Homer with Broken Wing

[Birdmom4ever]

Help! I may be a moderator and I have over 80 pigeons, but I don't consider myself a rehabber. I'm not good with severely injured birds--it really upsets me. But I consider all pigeons that cross my path my responsibility. A friend of mine who rehabs ducks and wild birds called yesterday to say she was given a lost homer with a broken wing. Apparently a friend of a friend of hers saw it on the side of a busy freeway and risked her life to save it!

My friend took the pigeon to our mutual avian vet, who examined it free of charge, wrapped the wing and sent the bird home. My friend is overwhelmed with other responsibilities and doesn't have pigeons, so I offered to take the bird. I figured he would recover better within sight and sound of other pigeons.

But this bird is in bad shape. I was surprised he made it through the night. I did get him to drink a lot by holding him over the water dish (water + electrolytes.) He was much more alert today, stood up and drank on his own. He picked at the food but didn't seem successful picking it up. I called the vet and he recommended tubing him. I had to go to the vet's to get a new feeding tube. When I got home I discovered the pigeon had slipped off the wrap and his injured wing was hanging again. I tubed him and tried to re-wrap the wing, but I can't get the darn wrap to stay on. If I get it tight enough to stay, then he can't walk, and if I put it far enough back so that he can walk, it won't stay. Even the wrap the vet did lasted less than 24 hours.

In the course of doing all this, a wound at the bird's shoulder opened and started bleeding, and now the poor thing looks completely miserable again. I feel so bad. I did give him some Ibuprofen I had from another rescue I got in a couple weeks ago (that pigeon had a gash in its upper leg and is now doing fine.) Suggestions?

-Cathy

[Lin Hansen]

Originally Posted by Birdmom4ever

Help! I may be a moderator but I don't consider myself a rehabber.

-Cathy

Hi Cathy,

Same problem here......

Hopefully someone with hands-on experience will be along shortly to give you some ideas.

In the meantime, you're probably aware of this anyway, but just in case, this link looks pretty informative in reference to setting a broken wing...it's in our Resource section:

BROKEN WING;
http://www.duckpolice.org/BirdWeb/Pi...rokenwing.html

Good luck,
Linda

[Birdmom4ever]

Linda, I tried the link but it didn't work. That's the one I was thinking of, but I didn't find it when I searched.

[feralpigeon]

Hi Cathy, thanks for helping this pij out and thanks to your friend for risking
her life to get the bird.

Here's a link for wing wrapping:

http://www.duckpolice.org/BirdWeb/Pi...rokenwing.html

Sometimes it's easier to have an extra set of hands holding the bird. You can put a 4x4 over the open wound with some antibiotic cream on the gauze pad then wrap it in place w/the wing wrap. Hopefully you have some vet wrap on hand, it's the wrap that sticks to itself. Did the vet mention giving antibiotics for the wound? If not Baytril should probably be given to the bird. You know the drill on the heating pad, low and wrapped w/the option of getting off if he doesn't like it. Also, for food, you might consider soaking puppy chow and pushing to the back of the throat as this will also ensure getting some fluids in him once you are certain he is stabilized. He's in the
right place and you're gonna be just what he needs.

fp

[Charis]

Great link, feral pigeon.

[feralpigeon]

Thanks, Charis. Cathy, I forgot to mention that you should be able to stick
your finger under the wrap comfortably as a way of assessing if the wrap is
too tight or not.

fp

[Birdmom4ever]

Originally Posted by feralpigeon

Hi Cathy, thanks for helping this pij out and thanks to your friend for risking
her life to get the bird.

Here's a link for wing wrapping:

http://www.duckpolice.org/BirdWeb/Pi...rokenwing.html

Thanks--it worked that time!

Sometimes it's easier to have an extra set of hands holding the bird. You can put a 4x4 over the open wound with some antibiotic cream on the gauze pad then wrap it in place w/the wing wrap. Hopefully you have some vet wrap on hand, it's the wrap that sticks to itself. Did the vet mention giving antibiotics for the wound? If not Baytril should probably be given to the bird. You know the drill on the heating pad, low and wrapped w/the option of getting off if he doesn't like it. Also, for food, you might consider soaking puppy chow and pushing to the back of the throat as this will also ensure getting some fluids in him once you are certain he is stabilized. He's in the
right place and you're gonna be just what he needs.

fp

My son helped me hold him and can again. My rehabber friend is actually coming over to help because she watched the vet do it the first time and can advise me.

