will pigeon's scalp grow back?

[TAWhatley]

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To: TAWhatley@earthlink.net
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 19:03:06 -0500
Subject: Re: AVIAN: Pigeon In Montreal - Help/Advice Needed
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From: Drusilla M Winters <ray-dru@juno.com>
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Terry,
The humerus is in the wing. It corresponds to a human's upper arm bone.
The corocoid is a single bone to the center. This looks like it is off to
the side. I would guess a rib or the lateral xiphoid process. I am using
Proctor and Lynch's book on avian structure and function. I am no expert.
From the picture it could even be a broken feather.
No one has mentioned antibiotics in the thread. With wounds like these I
would suggest it. I can't tell from the picture how old the wounds are.


I also want to tell you that the pigeon that wouldn't eat when I posted
last is doing well. I named her Fred. She can't be released because she
has one one eye, but she is eating and doing well. I named her before she
laid eggs therefore I called her Fred after the pirate king in Pirates of
Penzance.


Dru

[turkey]

Wow, I wish I had this advice before. I was told to leave my scalped pigeons alone and they would heal and the feathers would regrow, but they didn't. Of course, I got them days after the attack.

Julie

[TAWhatley]

Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 21:04:54 -0500
From: Jacalyn Perry <jlt@buffnet.net>
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To: Terry Whatley <TAWhatley@earthlink.net>
Subject: re: pigeon in Montreal
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It looks to me like the scalp is superficial and should grow back, feathers and all. I have had birds completely scalped to the skull and some grew feathers back if it wasn't too large of a chunk missing. DO NOT use any petroleum product on a bird, including Bag Balm. Use creams.


The wound on the side looks to me like an abscess. It is too far from the wing to be the wing. It should be treated by removing the dead tissue and cleaned with an antibiotic wash like nolvasan. If it has infiltrated the crop, then it needs to be debrided and sutured.


Jacalyn Perry
Lockport, NY
15 yrs licenses and permits

[Maria]

wow Terry, this is fantastic - I am so grateful!! I just got some Bag-Balm and have been applying it to his head to keep it moist and clean but i rather get him out to a rehabber for the broken bone. I will try to rent a car on monday and take him out there. I 'll let you know how it goes. thanks everyone,

Maria

[Maria]

oh crap... i just read that last post about not using Bag-Balm
geeze, i better go wipe it off.

[TAWhatley]

Maria,

Don't worry about the Bag Balm. As you can see, each rehabber has a somewhat different opinion and different protocol. I think at this point the protruding bone or abscess or whatever it is is of the most concern. If nothing else, if you can talk to the Montreal rehab folks and get their suggestions until you can get the bird to them, that would be great.

You're doing just fine, so hang in there, and keep us posted.

Terry

[bklowe]

There is another volunteer for the Wildlfe Rescue Staion I volunteer for has flock of pigeons @ her home and has seen this injury. Her bird was actually injured by loft mates attacking [ pecking @ the head ].
Has the scalp been " breached " .... it looks as if there is blood / puncture on the back of the head.
Bruce
[ Exeter, CA ]

[TAWhatley]

Hi Maria,

The more I look at the pictures and think about this pigeon, the more I think that the spot on the side of the chest is a wound that has become abscessed. I think Jacalyn hit the nail on the head when she suggested this. The abscess may be forming a type of "plug" that is keeping food/water from leaking out of the crop, so it would be best to have assistance from a rehabber or vet in treating it.

Terry

[Maria]

Hi Terry, Bruce,

Terry, after reading your message last night i felt a whole lot better. i am still applying the Bag-Balm and i think he likes it. He 'bows' to my finger and sits comfortably throughout the whole procedure but he still doesn't let me touch his rib.
About the bone/abcess... do you really think so? As i said, i found a piece of it on the floor a few days ago and it was rock hard, looked and felt like bone to me? It was little less than 1 cm long, pretty big i guess... maybe too big to be a bone? Anyway, i have no idea but i am waiting for the people at Le Nichoir to call me back, exciting!!

Bruce, i'm not sure what you mean by 'breached' but i can tell you that those pictures do no justice in describing his head wound. The pictures make it look relatively minor. The area actually covers the entire back of his head right down to his 'eyebrows' and he is totally descalped, no skin, nothing, just skull. But it looks like new cells are forming over the skull, there is a reddish film over it that was not there a week ago.

Maria

[TAWhatley]

Hi Maria,

Yes, an abscess can grow to be rock hard on the outside. I've seen this a couple of times with pigeons who had crop wounds where a sometimes small hole and sometimes gaping hole was left. As the bird eats and drinks, a little or a lot of the food and water (depending on the size of the hole) leaks out of the opening. Gradually the opening starts to get clogged with the leakage and whatever is exposed to air becomes very, very hard. If this is an abscess, when it is removed, you will see that the outside is like a rock and the inner portion will be softer and yucky for lack of a better term. There may be pus and/or bloody fluid discharged from the opening also. Once the plug of an abscess is removed there may be a very small hole remaining or there may be a sizeable hole that requires removal of any necrotic tissue, debris from the leaking/oozing, a through cleaning, and perhaps suturing. Again, if this is an abscess, the bird needs to be on antibiotics.

Keep us posted .. I'll be very interested to finally know what this injury or bone is.

Terry

[bklowe]

Maria, what I meant by " breached " .... has the skull been penetrated or cracked ?
Bruce

[Maria]

Terry, I think you are right. I just applied some polysporin to the rib for the first time and it moves around rather loosely, too loose to be a bone i would think. I will let you know when i find out.
I have also been trying to get my hands on some Nolvasan but unsuccessful. do you know of a suitable substitute? Is polysporin toxic to birds?

Bruce, thanks for clarifying. I just rechecked him and the skull definitely does not appear cracked/penetrated anywhere, thank God. It is probably the lesser evil of the two wounds as people have been telling me.

Maria

[bklowe]

Thats great Maria, sounds like you and Terry have things under control.

[Maria]

yes, this bird is still alive and alert thanks to all the great advice i've received. Actually i'm quite amazed that an area as large as that can heal on its own without much intervention. Thanks to all.

[Maria]

I just heard from a lady at Le Nichoir, so i'll be taking the pigeon to the SPCA tomorrow where she will pick him up in the afternoon. I'm just a little worried because she told me the extent of his injuries and whether he can fly will determine whether he is to be euthanized.
The bird can fly and i think he can be treated... maybe i'm over-reacting, i just didn't like that word. I will keep in contact with her to see how he's doing... should i be worried???