Pigeon shot by bebegun?

[feralpigeon]

Alot of times a bird who has been hawk attacked or injured from vehicles or
whatever, is in this position because their health was compromised to begin
with.

There does seem to be concern w/compound fractures that infection can set
in, even w "U" syle fixatives w/pins coming off one leg of the "U" pin horizontally the concern is there. At least four different
doctors in this area that work w/rehabbed birds have all voiced concerns about compound fractures and possibility of infection being introduced. As far as aligning bones is concerned, some breaks are more easily stabilized than others. If the break is in such a place that it is difficult to stabilize and the bones continue to shift/move, amputating a wing is a sugical option. Sometimes when the bird's wing heals after a break, it drags on the ground making it difficult for the bird to get around, this would be another instance where amputating the wing would be a surgical solution.

fp

[nicole]

A quick update on Lexie..

I unwrapped her wing a couple days ago, and she's very happy to have it off. It appears skin has grown over the humerus bone that poked through her skin. Her wing droops, but she still tries to flap her wing as she's flapping her good one..
Otherwise, she's eating and drinking well.
My next step is to build her a handicap-accessible aviary to keep in the back yard. The squeaker I found two days after Lexie is still with us, too, and seems to have no interest in learning to fly (other than from the floor to the bed or table) or leaving, so I'm thinking that she'll stay with us, too.
She's not so much a squeaker anymore.. More like a raspy-voiced teenager.
Any tips on building an aviary to accommodate both Lexie and Domino, who does have the ability to fly?
The space I'm thinking of using is about 9'x9'.

[pdpbison]

Hi Nicole,



So long as the wrap had not been so tight as to cause injury to the nerves and muscles/tendons of the Wing, once the Break has healed, it may be a week or two or more before the period of benign stasis is overcome, and the Bird starts doing some decent Helicoptering or other more advanced excercises pending trial flight again.

Some Birds will try flying right away, and usually they can not do so yet.

So, the outcome will not really be at all clear for some weeks or even months yet.


Personally, I do not favor any aviarys which are small.


Having bout 450 sq feet here for House Birds and non-flying Floor-Birds and so on, even when those had been few, it was to me, in my mind, sort of minimum amount of space really for themn to get excercise and have some choices and room for themselves.


While some Birds may abide a small space for a time, over time it will not be good...and the harshness of the Seasons in various ways are an entirely different matter if they are confined in an out door space, compared to being wild or free to seek places of their own chooseings...as is the lack of any real excercise which a small confine imposes.


Possibly, dedicating one room of your house, and having it be a sort of Aviary and Keep-room, would work fairly well, or even very very well.


Your Youngster, unless there is really something amiss with him, should be flying, or should be flying well, soon, or would be if there are any places for him to do so.

Are their high roosts for him to fly to where he is being kept?


In a smallish room, unless there are high shelves or hanging Light Fixtures or something, there will be nothing to fly 'to' other than low things.



Best wishes..!


Phil
l v

[Reti]

Thank you for the wonderful update. I am so glad your pijies are doing great.
Depending on where the break is/was she might regain some ability to fly. Time will tell.
I have a bird that had a bone fragment poking through the skin, my vet had to trim the bone so the skin could grow over. Three months later she is flying.

Reti

[feralpigeon]

Great news, as Reti mentioned, there's still hope that your pij may fly....just
will take some time. You might want one or more strategically placed ramps
in the aviary in the meantime. Thanks for taking these two in and caring for
them.

fp

[Maggie-NC]

Hi Nicole - glad to hear the positive update.

Personally, I think a 9x9 aviary would be fine for two pigeons. Just make sure you read up on making it predator proof by using 1/4" hardware cloth, You can do a search and there are many, many threads about building lofts/aviaries.

[nicole]

Thanks for all the advice.

I'm hoping that once I move the two into an aviary, the young one will stop picking on Lexie. Yesterday I set up two pans of water for them to bathe, and Domino continued to chase Lexie away.. And Lexie was the one that came up with the idea for a bath.

At this point, they are in the same room, but Lexie is in her own cage, so she doesn't injure herself jumping off the bed, or trying to jump from the ground to the bed (she gets stuck on her back)..

When I let her out to socialize, it's in Domino's space.

[mr squeaks]

Just to let you know, Nicole, I have a pigeon who lives with me and my three cats in a l bdrm apt. Squeaks had a very badly broken wing, part of which was amputated. He can never fly and has a permanent home with me.

I am fortunate to have a GREAT Avian Vet who was willing to amputate half the wing. After that surgery, Squeaks healed beautifully and has been full of piss and vinegar ever since...NOT to mention ruling ME and THREE cats with an iron beak!!

Wishing you all the best

Shi & Squeaks