will pigeon's scalp grow back?

[Maria]

Hi Julie, Gretchen,

Thank you both so very much for replying, i need all the help i can get with this one.

Julie - I have him in my bathroom which is the best warm space he'll get around here without worrying about my cats. I was planning on leaving him in there till the scalp grows back, i don't think i have any other options so he might just stay there for the winter... too long to keep a bird with no sunlight???

Gretchen - do you think i could pick up that stuff somewhere here (bagbalm)? I haven't cleaned the wound at all because i don't want to cause any infection but there's bits of dried blood on the surrounding feathers. should i touch this? Could you also please please ask your rehabber friend about the broken rib, should i try and set it in place or leave as is?

Maria

[Morgan Nic Greg]

Wal-Mart has Bag-Balm (it's in the health and beauty section)and most feed stores do as well. It's labled for use on the udders of dairy cows. It's good for chapped hand as well. You can clean the wound with Nolvasan solution, (the vet will have it, but I got mine from Foy's Pigeon Supplies) just spray on and leave to dry. The stuff is safe enought to use in birds drinking water!(wow) Good luck with the poor little thing.
Wendy

[Maria]

Thanks Wendy, i will check today... who would've guessed Wal-mart carries these things?
In the meantime, can i use polysporin on the wounds? I heard it's safe to use on animals too.

[Maria]

oh and by the way, what can i do about his broken ribs? There are 2 bones sticking out through the skin. can anyone tell me how to fix them?

[TAWhatley]

Hi Maria,

I'll see if I can get one of our very experienced rehabbers to address the bones poking through the skin. I don't know what to tell you to do about that aside from keep the area clean and put the polysporin or other antibiotic cream on to keep things from drying out and to help avoid infection.

Terry

[Reti]

Is there any way to could take the bird to a vet or rehaber?
Ribs sticking out need probably surgery and antibiotics for sure. I don't see any other way to fix it.

Reti

[turkey]

Is there blood? Do the bones move around loosely?

I don't know how experienced you are with pigeons or birds, but is it possible that these are new pin feathers starting up? (Just taking a wild guess)

Julie

[turkey]

Also, can you get someone to help you take a good picture of that area. Hold the feathers back so we can get a good view. If no one is available please still take the picture.

Julie

[cyro51]

Hello Maria,

This is really one for Kimberley and/or Nooti, but from what I remember bones must not be allowed to dry out so if there are bones sticking though the skin they should be covered with a damp piece of gauze. My vet gave me cream for this purpose but I don't know what sort of cream it was.

When I had a pigeon whose wing bone had been sticking out of the skin the vet filed back the dead bone and then sewed the skin back over it.

Cynthia

[Maria]

Hello,

I don't see any blood around the ribs but last night he gnawed on one of the bones and a piece fell off so i got a good look.

I'm not experienced at this but they're not pin feathers for sure, they are thicker and white and there's still one more sticking out of his belly but covered with feathers so i can't get a good picture.. he acts up when i get close to that area so i've only been putting polysporin on his head.

The vets i have called in the past don't treat these birds. I also once called the SPCA about another injured pigeon i found awhile back and they were not interested.

Cynthia, he's been like this for at least a week now so the bone may already be dry.
I'll try to take another picture and post.

[Maria]

ok, i got some pics, sorry the resolution is bad but you can see the bones better in these. The first 2 are before he chewed off one of the bones (last night) and the 3rd pic was taken just now.

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for the new photos Maria. It looks to me like the bone sticking out is either the end of the humerus bone or coracoid bone. (See anatomy drawing here: http://sprout.phpwebhosting.com/~feistyhome/anatomy.htm)

It would really be best to try and find a vet or wildlife rehabber to look at the bird and recommend treatment.

Terry

[Maria]

yes, thank you Terry, those diagrams are very informative. i see what you mean. Someone on this site posted a number for a wildlife rehabber in the area a while back but i've called like a 1000 times and no one's answering the phone.
guess i'll keep trying.

Maria

[TAWhatley]

From: "Rebecca Duerr" <rsduerr@ucdavis.edu>
To: "Terry Whatley" <TAWhatley@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [WLREHAB] AVIAN: Pigeon In Montreal - Help/Advice Needed
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 15:16:04 -0800
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Hi,
Couldn't see the pics cuz I'm not a pigeon list member. It wanted me to log
in.


Having treated zillions of pigeon and dove scalp injuries, I would agree
with the person who replied and said the scalp would heal just fine,
feathers and all. In fact, if you treat the wound aggressively you can have
new feathers coming in on new skin within 2-3 weeks. I either suture or use
surgical glue to replace the scalp, or if it's old and the skin's not
stretchy I clean it off well with dilute betadine and then place a dab of
silver sulfadiazine cream (or antibiotic ointment) on the exposed bone with
biodres gel dressing over that. The cream needs to be just enough to moisten
the bone while not getting any on the surrounding skin or the biodres won't
stick. You can cut the biodres to tailor it into a domed shaped skullcap and
then change it every other day. Even old black crusty dried bone has healed
really well for me doing this. If the skin is stretchy, even superglue is
fine--but to be on the safe side it should be dabbed on with a fine stick
rather than risking gooping the bird's head with glue! If the exposed bone
is kept moist, the new cells can glide over from the wound margins. If it is
left dry, the wound has to heal by the skin edges contracting down around
it--takes a whole lot longer.


I'm such a sucker for pigeons!
Becky


Rebecca Duerr
DVM/MPVM Joint Program
School of Veterinary Medicine
University of California, Davis

[TAWhatley]

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Subject: Re: [WLREHAB] AVIAN: Pigeon In Montreal - Help/Advice Needed
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Can you let the person know they can contact Le Nichoir, 450-458-2809 and
leave a message - we return messages daily.


Cheers,
Lynn Miller
Le Nichoir
Montreal