Caring for Handicapped Birds

[Charis]

Originally Posted by Jay3

Hi Hockeygirl, and welcome to Pigeon Talk. I have moved your thread to "SICK AND INJURED PIGEON DISCUSSIONS". This way it will be noticed by more people, and you will get more replies. Here is the link
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f6/pig...tml#post394445

Great job, Jay3.

[penname]

Hi everyone,

Well as some of you know I have Noddy, the Senegal dove, he's blind. When we found him he had many problems, lost his eyes unfortunately.

Anyway he's now blossomed into a beautiful boy. I used to hand feed him and then one day he started struggling and not wanting to eat so I put him in a big dish with seeds and he learned to eat by himself. I used to offer him water, he would dip his beak and it was understood he was thirsty. Eventually he learned to find water all on his own. He knows his name and coos a lot when I talk to him. He's absolutely adorable!

We made him a bigger cage and a flight, we call it "Noddy's Palace", my husband used to tease me and call it Noddy's solitary confinement, but guess what everybody, I think I finally found Noddy a mate!!! I will be posting pix asap!



Moral of this story: handicapped doves (and piggies) make tremendous pets!

[mr squeaks]

HOW exciting, Penname...especially for Noddy! Hope all goes well and they accept each other!

Sure will be looking forward to pictures!

Love, Hugs and Scritches

Shi

[penname]

Originally Posted by mr squeaks

HOW exciting, Penname...especially for Noddy! Hope all goes well and they accept each other!

Sure will be looking forward to pictures!

Love, Hugs and Scritches

Shi

Thank you very much for the good wishes, Noddy thanks you too! I always love to read about Mr Squeaks and his egg! That is SO cute!!!

[TerriB]

That is so cool that Noddy let you know when he was ready to progress. Good for both of you and best of luck with the matchmating!

[Jay3]

Sounds great. Where did you find this other pijjie? I hope everyting works out with them.

[birdybirdandbob]

i have a slightly handycappd dove shel be three this xmas when i found her in my frends avery she had been kicked out of the nest and was slightly splay legged and had a slightly droopy wing when she was a few weeks old my older sister cleand her cage when i was at school and diddnt put any flooring back in and her leg fell threw the bars and she damedged the left leg so i got some bailing twine and wound it and tied it till it was the right size for her to sit in and take the preshure off her leg and coverd it in a sock with the end cut off to let her heal and recuperate (althow thear was lasting damedge) she learnt to walk agean bie a combination of hop limp and ocashionly flap and has since learnt to fly since her move to the new avery (she now has avery mates (darling, chinook, candy, pelkury,and ziggy) but is the only dove i own now (my other dove keept attacking her and i had to get rid of him he went to a good home and has no trobble since)shes very happy and speachal (she love sitting on your sholder as you watch tv) althow obise and starting to have troble breathing

[TerriB]

Glad to hear you are watching out for and taking care of your special dove!

[prophecy]

I have some handicappers too!

Pigger(white dove) is missing an eye,has had a stroke and is a super-senior girl.
Sophia(feral) is missing half her one wing
Angie(piji) is blind
Chuck(feral pij) has a droopy wing
Georgia-(feral)PMV survivor

I really have a 'soft spot' for the disabled ones.They have such 'spirit' and stregnth to be able to overcome their shortcomings,coupled with that great pigeon personality! That adds up to some very special and awesome birdies!

[TerriB]

You really have quite a collection there! How about some photos? Any ideas to share regarding the environment you have set up for your birds?

[Sunshine123]

My water works started again reading about all these handicapped birds and the wonderful people who so lovingly care for them. It is incredible. The hardest part with me and Whitey is that if he is in fact going blind, it's my fault and I will forever live with the guilt and shame of being careless and not realizing he's always going to be a defenseless baby. He was hit by the door when I pulled it without realizing he's still sitting at the bottom on the floor. I feel very lucky that the extent of his injuries might be limited to his one eye. But that doesn't change the fact that had it not been for my stupidity, he wouldn't even have that injuy.

I've cried every night remembering how awful it was and how much he still loves me and looks for me and wants to be with me. I don't know what to do to make him not go blind, if there is any chance. The vet had said he had no indication that he wouldn't see. I don't know if it's because it's so early or because it's something the vet didn't notice or know. It was at a 24 hour clinic as all vets were closed.

[TerriB]

Please don't blame yourself for this. We all do the very best we can for our charges, but we are still human. I hope he recovers, but please remember that animals cope remarkably well with many issues.

[Sunshine123]

Terri BThank you for being so kind. It has gotten a little easier for us to handle what happened but Whitey is still unable to see out of his right eye and he is even more loving and affectionate than he was before. It is very hard to accept things as they are. Every time I think about it, tears start creeping up again. He is on new medication which we hope will restore some eye sight. At the moment it doesn't look promising but we have 1.5 weeks of medicine left. The worst part is when he hits the wall or doorway when he's walking by because he can't see from his right eye, or when his wing hits something because he misjudged the space he had. I will get over it but I don't think I'll be able to forgive myself for being careless and not realizing he's like a baby. I just feel lucky that he is alive.

[TerriB]

Several times a day, I check Archie for problems related to his crippled legs (he walks on his hocks):

- Down feathers get stuck in his eye or mouth. A bird with healthy legs would be able to reach up and scratch away the offending item.

- Archie doesn't stand very high off the ground so the occasional poop gets tangled in his vent or belly feathers. The floor of the coop is lined with a thick layer of polar fleece (soft on his hocks).

- Being an African Owl, his nares are even closer to his feathers while he's grooming. He gets flakes of discarded sheath up his nose so I check regularly and gently clean it out.

He especially enjoys my grooming his head and neck feathers, since he can't use his feet effectively for that.

[Larry_Cologne]

When I groomed some of my rescue pigeons, I used a round-headed toothbrush attachment from an electric toothbrush. The brush was short, and I could roll the stem of the brush between my thumb and index finger and brush their neck and head feathers, brushing "against the grain" so to speak, from the tip towards the base of the feather. Most of them liked that, except the rescues who may have had mates waiting for them somewhere.

They also liked me using the fingernail of the index finger and the thumbnail like their beak to groom where they couldn't reach around the head and neck.

It was nice when they obviously enjoyed it. Spending time on them, focusing on them when they needed help and were willing to accept it, was rewarding for both the pigeon and myself.

I watched a feral pigeon, "Stumpy," get blown around on the ground at Zülpicherplatz in Cologne because he didn't have a good grip on the pavement cobblestones. But he obviously enjoyed life, the desire for which we all have in common.

Seasons' greetings to Archie (also the name of my father) and to you and yours. And, of course, this includs all the members of Pigeon Talk, those who have handicapped pigeons and those who don't. (I'd like to have some pigeons in my life again. Situation here doesn't readily permit it, at the moment).

Larry