The vet didn't put him on antibiotics, but it seemed a good idea to me because of the open wound. I put antibiotic powder on it and I also put him on oral Enroxil for possible infection. And of course the Ibuprofin for pain. I think that once he gains a little strength he'll be able to eat on his own. (I hate tubing them.) He sure tried today. He's just very, very weak and worn out.

Also, in case anyone wondered, I traced the band and also posted on 911 pigeon alert or whatever it's called. The club president has not yet called me back. The club is in Sylmar, near LA! Must have been a long race unless the bird was sold to someone up here. It's a 2006 bird.

Thanks for the encouragement. I shouldn't be such a baby, but I get really emotional and upset when they are badly injured. It breaks my heart. They try so hard to get home.

[feralpigeon]

I hate force feeding them too, just seems to add to the indignity of it all,
but between being in pain and on antibiotics and in pretty bad shape when
first arriving in your care, he may just need that extra help until he gets up
to speed. Is he self drinking yet? Poor baby must be very freaked out.

fp

[Pidgey]

Honestly, I haven't had that much luck with the standard wraps either. After that problem occurred a few times, I finally said to heck with it and started using the real masking tape. A bird who's really otherwise healthy and feeling good will even worry that stuff off in a few days but it lasts a lot better (for me, at least) than the vet-wraps. I guess it was one of my vets that put me onto masking tape for broken legs and I ended up trying it for wings.

And you don't need near as much of it.

Pidgey

[Birdmom4ever]

Originally Posted by feralpigeon

I hate force feeding them too, just seems to add to the indignity of it all,
but between being in pain and on antibiotics and in pretty bad shape when
first arriving in your care, he may just need that extra help until he gets up
to speed. Is he self drinking yet? Poor baby must be very freaked out.

fp

Yes, thank God, he is self-drinking. I located his owner and spoke to him on the phone tonight. Both the club president and the owner are very nice men. The owner was a gentle and kind man who said he normally puts them down if they are badly injured, but he did express gratitude to me for trying to save the pigeon. Turns out it was one of his best homers. It is a cock-bird with an excellent pedigree and was lost in a June 9th race from the Oregon border!! The bird's home is in Glendale, CA, a very long way from here. The owner said he was sorry it was just too far for him to drive to retrieve the bird, though he normally always retrieves his lost birds.

[feralpigeon]

Wow, a long ways from home....there was a recent adoption here in Oakland
for a broken wing... just wondering out loud if that one was a male or female,
lol. I imagine you'll hold onto the bird until a home can be found?

Here are another couple of links on wing wrapping, notice that there is another
additional wrap over the figure eight to hold the wing wrap in place securely.

http://www.pigeoncote.com/vet/recove....htm#FRACTURES

http://www.starlingtalk.com/fractures.htm#wingfracture

Guess you'll be having a wing wrap party tonight.

fp

[Pidgey]

Any earthly idea, by the way, which bone(s) is(are) broken? And do you have the bird on any supplemental heat? Sometimes, that's really important.

Pidgey

[Birdmom4ever]

None. The vet didn't x-ray it. To be honest, I don't think he expected the bird to survive. Yes, I do have the pigeon on supplemental heat.

[Birdmom4ever]

We did indeed have a wing wrap party. It took several tries, but my hubby finally came up with a wrap that seems to be working for now. The wing is immobilized and the pij can stand. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

The vet did say it's possible to put a pin in the wing and restore flight, depending on where the bone is broken. But the bird was too far down to survive the two hour surgery. I'm hoping that if he regains strength and gains weight he can have the surgery. He's a very well-bred homer and it would be nice if he could still have a life as a stock bird.

Thanks for the extra links, fp. I didn't get to your post until after we re-wrapped the wing, but I'm going to look now.

[feralpigeon]

That would be wonderful if your vet could restore his flight ability, Cathy.
Guess you'll be his 'pumper' for a while, lol. The pigeoncote link pictures
won't open in three different browsers, but the description may still be helpful.
The Starling Talk works well....

fp