[designated observer]

Hello everyone, I am from Nepal,and i found an injured young pigeon whose leg was broken. Nobody could unsee it and left it for to die starving, so i took it and cared and it's been nearly 3 months. He still cannot walk, tries to fly low but landing is hurtful to his chest-rib sharp pointed bone, and i feel sad that his family is only me. He's beautiful, eats daily. i give him bath once a week. He never uses his legs. I try to exercise his leg but no improvement. Here in Nepal i can find nothing. The vet doesn't care, one vet told me to cook and drink its soup but i felt angry and sad. How could i? I refer him "vai" which means brother in Nepali. He picks his feather so strongly that it feels hurtful to see. Is this normal? He loves pulse and lentils alot. He's not fat, always flaos his wings and cripples his broken legs to walk. He feels happy with me but i cannot give him all the time which makes me worried. Damn he needs another pigeon, i think i should find another crippled pigeon. And another thing his head shivers and shakes sometimes. Is this normal as well? Please help me with these. I know very little. He never speaks. He only speaks when he is angry or disturbed when he is inside his shelter i made.

 

[designated observer]

 

[Marina B]

Poor baby. Thanks for saving him. Are both legs broken?

He might have external parasites and that's why he does the pecking at the feathers. Is this a quick pecking that he does and not grooming? Try to get carbadust for chickens and dust him all over, esp under the wings. Just cover the head with a lightweight cloth to protect the eyes.

Are you in Kathmandu? There must be petshops where you can find a seedmixture for him. You can also get shelled sunflowerseeds and whole popcorn kernels from a supermarket.

You can make a sling for him to get some weight off his keelbone. I'm posting a photo. Although you can rather do it so that his feet touches the floor. Also make sure the cloaca is not covered so that he will be able to poop.

Can you post photos of his droppings? You can also put a small mirror inside his shelter next to him. They love to watch their own reflection and this will keep him company.

 

[designated observer]

Thank you Marina B for considering. I am far from the capital, in the eastern part. Alright, i will dust him the carbadust you mentioned. i had thought of bathing him with aloevera mixed water. Thank you for the photo , i will try that as well. i give him visit to the mirror daily. His feather pluckings , as well as crop pinching with his beak are hurtful to see but he seems to be satisfied. Whenever i caress him he start to pluck the spot i touch. His droppings today are white and green mixed semi-solid. The day before yesterday , i bathed him and after that he pooped in liquid form, but after having some food his metabolism seemed normal. I gave him mustard seeds with lentils and rice mixed. His feathers are dry , not so smooth like the other pigeons and doves, they have so beautiful feathers. His tail is rough seems to develop irregular and teary. i want his feathers to be like other birds.
i sometimes feel like did i do good to him , he needs a company of his type, should i be sad or happy that i kept him Have i saved him or made his life boring? 😞 .
And to say about his broken legs , he cannot stand on his own , whenever i try to make him stand , he immediately pulls back the leg like maybe it hurts him. His one leg seems to be small in length than the other. the legs makes sound sometimes like i don't know " dub dub" like bones are stuck(not stuck though in appearance ) and a little movement make this kind of noise. His nails have become long , will it be okay if i cut his nails. Do mosquito bite them? it seems like they do bite him. I am going to build a shelter with a net covering it soon.
i will soon post his poop photo.

 

[Marina B]

Can you get vitamins for chickens as well as liquid calcium with added Vit D3? Maybe from an agricultural store? He might be lacking in vitamins, that's why his feathers are so dull.

Don't cut the nails, rather use a nailfile to make them shorter. Mosquitoes can affect him with the pox virus, so rather try to get rid of them. Does he ever get direct sun exposure? Not through the glass of a window. If you can put him outside in the sun for half an hour every day (under your supervision) this will also do him good.

You can remove the eggshell of a hardboiled egg (must be boiled), crush this into small fine pieces and put in a seperate bowl for him. This is also a good source of calcium.

Btw I've been to your country a couple of times. Kathmandu, Pokara, Nargakot and Duhlikel. Nice country.

 

[designated observer]

Can you get vitamins for chickens as well as liquid calcium with added Vit D3? Maybe from an agricultural store? He might be lacking in vitamins, that's why his feathers are so dull.

Don't cut the nails, rather use a nailfile to make them shorter. Mosquitoes can affect him with the pox virus, so rather try to get rid of them. Does he ever get direct sun exposure? Not through the glass of a window. If you can put him outside in the sun for half an hour every day (under your supervision) this will also do him good.

