micky the coo

[carole]

hello this is carole.last wednesdeay pigeon walking in the middle of the road, couldnt fly above two feet off the ground.so i brought it home because it was in the high street and i was bothered that i couldnt get to safety.on reading your site i now know it is a chick as it still cheeps,even though its not small.On installing it in a large parrot cage i noticed white stuff on floor and around cage.is this a natural thing because i thought it had been sprayed with something or fell intos omething that had got stuck on its feathers.it seems a lot better now more alert ect.so i am thinking or returning it back to wher i found it.any advise on how to do this . i e time of day and any onther points i should know

I wish i had found this site earlier this year when we resued a black and white tumbler! but this is a racer this time(i think) as it very timmid and tumbler was extremly friendly

[cyro51]

Hello, and thank you for being alert and rescuing the baby. Before releasing you should allow it to build up its strength and its flying muscles. I always feel that they need a couple of weeks to do this in, during which they should be sprayed daily with water from a mister (to build up their waterproofing). As it is alert it would be as well not to let it get accustomed to being in the warmth of indoors too much because it will feel the cold, so ideally it should be in an unheated room or a predator safe cage outside (I think the bars on parrot cages are too wide and would leave a pigeon vulnerable to predators).

It should be released early in the day into an established flock of pigeons in a place that has food and water avialable.

You said it might be a racer...has it got bands on its feet?

Cynthia

[cyro51]

BTW, are you in the UK? If so, what county?

Cynthia

[carole]

hello.cynthia.yes i am in the u k the black country near birmingham.i did not know about the water spray as the recue we had earlier in the year insisted on going in the shower or the bath normally when somebody else was in it too.he was a tumbler which is very friendly compared to this one i found recent.it is smaller too and still cheeps(used to cooing)gave new one pigon seed .grit and water.at moment he in the bathroom as it cooler in there.do you know what this whitestuff is ?read somewher abouth sheathing??it was like dried candle fat or wallpaper past when it dried and you have to scape it off.is this normal.will put in to force about the warm as can open bathroom window.micky stayed three months before he was well even with the six cats being locked up while he let out to play.thank you again just wish i had found this site january this year

[cyro51]

Hi Carole,

At the moment I have a feral pigeon, a collared dove and a wood pigeon in my bathroom. They roost on the shower screen which means they poop in the bath and I just have to wash the poop down the plughole in the morning. I keep the heating off in there and hope that means they won't need too much acclimatising when they are ready to progress to the aviary. I was thinking of making a wire screen which I could screw on to the window frame when the window is open so that they can get fresh air and direct daylight too!

If the baby will bathe then that is better than misting, because they really enjoy that. Otherwise you can provide a bath in a clean cat litter tray. Misting is there if all else fails.

I have never seen the stuff you describe. Pigeons shed dander, but that is like fine dandruff.

I live in Norwich but used to visit Birmingham regularly. Would you believe there is a direct train from Norwich to Liverpool, stopping in Birmingham? The journey takes about 4 hours. I am not sure whether there are by-laws forbidding the feeding of pigeons in Birmingham so I used to trickle peanuts surreptitiously through my fingers as I walked along! The crowd of pigeons behind me were enough to give the game away.


Cynthia

[cyro51]

I was just reading the Lucy-Clyde thread and read about Lucy's new feathers still having feather wax...I imagined a glob of melted wax, but was the white wax-like substance like grated wax?

Cynthia

[carole]

yes the stuff is like grated candle wax.can you tell me any more abut this

[TerriB]

This sounds like crumbs of the sheath which covers and protects feathers when they first emerge from the skin. As the feather matures, the bird crumbles it off during grooming. Sometimes the pieces are big enough to fit around a pencil lead! Misting or bathing will make the bird more comfortable during this process.

[carole]

thanks terry all this is helping lots .but ther is a bad spell of weather coming so i think he will have to stay a bit longer

[Morgan Nic Greg]

The white stuff you see looks like the end of a shoe lace, right? It's normal. It just means new feathers coming in. Good food, bird vitamins (if you have them), baths and rest are all the pigeon needs I think. Thank you for rescuing it.
Wendy

[carole]

any pet shop i take it for bird vitamins.moms budgie got some. are they any good?he been on top of the wardrobe all day Spying on me this very mo

[cyro51]

Hi Carole,

The budgie's vitamins should be fine for a pigeon! I am glad he is well! The top of the wardrobe is the perfect place for a pigeon! If you put a towel there you will be able to clear up after him very easily!

Cynthia