Please Help Pigeon Found

[wolvo_ste]

Hi everyone i had the pleasure of saving a baby wood pigeon i believe it is today, it was being pecked to death by a crow and been an animal lover that i am rushed over and saved it, it was pretty badly damaged with blood under its eye , on the top of its head and a little on its chest. I have been giving it some water and it looks really full of food, can people give me advice about feeding it and looking after it as i really dont want it to die many thanks Steve

[John_D]

Hi Steve

Well done.

For a start, you may want to take a look HERE

Hopefully another UK member will check in later, if I'm unable to

[wolvo_ste]

thats excellent im going to make him a water bottle over night to keep him warm , i have him in my room at the moment in a cardboard box lined with a sweter and kitchen towels, ive gave him some water because i do not want him to dehidrate his crop is full though from the looks of it

[PigeonQueen]

Please give the pigeon some defrosted peas or corn and some wild bird food. You could leave it near to a bowl of water in the box.

Where are you located?

[amyable]

Good save Steve!

Can I take a guess that you're from Wolverhampton? Just trying to work it out from your User name to see if there is anywhere around you that could help and have a look if needed.
I had a baby a good while ago that I saw a Crow flying with in it's mouth and it dropped it in front of my car. It was sadly in a terrible state as it had ripped it's back open so you just need to gently have a good look over it to see if there are any other major injuries.
Obviously it'll be tomorrow now before you can do this and you seem to have all the basics in hand for now.

Thanks for doing all this for the youngster. Keep us posted so we can help if needed.

Janet

[wolvo_ste]

hello everyone and it was a good morning as i woke up and found my pigeon still alive, i put a water bottle under him last night for extra comfort, and i have fed him this morning, with powder oats and water at room temperature . i have made a special journey home from lunch to feed him again, and hes taken alot more food down him just and it was alot easier so i hope hes getting used to it On observation his eye is healing up now and his head, hes flapping his wings alot like hes attempting to fly and they seem very strong so i dont think theres any damage there, on the downside he seems very unstable on his feet but i have been told this is due to lack of tail feathers is this correct??? and yes im in wolverhampton many thanks for all your help i want to get this baby back in shape

[Jaye]

Sounds good so far, nice work !

One thing which has not yet been mentioned, as the Pigeon had been attacked. Do you have any antibiotics on hand or is there a farm supply store nearby (sorry, I dunno what sorta place Wolverhampton is).

I would suggest starting him/her on antibiotic to prevent any infection from the attack. Do you have any human or pet grade antibiotics at home ? Penicillin, Amoxycillin, Cephalexin, Ceclor, Augmentin...anything like that ?

If you have a farm animal supply store in vicinity can you ask them if they have any of the above or also something called Trimeth Sulpha ?

Do get some frozen peas to feed him/her as well...a good switch-up from the oats and will balance the diet more. Defrost the peas under hot tap water until entirely defrosted (i.e. inside of pea isn't frozen). Let cool to lukewarm and then gentkly open beak with one hand and pop in the pea with the other, gently closing beak. they usually automatically swallow. Start with maybe 4 peas and work up to maybe 8 per feeding (I am unclear as to the age of the baby...you can perhaps give more. Can you post a photo ?)

[amyable]

Hi Steve,
I don't think the lack of tail feathers is the problem really as these tend to be more for steering although they do help a bit in balancing.
I'd be more concerned that he's been punctured possibly.
They do need some prompt anti-biotics treatment when attacked as infection can kill quite quickly.
Sadly had one a few weeks ago that was doing fine but then suddenly went downhill overnight and died when it was about two minutes away from the chap bringing it to me. Infection just took over.
It's hard to get meds over here without a vet seeing it first and then they tend to want to have the bird off you and will probably put it to sleep if it's a Woodie youngster.It's worth asking if they will look at it for you and let you take on the care as this is usually why they PTS as they haven't the staff and time to do the aftercare bit. Just don't hand it over to them without checking this first though.
As Jaye said, do you have any old ones in the house that could be scaled down to suit this birds weight?

I was really angry today when I found some Penicillin my daughter was taking for an infection, and she'd not completed the course. Then I thought, great, I've got something on hand for emergencies now!! The trouble is if I posted it out to you we've lost a couple of days and that's a bit risky for this bird.

Have you held it and lifted it's wings and checked on it's back for wounds as a crow would have pecked it's back most likely if it had it for long enough.
Also can you just mix some warm water with just a tiny pinch of salt and with cotton wool or a cotton bud gently bathe the eye area if you haven't already done so.
Let us know if you have any luck with meds.

Thanks for the update.

Janet

[wolvo_ste]

I will take a look in my medicin box and see if i can give it something in very tiny amounts and see if that helps, just gave him another feed, and hes flapping his wings alot more now like hes trying to learn to fly so im lifting him up and down to get him using the wings il try the cotton wool bud and salt on the eyes tommorrow but all his wounds have dried up and i dont want to re open the wound,il post what i have on here befor trying to give the bird anything as i wouldnt want to give it anything wrong i will take a pic tmz morning when i wake him up ive put him in his box and hopefuly let him go sleep tonight, im going to do him another hot water bottle tonight by the way how independant are pigeons after they leave the nest are they still a little dependant in regards to food or are they ok looking after themselves ???

[Dobato]

Originally Posted by wolvo_ste

I will take a look in my medicin box and see if i can give it something in very tiny amounts and see if that helps,

Might be a good idea to post up what you are thinking of giving from your medicine chest, before giving it, we can help with dosing amounts as well, once we know the what you have.

Good luck with him,

Karyn

[amyable]

Hi again,

sorry to nag, but have you had a peek under it's feathers on it's back....just in case there's a hole? Maybe not as you'd probably have seen blood but I know what Crows are capable of having seen ones damage before and would hate there to be a puncture we've missed.

I've got this penicillin that my daughter left so if all else fails I can send some to you if you Private Message me your address. If you let us know tomorrow I can get it in the post first class.

Janet

[wolvo_ste]

wel on one of his wings theres like a little wound that has started to heal up, i wonder if that is an issue ??? i will take pics and post tmz and yeh that will be excellent thanks

[amyable]

Steve,

Don't worry about disturbing the wound it's more important to make sure it's clear of dirt etc and how deep it goes in case it's damaged further inside.
I've had wounds before that look as if they're dried up but a puncture wound can push feathers inwards and they fester if left. Best thing to do in the morning is to use the warm salt water and bathe the wound until you can see it's clean. If there are any feathers pushed inwards, very gently pull them out.
As I say, it may be ok but it's best to be sure before it starts to heal up wrong.
Pictures would be great.

Janet

[amyable]

Any news on Woodie?

[wolvo_ste]

woody is fine i will post pics tommorrow ive got him balancing on a pearch to to practise his balance eatings ok but could be better going to give him a feed ina sec befor bed