will pigeon's scalp grow back?

[Maria]

Hi everyone,

Another injured pigeon found. This one is missing its scalp completely, i'm sure you can see his little skull but the cut looks very clean. He was seeking shelter on my balcony last night and I so brought him inside. Although he seems weak, he made it through the night. I'm just wondering does anyone know if these kinds of injuries heal themselves? He's eating right now so that's good... I'd love to let him go if he's ok but it's pretty cold out and so thought it might be better to keep him inside for a few days at least till he regains strength. What kind of animal could have done this to him??

[TAWhatley]

Hi Maria,

Most likely the scalp will grow back, but it will take a long time. I don't think the bird should be released until the scalp has regrown. It's pretty cold to be running around with bare skull exposed. You also want to give adequate time to be sure no infection sets in from the wound(s).

Hard to say what may have gotten the pigeon .. hawk, cat, dog, raccoon ..

Terry

[Maria]

Hi Terry,
thanks for your message. is it ok to leave him in a cage indefinitely till the scalp grows back? I have cats here and can't leave him out in the open.

[TAWhatley]

While it would be good to allow the bird some flight time inside, it will do fine in a cage as long as there is sufficient room to fully extend and flap the wings. Thank you so much for helping this bird.

Terry

[Maria]

ok great.. thanks for your help!

[Bird_girl(Ronni]

HI! I am really glad your bird is doing better! What kind is it? Take a picture of it then put it on here!


Bird_girl(Ronni)

[Maria]

Hi again,
here's some pics of the descalped pigeon. I'm a little worried because it looks like he also has a broken rib (you can sorta see this in the pics) and i don't know how to properly set it back in place, plus i'm scared to try it anyway. Can i just leave it as it is?

[Motherlodelofts]

The scalp will scar over but for the most part won't regrow the feathers there,at least not like normal. As far as the scalp goes he'll be fine.

[TAWhatley]

Hi Maria .. Wow! That really is some kind of "hole in the head" .. poor bird. As Scott posted, the scalp will heal just fine with time. The bird may well end up with a bald spot though.

Is there a bone sticking through the flesh? I do see a spot that looks like a wound in the picture but couldn't be sure what I was looking at.

Terry

[Motherlodelofts]

Actually these are not all that rare, It happens when a youngster ends up in anothers nest or nesting area,you gotta watch youngsters once they hit the floor as they can easily end up in anothers nest . Or it happens when a cocky cock tries to take over anothers nest. That one wasn't nearly as bad as they can be.

[Maria]

Scott - fascinating, i can't imagine how another bird could pluck so much skin off the little guy. Pretty gruesome but good to know it'll heal.

Terry - the pics aren't the best but from what i can see the bone isn't poking right through skin. But it sure looks broken and pressing against the flesh on his belly, kind of like a sharp protrusion. You might be able to see it as a small bump in these pictures on the left side of his chest.... I'll try and take a better shot of this later and post here.

Maria

[turkey]

Hi Maria,

I see that you live in a cold winter climate. This pigeon's feathers will not grow back. If you can find him a home somewhere in a warmer climate he will out live this winter.

Julie
(wishing I had more room)

[Gretchen R]

Hello, Maria. My name is Gretchen and we recently had the same experience with a pigeon that a rehabber friend of mine had. The scalp should back nicely. The one she had was dropped by a hawk. He's all recovered and looks like he never even had that awful experience. Bless you for helping that pigeon. If you have any questions that I should ask the rehabber, please feel free to let me know! Good luck!!

Gretchen

[turkey]

Hi Gretchen. Are you saying that the feathers grew back also or just the skin? I have had two scalped pigeons and neither of them grew their feathers back.

Julie

[Gretchen R]

Hi, Julie. I just called the rehabber who had the pigeon with the same problem. She said even his feathers grew back. She said it took about 5 weeks but you would never know the pigeon ever had a problem. She used something called BagBalm. Hope all goes well.

Gretchen