A Little Friend in Need

[sunsettractor]

Hello, my first post here. Our home in the high desert in Caliifornia has become home as well for a number of wonderful birds,We have two conures, two cockatoos, seven parakeets, and six pacific parotlets. We are very fond of our special freinds. We also enjoy the company of an evergrowing wild bird population around our home.We have several feeders and bird baths in our yard that are visited regularly by a variety of finches, sparrows,doves, pigeons and others. Last weekend I was watching out in the yard as many of our "wild" freinds were eating and noticed a dark pigeon hopping around on one leg, one of its feet was hanging rather limp, it looked as if it was tired, but was pecking seed off the ground.When one of our dogs barked at somthing, the flock flew away, all but the little guy with the droopy foot, he stayed behind. I went out to see if the little bird was allright, as I approached the pigeon it flew off with the grace and speed of the others, and that was the last I saw of it untill today. I was out back watering, when I was finished I was putting the hose back and noticed one little pigeon by itself in the yard, when I got closer It appeared to be the little guy I spotted last week with the droopy foot, and it was. Only this time when I came close to him he did not fly off, I stood about ten feet from him ,he looked dazed, I spoke to him and he just stood there on one leg,I got closer ad he looked wobbly on his one leg, his other foot that he was holding up, looks as if it has been somehow smashed, not bloody, but very damaged. As I knelt down to look closely at him he almost fell over, I cupped my hands and picked him up, he did not resist at all.I do not know what could have happened to this poor creature, but I just felt heartbroken to see it this way. It appears to have lost one of its eyes, I've no idea how long ago this may have happened, there is no blood, just some dark matter where its eye used to be. The other eye looks clear but he dosent seem to respond to me moving my finger back and forth near it, it feels very boney,and seems very light for a bird of its size. It has been very hot here lately, im sure that is not helping. My Wife And I sat with the bird for a while, it seemed calm. We got a little dish of water and offered it to him, at first he did'nt seem interested, but soon started drinking like he was quite thirsty. I offered some seed , it was not interested, We mixed up a batch of katee exact but he would not try it off a spoon, so we got a small feeding syringe and were able to get it to sample a little bit.This poor kid really has had some terrible luck, We would love to help this little guy, he needs a lot of help. With all of our other birds we have several extra cages, we lined the bottom of one with some shredded paper, put in a small dish of dilluted silver water, and a small dish of seed, then added the pigeon. after a short time he stood up and stretched his wings, he seemed alert. We covered all but one side of the cage so we could keep an eye on him. We put the cage in a secure spot in the garage and turned out the lights to let it rest. A little while ago I went out to check on him, he had settled down into the shredded paper and was all fluffed up with his head on his back, sleeping like a perfect little bird. Maybe tomorrow I could take and post some pictures of him and its injuries, I know it could fly very well last week, even though it had the foot injury, I could'ent tell last week if the eye was damaged then or not. He has very nice feathers now, they are not ragged and are very soft. Is there a chance this little friend could have any kind of a good life given these circumstances? My Wife says that even if it recovers from the stress is is now in, It will not likely survive out in the wild again with the handicaps it has aquired, I believe she is right. Any opinions on this? In the past my Wife has been very successful in the rescue and rehabilitation of some injured and baby birds that we found in our yard, nursing them back to good health and returning them outdoors. I would hate for this little bird to live in pain, I dont know if I could afford to have a vet try to fix or remove it's injured foot. We will do whatever we can do for this little guy, and would welcome any ideas, help, or opinions that would help us to do what is right for this little friend in need. Thanks.....Tom

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Tom,

Welcome to Pigeon Talk and thanks to you and your wife for taking in this unfortunate pigeon. Sounds like you've been able to stabolize the bird for now which is good. Hopefully you can take some pictures for us to see the extent of the injuries. Given that he's got two handicaps now, I don't feel that this bird will be able to go back to the wild and live a long life. The foot really does need to be dealt with somehow. You can try to find a vet that will help wildlife and they may do it for free. Other members will be along later today to offer more advice. Keep us posted!

[pdpbison]

Hi Tom,

Nice work...glad you were able to agree with him that some rest and nurture would be a good idea about now.

Keep him safe from drafts, and maybe even allow a heating pad in the night for him to be warmer on if he likes, wrap an electric heating pad in a layer of towell, and have it so he can be on it or not on it as he likes.

