Help With Baby Wood Pigeons Feet!!

[ruthmt]

Hi all,
I work for a wildlife charity and have been hand rearing a young wood pigeon for a few weeks. He must be 2.5 weeks old now and doing really well. However, I noticed that he isnt moving his feet and toes correctly. His toes are twisted and hooked over. When placed on a hard surface he isnt able to move forward becuase he cant balance on twisted toes. I have been gently unwinding his toes and though slightly better they always go back into the same position. Im hoping someone will have experienced this and be able to help as I dont want to keep him alive just to have to put him to sleep when he's bigger.
Thanks

Ruth

[Feefo]

Hi Ruth,

These things are difficult to correct without stressing the pigeon (and woodies are easily stressed) to take it slowly, work for very short periods then have a rest. If the pigeon starts to gasp stop what you are doing immediately.You have to be very, very patient as often just when you think that everything is fixed it falls apart and you have to start again:

Get some Boots self adhesive support bandage (the smaller white roll), roll two pieces ito a size that the pigeon's foot fits over in the proper position and then wrap the support bandage over the foot. I have a photo of a collared dove that I did that with, her legs were flaccid and crossed over the front with the toes tangled together, but with the "booties" she started to walk properly. I will post the photo when I track it down. You will also have to check whether the legs are in the right position, if they are not and there is no redness or swelling you might have to correct those too...more on that later if needed.

The pigeon might also need calcim supplements as foot deformities often follow a calcium deficiency. Zlcal or Calcivet are ideal.

At the moment I have a collared dove in the same situation, her leg joint was red and swollen so I have avoided taking corrective action but today I placed her crooked foot over my finger and she gripped well and seemed comfortable so it is time for me to proceed!

Cynthia

[Feefo]

This is Doveling withe her foot-correcting bootees on. I used the thicker support bandage on her but I find the white one is softer and kinder.

[ruthmt]

Hi, Thank you so much for your reply but we made the decision and PTS earlier this afternoon. He went very peacefully and I can at least say that he was content while he was with me.
When I looked at his feet in closer detail I saw that his toes were so bent under that his claws were digging into the underside of his toes and they were more sore and bleeding over night. Also two of his claws were practically hanging off. It didnt seem fair to put him through the pain of trying to fix something that was potentially unfixable. I did try to bandage his toes but he was so stressed and uncomfortable I would have had to sedate him I think his legs were'nt positioned right either. Such a shame. If you can find those pictures I would still be interested to see as we take in about 30+ pigeons and doves a month and Im sure this will come up again.
Thanks again

Ruth

[ruthmt]

sorry Feefo, I saw your pic of the collared dove-please ignore my mention of the "other pictures".
Thanks again