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Hi, so I'm new to this sight so I'm sorry if I post this in the wrong place or anything. I recently found a hurt pigeon in my neighbors yard, he/she(?) was dragging his wing on the ground and was unable to fly at all. I was able to catch him (held a large butterfly net in front of him and he walked into it) and brought him inside to get him away from any animals that could kill him (my neighborhood has a lot of hawks, and my neighbors don't keep their dogs inside).
After checking out his wing, I found he has an old looking scabbed over injury on the last major joint of his wing. He has movement in the base of his wing, but the end of his wing seems broken, and drags when he walks. I cleaned the injury with Betadine (not sure how much good it did bc of the scab) and my mom did a figure 8 sling wrap on his wing with vet tape (during her old job she would have to put slings and splints on reptiles with injuries, so she has some knowledge on it) after that I checked him for mites (have a cockatiel and didn't want anything spreading) and set him up in my room in a large dog crate with towels on the bottom, mixed bird seed and veggies, water (with a little salt and sugar for electrolytes), and a heated blanket on the outside of one side of the cage. He's been eating, drinking, and pooping well, and he's got a good amount of energy and personality (had him for a night so far, last night he was sluggish and slow, today he's alert and fairly active, even jumped on my legs and let me pet him when I took him out to switch the towels out)
I checked for places to take him, but all the shelters near me said they would just euthanize him, and the rehabs I found didn't accept pigeons. I did find an animal hospital that treats injured wildlife for free, then sends them to a rehab center (emailed them as soon as I found out about them but no response yet) but I don't think he's a wild pigeon. I had thought, bc of his coloring, that he was just a regular feral rock pigeon, but he's a lot bigger than any feral rock pigeon I've seen, and when I was checking him for mites I saw his skin was light pink like a king pigeons, instead of darker brown like rock pigeons.
Plus my neighborhood doesn't have any pigeons, there are some in the shopping centers near by, but I can't recall a time when there's ever been a flock over my house. I think it's because there are a lot of hawks in this area, and there's really nowhere for them to build nests. However, my neighbors have bought live pigeons from squab markets to kill and eat though, so I'm thinking that he was an escapee from them, or thrown out by them for some reason.
Is it possible to have Rock/King crossbreeds? And is there any chance of him flying again if his wing heals up? What would a rehab center do to/for a pigeon without flight, and if he is a King crossbreed/from a squab market, would he be allowed to be released at all?
If the place I found doesn't reply or doesn't consider him wildlife, I'll take him to the vet for a more professional sling job, x-ray, exc. when I get paid in a few days (does anyone know if an emergency case can be paid for later, or if they have to be paid for upfront too?) Does anyone have any advice? (If he can't be released and his options are euthanasia or adoption I'd be completely willing to keep him and make him a more permanent enclosure in my house)
Also, I live in Southern California (sorry for the really long post, and thanks)
After checking out his wing, I found he has an old looking scabbed over injury on the last major joint of his wing. He has movement in the base of his wing, but the end of his wing seems broken, and drags when he walks. I cleaned the injury with Betadine (not sure how much good it did bc of the scab) and my mom did a figure 8 sling wrap on his wing with vet tape (during her old job she would have to put slings and splints on reptiles with injuries, so she has some knowledge on it) after that I checked him for mites (have a cockatiel and didn't want anything spreading) and set him up in my room in a large dog crate with towels on the bottom, mixed bird seed and veggies, water (with a little salt and sugar for electrolytes), and a heated blanket on the outside of one side of the cage. He's been eating, drinking, and pooping well, and he's got a good amount of energy and personality (had him for a night so far, last night he was sluggish and slow, today he's alert and fairly active, even jumped on my legs and let me pet him when I took him out to switch the towels out)
I checked for places to take him, but all the shelters near me said they would just euthanize him, and the rehabs I found didn't accept pigeons. I did find an animal hospital that treats injured wildlife for free, then sends them to a rehab center (emailed them as soon as I found out about them but no response yet) but I don't think he's a wild pigeon. I had thought, bc of his coloring, that he was just a regular feral rock pigeon, but he's a lot bigger than any feral rock pigeon I've seen, and when I was checking him for mites I saw his skin was light pink like a king pigeons, instead of darker brown like rock pigeons.
Plus my neighborhood doesn't have any pigeons, there are some in the shopping centers near by, but I can't recall a time when there's ever been a flock over my house. I think it's because there are a lot of hawks in this area, and there's really nowhere for them to build nests. However, my neighbors have bought live pigeons from squab markets to kill and eat though, so I'm thinking that he was an escapee from them, or thrown out by them for some reason.
Is it possible to have Rock/King crossbreeds? And is there any chance of him flying again if his wing heals up? What would a rehab center do to/for a pigeon without flight, and if he is a King crossbreed/from a squab market, would he be allowed to be released at all?
If the place I found doesn't reply or doesn't consider him wildlife, I'll take him to the vet for a more professional sling job, x-ray, exc. when I get paid in a few days (does anyone know if an emergency case can be paid for later, or if they have to be paid for upfront too?) Does anyone have any advice? (If he can't be released and his options are euthanasia or adoption I'd be completely willing to keep him and make him a more permanent enclosure in my house)
Also, I live in Southern California (sorry for the really long post, and thanks)
She also had a really bad infection, which was treated with antibiotics, so it is important to get medical help! maybe you can find a pigeon rehabber in your area and adopt the bird when he has healed? 
