Literally Was Getting Eaten Alive

[TAWhatley]

Hi all,

I got this youngster in around noon today from a kind lady and her son who found the pigeon and rescued it. Do NOT look at the pictures if you are squeamish .. they are very distressing and unpleasant. This young pigeon had to have been a hawk victim and was literally being eaten alive up until it somehow got away from the hawk.

I have never seen anything quite like this, but I do think that this little bird will be OK in the long run .. might have some very bald/bare spots, but I think it will survive .. hope I am right on that count.

I've cleaned the massive wounded areas with diluted Betadine, packed that big hole with antibiotic cream, slathered antibiotic cream on all the other bare areas and lightly wrapped them in gauze. The little one is currently sleeping soundly after eating and drinking well on its own .. Even though I know our beloved pigeons are tough .. I'm pretty amazed at this one. I hope my optimism is well founded ..

REMINDER: DO NOT LOOK IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH ..

http://www.rims.net/2009Jul16

Terry

[Pigeon lower]

Thats so sad. I hope he gets better and fights through it.

[plamenh]

Hi TAWhatley,
I agree it looks awfull, poor baby.
Hopefuly it will recover with your help.
There is and oinment I use, called Deflamol. Produced by Sopharma - Bulgaria. This medicine is actually for severe burns in humans and it is working miracles. It is sort of hydrogel with antiseptic agent. Speeds up tissue re-growth and stops dehydration. I heard about another product - Intrasite from Smith & Nephew but never tried this one.

[jameswaller]

terry,howdy,. if you say hes going to make it,,than it shall be so./i am a believer/..i was curious if you gave clavamox,,before internal infection gets going,,do you think the hole was from a talon,or beak,..i was feeding ferrals and my captive pigeons few months ago when hellter/skelter broke loose,,i went around the far side of the garage and two pigeons simultaneously came straight at me,,i had disturbed the feast,,a greedy hawk had swooped down and snagged two pigeons,,one required i.c.u. treatment for a few weeks,and refeathered and healthy to go,,your proceedure is just what i did,except the hole,,ouch,,wasn,t a week later i found a dead pigeon where these two were being dinned on,,my no fly zone failed,,good job./. thank you for being there,can you believe we do this for no pay,,has its rewards though,..sincerely james waller

[jameswaller]

Originally Posted by TAWhatley

Hi all,

I got this youngster in around noon today from a kind lady and her son who found the pigeon and rescued it. Do NOT look at the pictures if you are squeamish .. they are very distressing and unpleasant. This young pigeon had to have been a hawk victim and was literally being eaten alive up until it somehow got away from the hawk.

I have never seen anything quite like this, but I do think that this little bird will be OK in the long run .. might have some very bald/bare spots, but I think it will survive .. hope I am right on that count.

I've cleaned the massive wounded areas with diluted Betadine, packed that big hole with antibiotic cream, slathered antibiotic cream on all the other bare areas and lightly wrapped them in gauze. The little one is currently sleeping soundly after eating and drinking well on its own .. Even though I know our beloved pigeons are tough .. I'm pretty amazed at this one. I hope my optimism is well founded ..

REMINDER: DO NOT LOOK IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH ..

http://www.rims.net/2009Jul16

Terry

terry,. i just looked at the pictures of this poor guy,,my god,..awful,..i am thinking cat ,cuz hawks go for the guts in the belly,,cats grap around the neck,,but like i said he,ll make it,,,sincerely james waller

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for the replies .. Yes, this young one is on Clavamox .. I also have a wound dressing that was used on my Dad for his diabetes related sores .. I haven't used that on the bird yet but will probably do so .. it's similar to the Intrasite and Deflamol .. will get the name of it to you tomorrow .. it's wickedly expensive!

Terry

[Bella_F]

I think he'll make it too Terry. Hawks attack doves in our yard frequently, and I have been amazed by what they'll recover from without any human intervention whatsoever. This one looks like it needs your help, and I think it will be enough.

We even have a crow here that was attacked by a huge sea-eagle last year. Its eye was eaten out and its chest had been feasted upon too, but he got away. He now has a completely white chest, and one eye. But he is the most grateful & cunning crow I've ever met. Since meeting him in March, I make sure I spoil him when he's around

PS, Terry what do you suggest for pain relief in these cases? I would really like to know what to use/ do.

X

[amyable]

Thank goodness this poor little fellow was found, it really needs your expert tlc.

I hope it goes ok and will be interested to watch his progress when you get the chance to show us.

Good luck.

Janet

[kbbigman]

The VERY best of luck to you both Terry, I'm sure he will do amazingly well in your more than capable hands, please do keep us updated on the wounds and his progress. I've used Intrasite with good effect on many patients wounds, but dressings are moving on so quickly that I'm afraid I would be a little rusty, not having worked the wards for a few years now.
But a colleague often uses maggots (where necrotic tissue) and honey dressings, as a complimentary approach, not saying that there isn't uses for conventional therapies as well.

[PoppyFieldVet]

Wow, thats some wounds, but as Ive learnt, when a pigeon wants to live, they do!

Keep us updated, that is one amazingly lucky pigeon!

XxX

[mr squeaks]

Those ARE really bad ones, Terry!!

BUT, as we all know, pigeons have an amazing will to live and can survive the most awful wounds!!

I'm SENDING LOVING HEALING THOUGHTS WITH GENTLE HUGS AND SCRITCHES!!

Will also be avidly looking forward to positive updates!!

WITH EXTRA LOVE AND HUGS

Shi

[Reti]

OMG, poor, poor baby.
Those wounds are horrific.
I think too he will make it.

Reti

[Lovebirds]

Amazing is all I can come up with. Regardless of WHAT had hold of him, how he survived the sheer pain and still had the fortitude to get away is just simply amazing.

[TAWhatley]

I'm very sorry to report that this horribly injured youngster decided it was time to pass on around noon today. S/he was alert and seemed to be doing OK, all things considered, early this morning but started shutting down around 10:30 or so and was gone around noon time.

I hope I didn't jinx this little one with all my very confident posts that s/he would survive. Though I knew the damage was extensive, I was so sure that the way the little one was behaving was a sign that it would and could recover.

Terry

[LokotaLoft]

all I can say is ouch I hoped he'd of made it thru ..