Lots of good Seed with extra pro-biotics and other nutrients in it, sticking to it even with a very light amount of fresh Olive Oil.

Sounds like he could use some good food and comfort for a while...for sure.

Observe the poops, and their consistancy and color and so on and h ow they may be responding to the improved food and water and rest he can have now. They should soon become damp-firm and luscious, white and brown-green.

And, of course, look out for any signs of illness, while, letting him take it easy and eat all he likes for a while...

That he was still at it in the wild, and has nice Feathers in good condition, suggests to me either the injuries are recent, and set him back in the effeciency of his food forages...or, the innuries are not recent, but that some illness or other compromise has reduced him or obliged him to become emaciated. could be worms or who knows.

A one legged, one eyed feral Pigeon maybe could live for decades in wild surrounds which to not have Hawks or too many other preditors to opportune on his compromise.

Of course, see what can be done for the foot..

Sounds like he knew you wished to help him...!

Very cool...

Phil
lasvegas

[Feefo]

Poor little baby, he has had a rough time but hopefully with care he will recover and have a good quality of life.

I have a one eyed pigeon, a pigeon with no feet, a pigeon with only one leg (not even a stump to balance on) a pigeon with one wing and many more with similar handicaps such as missing a single foot or most toes. All enjoy a good quality of life .

I don't think this one would survive long in the wild, though. It seems as if his original imjury was sufficient to bring him down to the state he is in now.

Could you perhaps take a photo of the foot so that we can see the damage and assess whether there is anything that you can do for it without resorting to amputation? (For various reasons I try to avoid amputation).

Cynthia

[Skyeking]

Hello and Welcome to Pigeons.com

Thank you for taking in this little noble pigeon.

He does need a lot of rest and care right now, and you sound like you have done a great job already.

I also have several birds that are blind in one eye, they function like normal, and live normal lives, but they can never go outside as they too, are vulnerable with the limited vision.

We are looking forward to an update and picture too. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions necessary.

Treesa

[TAWhatley]

Hi Tom and welcome to the Pigeon-Talk board. Thank you and your wife so very much for helping this injured pigeon. Hopefully we can offer additional suggestions once you have posted some pictures. Where in the high desert are you located? I'm down in South Orange County in Lake Forest CA.

Terry

[pdpbison]

I am in Las Vegas, Nevada...kind of medium 'low' Desert I guess...

Phil

[sunsettractor]

Hello and thanks for your replies. This morning I went out to check on our new friend, he was standing on his good leg and appeared to be very alert. Food had been scattered around the floor of the cage as well as on the floor, and it looks as if he has been drinking the water. When i made contact with his one eye he seemed to notice my presence, and was reluctant to have any contact by me. My Wife put her finger near his eye and his pupil reacted to her movement, so it seems he does have some vision in his eye, last night he did not seem to react at all. He has pooped a few times, it seems to be pretty runny, kind of a yellow green color. we have just been trying to keep him calm and comfortable, I havent really probed or moved him around today other than taking some pictures of him and offering him some thawed peas.I have a kodak camera and easy share software, but The file sizes are too large to upload to the link on this site, I have included a link to view pictures at another location, I hope that works. Please let me know if you would like to see a different veiw or a feature of this bird that is not shown, I would be glad to take and share more pictures, and again, Thank you for your help and concern, and for the gentleman that asked, we are located in Phelan ca, which is west of victorville off of Hwy 138. Will update.....Tom Link to pictures (I hope)http://www.fototime.com/inv/5024D07B33A7F76

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for the pictures, Tom. I'm the one who was asking where you were located, and though my nickname is most misleading, I'm actually a female .. no ruffled feathers or anything .. just wanted you to know.

Anyway, that poor bird! I'm so glad he found his way to you and your wife for help. Is that one eye socket empty or is the eyeball just cloudy and perhaps a bit malformed? The foot may be due to string entanglement, and there may even still be string, fishing line, or hair that needs to be removed.

Cynthia, who is a member here, has had good luck massaging Rescue Remedy cream into mangled feet to help loosen any deeply embedded remnants and to also help remove some of the discomfort the bird may be experiencing.

If you don't mind getting a couple more pictures, I think it would be helpful to have a very closeup shot of just the bad foot and just the bad eye.

Thank you again for caring for this bird!

Terry

[pdpbison]

Hi Tom,


This is still a Juvenile Bird whose wattles are not yet "white" and full.