You can remove the eggshell of a hardboiled egg (must be boiled), crush this into small fine pieces and put in a seperate bowl for him. This is also a good source of calcium.

Btw I've been to your country a couple of times. Kathmandu, Pokara, Nargakot and Duhlikel. Nice country.

 

[designated observer]

Hello Marina, i wanted some suggestions. i have only taken my injured pigeon out on the ground one time in the morning. He was really afraid , fear flapping of wings , wanted to make him fly he flew for about nearly 1 minute and 2nd time he couldn't properly. The ravens started to come and crow , calling more crows. I didn't know what were their intentions, maybe they were enjoying or waiting for my pigeon to die seeing it disabled. My feelings sensed danger so i brought him back carefully. And haven't took him out since. And nowadays sometimes i get a bit angry with him . He always wants to hide, when i let him outside in the sun, but regret being angry that its just a helpless animal. How much time should i spend with him in a day?. I check on him time to time nearly in intervals of 2-hours and 3 hours and reasons are to
1. give him food and water
2. so that he doesn't feel lonley
For now i have put him in a bucket full of clean clothes , and cover his head not touching the head but like the shield to light and then inly he becomes quiet but is it good for him to be quite ,plucking feathers all day. i am in dilemma of rights and wrongs rn. What about his mental health That's what i fear if he has it. And thank you for your previous suggestions

 

[Marina B]

Can you post a photo of the setup where you are keeping him during the day? Also one of his droppings. He will feel vulnerable outside and the crows will attack and kill him. Did you manage to get vitamins for him? And the carbadust for parasites?

Do you ever travel to India? There's a lady that does excellent work with all species (incl pigeons). I will need to search her location.

 

[designated observer]

No , i am waiting for My money to come next week from the tuitions i teach . After that i am making plans to buy things you suggested. Yes i will post the pictures , sorry i forgot before.

 

[designated observer]

 

[designated observer]

He tries to hide inside that small sitting tool .i will post the fresh droppings soon. He's free in this area during day but at night i keep him on that bucket by covering the upper part of bucket with that red shawl which protects him from mosquitoes

 

[Marina B]

He must feel very vulnerable on the floor like that. Pigeons prefer a high spot off the ground, as this makes them feel safer. A better option will be to take a large cardboard box for ex 40 x 40 x 40 cm. Turn this on the side, so that the open part faces forward. The sides, top and bottom and backpart will be the box. You can cover the front part with chicken wire and do it in such a way that you can open it. Even better if you can get a budgie cage and cover the top, sides and back with a blanket. Fasten the mirror inside with a piece of rope. Now put this on a table inside your home rather. He will feel much safer and the mirror will keep him company. The area does not look safe, a cat or even a rat can easily get in there in kill him.

Have you ever tried floating him in a large bucket to check for movement in the legs?

 

[designated observer]

Oh , okay i got the idea of cardboard . i will try it .
yes, i have tried floating him. In fact, today was his bath day and i put him in large bucket filled with water and slowly put him down cleaning his poop stain in some parts of his body. He's clean but soon will be dirty. The strange thing is whenever i bath him and after bath his droppings become very liquid but after some hours its normal again . I have posted the droppings pic below.

 

[designated observer]

 

[Marina B]

Dropping looks fine. A watery dropping once in a while is ok, it can be due to stress.

 

[designated observer]

i keep on changing his sitting place . today the weather is cold and rainy clouds. So i kept him inside on a chair. When i place my fingers near his beak he bits so hard and continuous like it's itching in those parts. I got a sense that he's trying to rape my finger. He needs female pigeon and i fear he will never be able to......

 

[designated observer]

 

[designated observer]

 

[designated observer]

and another thing Maria , are there any peaceful ways to discipline pigeon. The only way i keep him calm is by covering his head but sometimes i raise voice and regret later that i raised voice on him.

 

[Marina B]

The aggression is normal. You are entering his space by putting your finger close to him. In nature pigeons are always fighting off other pigeons intruding their space. Yours can't do that, so he can only direct his aggression towards you as you are the only other living creature he has contact with. Rather scratch him around the head and below the beak. He might bite at first, but after a while realize that the scratching is enjoyable. One can't discipline a pigeon as you would a dog, just retreat from him when he acts like that.

Have you tried a mirror? You can also get a small soft toy and put this next to him. He might try to fight off the intruder, but that will also keep him busy. The mirror is very important, please try this.

He is looking well in the photos.