over
2000 native MO wildlife annually. Three veterinarians work closely with
LNC as well as over 30 trained rehabilitators, 3+ professional staff with
educations in wildlife biology as well as education skills to teach the public about
wildlife. Only native MO wildlife (no pigeons, starlings, or house sparrows)
are accepted at LNC.