As Terry mentions, a close examination of the closed Foot may reveal the presense of some constricting threads or hairs or something, it is not easy to tell from your images, but, inspect it verly closely...and see what you can find out as for that or any signs of injury or abrasion or discolores areas.

Feathers are sure nice!

Tom, if it was me, I would consider to replace the shredded Newspaper with a simple Terry-cloth Towell...makes it much easier to tell how much they are eating, and, to count and evaluate the poops.

Semi starved Birds ( I think, or, it is my present hypothosis anyway, ) will show small dabs of bright green poops with whit spots around them, or bright green with flat yellow spots. Once their system is running again with something to run decently on, the poops should show the changes.

Definitely get him on some good, augmented with additional nutrients and probiotics, Seeds...

Terry...a question for you...!

What is 'Rescue Remedy Cream'? And where do I get some?


Phil
el ve

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by pdpbison

What is 'Rescue Remedy Cream'? And where do I get some?

Hi Phil,

Here is a link to some information about it and also a place where it can be purchased on-line. Most of the health food/nutrition stores in my area have the liquid .. the cream is a bit more difficult to find.

Terry

[sunsettractor]

Hello again, Terry, Please accept my apology, you know what happens when you assume. I added a couple more pictures with a close up of the eye and foot, they are at the same link I used in my ealier post. We examined the foot and leg and could not find any traces of string, hair or any other fibers.The bird is able to raise and lower it's leg but the foot just hangs. There was a lot of discomfort when we examined the leg, he tried to push our finger away with his beak when we touched it. The foot looks kind of scaley, but we cant see any real injury. The local Vet in our town does not do "charity" work on wild birds, we are going to call around after the holiday to see if we can find someone affordable to look at him. Our local Vet supply does not have any pro-biotic bird seed available and did not know where to find any, they suggested pet smart. We are feeding him a high quality wild bird seed, he seems to like peas also, will give the olive oil a try. in the past we have had great results with silver water, so we will keep offering that as well.We are concerned though that this poor bird is suffering, I just cant afford to take it to an avian vet and say fix him all up, I wish we could. He has been resting today, he has been off of his foot, all fluffed up and still seems alert. Take care.....Tom......http://www.fototime.com/inv/5024D07B33A7F76

[pdpbison]

Hi Tom,

This certainly looks to be a very sweet young Bird...!


Purchase only simple, clean, wholesome Seeds which do not come with anything 'in' or 'on' them otherwise.

The 'pro-biotics' are not something which comes in or on the Seeds, but are something you purchase at a Health Food store, or, possibly at some Animal supply places.

You moisten the Seeds lightly with stirring into them some (fresh Bottle of) Olive Oil or possibly (ditto) Cod Liver Oil in small batches for the day, and, this lets you have 'powders' stick to the Seeds slightly, so the Bird gets them with the Seeds as it pecks.

Also, things of course may be added to their Water.

The Bird may have an injury of the leg or nerves of the leg, which would specifically benifit in it's healing, from the Bird being given a very good diet, and, from time and comfort and possibly remedial excercise which the Bird will elect for itself, or, if a thorough enough diagnosis is possible, which you may assist with in some actual involved way.

For now, if it were me, I would concentrate on the Bird's comfort, and quality of Nutrition, whether or not a handy sympathetic vet is obtained for their opinions on the matter.

A white Towell in lieu of shredded paper will allow you to better note the numbers of poops and their qualities, as they change, and also to gauge how, and how much, the bird is eating...as well as to observe their Crop and habits generally. ( Oh, sorry, I had not looked at the updated images yet!)

Have you supplied the Bird with the option of being 'on' or 'off' of an electric Heating Pad, under the Towell?

A 'fluffy' Bird is usually an ill or chilled or running out of steam Bird who is not generating enough heat in themselves to stay warm.

If you help them stay warm, they may conserve that energy or aply it to their phase of healing or recovery.


Best wishes,

Phil
el ve

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for the new photos Tom. The eye does look completely destroyed to me, but the foot looks a lot better than I was expecting to see. It doesn't seem to be mangled as I originally thought. Perhaps there is a fracture above the foot that is causing the limpness of the toes and also causing the pain that the bird exhibited when you were examining it.

Terry

[Feefo]

The eye does look gone, but perhaps some artificial tears would make it a bit more comfortable?

The foot photo was excellent, it magnifies really well so even the thinnest hair/thread would have shown up if there was one there.

BTW Cindy has a completely blind hen that is settling in very well.

Cynthia